"You couldn't let me shoot the biggest fish, could you?" or 8.13.11 Stillwater S

Today school resumed for me, and I found myself within the bustling hallways and familiar classrooms of my high school once again; not unlike the large schools of blues and unique reef structures I've encountered in all the diving I've done my 2011 summer vacation.

This summer has marked many milestones as a diver for me, from my first vermillion in June, to my first sheephead in July, to my first double digit ling a few weeks after. An unforgettable summer of diving, forever burned into my memory.

Chaeki, Chris, Josh, Ken and I dove Stillwater on Saturday, in what would prove to be my final dive of the summer. With an essay due two days later on the first day (which I had mapped out, but yet to start on), I was contemplating whether or not I'd be able to dive. My obsession got the better of me, and we were headed down hw 17 by 5:20am 

From the parking lot, the conditions looked glassy and flat, within the cove, with no swells or wind rolling through, and a thick blanket of fog hugging the peninsula. We paddled out to the first spot, where visibility was very dark and hazy underneath the kelp. Around 10 feet, but I needed to use my flashlight to see anything, almost like a night dive. The structure was flat and I saw very little life, save a few kelpies and a minute school of blues.

Searching the area, I soon stumbled upon a series of boulders in 35 feet of water, several of which held optimal ling cracks. On one drop I found a textbook ling crack. My light illuminated the cave, finding nothing. Panning the far reaches, however, my beam hit the blue-tinged, speckled skin of what I believed to be a ~30" ling. I marked the hole and went up for air.

My next drop left me with a dilemma; another boulder sat very close to the mouth of the crack, which had a very low entrance. The combination of the two left me with an almost impossible shooting angle with my 75cm gun. A shorter 50 or 60, or even a pneumatic, might have been more effective in this situation. Regardless, after some readjustments, I was able to maneuver my gun into shooting position. Again, I went up for air, only to descend again on a ling-less crack. The ling must've heard my gun's noise, and left it's hole to investigate. I ascended dejectedly.

At this point I started to get cold to the constant water movement in my hole-riddled dive socks. I moved into shallower water for no still no fish.

Chaeki and I then paddled to a different spot. Here, we found a series of deep caves and interesting bottom structure in 35-48 feet of water. The caves weren't ling holes, but rather large, deep labyrinths where I'd expect to find sheephead. No one was home. Here, we picked off some small, steamer-sized blues, blacks, and black and yellows.

Heading back to where Josh's kayak was anchored, we discovered his awesome stringer, which included various rockfish, a cab, and a chunky 27 inch monkeyface eel, his first. Also notable was the blacksmith he shot, a specie mainly found in southern waters. Chris also had an assortment of rockfish, as did Ken, who also had a ling. Ken, Chaeki, and Chris left soon after.

Josh and I hopped on his tandem and moved to a very shallow area, in 5-10 feet. This kind of hunting is very engaging and entertaining, not to mention less work than deep diving. A plethora of species can be found here.

Notably, this area has a large rock in which I can consistently pull out large monkeyface eels.

Scanning the bottom of the rock, I noticed a very small gap (4-5") at the base, complete with a white line visible in the darkness; the mouth of a rather large monkeyface eel. After carefully lining up the shot so that the flopper would engage, I pulled the trigger, leaving my shaft going wild. I knew the shot had to be solid, so I was able to evict the eel without much effort. Josh shot another smaller eel.

Men cannot resist comparing the lengths of their eels 

Back at the kayak, Josh and I measured our respective eels, coming to the concise conclusion that mine, was in fact larger. Josh jokingly, rhetorically exclaimed, "You couldn't let me shoot the biggest fish, just for once, could you?!?"

The eel measure out to just over 27.5", not the longest eel I've taken, but certainly the most colossal. A monkeyface eel's diet consists 90% of kelp and other algae, and this one was no exception. This time of year, the kelp grows rampant, especially in shallow, protected water, and the eels gorge themselves on it.

