Ocean Cove Saturday 11/19/05

Launched at Ocean Cove around 8-ish with Tote and Mrs. Tote, Travis, and Eric (eyeatbay) with Mr. Matt coming along a little later.  Small swell with a big set every once in a while.  Nice conditions... until we looked under the water.  

We started off Diving on the south side of the cove.  Water was VERY murky... maybe 3-4 feet of visibility on the bottom.  We worked hard for the abs this time... lots of current.  I got my three, I believe Tote did as well, Mrs. Tote got one and Travis got two.  Very impressed with Travis popping two abs on his first time out in some really poor diving conditions.  He should have no problem getting it done in good visibility conditions.  Way to go!

Then we fished.  Fishing was very slow... the fish must have had lock-jaw.  I had a really nice Ling up to the surface, then it decided to freight-train to the bottom again at which point it came unbuttoned.  Looked to be in the 35-inch range.   I promptly again caught another ling around 30" and was holding it by the gills to remove the hook.  It flopped and slipped out of my hands... down she went.  Oh well.   Those were the only noteworthy fish I had all day... a mix of smallish coppers in addiiton to the lings.  Lings were caught on 7" dark green Fat Baits with 6-oz jigheads.  

It was a gorgeous day on the water, but the worst rockfishing I've had in a long time.  Now it's time to get geared up for sturgeon... booyah!

Erik

Accckkkkkkk......I hope we do better holding onto the linglets in the AM.
Randy and I are eager to enter sturgeon land.  Please keep us in the loop as this will be a new area for us.

Pat

Good job on the abs. Maybe we'll try the direct route to the fish tomorrow at Stillwater...   Thanks for the report!

Good to meet everyone.  Erik, Tote, Matt -Thanks for great company. Next time I would like to try ab diving. A couple of rock fish, no biggie to report.

Sorry to hear it was slow, great job Travis!

I had a great time on saturday.  It was great visiting with everyone as usual.  Thanks to Mike and Becky for showing me the ropes and sharing camp and dinner with me.  I plan to start practicing my freediving as much as I can.  I should have had my limit of abs but I wasn't being agressive enough with the iron and the abs kept sucking on tight.

Well I was surprised I made it out Saturday. I was sicker than a dog Friday, but I knew Travis was counting on me to bring some gear for abbin' so I managed to 'get well soon'.
I have taken a lot of newbies out for abs their 1st time. I must say Travis is a natural. He posed ZERO problems for me. Never complained, had decent bottom time, ESPECIALLY for this first time out, and worked for his abs.
The conditions were less than stellar, but with the lack of wind it was very tolerable and we were able to dive a spot where normally it isn't divable.
The surge was more than I expected and the viz was worse than I had hoped for. None of us got skunked, and Travis definitely learned the ropes. A few more times and he will have it down pat. Congrats Trav!! Most who go out their 1st time only see an ab. Some might even make a meager attempt to get one..but dude, you got TWO totally unassisted..AWESOME!!
It was great meeting Eric and Eric and Matt. Thanks again for the Yakima Hullraisers Matt. They will work perfect on the trailer. And come April, I guarentee you will get abs!!!
Fishing was slow, but i really didn't put in much effort. usually that place is rockin'.
Guess I will have to learn somethin' about sturgeon now..eh Eric???

Was great meeting you guys out there.Mike glad they worked for you. Yes I will get some abs next year when I have the correct gear. Should have done a little more research...
Eric great meeting you. Look forward to fishing with you next year. ANd congrats to you guys on the abs!

I have to admit that I have a lot more respect for freedivers after trying it myself.  I was not expecting it to be as hard as it was but I must say it was one of the most challenging things I have ever tried.  At times I was getting a little frustrated and discouraged but thanks to the encouragment and great teaching of Tote I stuck it out and was rewarded with 2 abs and a great feeling of accomplishment.  All I can think about now is practice practice practice.