I got up around 5:30AM this morning and headed back to a site I scouted yesterday. I had a few "holes" to check out and planned a nice long dive. The surf was non existent, surge was nill, water was toasty warm at 63F, and it was 20' plus visibility so I knew it would be a great dive. I suited up and noticed that I was the only sucker up this early- yes! I hit the water and dropped down to about 15 feet.
When you use an underwater light to search for the elusive "bug', there are few things to remember. First, they usually freeze in the light beam for second or two when you shine it directly at them. Second, their eyes have a reflective quality and it is like looking for small shining globes. Third, they move their antenna to get a "feel" for the water movement around themselves.Fourth, and most important, DO NOT grab the lobster, pin it to the rock or sand with your hand. Believe me, they are smarter and faster than you think you are and will flip-slap your hand faster than you can clinch a fist. Pinning them gives you that extra nanosecond to stun them and take control of the situation.
As I start scanning the reef and sand area nearby, I pick up on the eyes and antenna- this is the most efficient way that I have found in locating their position amongst the reef flora and fauna.
A side-note here in California is that the surf grass we have can be mistaken quite often for lobster antenna- it has happened to me more than once.
I start to get the "this is going to be a great dive" voice in my head and within a few minutes- BANG! I snag a fatty cruising along the sand just on the edge of the reef. 1 down...
For the next half hour or so I have a few other chances but seem to not be on my A-Game and lose focus on what is important during this dive. I find a small horn shark that I play with for a while, and juvenile black sea bass about 24 inches long hanging around the kelp, a few 2-spot octopus, and tons of juvenile fish swimming around. This is definitely the easiest and best San Diego diving I've done.
I bag one more lobster and notice a bright yellow 'thing" about 20 feet away- hum what could it be? I swim over to find some bozo in a neon yellow tank scrapping in the rocks after what I assume is a lobster- he looked very tourist so I wanted to get the heck away from him. As I turned to swim away, I noticed four more divers, all at about the same bone-head level of competence banging around the rocks breathing heavy and looking real lame. I surfaced to get my bearings and notice a bunch of guys suiting up and jumping all over the place. The sun was rising so I submerged and headed back the way I came.
As the sun rose, the light beams shining in the kelp and surrounding area was so unbelievable! I decided to make the return trip a pleasure dive and enjoyed swimming throughout the kelp and rocks with the fish and a seal that decided I'd make a fun companion. I kept wishing my fellow dive buddies had been there with me, it was dive to be shared with others (I know I don't usually say that do I?) Below are a few pictures taken after I surfaced.
Dive time: 78 minutes (1:18)
Max Depth: 19 feet
Water temp: 63F
Wetsuit: 7mm with hood, booties, bug gloves
Tank: HP80 (air)
Weight: 18 lbs of lead
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| Sunrise |
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| Entry Spot, just like Catalina |
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| The catch |
