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Old 08-04-2019, 11:20 AM   #1
Bob Ballew
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This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

...The great white shark reports keep coming in....From Cottons, where there are two large great whites just off the beach; whites constantly probing the surfer line up at San Clemente; a large sea lion on the Dana Point buoy with a 2' wide bite mark across it's back and two more hauled out on Dana docks with bite marks; beached sea lions with bite marks all the way up to Malibu and more gw sightings at Catalina than I ever remember....
...With 70+ degree water, lots of sea lions and seals everywhere and bait fish by the millions, the combination makes a dangerous cocktail for diving in limited vis..There are more makos showing both near and offshore and I expect an influx of hammerheads to join the party...This is also the time of year that gw moms have their pups, which head in toward the warm beachside water to feed on stingrays and small fish..A single gw can give birth to as many as 15 pups.
...The evidence is present that perhaps, diving in green limited vis is no longer feasible, if you value your arms and legs. The same problem exists on the east coast where a diver and a swimmer were attacked within the last two days.
... Me: I plan to do most of my diving in the blue water strips and may do more hook and line fishing out in tuna land. Heck, even Luau Larry's is starting to look like a good spot to do dives...

Last edited by Bob Ballew; 08-06-2019 at 04:32 PM.
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Old 08-04-2019, 12:01 PM   #2
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

I’ve only found fish in green water this year, even diving tuna 50 miles out it’s been 10-15’ vis
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Old 08-04-2019, 01:00 PM   #3
Marcus
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

If you can't see them, they can't see you. I've dove the Tampa Bay shipping channels and such for years cutting my teeth. The area is a known hatchery for sharks.
I used a shortened butt 42 biller due to the low vis conditions often in the 4' range on the 'select' days. Never had a shark encounter but have had other heartbeat skipping events. Grouper, hogfish, stonecrab, lobster, snapper, sheepshead, and other assorted critters were on the menu.
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Old 08-04-2019, 03:44 PM   #4
Bob Ballew
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

Hmmm, "Pegleg Marcus" does have a certain ring to it....

In the ocean, discretion is the better part of valor....especially, once you have your first closeup encounter with a 15'er.....Me?...I am scanning the bluewater strip behind San Clemente island, where there are bluefin from 200' out to the 2,000' curve and the action is picking up....Lots of fish reported around the 289 where the green meets up with the blue...Both areas look very interesting...

Last edited by Bob Ballew; 08-04-2019 at 04:14 PM.
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Old 08-05-2019, 04:02 PM   #5
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
Hmmm, "Pegleg Marcus" does have a certain ring to it....

In the ocean, discretion is the better part of valor....especially, once you have your first closeup encounter with a 15'er.....Me?...I am scanning the bluewater strip behind San Clemente island, where there are bluefin from 200' out to the 2,000' curve and the action is picking up....Lots of fish reported around the 289 where the green meets up with the blue...Both areas look very interesting...
Are the whitesharks on the tuna schools or more just near shore for the seals?
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Old 08-05-2019, 05:58 PM   #6
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

your avatar may be a clue

Last edited by divenfish; 08-05-2019 at 05:58 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 08-05-2019, 08:12 PM   #7
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

Sharks?! In the ocean?!!!!
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Old 08-05-2019, 11:30 PM   #8
Bob Ballew
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

There are some divers with 10 years worth of experience. There are others who repeat one years worth of experience 10 times....
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Old 08-06-2019, 12:19 AM   #9
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

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Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
There are some divers with 10 years worth of experience. There are others who repeat one years worth of experience 10 times....
That is exactly why I stay out of the water during all of shark week! ... just not safe!
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Old 08-06-2019, 02:25 PM   #10
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the info.

Hope you guys don't mind for some newbie questions....

What is green water what is blue water? Green water, do you mean murky around shore? and blue water is deep off shore?

I just got my scuba cert and plan on shore dive often to gain my buoyancy skill for now. So that is a no no for around couple weeks now ... or just avoid shore dive this whole year?

carrasco,
how do you know it's a shark week, where do I go to watch for this info?

Thanks again.
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Old 08-06-2019, 04:51 PM   #11
Bob Ballew
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

...For a first hand view of what we are talking about, go to, "Tempbreak.com" and click on Southern Ca area...next, look at sst temps and chloro colors to see the areas where the colors show temperatures (yellow, red, etc) and plankton growth (green, blue, purple). Where it is green is plankton (all green down the coast and around parts of the islands, indicating poor vis...go out about ten miles and you can see blue and purple areas were the water is clear to very clear (purple)….go up to "previous" and click backward from 8 to 3 to 1 day charts to see the changes taking place...Some areas will be white due to cloud cover obscuring the ocean images.
...This is one of the sites I use to plan local and offshore diving trips, along with NOAA weather which you can click on for specific areas (inside Catalina) and outside for San Clemente island/San Nic/Cortez Banks...I check outside for the days with the lowest wave height and then, go inside to see what days Catalina looks best for backside diving....When the outside is dropping down, Catalina gets better..
...Finally, I look at the Tide charts to find the best early morning and late afternoon high tides when the water is the clearest vis and the fish are likely to be feeding...Put it all together and you can pick the best times to dive with the highest likelihood of success for both, decent vis and landing a big fish...
...Where the green edges (plankton with bait fish feeding) meet the blue edges (tuna/dorado/yellowtail water with gamefish feeding on the bait), the likelihood of finding a gamefish is greatest. There...everything I know in four paragraphs...

Oh, as far as your diving, stay away from sea lion areas and off beaches where the vis is bad...best bet is to dive off a rocky shoreline for practice until the toothed population drops some...me, I am waiting a week for the tuna to settle in, then, heading far offshore to chase some of those 300 lb Bluefin! I never, ever, go in the ocean without a speargun..
...While I may not want to spear a shark, a gun lets you prod one that gets too curious (plan A) and a spear shaft between the eyes or a nose, can save the day if things get out of hand (Plan B)...Plan C is to turn the gun sideways and cram it into their mouth...followed by Plan D...pulling your knife and go hand to hand, trying for an eyeball...Survive the first rush and you have a very good chance of escaping unharmed....So far, I have slid out of harms way using Plan B because I always carry a big gun...Like my friend Teddy Roosevelt said, "Walk soft and carry a big stick".

Last edited by Bob Ballew; 08-07-2019 at 01:50 AM.
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Old 08-07-2019, 05:51 AM   #12
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Re: This may be the Year to Avoid Diving Green Water

Bob, thanks for your advice and the website.
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