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Old 04-19-2017, 12:24 PM   #1
SB_Poseidon
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Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

April Dive Meet – 1000 Steps, Laguna Beach
Date: Sunday, April 23rd, 2017

Come and join the LA Fathomiers for their monthly dive meet. Beginners to Slayers are all welcome...

Rules: Meet starts at 8:00 AM; competitors and game must be in weight-in circle by 1:30 pm sharp or be disqualified. Divers may use kayaks, paddleboards or beach dive.

The meet has a 10 fish limit, no more than 3 fish per species, except Sheephead which is limited 1 at a minimum of 18″.
There is a 12 inch size minimum for all fish except Bass, which will be 14 inches. All other DFG Rules apply!

Scoring will be one point per fish and one point per pound.

Visit www.fathomiers.net for more info!
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Old 04-19-2017, 01:26 PM   #2
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Is this open to everyone? Is there registration? Is there a fee? Is there a check-in?
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Old 04-19-2017, 01:54 PM   #3
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Yes, everyone is welcome to participate! So stop by and say hi...
No fee and no registration needed but I'd suggest you a) either dive with a buddy or b) at least let someone know that you are around. You will see the spearos change and most likely be ready to jump in the water at 8am.
If you plan to participate, introduce yourself! In case you leave earlier than the weigh-in at 1.30pm, please inform another diver so we don't have to call the lifeguards about a "missing" diver.

Best,
Seba
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Old 04-19-2017, 05:01 PM   #4
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

See you guys there! I'll be bringing a few guys from our local club. Gonna enjoy some nice brown water diving.
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Old 04-19-2017, 05:10 PM   #5
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Right on Ren, see you down there brother!
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Old 04-21-2017, 02:56 PM   #6
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

That's gonna be a fun one. Conditions have been pretty stellar lately
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Old 04-21-2017, 04:32 PM   #7
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

What is the purpose of decimating this dive spot?

I guarantee most guys would pass on 12" fish on a normal dive, but for the competition everyone is going to slay everything...

Why not make it a 3 fish limit, encouraging people to be selective and actually hunt, as opposed to just pulling the trigger as fast as they can....

In 2009 when worlds was held at Leo Carillo that place was decimated... I still dont think its recovered....

IMO rethink your slayerfest and make it a sporting competition

for example

1st place - Largest Fish by weight, any species
2nd place - Largest Calico Bass
3rd place - Largest Reef fish, any species (go get that 6lb opaleye)

3 fish limit, one entry per category
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Old 04-21-2017, 05:42 PM   #8
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Hey Alashaman,
I don't think that there will be any "decimating" done. If you don't agree with spearfishing competitions because you consider it a recreational hobby, that's cool for me. Yet, while I appreciate your input on conservation efforts, I'd also encourage you to check what we actually do and where. Several club members are actively involved with guiding DFG regulations and MLPAs, seabass release programs etc. I'm sure rojodiablo will have a few words to chime in as well but let me give you few points to consider:

1) We alternate 3 and 10 fish limit competitions every month. For the 3 fish comps: One entry per species. 10 fish comps: no more than 3 fish per species, except Sheephead which is limited 1 at a minimum of 18″ (which is larger than the DFG rules require).
2) All fish that divers do not want to take themselves are donated.
3) Largest fish by weight, any species: is acknowledged as Al Schuck points and the accumulation of these points will gain the spearo the highly competitive AL Schuck award.
4) Thousand Steps beach is covered to the North by a NO TAKE MPA. The impact on the fish population in this particular area should therefore be almost neglectable.
5) Most club divers won't even weigh in 10 fish (given that we have a range of experiences from beginners to "pro's")
6) Your suggestion to specifically target Calico's makes no sense to me. This species of fish is one of the slowest growing we have in California (http://www.sportfishsandiego.com/calico-bass-info.html). The same is true for Sheepshead, that is why we limit the take to 1 fish per diver for ANY competition.
7) There is no 1st, 2nd, 3rd place because Fathomier club competitions accumulate "points" for an annual trophy.
8) Most competitive divers would argue with you that targeting 10 different fish (and thus at least 4 different species), requires a lot of experience and is, therefore, more sporting.

I agree with you though that things would change a bit if we would send 300 world-class divers in the same spot. We simply don't do that soooo...
I also think that these monthly dives actually promote public awareness of the highly selective nature of spearfishing itself. I'm not sure if you have ever attended a competition but bystanders are usually greatly enthusiastic about learning from us spearos what kind of fish are actually swimming around in SoCal.

