Big Swell Carmel

Forecast was not very appealing but had the day off work so was determined to try and get in the ocean if it all possible.

Luckily for me I live very close to a launch that is almost always calm enough to paddle out from.   

Recruited my good buddy Matt Lopez from Red Triangle Spearfishing and George, a fellow Monterey Bay Triton who lives in the same area as me.

Tried to recruit some other friends but they laughed at me.   

Just got two brand new Kayaks (a Jackson Kayak Kraken 15.5 and a Jackson Kayak Kraken 13.5) so loaned the 13.5 to George to paddle.

Launching and paddling out the swell wasn't really an issue, but once underwater at the first spot you could feel how surgy it was from the long period swell.

Checked some spots and cracks I know hoping to find some nice Lings or Cabs hunkered down and riding out the swell, but no luck...

Did find a nice school of blues over this one pinnacle with some olives lurking on the edges and I took a blue and George took an olive, and I found a 25/26 inch Ling in a hole down at 50 feet and took him before we moved spots.

Second spot was an area Matt knows where we almost always find a large school of blue rockfish and where there is some nice structure to explore as well.

Tons of blues as usual and some fat olives but couldn't find any Lings hiding out down beneath.

Tried out my new Pathos Laser Open Pro 90 cm for the first time here...biggest gun I have ever shot, and it felt great in my hand and shot like a laser.   

Found a decent scallop and after a little bit of struggle was able to take it.

Moved spots again to a deeper area...hunted down to 60+ feet for awhile but nothing really worth taking.

Jumped out and shared the scallop with George on the water to get some energy back.   

Moved again to explore an area where I have taken nice cabs and Lings in the past but despite covering a ton of ground between 40 and 50 feet we just couldn't find the fish we were looking for. 

By this time the wind and swell were picking up a little and I got a text from the wife asking me to be home early to watch my daughters, so we decided to head in.

On the way in I swapped kayaks with George so I could compare how the 13.5 foot Kraken paddled compared to the 15.5...it didn't track quite as straight or glide quite as much but for a kayak of its size with no rudder and wih 7-8 foot following seas I thought it handled really well!!   

Back on shore we packed up and had a beer before heading home. 

Despite the lack of bigger fish it was a really fun day with good viz, great guys and plenty of fish that we could have taken if we were hungry. Always feels great to get a nice paddle and dive in, especially in such a beautiful area.   

I was also super stoked on my new Pathos 90 and how well and far it shot. Really looking forward to using it more in the future!!

Here's a little mini vid I threw together and you can see how abundant the blue rockfish were. 



Thanks again to Matt and George for coming down and diving. Let's do it again soon!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

those black yaks look very intimidating, cool!  nice to see you gave the conditions the finger and yielded some take, but not surprising, considering you are a diving machine!

Thanks for the diving report , pictures, and video Jim.

Very nice.  Thanks for sharing!

Wow, thanks for the video. Always amazed at how much fish you see while diving!

Dude,you make that look way to easy

Nice work man! You guys make diving @60 look like a tidepool.  Great vid and loved the blues!  The million dollar question is, when are you going to connect with some Bonita, BFT, and Marlin out there 

Thanks guys!

Here's my scallop that I took...not a monster but decent for Carmel area and it sure made a tasty snack on the water. 

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/1908

Here is a quick instavid that Matt made showing the topside conditions....not horrible but enough to keep us off the shallower reefs.

https://instagram.com/p/8weJA0xRRW/

 

Sincerely,

Jim

And a pic of the filets I got from the two olives, two blues and one small Ling that I took.

Plenty of fresh meat for the wife, girls and I.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Awesome looking structure! Cool to see a healthy area full of life.

Nice catch! Love seeing the "blues for days!" As someone else said, you do make it look easy. I went to a wedding the day before in Montara and the surf was cranking- didn't expect anyone to be diving for a while! And hey beating the otters to any scallops down there is good work!

Always enjoy your post, video and pictures. They are inspiring too.