Blacks and Reds (FoodPorn Added)

In May I got Striper fever and have just been playing in the surf and not diving deeper than ten feet...

The last fish I entered for DOTY was a little Sheepy that I took diving with Darrel/Hotplate on May 11th:

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2188

When I saw the FLAT forecast for Saturday and had the day free I decided it was time to take a break from the surf zone and try and hit some exposed reefs and see what I could find.

 

I was worried that my time off from doing deep drops combined with gaining some weight recently and 10 days of debauchery in Nicaragua would result in me having a day of shallow dives and short bottom times but still figured it was worth getting out and having fun.

Swam out to the chosen spot with my buddy Andrew and a newer diver (Kelsy) who just moved here from the east coast.

Even with the flat ocean the spot we were at had plenty of white water and crashing waves on the washrocks, but pretty quickly I found a cool little section of reef down at 30 feet with a ton of BIG blacks and blues cruising around. 

I lined up a shot on the fattest black I saw and blasted him right behind the pec fin and when I brought him up I could tell right away it was the biggest black I have shot so far!!

Monterey County is not known for big blacks (most are little guys) but I have seen friends take some monsters so know they are scattered here and there...

This one taped out to 21.5 inches, crushing my previous PB of 18.75 inches taken in 2013.

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2341

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/579

Called Kelsy over to come check out the spot, but she was unfortunately having ear problems and was unable to equalize and headed in shortly thereafter. 

I blasted 3 more blacks (all over 19 inches) and then decided to head out a little deeper to see if I could find a verm...

Found a nice fishy looking spot in 50 feet of water, tied my gun with floatline to the kelp, and moved my DiveKaddy over to mark the spot for Andrew and I.

Shoved the 4 blacks inside the DiveKaddy to get rid of the extra weight around my waist and dropped down to the bottom...

Look over at a nice little cave and hovering out front is the obvious grumpy shape of a nice Verm. We have a mini-stand off (didn't feel like blasting him head on) and he turned and headed for the cave and I blasted him in the pec fin. 

Not a monster at 19 inches but still a nice Verm, and I am always stoked on any Verm I get!!

Andrew had never shot a verm so went and got him and called him over.

We spent an hour doing drops in the area but didn't see any other Verms (I popped a small cab in the cave that the Verm was trying to escape into though) and then Andrew said he was getting tired and that we should maybe move in shallower. I said cool, lemme just do one more drop.

Breathed up and dropped down and right when I got to the bottom I see a NICE Verm gliding along between the kelp stalks. 

Let him swim for a sec until I can get a good shot and then hit him in the shoulder and the shaft comes out his opposite cheek and he drops to the bottom twitching...Stoned. 

I come up feeling guilty that I shot him instead of telling Andrew but since he was moving I was afraid he would get away. 

Apologize to Andrew at the surface and we move in tight to explore around in the shallows.

Find some cabbies and take one more and then I see a BIG wolfeel out free swimming and I call Andrew over to check it out and he drops and places a beautiful shot right in the eels head. When the eel comes up I tell him to watch out for the teeth and I grab it right in its throat/gills so it can't twist around and bite me (BTDT), and rip the gills out and let it bleed out.

After shoving the eel inside the DiveKaddy we swim in and hike back out....the hike back out is short but STEEP and kicked my butt!! I carried the DiveKaddy full of fish up and Andrew carried the banks board with some fish, and then he went back down again to get the mesh dive bag full of fins, guns, floatlines and the weightbelts...stud!

Back at car we have a few beers, take a few pics, gift Andrew most of the fish for his family and I keep my bigger Verm, my biggest Black, one other black and the two decent cabbies.

My bigger Verm taped out to 20.75 and is my third biggest ever. Stoked!!

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2340

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2136

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/1320

Felt GREAT to get out and dive and explore and blast multiple fish after so long away from the reefs, and was very pleasantly surprised that I hadn't completely forgot how to dive. 

Here is a quick vid and a few pics...will have pic of my daughters and the "magic red fish" tonight. 



 

Sincerely,

Jim

Looks like you need a bigger KADDY    Nice going there JIM

Man, that is some Big Black Cod! 

Right on, bruh.

Nice!  Congrats!

edit:  huge black and eel!

Epic, nice haul! Great shot placement on that verm

Like riding a bike 

So how did you like that Kaddy?

I'm assuming is comes with carrying straps. Can you attach other items on it like you could a Banks Board?

Congrats on your PB Black! 

Great haul , especially on the blacks in Monterey. They do seem small down there usually, so you clearly got into a good zone for them! Thanks as always for the write up and visuals!

Thanks guys!

Some screenshots, magic red fish pic, otoliths, and food porn.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Been living through others this week so glad you posted as it made me feel like I was there. 

Nice shooting!  Thanks for the report, pictures, and video Jim.

That is a Bomber Black, looks tasty!