PV_Spearo
09-02-2003, 10:33 PM
Had a pretty good San Clemente trip this weekend, I thought i'd let you guys know about it!!
We left newport Harbor on fri afternoon and looked for paddys on the way over. As soon as we got past the 277 fathom spot we spotted a nice sized paddy. The water looked green so we were doubtful, but we saw 4 nice yellowail from the boat so i jumped in.
It was an erie feeling being on a kelp paddy in the middle of knowwhere when you can barely see 10 ft in front of you!!!
Anyways, while on a dive to about 30 ft, I saw the 4 yellowtail, but when they saw me, they headed for the deep, so i inverted and started dropping faster. I could barely make out their outline, and when i got close enough to take the shot, i saw a school of tuna underneath me about 20 ft down. By this time i was starting to run out of air. Shit, what do i do? Drop down on the tuna, or head for the surface. While i was thinking this Felt a tug on my speargun. What the hell? I was at the end of my 100ft floatline and starting to pull my float down. UH OHHH!! So i took a quick shot at the tuna which i could barely see in the 12 ft vis. I looked at my dive watch as i started hauling ass for the surface, 94 ft down. So i unbuckled my weight belt and held it in my hand on the way up.
Made it to the surface with some air to spare, good!!! Now deal with the fish( At this point i thought the fish was a small bluefin)
I had stoned the fish so it came up pretty quick. A skipjack, CRAP!!
I didnt see the bars on the fish when i shot. Now what am i gonna do with 17 lbs of catfood???
So we left the paddy and got to SCI at like 5:30, and did a quick dive at pyramid head befor dark. Dirty water and no fish.
The next day we headed for china point and made a quick jump.Cold diorty water and no fish. Time to hit the frontside!!
We ended up at Purse Seine Rock , about 20ft vis, where i shot a 12 lb yellowtail as soon as i got in the water. Good thing i loaded my gun on the swimstep. After about an hour of no more fish sightings, we decided to head for the white rock area to dive there. on the way there, I was on the bow of the boat looking in the water and i saw a HUGE school of yellowtail swimming as we past them up. We got all psyched up, got our gear ready, chased the school down, and hopped in. I was the first one in, i breathed up nicely and dove as i expected the school was approaching from the dimpling of the water in front of me. My entire dive lasted about 2 minutes and the school was still not completely past me before i took the shot on the biggest one i could find. Stoned it, turned out to be an 18lber, the biggest one of the trip. After that we got in the boat searching for the school again. There were schools of yellowtail at every current break, AMAZING!!!
I ended up getting four yellows that day, the smallest 12 and largest 18 lbs. Not huge fish, but a reallly fun time!!!
Thats all for now,
Brandon
Pics coming soon!!BTW, i got some sweet underwater pics with at least 100 fish in one picture!!
We left newport Harbor on fri afternoon and looked for paddys on the way over. As soon as we got past the 277 fathom spot we spotted a nice sized paddy. The water looked green so we were doubtful, but we saw 4 nice yellowail from the boat so i jumped in.
It was an erie feeling being on a kelp paddy in the middle of knowwhere when you can barely see 10 ft in front of you!!!
Anyways, while on a dive to about 30 ft, I saw the 4 yellowtail, but when they saw me, they headed for the deep, so i inverted and started dropping faster. I could barely make out their outline, and when i got close enough to take the shot, i saw a school of tuna underneath me about 20 ft down. By this time i was starting to run out of air. Shit, what do i do? Drop down on the tuna, or head for the surface. While i was thinking this Felt a tug on my speargun. What the hell? I was at the end of my 100ft floatline and starting to pull my float down. UH OHHH!! So i took a quick shot at the tuna which i could barely see in the 12 ft vis. I looked at my dive watch as i started hauling ass for the surface, 94 ft down. So i unbuckled my weight belt and held it in my hand on the way up.
Made it to the surface with some air to spare, good!!! Now deal with the fish( At this point i thought the fish was a small bluefin)
I had stoned the fish so it came up pretty quick. A skipjack, CRAP!!
I didnt see the bars on the fish when i shot. Now what am i gonna do with 17 lbs of catfood???
So we left the paddy and got to SCI at like 5:30, and did a quick dive at pyramid head befor dark. Dirty water and no fish.
The next day we headed for china point and made a quick jump.Cold diorty water and no fish. Time to hit the frontside!!
We ended up at Purse Seine Rock , about 20ft vis, where i shot a 12 lb yellowtail as soon as i got in the water. Good thing i loaded my gun on the swimstep. After about an hour of no more fish sightings, we decided to head for the white rock area to dive there. on the way there, I was on the bow of the boat looking in the water and i saw a HUGE school of yellowtail swimming as we past them up. We got all psyched up, got our gear ready, chased the school down, and hopped in. I was the first one in, i breathed up nicely and dove as i expected the school was approaching from the dimpling of the water in front of me. My entire dive lasted about 2 minutes and the school was still not completely past me before i took the shot on the biggest one i could find. Stoned it, turned out to be an 18lber, the biggest one of the trip. After that we got in the boat searching for the school again. There were schools of yellowtail at every current break, AMAZING!!!
I ended up getting four yellows that day, the smallest 12 and largest 18 lbs. Not huge fish, but a reallly fun time!!!
Thats all for now,
Brandon
Pics coming soon!!BTW, i got some sweet underwater pics with at least 100 fish in one picture!!