Posted by mike on April 11, 2001 at 14:21:47:
In Reply to: It will take more than that... posted by seahunt on April 11, 2001 at 11:51:32:
last Sunday, there were a good number of folks shooting pathetically small sheepshead (10-12 inches) and croaker and others. Everytime i go to Anacapa, Sta Cruz, or Sta Rosa, there are divers who come up with tiny little sheepshead or cabezon or whatever on their stringers. Last time i was at Farnsworth, some guy shot a tiny little Cabezon through the eyes and that was the only fish speared that day! It also happened to be the same fish that i spent 15 minutes trying to photograph on the first dive. It bodes very very ill for hunter and hunted alike, when the size of the fish in the goody bag gets smaller and smaller and smaller.
I saw a little bocaccio this Sunday on the inside of Parallel Reef (or was it East Fish Camp??), backside Anacapa and it took a little willpower to resist taking it with a fillet knife (i was close enough, it was sitting still under a blade of Laminara, and it was oh so doable!!) but it was so ridiculously small (7 to 8 inches) and it was the only rockfish i saw in three or four whole dives!
BTW, it took me four dives Sunday to find 9 worthwhile scallops. most were too small. It felt like i was bug hunting, just swimming all over the place looking for a decent scallop, and then worrying whether or not i should take it because the things are getting so few and far between.