Catalina: The Lost Gun
By: Erik SunIf you’re wondering whether to use a floatline or a reel, it doesn’t really matter. Both of them work on fish, and both have retrieved fish larger than our specimens in CA waters. To me, it’s just a matter of what I’m in the mood for on the given day.
We arrived at the high spot an hour before high tide, after a glassy ride to the island (17’ boat), everything was pretty easy. I let the other two divers go in first while I enjoyed my stuffed chicken wings, nibbling every morsel and licking my fingers afterwards. My girlfriend packed my lunch…J If they saw fish right away I’d hurry up but I gotta eat! The water was so clear it wasn’t even necessary to jump in the water to see every type of bait: jack mackerel, blacksmith, smelt, and sardines. Things looked really good. I don’t usually use a float here in California since most of the time we are wading through kelp but I meticulously checked my 11litre set up with bungee which was subsequently set up to my floatline. I threw the rig in the water and my weapon of choice fo the dive was my trusty 130cm Rabitech Carbon Apex. It’s my original Rabitech and has taken my biggest fish, I lost it once in Palos Verdes only to be found 3 days later. (The other guns that tagged along today were a 100cm Carbon Stealth and my 4 band Tommy Botha Tuna gun that had yet to taste salt.)
I made a few quick dives and instead of the usual arch my back makes as cool water slips in the wetsuit, the water today was warm: 67F and the sun was yet to come out. While the other divers were on the surface I ventured to the edge of the bait cruising through blacksmith, halfmoons and sardines and stopped at 37feet (11.2M). 30 seconds down and a school of 20# Yellowtail was cruising toward me 18 feet ahead. I closed the gap to about 9 feet and unloaded on what appeared to be the biggest (and last) yellowtail in the school. It shuddered for a second - I thought I had spined it and then it took off. I let go of my gun to follow my trailline up and I looked up to see the other two divers quickly swim over after my gun had gone off. I watched in horror as my bright orange handle took off into the depths with no floatline attached. I guess all that preparation with the float and bungee and I forgot to clip it to my gun. Great start to the day.
I returned to the boat to get my Tommy Botha 65” gun fully kit up with front and rear wings, sliptip, and 3/8” shaft. Never having used it with a Mexico trip coming up I decided now would be a good time. I opened fire on a 1 pound bonito(excellent if sashimi’d and eaten within 24 hours) at 12 feet and hit the mark. This thing ain’t bad. I continued my trigger happiness on a few Blacksmith, Jack Mackerel and 2 barracuda. The bait I fed to the other fish.
With no more yellowtail being sighted (now 1.5 hours after high-tide) we headed further west to other spots – slightly cooler water, still clear but not pristine. No fish. We moved back east a bit mid-day I took a 2 hour nap on the boat as the divers looked unsuccessfully for Yellowtail, but came up with a nice barracuda and halibut (Ladvr…who else??). From there we decided we would try the morning spot one more time for the afternoon “bite” only to see a diver in the water and a large party-fishing boat headed straight there. Not to bother anyone, we anchored and dove a half-mile south keeping the boat in range and as the diver left we quickly moved onto the spot.
After making repetitive dives and seeing barely any fish for an hour (though there were walls of bait), I decided to take my 4 band cannon to shoot calicos on the bottom. But really I was silently hoping the fish I had shot earlier in the day was floating with my lost gun and shaft and making its way to the boat, maybe even jump in)…fat chance.
The top of the pinnacle was 35’ and with already sightings of 4pound calicos on the way down, it looked promising to get a bigger fish. I lay still and observed the ocean and decided deeper was the best route. So I moved onto the sand at 45’ waiting for action to happen. The dive was getting longer and longer when right there right in front of my big eyes was my bright orange handle with the shaft wrapped up in the kelp. Did not see a fish on. I clipped my floatline to the gun so now both my Tuna gun and game-gun were down on the bottom. If I lost this rig now I might as well just take it as a sign and quit the sport. After making multiple dives the I see a bright fish tail sticking out. No WAY, I thought. The fish was not just still on the Hawaiian Flopper shaft but he was ALIVE and Kicking!
So I got it all, the fish the gun and the great company. Don’t make the same mistake I did! Check your gear!
Fish after 8 hours with a hole in it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHQTsl1aOE0
Mike shooting a Barracuda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKU_fULnJQs
