Catalina/Farnsworth Yellowtail 9/24/05

Scubapro5 · 09-25-2005, 10:58 AM

Me and my Fience Tina decided to join Johnny on a dive trip on the Pacific Star dive boat in Redondo.

The plan for the trip was to dive Farnsworth in the morning but with a big swell forcasted things did not look good.

We left the dock at 5am and was heading to the frontside of Catalina but the conditions looked fairly good so Capt Dave decided to give Farnsworth a try.

The swells were 3-4ft with 5kt winds in the morning so at around 9am we are off on our first dive of the day.

Tina and Johnny decided to pass on this deep dive so I went solo with high hopes of spearing a Yellowtail.

I was slow to gear up and decided to wait till most everyone has gone in then jumped in and headed for the reef areas.

There was schools of Sardines swimming the reef and when hunting I like to stay close to the schooling baitfish so I swam along the reef looking around and kept a eye above me to see if the Yellows will show.

I saw the Sardines start to move fast and ball up but it was a small school or Bonita around a 1-2lb size.

Right at about 15min into my dive I am at 100ft and look up and see dark shadows so I ascend up and start to see a huge school of Yellowtail.

I line up my speargun on a Yellow then see a bigger one,then see a fat one behind that one so I take am and get a perfect shot off. I have not shot my Riffe in over a year but my aim was still dead on =)

The Yellow is strong and over 5+min.I wait for him to tire out then I am finnally able to get him on my string and head back to the boat.

I did a 2nd full dive but I only saw Bonita and no more Yellows.

By 12pm the wind picked up a little and the waves were choppy and it was time to move to the frontside of Catalina but a private boat hailed Capt dave on the radio and said there anchor was stuck in 145ft of water and needed a diver to free there anchor.

Ralph one of the deckhands on the P-Star volunteered to help them out and within 15min there anchor is free and they are happy campers.

They thanked Ralph and Capt dave for the help and offered a fresh Yellowtail to the crew for helping out.

Everyone is happy and off we go to the frontside for the last dive of the day.

On the last dive I put my speargun away and try out my new underwater camera for the first time.

The new camera worked great but it will take some time to learn how to use it correctly.Here is a few pics that turned out ok.

Congrats to Johnny on getting his scuba diving certification today in which is also his Birthday!

As always the Capt and Crew of the Pacific Star did a great job and are always there to help you out.

Swell 3-5
Wind under 10kts all day
Vis 20-30ft