Blue water off Palos Verdes

[MaxBottomtime]

We had blue water off Palos Verdes this morning. I'd forgotten what that was like. We could see forty feet down our anchor chain as we descended on Halfway Reef. Visibility on the reef was only twenty feet or so, but it felt like the good old days. I found several species of rockfish which had all but vanished the past few years at this reef. Treefish, Calico, Vermilion, Blue, and Kelp rockfish floated along the perimeter of the reef. A beautiful cabezon guarded the small statue.

When we arrived a fisherman aboard a kayak was a couple of hundred yards away. During our dive, I found a lead weight with two squid lures. I placed the sinker on a rock so I could photograph the lures when they suddenly shot toward the surface. The fisherman decided to fish right on our bubbles. Had I realized what was happening, I would have cut his line.

 

[Pipehorse]

@MaxBottomtime, beautiful images, thank you for posting!

 

[beldridg]

Amazing photos, but where is the rusted metal?!?

- brett

 

[kinoons]

Had I realized what was happening, I would have cut his line.

I’m not familiar with the location - is fishing not allowed there?

If it is, why would you cut his line? you say in your post that he was there when you arrived, so he was there first. Should all fisherman abandon any location that divers decide to dive on at all times? You arrived on a location with a known fisherman. You decided to play with some fishing tackle on the bottom, and then you got mad when you almost were hooked? Perhaps the best answer was not playing with tackle when a fisherman is in the area?

Since california has no flag laws how would a fisherman be expected to track divers? Yes he could watch for your bubbles, but I would hazard a guess that on a kayak the fisherman may be moving less than divers exploring a reef. There may have been no bubbles when he performed a cast and you wandered up onto him and his bait. Additionally, since he was there first maybe he expected you to avoid him. Or, what I am guessing is likely the case, he didn’t give it a second thought.

This seems like a case of two people using the same ocean for different purposes and falls into the category of don’t be a dick.

Edit - the photos are very cool.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

He was on another reef a couple of hundreds away. Once we got in the water, he came over to the reef we were on and dropped his hooks right through our bubbles. Halfway Reef is the size of a house. It's separated by 200 yards of sand from where he was fishing. We didn't wander up to him.

 

[kinoons]

He was on another reef a couple of hundreds away. Once we got in the water, he came over to the reef we were on and dropped his hooks right through our bubbles. Halfway Reef is the size of a house. It's separated by 200 yards of sand from where he was fishing. We didn't wander up to him.

Fair enough, it’s pretty uncool for a fisherman to do that. Certianly a higher potential for a dangerous interaction.

None the less playing with fishing tackle with a fisherman in the area is a poor choice on any divers part. It’s inviting an inicident that doesn’t need to happen.

Proactively cutting the line is still a dick move. You could just swim away from the bait. Again, fisherman are entitled to the same ocean we are (local regulation not withstanding). Especially when in locations where lack of dive flags don’t make it obvious where the diver is.

Yes it would be nice for them to watch out for us, but the adult thing to do is swim the other way.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

We were flying a dive flag. He saw us drop and decided to try his luck at the reef we were on instead.

 

[kinoons]

Confirms he’s a jerk. Some people’s children.

 

[drrich2]

I found several species of rockfish which had all but vanished the past few years at this reef.

Any idea why they're back? I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say, but this is good news.

Richard.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

There is a Marine Protected Area that was enacted ten years ago about a mile away. There may be some spillover from the protected marine life there which is now spreading to nearby refs.