Posts by spearstuff

  • who do you hate?

    I hate both the candidates for governor of California. Also hate Arnold Schwarzenegger.


    I hate people that base their political decisions on emotions.


    I don't even live in LA but I hate their parking police. I just absolutely hate the idea of a police officer that's only purpose in life is to hand out parking tickets. Just pure disgust for the people that thought that up that occupation as well as those that chose to do it.

  • Vote no on Prop 21- it taxes you and gives $25 million to the MLPA!!!

    Tom don't worry about not making it to this meeting. If they really wanted to make this an open process for the public they wouldn't put the meetings in the middle of a weekday. It just makes it impossible for most working people to show up and voice their opinion. And they know it.


    Steve, just be sure to watch it when you vote no on the Propositions. Sometimes a "No" vote is a "Yes" when they word the propositions around to try to fool people.



    Quote from LunkerBuster

    Daniel, anything we can do from FL? letters? comments?


    You could send in letters if you want. Email them to the Department of Fish and Game Commissioners here fgc@fgc.ca.gov


    But really we've got a stacked deck thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger appointing pro MLPA commissioners to the DFG. As it stands 3 DFG commissioners are 100% for the MLPA, 1 commissioner is fully against it, and 1 is slightly against it. So voting will always be pro MLPA by a vote of 3 to 2.



    Quote from Don Paul

    No worry's Daniel about being political, this effects Cali speros as you pointed out. Voters need to really read the fine print on issues. Many voted for MLPA zones unknowingly in 1999 when it was buried in the Clean Water Act..... and we all wanted clean water back then so the young White Sea Bass we were raising in the grow out pens would have a clean harbor to swim from. Keep up the good fight Daniel.
    Thanks for your help and stewardship mate. Your most likely in San Diego at the F+G meeting as I write this. Sorry I cannot join you today.:(


    Cheers, Don


    Yah I was there. It was torture listening to those brainwashed students talk to the commissioners. The students had no real clue on the issue. The children were just told that the fish are in danger and they need protection. And as a kid of course you're going to side with the whole "save the whales mentality" instead of looking further into the issue to understand what it really is about. It was very despicable of the pro environmental people to use mindless children to forward their agenda. :angry5:



    Quote from Miguel

    Thanks for posting this up Daniel, until you gave the heads up I had no idea. I forgot to keep in mind that the cuter and more emotional the commercials the worse whatever they want you to vote for is. Good issues have facts, bad ones have cute bunnies that might die if you don't vote for them. Kind of like the mlpa's :angry5:


    Glad I posted this then. And I totally agree that when a proposition has to rely on cute or emotional feelings to persuade the audience, you know it can't be good.

  • Vote no on Prop 21- it taxes you and gives $25 million to the MLPA!!!

    I know this is a political issue, but this issue impacts every spearo in California.


    Prop 21 the "Park Pass Proposition" not only increases your car tax by $18, but it also uses part of this tax revenue to fund the newly created MLPA fishing closure zones in California by at least $25 million. This is according to DFG Commissioner Sutton.


    For those that don't know the MLPA stands for Marine Life Protection Act. This act is already in the process of creating permanent fishing closure zones throughout California. Everyone that's gotten involved in this process can tell you how corrupt and backhanded it's been. Please don't support these misguided closures. Vote no on Prop 21! Say no to fishing closures!

  • Close to coast pargo

    I really dig that black and white photo You don't see too many pics with friends all sitting around a single fish all just as happy as the next guy. Nice catch and even better dive partners :thumbup:

  • HELP! trouble with my ears

    I just use my fingers to equalize.


    But don't push yourself if you're having problems clearing. It only makes things worse.


    I've had ear problems in the past. It's usually one of two things for me. One I have an outer ear infection. Two I have been diving too rough and not clearing my ears fast enough. Essentially both problems involve irritation to the inner ear which cause your Eustacian tubes in the inner ear to close up and that makes clearing your ears tough to impossible while diving. To continue to dive only irritates the inner ear more and makes the problem worse. Just in case you didn't know, your outer ear is outside your eardrum. Your inner ear is everything inside your eardrum.


