Palos Verdes Visit: 3/26/11, and SWS 3/27/11: Intertidal Eel Diving

Sort of off-topic, but I was in So-Cal this past weekend, and despite the rain, I dove the Palos Verdes area. The swells were kind of big, I dove anyways, as I've dove in bigger up here in Northern California. My goal was to shoot a sheephead and/or a calico to cross off my species list.

After checking out a few different areas, I found a somewhat protected cove, and scaled the cliff down to the water. Upon entering, I found very hazy 5-7 foot vis, in about 15 feet of water. I immediately noticed the vast population of sea urchins on the bottom, and figured that it would be a good spot for sheephead to dwell in.

At first I didn't see much in the way of fish life, save for some garibaldis and small opaleyes, but eventually found some promising holes. As I glanced under an undercut hole, I noticed a white-chin, and then the rest of the fish. The first sheephead I had ever seen, and a decent sized one, maybe 15-16 inches. Unfortunately, the sheephead calmly swam out the back door before I could line up a shot 

I couldn't find him after that, so I moved further out into the kelp. The topography wasn't great, and I didn't see much, except for some decent calicos at the edge of visibility who faded away, ghostlike in appearance.

By then the sun was starting to descend, so I packed it up and scaled the cliff once again, skunked.

On the way back home, we stopped in the Monterey so I could do a quick dive. Things looked good at SWS, so I opted to dive there. Water was brown in close, presumably because of the large quantities of run-off from the pipe 

Weapon of choice was a 3-piece, 6 foot Ray Odor Polespear with a flopper tip.

Further out however, I was greeted with a hazy 3-7 feet of vis. I had originally planned to swim out to the front, but upon arriving I noticed that the swells were breaking pretty large out there. Knowing this, I thought about diving deeper water to avoid strong surge, but it was late in the day and I wanted to get in the water. So I dove there.

Interesting to note, is that there were a lot of harbor seals sitting out on the washrocks. I think some of them were pups, but I can't be sure. It is pupping season though. If you go out there, be sure to watch your back, as the adults can get pretty aggressive if you stumble too close to the rock their pups are on. I didn't have any issues, though.

I worked about 5-10 feet of water, and despite the substantial surge, I found success. My first drop, I found a deep hole with an eel's head visible inside. Quickly checked for eggs, and then I lined up a shot. WACK! I hit the eel in the gill plate, with some penetration, but the flopper didn't clear and was unable to toggle. No problem, I thought as I got more air and had another go at it. Again I shot, and this time the flopper went straight through the cheek, toggling as I pulled out my prize.

As I was checking the adjacent rock, I noticed a few more smaller eels, and poke some kelp at them, but passed up the shots. I also saw a 20-22" ling, in only 4 feet of water, which was cool because it had some nice blue color to it's belly.

I managed a 12" inch black and yellow and was about ready to head in, when I noticed a big eel in a crack. I still had the b&y on the shaft, so I strung it up on my flashlight chord and took aim at the eel. The tip went in through one cheek and out the eye on the other side, a good holding shot. This eel wasn't done yet, though. It wrapped it's tail around a rock in it's hole, and it took a good battle before I could get it completely out. Luckily it was only in 3 feet of water  Measured out at about 26"

After that, I paddled in, and like many other eel hunters of today, I took the classic shot to pay homage to Big Jim, including a double-trouble shot..... Only the heads are facing the wrong way..... 

Seems like SWS is loaded with MFE!  Thanks for the report and pictures Rick.

Awesome!!!!!!!!!

Love the report and pics Rick...DoubleTrouble...LOVE IT!!

Congrats and thanks for sharing bro!!!!
 
Sincerely,

Jim

You're a great diver and writer too, Rick - thanks for sharing.   

It's great to see a younger guy loving the sport, sharing it, and displaying great sportsmanship:

Quickly checked for eggs, and then I lined up a shot.

Bravo. 

Kicking some MFE butt and taking names Rick!!!  Great report!  I'm jonezing for some eel too!  Gonna have to go poke some holes 

You're a great diver and writer too, Rick - thanks for sharing.   

It's great to see a younger guy loving the sport, sharing it, and displaying great sportsmanship:

Quickly checked for eggs, and then I lined up a shot.

Bravo.

+1!!

What would MFPB eggs look like? Like a Ling egg mass??

Congrats again Rick...really stoked for you and I agree with Eric that it is really cool to see a guy of your age out there enjoying the ocean so much...big props to your parents as well for supporting you and helping you get out there as often as you do.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I agree with them all, sweet report.

Awesome write up Rick!! Killer catch - way to get em in the slosh!

awesome report!

Keep it up and you'll be an "old salt" before you know it 

Gonna have to go poke some holes 

Just be extra careful OK 

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

And Jim, eel eggs take the shape of white, gelatinus clumps, about 3-5 inches in diameter. If you look closely you can see the individual eggs themselves. I think most of the eels in Monterey and south have spawned already and had eggs hatch anyways, because I don't recall seeing any in the holes I looked in. It seems like further north they spawn later.

And Jim, eel eggs take the shape of white, gelatinus clumps, about 3-5 inches in diameter. If you look closely you can see the individual eggs themselves. I think most of the eels in Monterey and south have spawned already and had eggs hatch anyways, because I don't recall seeing any in the holes I looked in. It seems like further north they spawn later.

Thanks for the info Rick! I had no clue....I saw a clump of Ling eggs a little while ago and it was pretty easy to recognize what they were...I will keep my eyes open for them for sure!!
 
Sincerely,

Jim

Great read. Thanks for sharing your experience.

ernest