Norcal: More Pursuit 7mm testing...

Beautiful day in Carmel. Waters were relatively clear & a toasty 52degrees.

Paddled out on the yaks and took advantage of the good conditions to take a flashlight & explore new reefs I'd previously marked off. Depths were shallow, between 20-40ft. Found a bunch of new ledges and holes - most barren, but some holding a good assortment of rockfish/lings.

Selected a few fish to harvest & enjoyed a leisurely paddle back to shore. 7hrs on/in the water, suit kept me warm & comfortable. The elbow/forearm & knee/shin guards work great for hole diving & rummaging around on the bottom.

Quote from Dan

Sounds like a nice day. What fish are those?

Of the ones you can see clearly in standing pic:
(L to R) - cabezon, lingcod, copper rockfish
* another ling hiding in back

Was thinking the suit pattern reminds me of a light cabezon. They're masters of camoflauge & come in widely different colors/patterns depending on their terrain.

Here's a pic from diver.net:

Quote from Dan

Which is the best eating in order?

Completely different based on , but my preferred eating order:

Rockfish (sebastes family)
My favorite all-around. Mild yet flavorful flesh.
Great for whole steaming, poaching, frying, sauteeing, etc.
Many different types of rockfish in norcal (black, blue, copper, vermillion/red, black& yellow, china, gopher, olive, kelp, etc.)
Can start another preference list on just rockfish... some differences subtle, others striking.

Lingcod
Firm white flakey fish, stands up to wide variety of preps.
Some have a teal green color to fillet, but turns white when cooked... results from healthy appetite for swimming smurfs.
My standard sauteeing & frying fish. Fillets out nicely and good flavor.

Cabezon
Not one of my favorites, but some people absolutely love cabezon.
Firm flesh, but bit grainy texture. Also likes to eat smurfs.

Quote from Dan

What are smurfs?

Quote from Dan

The copper rockfish being your favorite, how many would you take in a day if you could?

Limit on rockfish is 10, lingcod 2, cabezon 2 (but counts against rockfish limit).

Rockfish are slow growing, so I spread the impact across multiple reefs. I've taken limits... & sometimes none at all. All depends what I'm trying to accomplish - harvesting, exploring, or just a relaxing dive.

Quote from LunkerBuster

dan...below are smurfs...below that, underwater smurfs

That's just silly... Snorks aren't blue.

Quote from LunkerBuster

okay, here is the real underwater smurf

I actually bought one of those off eBay about 4yrs ago.

Quote from Dan

Alright then, I'll just assume smurfs are some small marine organisms.

I actually have no idea - I've seen it debated between species variation vs. diet... and can't recall any clear consensus on what causes it. For all we know, radioactive waste or smurfs are just as likely causes.

From one of the foremost authorities on California fish... & author of a few books:

Quote

The color of cabezon and lingcod is still something of a mystery. It might come from their food — crabs, a major part of the cabezon diet, have blue blood. On the other hand, crabs are not that important to lingcod. Genetics may also play a part, but no one knows for sure. However, with these species, the greenish color cooks out to pure white, and it in no way affects the flavor of the fish — Milton Love

Mike,
Cabezon roe i indeed poisonous & I steer clear from it. I've tried eggs from several fish, but not a big fan of it. The egg sacs are usually pretty small too; nothing remotely like WSB. What's surprised me is how accurate ling season is... when it's off-limits, there are a lot of fat pregnant lings lurking in the 0-50ft range. A few weeks before the season opens, there's a mass exodus to deeper waters.