Hello from Monterey Bay!

Hey fellas, my name's Jim and I live down by the Monterey Bay.

Spend quite a bit of time over on NCKA and out diving off my kayak whenever I can.

Have met several NWKA guys at the last two GimmeShelter kayak fishing tourneys and they were all super nice guys. 

Here are a couple of my dive vids from this year in case any of you like underwater fish porn. 





Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and hope to meet more of you all in the future.



Sincerely,

Jim

Welcome, Jim! Nice videos!

Welcome Jim. you live in my old stomping grounds. Aptos High, Class of '83.  Nice videos.

If you ever get up to the Coos Bay area we will have to get out and wet a line. Or i'll wet my line and you can wet your spear...

Welcome Jim. you live in my old stomping grounds. Aptos High, Class of '83.  Nice videos.

If you ever get up to the Coos Bay area we will have to get out and wet a line. Or i'll wet my line and you can wet your spear...

Nice!!

Thanks, I would be stoked to get up there one of these days.   

If your'e ever back down visiting SC/Monterey let me know...there's a pretty active group of yak anglers/divers right around here.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Hey Jim, it was nice meeting you at GS7. Welcome to our forums. Hope to meet up with you at more events!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Jim, it was nice meeting you at GS7. Welcome to our forums. Hope to meet up with you at more events!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks dude!! Seeing the NWKA folks has been one of the highlights of the last two Gimme Shelters for me.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Nice!!

Thanks, I would be stoked to get up there one of these days.   

If your'e ever back down visiting SC/Monterey let me know...there's a pretty active group of yak anglers/divers right around here.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Definetely will do.. wish i would have thought about fishing from a kayak when i lived there...

What's up Jim? Glad to see you finally made it over to the site.

Dino Abulencia
HOW-NWest

Hey Jim - welcome! Those vids are cool... got me all jacked up for some free diving. Gonna take my gear & head for Coos Bay next Sunday. If clear enough I'll dive, if not I'll fish. We have mostly bull kelp up here. Might try using the kelp clip for diving. I'll clip up first for some fishing & see if it holds.

Hey Jim - welcome! Those vids are cool... got me all jacked up for some free diving. Gonna take my gear & head for Coos Bay next Sunday. If clear enough I'll dive, if not I'll fish. We have mostly bull kelp up here. Might try using the kelp clip for diving. I'll clip up first for some fishing & see if it holds.

Thanks!

The kelp clip works great on Bull Kelp....just look for the biggest, baddest oldest kelp head around...preferrably one that pinches down under the bulb enough so the clip fits around it snugly.

When I was up in Mendocino a few weeks ago the new batch of bull kelp was starting to grow in but it is still soft and stringy...the stalks that are left over from last year are a lot harder and stronger and more trustworthy...and often mark the best structure too. 

I usually clip up, and then while I am getting suited up see how the clip is holding....then once I dive in I swim over and check it out and give it a pull as well.

The bungee that I sent you a link to really helps because the swells won't jerk the clip on the kelp as much.

Good luck buddy!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Ever caught a Humbolt squid?

Ever caught a Humbolt squid?

LOL! No...but I know guys that have seen them when they have been out diving around here...

If I saw one underwater I guess I would try and blast it and hope I could subdue it...unless it looked big and scary and then I might just swim away. 

Sincerely,

Jim

And...just to prove that I do occassionally bust out the rod and reel...

This is from last year when I had an ear infection and couldn't dive. The bigger Ling was 36 inches, and actually my PB on hook and line. 

The fishing was done about 2 miles from my favorite local launch spot, StillWater South at Pebble Beach.

Beautiful little beach, great for post dive/fish BBQs and beers, can paddle to a bunch of different reefs from that one launch.



 

Sincerely,

Jim

Awesome stuff Jim. It looks like so much fun! I am a SCUBA diver but I havent gotten into free diving yet. Looking at your videos makes me want to give it a try though!

Random question , how is sheepshead to eat, I saw a couple nice one in the video, are they as delicious as lingcod and rockfish?

cheers, Bernie

Awesome stuff Jim. It looks like so much fun! I am a SCUBA diver but I havent gotten into free diving yet. Looking at your videos makes me want to give it a try though!

Random question , how is sheepshead to eat, I saw a couple nice one in the video, are they as delicious as lingcod and rockfish?

cheers, Bernie

Thanks Bernie!!

Sheephead get mixed reviews depending on who you speak to. Some say it tastes horrible and they would never shoot or keep one. Some say it is a poor mans lobster.

I shot my first one last year and enjoyed it, but couldn't say I really thought it was as good as Ling or Cab. The meat was softer than I ideally liked but not as soft and mushy as say a perch or greenling IMO.

Then while dreaming about shooting another one for our DOTY comp on NCKA ( http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leaderboard/list ) I was searching online for recipes and found this link with pics of sheephead sashimi:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/fishermans-house-sushi-oxnard#hyelOZFdpGj0sF6vwDOS1w

I shot one in Carmel shortly thereafter and tried it sashimi style and it was the bomb! 

Then I shot two more in BigSur and ate both like that.

Then I finally shot a male back up here in Monterey and my inlaws ate all the sashimi up and loved it.

I did not freeze before hand, but did not see worms like I do in RF/Lings...probably still not 100% safe but oh well. 

Anyway, my advice is if you get one eat it raw. It's got great texture and a very nice clean flavor.

The heads come out great wrapped in foil and thrown on the BBQ. Nice and gelatinous and yummy. 

Here are a few sheep porn pics from this year.

 

Sincerely,

Jim