I'm open to discussion, and again: thanks for your input

Seba
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:51 PM   #9
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alashaman View Post
What is the purpose of decimating this dive spot?

I guarantee most guys would pass on 12" fish on a normal dive, but for the competition everyone is going to slay everything...

Why not make it a 3 fish limit, encouraging people to be selective and actually hunt, as opposed to just pulling the trigger as fast as they can....

In 2009 when worlds was held at Leo Carillo that place was decimated... I still dont think its recovered....

IMO rethink your slayerfest and make it a sporting competition

for example

1st place - Largest Fish by weight, any species
2nd place - Largest Calico Bass
3rd place - Largest Reef fish, any species (go get that 6lb opaleye)

3 fish limit, one entry per category
I did some of the fish counts the day after the nationals in 2009. We actually did a little better with our actual fish take than we did during the meet. So please, don't sell me on something you were not a part of........

We have a state mandated limit of 20 fish. We alternate our dives monthly between 3 fish and 10 fish meets. We, as a club, have been diving Leo Carillo since 1957. Yeah; 1957. We have been diving 1000 steps since the early 60's.

The reefs there hold quite a variety of fish, and it's up to the divers to pick and choose what fish make the best count for themselves. Most more experienced divers will target fish they want to eat, which also garner them the best points potential. And it's less common than anyone would think that everyone is able to come in with 10 fish. As in....... it never, ever happens.
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:52 PM   #10
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Sebastian, I did not read your post, sorry I pretty much copied it verbatim!!!! Lol
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Old 04-22-2017, 02:15 AM   #11
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

@Alashaman,

This spot will be very challenging. If you haven't dove 1000 steps in the past month (which I have) the visibility has been 0-3ft as of late, and on the day it's scheduled, the surf and chloro will be up.

I would be surprised and respectful to anyone who does take any fish larger than 12" at this meet, because I feel that it takes more skill to hunt in sub-par conditions.




This is my advertisement I put out to my fellow depth finders:

So far I have 4 guys from my club coming up. Whatever the conditions, as long as we come back together and alive, we're always stoked to be in the water.
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Old 04-24-2017, 10:21 AM   #12
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Soooooo, how'd it go out there?
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Old 04-24-2017, 02:00 PM   #13
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

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Originally Posted by SpankTheTank View Post
Soooooo, how'd it go out there?
It was one of the best days of diving I've had in a while. I didn't take any fish, but there were some that made it to the weigh in.
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Old 04-24-2017, 05:27 PM   #14
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

Quote:
Originally Posted by rojodiablo View Post
I did some of the fish counts the day after the nationals in 2009. We actually did a little better with our actual fish take than we did during the meet. So please, don't sell me on something you were not a part of........
I dove it before and after many times, I would disagree with your math.

I am all for sporting competitions and tournaments, and I understand very well the california 20 fish limit... IMO putting dozens of divers on a very small section of reef and encouraging 10 fish per, by specifically offering a point per fish, is not helpful to the reef or our image with the public...

but hey im just expressing an opinion.....
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Old 04-24-2017, 06:01 PM   #15
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Re: Fathomiers April club dive @ 1000 Steps, Laguna

I'm not trying to start a heated online debate about this or disrespect you. As a matter of fact, I was excited for you when I read your recent WSB story. I believe we both share the same excitement for our sport. It's also not my job to convince you, or anyone else, of the "rightfulness" of competitive spearfishing (although I do believe that good competition will make you a better/more versatile diver). Like I said in my previous post, I respect your opinion but the problem is that you ignore the facts. Given that you elected to publically post your opinion, I think it's necessary to present a few facts of Sundays dive for you to consider:

- Not sure which "small section of reef" you refer to because multiple spots are accessible from 1000 Steps: straight out, North (Table Rock) and South (3 Arches).
- We had maybe 12 divers in the water (which is pretty standard) which spread out over those spots, not "dozens".
- The winning diver weighed in 2 (!!!) fish, 6 other divers weighed in 1 fish (including sculpin and sargo, both of which are considered good eating by SoCal standards).
- The feedback, discussion, and excitement from people at the beach do not support your portrayal of a "negative image" of our spearfishing tournament.

If we ever meet in person, I buy you a beer and we talk about it. Maybe stop by one of the meetings and see for yourself? Cheers mate...
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