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Live to dive, dive to live
Our lives are ultimately defined by the choices we make.
All too often in life, we settle for the easy route… the safe middle ground.
The road less traveled becomes a faded memory as we choose complacency.
Time passes and we find ourselves in a rut, content in living half a life.
This same philosophy extends to how choose to enjoy our diving experiences.
For the past several months, I've been in a diving rut.
Diving the same spots.
Hunting the same reefs.
Targeting the same fish.
I enjoy the comfort of my "home grounds", but something was missing...
Here's the story of a recent dive that inspired me, aptly named "How Fuzzy Got His Groove Back!"
The blustery April day started very atypically... for once, Nelson and I were headed to the coast on time. :o
In contrast, our typical dive days are preceded by lots of wishy-washiness, procrastination, and a fair amount of dilly-dallying.
On this day, I had volunteered to help Dan with the Triton freediving seminar & figured it'd be bad form to show up late:
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=123089
Great day to be out on the California coast!
Getting mean-mugged by a bunch of local thugs...
Fighting a recent cold, my Eustachian tubes were inflamed, but I hoped for the best.
Everything started out smoothly... the class was going well and my ears were co-operating.
Towards the end of the class, my right ear began squealing in protest.
By the time we were done, the bastard went on strike & refused to clear.
Traitor!
As the class ended, we broke off in separate directions, some to hunt and others to attend the Tritons meeting.
My max depth became a difficult 15ft and I seriously considered just packing it in and heading to the meeting.
After years of hands-free equalization and zero ear issues, the frustration was overwhelming! :angry5:
Coincidentally, the Kwok had similar ear issues, so we tucked our tails and headed to the shallows.
As my mom always told me... "when life hands you lemons, shoot monkey-faced eels!"
Okay, I'm fairly certain that's not the expression, but I was always a pretty bad listener. :rolleyes1:
As a pleasant surprise, being forced into the shallows turned out to be a blessing!
Diving primarily in the 3-12ft range, we hustled till dark, scouring the terrain and checking every inviting crack & ledge.
Instead of deeper diving for the usual reds & olives, we worked the coastline for monkey-faced eels, grass rockfish, & cabezon.
It brought back memories of my first excited dives in Norcal… every rock held a potential treasure, every drop an adventure! 
Setting GoPro up for a day's work
Promising crack nestled in shallow eelgrass
Checking ledge for steamer-sized rockfish
Quickly acclimating to the different diving style, we split apart to divide & conquer.
It wasn't long before the Kwok found a grass rockfish tucked away in a shallow crack.
Hello? Anybody home?
Fine specimen of a grass RF!
(easily identified by its oversized pectoral fins)
We continued our search; every reef cluster holding the promise of a prized catch.
Following a ridge system, I stumbled upon a large flat slab that looked textbook perfect!
(well, if they had textbooks on how to find fish...)
Sure enough, the segmented underbelly provided a few private fish motels.
Nice cabezon that had tucked itself waaaaay back in a tight cave.
My first Monkeyfaced Eel of the day.
Brown MFE, rare to find them this big around here...
Nelson couldn't help but get in the action too.
Spotting a cab taking a nap, he aimed carefully & took the shot.
He hit a rock. :crazy:
The cab did not move an inch… except to raise it's brow in mild amusement.
Quick reload & the cab was taken down by Kwok's RA70.
"I swear that rock looked like a cab!" :laughing3:
Since the structure was so nice, I stuck around to survey the area more in-depth.
The Kwok interrupted my exploring to show me a new rock pile he had found.
In a handful of dives, he shot 2 MFE's a couple rockfish.
First of Kwok's 3 large MFE's on the day
A face only a mother could love... & a nice MFE
As the wind picked up, we tucked closer to the shore.
Tight up in the eelgrass, my flashlight's beam highlighted a fat cab hiding in its lair.
Squeezing my 50cm speargun in, I placed a solid headshot and carefully extracted my prize.
Cabezon blends with my Omer3D camo wetsuit!
(or is my wetsuit camo'd to the cab?)
At this point, we already considered the day a categorical success.
We got to explore new grounds, hunt unique topography, & target some different species.
But the day still had one last surprise in store for us...
Checking a set of parallel ridges with shallow undercuts, I noticed one of the ridges had a deeper undercut.
It was loaded with smaller fish. A cab, MFE, & a plethora of B&Y/blue/kelp rockfish were tucked inside.
I worked down the ledge, exploring every dark recess with my flashlight.
Began to mutter in my head "too bad this ledge isn't holding... it looks absolutely perfect for lingc..."
My thought was abruptly halted as my light hit a molted brown patch of skin.
Not just any molted pattern... but that large blotchy molting that can only be indicative of a big lingcod.
The low overhang obscured the top of the ling's head, so I repositioned for a slightly better angle.
Smoothly extending my OMER HF, I placed a secure shot through the ling's head.
After a bit of a tussle, I was able to silence the beast and put it to sleep.
Probably the stockiest ling I've ever seen... an absolutely gorgeous fish and a most welcome gift from the sea!
Shallow success!
Stoke, mixed with a bit of disbelief...
We paddled a bit to check out another area, but I was done for the day.
At the end of the dive day, I like to clean my fish on the water & enjoy some peaceful reflection.
Unfortunately, a rowdy mob of feathered hooligans interrupted my zen time...
Irritation soon turned to laughter as they amused me with their antics (and pooping on Nelson's kayak).
Mine! Mine! Mine!
To the victor goes the spoils...
What was briefly turning into one of my most frustrating days on the water, turned out to be one of my favorites.
It's often hard to describe what makes diving so appealing and compelling.
There are so many tangibles and intangibles that appeal to each diver in uniquely personal ways.
This day brought me back to my roots & woke me up… reminding me what I love so much about diving.
Inspired me to dive more... take more pics... take more video... & write more reports!
Sun setting on a great day of diving...
