PG 5/14/11 Report

I wasn't able to get up north to GS5, but I got a dive in at Pacific Grove yesterday at about noon.

I still had some fish in the freezer, so I was mainly just exploring and shooting a few fish for my Aunt. Also, I had a cold so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to equalize or not, but after doing some research on the subject and taking some sufafed, I gave it a shot.

First I tried in 10 feet of water. Usually I don't even have to equalize with my hands pinching my nose, but with the cold I had to. I decided to move a little bit deeper to about 15 feet and shot a 23" monkeyface eel. The vis was about a hazy 10, if that, so I decided to head further out to see if it'd open up. Along the way I shot a 12" kelpy.

When I was pretty far offshore (maybe a quarter to half a mile from where I entered), I tried diving in about 40 feet of water to see if my sinuses could equalize. I made it to the bottom, though there was a squeeze in my cheek. I shot another kelp rockfish and headed up.

I was looking for a pinnacle that I had seen before that held a lot of fish, but I just couldn't seem to find it. I think I was looking too far to the east. I then spotted a couple scuba boats, so I swam over to check things out and see if I couldn't find the pinnacle. Sure enough, the boats were anchored on the pinnacle, and instead were in 50 feet of water.

After thinking it over, I gave it a shot and made a few dives in 50 fow. Visibility opened up to about 15 feet or so (yet still hazy and green), and I saw some schools of blue rockfish hovering at the edge of it. The topography was very promising, but after checking a few holes, I decided that I'd be better off coming back another time without a cold. I then made the long swim back in.

It turned out that I had spent 5 hours in the water, much to the chagrin of my aunt and mom    
but I was very pleased knowing that I am able to hunt at 50 feet with a cold. I can't wait to head back out when I'm healthy, and maybe go hunting for some verms in Carmel.

nice job on the "dive with a cold" and well done for pulling some dinner for your aunt

Great report as always... I was home with jet lag... I suck..