Explore, find, shoot!!

Ended up with most of the day free so of course I wanted to get out and jump in the ocean!!

 

My usual partners were busy with other labor day plans so reached out to some other folks to see if they wanted to come explore some new (for me!) spots between Carmel and Monterey.

 

Swell warnings were concerning, but the forecast I trust the most sounded like it would be doable, so I decided it was a go!

Hooked up with Chris (cnew83) who I had met a while back with Andy FM1.

SUPER cool guy and really strong diver for this only being his second time out freediving!

The first spot was sandier and cloudier and surgier than I was hoping for, but after a bit of scouting we found some nice structure and quite a few suspended blues!

 

I shot a few blues and black and yellows (steamer size up to 15 inches), and Chris was seeing the suspended fish but missing a few shots. Without a light he couldn't see in the holes so was somewhat limited.

Found a nice sized B&Y in a vertical crack and stuck my shaft right under it and called Chris over to come shoot it!!

His first 2 or 3 dives down he kept telling me couldn't see it...I would dive down and look and reassure him it was right there!!

 

Then I told him I would go light it up with my flashlight and for him to follow me down about 3 seconds after I descended and come and see...he did and nailed it right in the head!!

NICE JOB CHRIS!!

Back at the yak a baby octopus came up on the anchor and I was tempted to eat him, but since we were within the no invert take zone I gave him a kiss and let him go!

 

We then switched spots (and saw a pod of dolphins on the way over!!), but the viz was miserable and Chris started getting a headache...I explored this series of ledges under this one rock and came up with a kelpie and a 25.5 inch Monkey Face!!

 

Paddled to another spot that looked like it would have better viz and jumped in...Chris stayed up top and provided some chum trying to help bring the fish in...

Cool area, and was hoping for a cabbie or Ling, but no luck...I did however manage to cap off my limit with fat kelpies and two nice chunky twin 15 inch greenlings!

 

Inlaws are happy, and my WAF increased!

 

Cleaned the fish on the yak and paddled in.

I had a BLAST and was really impressed with how comfortable Chris was in the water...once he gets his gear dialed and his stomach sorted he is gonna be slaying them!!

Thanks again Chris for hanging out and diving with me...let's do it again soon!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Video of the fun!

I forgot to delete my memory card before I went out so only got footage from the first spot....

 



Song is Pearl River by Mike Zito...I dig his tunes. The Pearl River is on the border between Mississippi and Louisiana.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Dude anybody would chum trying to stay with U!!!   I know I WOULD!!!  NICELY DONE taken a bro out and putting him on FISH!!!  U need to eat some Oysters your boy got a litttle small   What up with the sixpac abs bro...U and ABking should put on a clinic......   I'm working on it....HA!!!  Congats  havn't seen u since shelter??? right???  cya @ the Barn...stay safe diving those cracks!!! And "Get Some" I know u always DO...

Dude anybody would chum trying to stay with U!!!   I know I WOULD!!!  NICELY DONE taken a bro out and putting him on FISH!!!  U need to eat some Oysters your boy got a litttle small   What up with the sixpac abs bro...U and ABking should put on a clinic......   I'm working on it....HA!!!  Congats  havn't seen u since shelter??? right???  cya @ the Barn...stay safe diving those cracks!!! And "Get Some" I know u always DO...

Thanks Mike!!!

It was really cool being able to put him on a fish...wish he would've felt better because for sure he would have gotten more!!

 

I hope to make the Barn..all depends on the Ladies (Ana, Valentina, Jayme).

 

Take care bro!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

You're like a serial killer out there this summer, Jim - nice work!  Way to get a bro on the fish too.   

Strong work there Jim, and you were rewarded, cnew too!

You're like a serial killer out there this summer, Jim - nice work!  Way to get a bro on the fish too.   

LOL! Thanks Eric...the demand for fresh fish in my household has been high this summer with so many of Ana's relatives staying with us to help out with Jayme...WAF goes up when I bring home enough for Ana's grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins etc...whoever is staying with us at the time!!

 

I feel bad sometimes about taking so many fish, but the fact that they are all immensely enjoyed by my family without freezing/stockpiling justifies it in my mind.

 

Also, there are days when I get none, and see nothing at all, so the plentiful days balance out those lean days in my mind.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Jim,

Super bummed I couldn't make it down there yesterday to dive with you and Chris or at least say hi.  Looks like you guys had fun.  Nice work on the fish and for helping Chris out.  Next time....
Hursty

Cazador Del Mar.

Awesome job, Jim!

Looks like you found some nice black rockfish out there! They're usually not as common or big as blues down in the Monterey/Carmel area.

Jim, awesome work on the stringer as well as the video brother!! Love the music, I'm gonna check out some of Mike Zito's tunes

Real cool that ya guided Chris to some fish 

So... when do ya wanna make another commando run for some abs on uni?

Nice video Jim!  Life is good in the water!

thanks for sharing as always!

John

Great job guys!!!! Nice fishies too, they seem to be A bit longer this time! ....  ....... Hope to get salty with you two soon!

As always, nice work and video! I was out a bit later than you on the same day and got rocked by the surge.