Posted by ed on May 08, 2002 at 10:25:49:
In Reply to: OK.... Enough about PADI vs watever.... LET'S TALK DIVING!!! posted by ed on May 07, 2002 at 11:33:23:
Last year, about a week before lobster season, my wife and I decided to go to Ventura pier to kill some time, and decided to take our fishing poles. Long story short, my wife calls me over, and asks me to 'un-snag' her line. Reeling the line in, it felt REAL heavy, much like snagging a huge kelp paddy.
I slowly pull her line in, and when it is just out of the water(it's night time), it looked like a monster with legs... But, we were sure thay it was just a huge tangled kelp mess.....
Half way up the pier, we realized that THOSE WERE INDEED SOME HUGE LEGS! Pulled it up, and it was a MONSTER lobster, which measured about 22 or 23 inches in length (not counting the antennae), and was thick and husky, with a massive tail....
My mouth was watering... but.... Illegal method of take, and out of season, so off he goes. In the 'excitement', we forgot to take a picture! (I had my digital camera with me too!).
Well, a few days later, opening day comes, and I decide to go and try to either find him, or one of his cousins. The visibility was VERY poor, but I decided to proceed anyway. Did not see ANYTHING but empty sand desert. I was diving maybe 40 or 50 yards south of the pier....
When I surfaced, I noticed the many die-hard fisherman, trying to catch me! They were aiming/casting right at me! I was afraid that if I got any closer to the pier, they might actually gaff me!
In any case, if I do ever dive next to a pier, I'd make sure that I am far beyond casting distance. Furthermore, there are other 'hazards' near the piers as well, such as millions of sharp hooks, and miles of cut lines, etc.