Knowing the CA state diving record was 4 pounds 12 ounces, set by Chris Saxl, and later tied by "Big Jim" Russell, I was curious as to what the weight of mine would be. Arriving home, I immediately took the eel to my local supermarket, to seek weight on a certified scale, as I had done before with a blue rockfish I had shot a month earlier. The blue rockfish I shot, was roughly .06 pounds shy of the state record.

This time, however, my fish had broken the record by over a pound, weighing in at 6 pounds even; an incredibly heavy eel for it's length.

Very excited and proud of my accomplishment, I texted none other than my friend and dive guru Harold (Fuzz) the exciting news.

I froze upon reading his reply, "Oh... I shot one last week I'm submitting... 6.38". Luckily, I hadn't filled out all the paper work or gotten confirmation by a biologist by then.

With Harold being perhaps the most humble, good-natured diver I know, I felt content knowing that the record would go to such an admirable and deserving person.

I couldn't help but chuckle and think back to what Josh had said earlier that day:
"You couldn't let me shoot the biggest fish, just for once, could you?"

And so ended my summer vacation, and the amazing dive experiences I had with it. I can only hope the rest of the year and future summers will be as fruitful.

EXCELLENT report Rick!!

That MFPB is a HAWG!!!!   

I've been talking with fuzz about his eel and helping him navigate the paperwork etc needed for the submission...

No shame at all in being "out-fuzzed"!!

 

Very stoked for you Rick...and very impressed with your skills as a diver, hunter and writer.

I wish you nothing but the the best in your upcoming year of school, and hope that when you find time to get away and get in the water that I can join you.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Great writeup. Summer is over but you have enough good memories to last until next year... The good thing though is that we can spear all year.

Great report there Rick! You still got weekends, and winter season!

I'm just glad to be in his report, little kid packs a punch.  But he went and shot everything after I left, little brat. 

Awesome write up, I look forward to your spearfishing book Rick!!

Now go finish all your homework so we can dive again this wknd!

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Heck of a summer Rick.  I am sure you will manage to balance your life between school and diving

Great writing and a gifted diver, I've really enjoyed your stuff this summer,

Thanks for all you reports and I hope you fit in some fall trip reports as well.

Well Done!!

Thanks for the great report and good lucks with your schooling Rick.

Too bad you had to write an essay because your report made for an outstanding narrative!  Superb post Rick!

BTW, did you get that paper done?

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the kind words.

Too bad you had to write an essay because your report made for an outstanding narrative!  Superb post Rick!

BTW, did you get that paper done?

Yes, I got my paper done on time. Due to procrastination though, I finished late Sunday afternoon. It was a difficult literary analysis essay to write, due to a very ambiguous prompt, which also contributed to the long delay in writing it, but I was finally able to finalize my ideas.

I take school very seriously, almost like a competition, but more so a self-induced competition. I don't allow myself to accept any grade lower than an A-, and up to this point, I haven't had to.

Entering my sophomore year, more classes are available to choose from, including more rigorous ones. I doubt that I'll have any trouble keeping a 4.0+ GPA, but it will make for a strenuous work year, and an interesting gauge for myself as a student.

Keep up the good work Rick....

High school can be very challenging in many respects....I made some of the biggest mistakes of my life the last two years of high school and feel lucky to have gotten out alive.

Your work ethic and commitment to excellence will serve you well in many aspects of life.....don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it though....it takes a smart (and strong) person to admit when they need some assistance and to reach out and ask for it.

Sincerely,

Jim

Rick, awesome job on the mfe. Like Jim said, there no shame being "out-fuzzed" lol!!

Wtg on slaying some fish before school started!! 

thanks for the cool write up Rick!

sounds like a lot of fun!

Remarkable writing, Rick.  Remarkable diving too.  I see a PhD in your future, hopefully in one of the marine sciences.  Keep charging.  We need guys like you to manage this resource in the future.