Posted by finfan on August 06, 2002 at 22:18:31:
Not that I don't mind sharing, but there is a part of me that just wants to keep Van Damme a secret. It was everything Eric said it would be and he's not lying when he said the abs were everywhere. My only regret is that we didn't give ourselves enough time. I went with t he family and between horse back riding on the beach, town hoping the little shops for gifts and picking wild bosenberries along the roadside while hiking through the redwoods, I only got a couple of days of salmon fishing and ab diving.
We never salmoned fished before and took three nice ones on two two hour trips out thursday and friday morning (almost one per hour). My buddy got one that was close to 35 pounds. I can't wait to smoke some of what we brought home. I couldn't believe how close to shore they run, basically right off the beach. Next year I want to try some good old fashion rock cod fishing, everyone I talked to said the lings are really plentiful.
My most pleasant surprise was how warm the water was when you were actually free diving for the abs. My first dive with Eric I got a little excited and just about popped the first couple I saw (slightly over 7/7.5"). I was just amazed at seeing reds this shallow. My first one came in less than 5 feet of water. We ended up going to two other spots and each time the abs got bigger. My last day my wife and I took six with a couplpe over 9". Best part of all, we were only diving down about 15 to 20 feet. It truely is an amazing place.
The campground was absolutely the best. I've never been camping down south here where it truly is peaceful and quiet without all of the loud music. What a relief. One of the most interesting things is how warm it was all the time. Each morning there was a small amount of dew, but nothing like we get here with the marine layer and we were right on the beach.
Eric showed us some of the wierdest looking crabs I have ever seen and I can't wait till next year when I bring some tanks up and try the scuba diving. My family is already planning next years trip and now that we know what it like we plan on staying a lot longer.
It was really great to put some faces behind the names on the board and finally meet Seahunt and Eric. My offer stands Eric, if you decide to visit down south, give me a call and we'll take the Parker over to the islands after some bugs or something.
It's a great trip and only 360 days till next years. Thanks for sharing and inviting us up.
P.S. Do you really want anymore of us up there. Why don't we just keep it a secret!