Soberanes Point in Garrapata, anyone dove there?

I've always wondered about this spot:
http://www.saintbrendan.com/cdnnov01/CCoast11.htm
Shore-diving looks wonderful with the cove and the kelp beds. I saw spetacular kayak-fishing reports there. Even shore-fishing is pretty good. There are at least two shore-diving access points there. But the sealion barking from the Lobos Rocks really put me off. Want to dive but don't want to pay the landlord.
Has anyone dove there??

yes, long hike but nice. can be kind of spooky. i did the trail south of the pt.

garrapata may be a good place for scuba spearing but for freediving its not a great place. fish are sparse due to nearshore fishery / live fishery and only on a kayak have i caught something substantial.

i have dove garrapata a couple of times and both times it was super clear water but no fish around.

south of soberanes point is the long trail down to the water. when you do the 1/4 mile hike down over the granite and through the thick surface kelp, crawl around and poke your head down. you'll see more fish in one peek than you will snorkeling around all of garrapata north of soberanes pt.

i loved that area, some people call it the lagoon. the kelp craling to get out in that area is a pain but when you realize the whole time you were crawling over schools of fish you'll be pretty amazed.

the terrain there is similar to the north coast. perfect ling habitat and prime rockfish grounds.

John,
Next time you dive that area (or Big Sur), please let me know and I would like to join. My normal dive partner has not been diving much this year. So I mostly dive solo these days, would love to have someone watch over my butt. Although I try not to think about it, in the back of my mind while diving unfamiliar spots, I have the image of Josh Kim blacking out or a landlord somewhere.
Leon
PS, my email is [email protected], I will email you my cell phone number if you can drop me an email.

Leon,

Sounds good. Its been a while since I have been there, maybe a year but I liked it a lot. It is tiring to hike dive gear and fish up and down but its a nice dive area. Some folks do it on scuba I guess. Thats a lot of work there.

I need to see if I can still get in my dive suit. Its been over 3 months and I think I may have put on some weight.

Last time I went there I dived in off a rock and my friend did the same, he stuck me in the back with his speargun tip. It hurt like hell. I had a leaky suit the whole time we were in the water. I was glad he didnt put too much oompfh behind it. i could have been skewered! thank god for friends who dont sharpen their spearpoints though!

I use a piece of foam as the cap for my speargun tip. Keep the tip always capped until I am ready to shoot fish. Before I come in, I put the cap back on again. This way I won't stab myself (or others) for sure.
I actually enjoy hiking a bit before diving, I get more comfortable in the water with the warm-up. Plus, the spots that require a good hike to get to usually is more productive.
I will probably try Jade Cove area later this month before the lingcod closure.

Scuba dove Lobos Rocks from kayak a few times almost 10 years ago. Twice it was totally fishy, once not so. Freediving the good times would have been fine I think; there were plenty of big rockfish in the water column and lings at 25-40'. Hard coral too. Big hike with yaks and challenging launch.