    The solution to both problems is to stay out of the water. First problem requires ear drops, while you're out of the water. Second problem just requires time out of the water. Depending on how bad it shouldn't take more than a week or a week and a half for your ear to recover fully.


    Although if the inner ear problem is really bad and isn't improving after a couple weeks that's when I get some antibiotics to fix it. Either antibiotic ear drops or strong antibiotic pills will do the trick. But you don't want to use these on a regular basis or the bacteria in your body will grow stronger and more immune to the medicine, which may cause more ear problems in the future.






    so for next time.... if you think your ear troubles were from not equalizing enough fast enough the solution is to equalize more often.......... if you think it was from an outer ear infection the solution is to buy a bottle of swimmer's ear or something similar to it and squirt that in your ears after every dive to prevent an ear infection


    that's my advice hope it helps.

  • This is why I love Laguna Beach

    Quote from Don Paul


    Where is Dave ?....we need him here so you big bug masters can show me the ropes. I have never caught a bug over 6 lbs. except in New Caledonia where I got to shoot one with a Tahitian thumb gun legally then have a big Snowflake Eel dance with me, :@ To remind me of Krama.;)


    Cheers, Don


    It's just a lot of looking is all. Lots and lots of looking. If you can get that part down, then the other part is the harder one. Finding a spot that no one or not too many people have been to before. Basically just a bunch of good old fashion exploring. That's how Chris got his 5lb bug over in the other thread. And I'm sure that's how Dave gets his.

  • This is why I love Laguna Beach

    Quote from chris oak

    Nice bug Daniel, did you dive until the sun came up?


    Nah I was outta there long before the sun came out. I shot these pics at sunset down at the beach by my house. An hour later we cooked up the 5 lobsters in my right hand. And yes I did suit up just for a couple of pics, I'm that crazy <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">


    Quote from LunkerBuster

    epic Daniel, you are not only great at catching bugs, but you are excellent at recounting the experience for us to share...thanks


    Yah just glad there's spearfishing forums around or I'd never have the motivation to write these all down. Takes a bit of time on my part siince I'm not the best writer.


    Quote from Don Paul

    Great post Daniel, Your the man.


    Cheers, Don


    Ha I'm just slowly realizing how Dave Plossel continues to catch one big lobster after the other. If I'm the man, he's the god. Right now I've got a few more reefs I want to check out in Laguna that could be holding, provided Dave hasn't found them yet.

  • This is why I love Laguna Beach



    The story~


    ...


    Well my relatives have been bugging me to catch them some lobsters for a week now. I knew I had a couple small tails and one big one in the freezer I could use, but they like boiling the live ones. So that meant more diving for me. Luckily I knew just where to go to get some fresh bugs. Out on a hidden reef that most people don’t know of, heck I didn’t even know of it until just a week ago when I noticed it by chance. Last time I visited this reef in the daytime it was just packed with fish, more calicos and sheephead than I normally see on a handful of regular reefs. I also saw a few legal sized bugs in a couple of holes, so I knew it was worth coming back to at night.


    Sometime after midnight I packed up my gear, drove down to Laguna, and suited up for a quick solo dive. Walking down to the beach I noted the the moon was nowhere to be seen, the waves were low, the current wasn’t too rough, and the vis was 15ft If not more. I sure hoped the bugs would be crawling, because this felt like an excellent night for diving! Crossed the waves and swam out to the single reef I was aiming for. Thanks to the vis I spotted the reef in no time at all. Dropped my boogie board anchor to the rocky bottom below and I was all set for hunting.


    With only two dives down I spotted my first legal bug crawling across the reef. Snatched it up and with a quick check of my gauge I soon felt even better than I had a few seconds ago. This bug was a half an inch over legal! For me to find a nice sized legal right off the bat meant there were plenty more where that came from. Stowing the bug on my board I went back to hunting, eager to find more.


    That's when I found the strangest looking lobster ever. It was crawling around the reef like normal, but with something missing. It had no tail flaps! It looked like something had taken a chomp off its tail recently. You could even see the white meat sticking out from what remained of its tail. I grabbed it with a mercy kill in mind, but after measuring it I realized it was short. So I had to throw it back. As I swam on to the next spot I watched the lobster continue to flop what remained of its tail; taking 5x long as usual to get back to the bottom.


