Fort Bragg Ab and Fish trip report.

  Went this last weekend for a nice Ab dive and spearfishing trip.  Got my limit both days, wt the first limit being devoured by the family.  Good stuff!

The visibility was fair, being about 5-8 ft.  I found most the Ab's down around 15-20 ft, in the crevices and valleys along the bottom.  Seems like they were really spread out this year.  My best was around 8 1/2", but fat.  I really spent some time the second day looking for good Ab's without too much luck.

I did some spear fishing.  I found my new JBL was a little muzzle heavy.  I will have to balance it some with some floatation foam.  I saw a lot of perch but no luck with legal rock cod or lings.  I dove some caves and crevices down around 20- 25 ft, with no luck.   may check into a lighter euro gun or make my own for freediving and use the JBL for scuba, something lighter and easier to manage in the kelp.

It was fun diving again.  I eventually want to work my way into 30-40 ft dives again, but need to do some conditioning and aphnea training.  After some warm ups, 15-20 ft wasn't bad and gave me about 10-15 seconds to search the bottom for abs.

The kayak was great!  I was able to paddle trough the kelp and get to my spots with ease.  nice to be able to climb aboard the kayak for a break/drink/lunch.  My brother took his 10ft zodiac, and really had to watch the kelp.  I took my fishing pole, but my brother and dad were too worn out after the dive and just wanted to head in, maybe next time.  A great trip, i can't wait to go back!  My wife has even been talking about moving to Fort Bragg....hmmmmm

The fishfinder on the kayak was nice for diving.  i was able to know the depths and keep the kayak in water i was able to dive.  I guess it also kept me honest....that felt like a 50 foot dive...oh wait we are only in 10 ft of water.  Hmmmmm.
Matt

Thanks for the report,  I love the Fort bragg area, been going up at least once a year for 24yrs, Glad to hear you had a good time, love that feeling after a successful dive trip.

dale

...that felt like a 50 foot dive...oh wait we are only in 10 ft of water.  Hmmmmm.

   I do the same thing.

If you use a floatline on your iron or gun you can mark it every 10' with a sharpie and you'll always know the depth to within a few feet.

When I was in Maui we were tank diving out at Molokini crater abd between tank dives I dove down on the ships anchor picked up a rock and surfaced. I then asked the captain how deep we were and he said 70ft. I was blown away. I had no idea it was that deep because of the water clarity. I thought when I get back to our coast I will be doing 40ft dives no problem. That was until I was in water with a 8ft viz factor and my depth went to hell. Just that clear water made me a better diver. I will never forget that. It was 25 years ago and my 40 ft days are over I think. Sad but true.

Good idea on the float line.  I am debating on attaching a reel or floatline to my gun.  I would have a hard time if I shot anything too large.  The float would also let my dad and brother keep track of me while on the bottom.  I might have to give that a try.  It would be also nice to be able to drop the gun for a large ab if i were ever so lucky to find one.

I bought a kelp anchor this year for the kayak.  I got the lighter stainless steel one and just tied it onto a 5 ft length of cord.  It worked great, i just swam with it attached to the kayak and clipped it off to explore new areas.  Much easier than the anchor, and easier to move around with.

I did have two upsets.  One my game bag fell over the side and made a fine sea anchor.  I was about worn out paddling before I noticed it.  Amazing what a little drag can do.  Funny as i was thinking that the kayak is never that hard to paddle, but figured I was just a little tired. Dumb me.....

I also got some braided line wrapped around my fins and ankles.  I got to the top and looked down and it was wrapped around both feet.  That stuff is strong!  I had to use my dive knife to cut it free and then put it in my kayak to carry out.  If it was tangled in the bottom better it could have really stopped me cold on my accent.  I don't care how that DFG law is interpreted in the field, I always like to have a knife with me.  

Matt

The floatline works best without a float at the end when you're in kelp.  It also allows you to leave the gun/iron on the bottom between dives - the drag of the gun slows you down significantly when swimming up and down and it frees up a hand for a divelight.  The gun/iron knocking around down there actually attracts fish, and you can grab the floatline and pull it up to you when you're about 4' off the bottom so you don't have to dive all the way down.

The main reason I love the floatline is that it's pretty much impossible to lose your gun when you use one.  A failure in the connection to the gun and a GWS with a spear in his nose is pretty much the only way I'm coming in without my gun. 

Up here only halibut are really explosive enough that you'd need to let the fish run with a reel, and a long shooting line going through the rocks and kelp in abalone country is a pain and dangerous to boot.  A good floatline is slippery and high vis so you can avoid it and don't tend to tangle in it anyway.

Fort Bragg has a lot of great diving! I really miss living there. If you really want to move my parents have a house for sale in town.