Spearing pebble beach

I went down to pebble beach today to try out my new gun and meet some guys from spearboard.  MBHalihunter (paul) and I paddled out to a pinnacle in the bay and anchored the yaks on top of it.  Depth was 15' in the middle and down to 30-45ft on the sides.  Right away I saw a huge perch and skewered it.  Got it in the boat and went back to swim along the many crevices of the pinnacle.  Coming around a corner I saw the top of something white past the rocks and my first thought was that it looked like a dorado crossed with a WSB, unfortunately around the corner came a harbor seal instead.  He swam right up to me and poked at my fins with his nose, then came up to breathe at arms reach in front of me.  I kept diving the cracks, looking for a cabby, but the seal kept swimming around me and nudging my arm or fin regularly, as if to say "hey, you shoot em, I eat em!" regarding the blue rockfish that were about.  I'd have popped a couple of them, but I didn't really want to fight with the seal about it.  

Finally I hauled out for a bit and the seal went to bother paul instead.  Jumping back in, without competition, I dove around and got a shot at a grass rockfish, but the spear bounced off his gill cover.  I thought for sure I'd punched clear through him for a few seconds because the fish was knocked cold for a 10 count before it swam off.  At this point I started getting a bit seasick, so I hauled out and chilled on the boat.  I'd been in the water about an hour, but mostly hanging out with the seal.  Paul dove a few other spots and I followed and chilled on the boat keeping an eye out for him, but he didn't find any fish that motivated him to pull the trigger.  Saw some otters by the rocks just off the pier, that was cool.

Vis was 20-30ft, it was like diving in hawaii, I could see the fish 20' down on the bottom just fine.  I was also much more capable than I was last fall diving for abs, been jogging and generally trying to be healthy and that's definitely given me a performance boost.  I'll be diving quite a bit this spring, hopefully I'll get over seasickness while diving the same as I got over it in the kayak.

Sounds like a good time.  The more I read about spearfishing the more I want to try it.

Joela and I watched a free dive video yesterday. Pretty amazing, this guys was nailing YT and WSB along with halibut and a big ole ling. The coolest thing for me was seeing what the under water structure looked like.

I don't think my asthma will let me dive to deep though. This guy was freediving in 60-80 feet, amazing.

Bill- Is this video available locally or on the internet?  I'd love to see the technique for Halibut.

thanks,
Ken

Joel told me he got it from a local dive shop in HMB. I think this is the same video:

http://www.norcalfreedive.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=40

That is a great video!

I must admit that "dispatching" a fish in the water left me a bit uneasy. After spearing the fish it acts wild for a while then you pull out your knife and stab it to kill it. Blood starts flowing. Maybe I am too wimpy but holding on to a big bleeding fish in 10-20 vis water spooks me out.

I threw it into my yak, still flopping, and dispatched it when I hauled out for a bit.  

It'd been a couple years since I'd eaten pearch (begining of my california fishing) and I found that my taste buds had also evolved because perch didn't hold a candle to rockfish or halibut.  Next time I'll blast a handful of blues and skip the perch, even if he's a bit bigger.  I think catching so many fish from the kayak has me spoiled, I'm so used to throwing back blues because they're on the small side, that I hardly recognized them as something worth taking.  Someone's gotta eat the buggers though, or they'll take over!

Bill- Is this video available locally or on the internet? I'd love to see the technique for Halibut.

Loomy - if you want a copy, I can burn you one - send me a PM with your address.

I'd love to see it too, maybe we can pass it around?

good idea. I'll send it to Loomy first (as soon as he sends me his address) and he can pass it on to you ...and so on....