    After a few more sweeps around the reef I managed to grab 3-4 more legal bugs on the crawl. By then I had covered almost the whole area and I thought to myself, “Well that should be enough.” But then I thought, “Hey wait a minute… this spot is getting shut down next year thanks to the MLPA. Why should I hold back? I should go for the full limit!” So back to hunting I went.


    It took a little longer than before, but I grabbed 2 more legals after a bit of searching. One was a small female, which didn’t bother me. But when I grabbed it I noticed its shell had recently molted, so I threw her back. I really only wanted the hard shelled bugs (the softies never seem to last the night in my cooler).


    By my calculations I only needed one more bug to make it a limit and then I could go home.


    Leveling out at around 10-15ft underwater I start to scan my light back and forth across the rocky floor, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Something moves in the corner of my eye and I swing to my left seeing what it could be. A dozen feet away a single pair of fat antennae moves slowly back into a hole and out of sight. Flares light up in my brain! That’s a massive bug Daniel! In an instant the adrenaline sends me rushing towards the hole. Angling downward I swim headfirst into the narrow cave, not knowing where the bug will be. Swimming in past my waist I come to a stop. There on the ground, in the roughly 3ft wide cave and less than an arm’s length away, is that giant bug and he’s starring strait at me! Looking around I see the hole stretches further back by at least 6ft if not more. Losing him to the depths of this cave was the last thing I wanted. But luckily he didn’t move back. He just sat there and continued to watch me as I did the same.


    At this distance I knew I had a chance. Thinking of where to grab I felt drawn to its knuckles. As my mind focused on those beefy appendages my hands were getting ready, coiling up those invisible springs. A second passed and my confidence flowed to its bursting point. Like lightning I jolted forward! Both hands hit their target and I had him by the knuckles! Immediately he clamped down hard with all his legs and just kicked his thick tail like mad! Kick after kick with no breaks in between and tons of force in each one. I was losing my grip with each thrust. One hard kick later and that was all it took. I lost him! With his new found freedom the bug flung himself deeper into the cave. But luckily my other hand still had him by a knuckle. Pulling him back to me I regrabbed his other knuckle and tried my best at yanking him out. Bumping myself all over the cave I struggled to get out and hold on to the bug at the same time. But with plenty of time left in my breath hold I kept wiggling myself out. A few scruffs later and I made it to the surface. Looking down at my left hand there was just one massive bug wrapped on top of it. Only after measuring it did I realize it was the largest bug I’ve ever grabbed, literally just a hair under double legal.


    What a great night and I'm even more stoked I got this one from an area in Laguna that's getting closed down by the MLPA. Take that you stupid pro closure Lagunites <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

  • Another Orange Monster from Orange County

    Thanks guys for the nice comments. Definitely stoked on this bug. It's been over a year since I've even seen one this size. :thumbup:



    Quote from LunkerBuster

    SICK...and great report as always.


    especially to me, a lobster retard exraordinaire...seriously, I suck..but I'm getting better


    Hey but can't you guys out in Florida use tickle sticks? Should be much easier out there. Just got to find a spot that's holding and keep poking em' till they jump in your bag.


    Quote from fuzz

    Nice catch Daniel!


    I like your pics - always have a cool perspective or take on the traditional glory shots.


    It's practically a requirement of mine to do a photo session after I catch something really nice. And I'm always thinking of new ways to take my fish pics, cause the "holding a fish strait out in front of you" method never impressed me much.

  • Decent Luck Lobster Diving

    Just finished reading your story Chris. Good stuff :thumbup:. I'll take exploring over the same reef any day. Just got back from a new dive spot in Laguna, but didn't see anything even half as big as that bug in your right hand. Looks like we'll have to wait till the next drop in the swell to do some more exploring. Could be another couple of weeks.

  • Another Orange Monster from Orange County

    Quote from sdeisen

    siickk,, you gonna preserve this one like the last?


    You know I don't really know. I couldn't decide what to do with it and just stuck it in the freezer whole for the time being. If I can get Mark to help me cook it I may just eat it and save a few of it's legs in the freezer for when I catch an even bigger bug and some of its legs are missing.


    If I ever get one that breaks 10lbs that's going to be mounted for sure!