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Old 08-09-2020, 07:14 PM   #1
Bob Ballew
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of Sharks and Props...

...On Friday, Aug.7th, a free diver was run over by his own pickup boat while diving tuna offshore. He died within 15 minutes of a "Mayday" call being put out. He may have had a tuna on...info limited at present...
...Some large sharks out there also...One diver had just returned to his boat when a 10' mako arrived to circle around looking for a meal..
....Again, complaints coming from fishermen about divers jumping a kelp paddy while first to arrive are fishing hook and line...not smart, folks! Aside from a physical fight occurring, this bullshit can result in more laws limiting what divers can do out there. Aluminum skiff operator, are you listening? Common courtesy and some common sense are called for. Things are tense enough due to the virus without stirring the pot more.............................
...and if you have small kids, for Christ's sake, don't allow them up on the bow where they can fall over the front when you hit a wave and they can get chopped up by your prop...I see this all the time and want to punch parents in the face...sheer stupidity by some people continues to amaze me..
...Guess I have been cooped up at home too long....boat almost ready....Postscript: On Saturday, Aug. 8th, the remains of the lost military men were recovered off San Clemente island in 385' depths..It has been a bad month for losing so many people out in the blue....

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Old 08-10-2020, 03:24 PM   #2
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

I am thinking about taking my little 9 year old boy out with me to enjoy his snorkling while I am searching for fish. Every time reading about "shark", I am not sure if it's a good idea doing so.
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Old 08-10-2020, 04:22 PM   #3
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

Keeping kids close to a kelp bed might be the best plan...with it understood that if one shows, head into the kelp and stay put...It saved my bacon when a 16'er tried for me at Church Rock, Catalina island.....

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Old 08-10-2020, 04:57 PM   #4
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

Note to spearos who are diving kelp paddies: Use a YELLOW float line when shooting fish. I have had divers that I know are 30 feet in front of me, but I can't see them. Easier with a visible line and a float attached to end.
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Old 08-10-2020, 09:25 PM   #5
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

On that note, my partner/driver said he couldn't see my yellow float line and yellow carrot in the "really not green dying kelp" two weeks ago. That being said, I also have a matching blue float line, red float line, white float lines, and another yellow.
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Old 08-11-2020, 01:51 PM   #6
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

thats cause your a gear whore Mike not every one can afford every color line
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Old 08-11-2020, 07:10 PM   #7
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

...As more information surfaces regarding the free diver death, it appears the boat skipper (from Colorado) had limited to no ocean experience operating boats and no experience with free divers in the water...this proved to be a deadly combination...unfortunately, we all have to learn from mistakes; hopefully, not our own..
...interesting discussion on color and visibility....Commercial fishermen say more sharks are attracted to their red or yellow floats than any other color: (source: National Fisherman magazine)...A couple years back, a diver at the Catalina stone quarry had boarded and was pulling in his red float when a shark came up and hit it with a solid whack...most of the kayak attacks are on yellow or red kayaks...Three attacks at Catalina were on yellow rental kayaks....food for thought, since my Ocean Prowler kayak is yellow.....

p.s. there are Bluefin behind Catalina if anyone is interested...

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Old 08-12-2020, 03:19 AM   #8
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

This is going to be a silly question, but I just want to hear opinions. At what age would you take your kid out there? And what swimming/survival skill?
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Old 08-12-2020, 09:55 AM   #9
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

Free diving is a survival game...first, comes swim training by enrolling kids in a YMCA or similiar, learn to swim program...Next, base it on their interest and desire to go in the ocean, rather than age...A 9 year old without fear will do better than a 12 year old who is afraid...Then, fit them with gear that allows comfort...a leaky mask does not make for a fun experience..
...Took my son to Lovers Cove for his first dive at age 9..He started exploring deeper water alone and came face to face with a 5' shark swimming toward him. It was a harmless soupfin, but, they swim with their mouths open and when he saw the teeth, he made record time going ashore. He hasn't put on a mask since then....My advice is stay with them when diving in order to avoid trouble. In the ocean, trouble can come quick..

There are no silly questions...just silly answers sometimes..

