Norcal diving - Monterey, 10aug2010

After years of being "exiled" to San Diego, my good buddy Nate recently moved back to the Bay Area. No longer will he have to endure the tough diving conditions of La Jolla... must've been hell living 5 minutes from sunny beaches, huge fish, & bikini-clad co-eds. :rolleyes1:

For his inaugural back-to-Norcal dive, we loaded the kayaks and headed down south to Monterey. Pulling up to the launch, we were greeted by cool weather, light winds, & gentle swells. After leisurely suiting up, we paddled out to a familiar reef and slipped into the frigid water.

Under the water's surface, conditions were nice. The recent cool weather has tempered much the normal summer plankton bloom. Visibility ranged from 6-15ft, with water temps averaging about 54F.

The kelp has grown rampant this year. The thick canopy of kelp fronds block out most of the ambient light, so each dive began with a descent into an uneasy dark gloom. Reaching the bottom, our eyes slowly adjusted as we searched for game. Flashlights were essential to effectively hunt the many cracks & ledges. Throughout the day, we worked 6 reef systems from 20 to 50+ft deep, hustling to find some quality fish.

End result:
4 lingcod
2 fat cabezon
4 vermillion rockfish
& assortment of other select rockfish

Nate did awesome. He not only shot his first ling, first ling limit, and a fat cab... but he dove all day in only a 5mm suit! :@

Since no one really cares about the text anyways... on to the pics!

Wide expanses of kelp & Nate exhibiting seal technique :

Nate's big lingcod of day:

FAT cabezon:

Plump Black & Yellow rockfish (great for steaming):

My modest fish assortment:

Great day on the water!
Exhausting, but ultimately fulfilling.

Quote from spearstuff

Awesome haul!

What camera are you using fuzz? The pictures turned out great, way better than anything my underwater camera could take.

Just an older Panasonic ZS3. Not the greatest pics, but 25mm wide-angle & a really nice video mode.

Quote from LunkerBuster

awesome report and really nic efish selection...you are insane for diving in 54 degree water :@

dedication is not even the right word

54 is warm for here.

Moving here from Hawaii, I couldn't fathom how people could dive in this cold... but with a good 7mm suit, it's not bad. I don't think of the suits as restrictive. Just a different experience. It's amazing how much life kelp forests support - the biomass & diversity is astounding.