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Old 08-12-2020, 10:12 AM   #10
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

The situation with line fishermen in the state is getting out of control.
At many beaches nowadays you cannot even walk as a couple of fishermen set a couple poles each with the lines in the water, 100 yrds out.
Offshore is an absolute zoo, as the average Neanderthal is out to catch bft, yt.
All this pressure is going to eventually lead to more restrictions, and typically this affects us freedivers the most.
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Old 08-12-2020, 01:35 PM   #11
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

What he said!!...We all need to remember that free divers are out-numbered about 10 to 1 by line fishermen, followed by large numbers of "politically correct" environmentalists in CA. We need the hook and line guys on our side to win against the Sacramento "feel good" laws those prostitutes are constantly pushing thru the Assembly...
...Hook and line guys are massing together under the CCC organization (to which I belong) in order to protect fishing rights..We need their support rather than getting in petty ass confrontations over kelp paddies...go along the temp breaks (warm side has more paddies) and find your own floaters....Each year, I move further west to get away from the boat cluster-....s.............hey, bear with me.... just one old guys' opinion!...
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Old 08-12-2020, 07:00 PM   #12
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
...with it understood that if one shows, head into the kelp and stay put...It saved my bacon when a 16'er tried for me at Church Rock, Catalina island.....
Bob,

Can you elaborate on that a bit? Is it best to be horizontal or vertical in the kelp?
Does the kelp density have to be thick? Or can you hide behind a kelp stalk when they are peppered in an area?
Would you recommend dropping weight belt?

Always interested in techniques for when a poke doesn’t suffice to disinterest an aggressive shark.
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Old 08-12-2020, 07:38 PM   #13
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

...There is a certain amount of bizarre humor in your question. First reaction to a jumbo coming at you is sheer fear...then, your butt puckers and survival mode kicks in...I was diving alone outside the kelp surrounding Church Rock and (after 4 seconds of my brain registering the danger), I instinctively kicked over on my back, swimming away toward the kelp with my speargun pointing at the shark. I was about 40' down when we crossed paths..Out of air, I shot for the surface with the shark following me up...got to the kelp just before it got to me and was about 8' inside the bed as I broke the surface...the shark broke the surface also, next to the kelp and I had the gun pointed at his eye ball as it scanned to locate me...figured my heart beat alone would help it find me...
...As far as how I was positioned, I automatically pulled my feet up under me and made the smallest ball I could shape myself into and waited...After 5 minutes (probably 10 seconds or less), the great white slid down into the depths with no visible movement of it's fins.... I waited about 10 minutes and when the bait fish started coming up again, I swam out to my boat (100' outside the kelp, of course), threw my gun up on the deck and when it landed, my feet were next to it....went down the island five miles and tried diving again....my body would not let me go below 10 feet (still in survival mode?), so, I gave up and returned to Avalon..
...Next, day a swordfishing boat was passing the rock when they spotted the gw chasing seals near the beach. They harpooned it (legal back then) and after a 5 hour battle, towed it in to San Pedro to measure and weigh it....2800 lbs and 16 1/2' long...F&G cut it open and found 300 lbs of seal meat in it's stomach....but, I wasn't there... Ironically, years later, I came across a a newspaper story and picture of it on a cabinet at my doctors office...The swordfishng captain was my one of my doctor's patients....bizarre how small the world is...The captain is dead now, but, I still have a copy of the story and pic in my scrapbook...

Moral: don't dive near seal rookeries and carry a big gun. I don't recommend dropping your weight belt as, you make a big, slow target on the surface and may want to meet the shark underwater where you can turn faster and move more efficiently to meet an attack....My CA and World Record Blue shark spearfishing record occurred underwater as I dove from the surface to meet it head-on as it came straight up from 200' in crystal clear blue water two miles offshore of Santa Cruz island. The shaft only cleared the gun half-way when I speared it between the eyes...My stainless heat treated shaft had teeth marks imbedded in it from the shark biting the shaft..9'2", 234 lbs...I think there is still a picture of it in the L.B. Neptunes scrapbook...A free diver doesn't have to tell tall tales....most times, the truth is sufficient...

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Old 08-13-2020, 09:08 AM   #14
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

How did that blue shark taste?
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Old 08-13-2020, 10:59 AM   #15
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Re: of Sharks and Props...

Blue sharks excrete urine thru their skin and are no good to eat...last time I saw it, it was rolling down the hillside in the Santa Monica mountains...helping the plants to grow..
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