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Sports

Free Diving for the 'Gray Ghost' in Palos Verdes

Palos Verdes is one of the best places anywhere for spearing these elusive, mysterious, giant fish.

You must insert yourself into their world. Silence is paramount. You must be armed with the sharpest of weapons and your movements must be ever so slight. They are hyper-sensitive to noise. One wrong move, one out of place sound, and you’re finished. There are other predators nearby that can do you irreparable harm.

Being stealth is not an option—it’s the only way you can succeed.

Sounds like a recent Navy Seal mission, doesn't it? Not. It’s free diving for white sea bass along the kelp forests of Palos Verdes.

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Palos Verdes is one of the most productive venues anywhere for spearing these elusive, mysterious, giant fish.

The enigma starts with their name. White sea bass are not a bass at all. They are members of the croaker family and can generate a loud croaking sound underwater. They typically weigh from 15 to more than 50 pounds but can grow even larger. In 2007, Malibu freediver Bill Ernst speared a state record white sea bass off Malibu that weighed an incredible 93.4 pounds.

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“I see the free divers from my house,” Palos Verdes resident Danny Salas said. “I watch them walk down the trail near Point Vincente, and on many occasions I watch them return with white sea bass weighing 50 pounds.”

Palos Verdes free divers can spend months, even years before encountering their first white sea bass. The lateral lines on a white sea bass are hyper-sensitive to noise. Any sudden movement or sound will send them scurrying. For this reason, scuba diving is not practical. It’s simply too noisy and scares the fish away. Free diving the only way to spear these majestic fish. Holding your breath underwater is as stealth as it gets.

Jeff Jones is a private boater who has captained many free diver white sea bass trips.

“Above all, you have to be fearless,” Jones said. “I've seen too many nasty things in the water to jump overboard.”

Jones recalls sea lions jumping up on the swim step of his boat with a great white shark in pursuit. On another occasion, Jones recalls a free diver who encountered a great white shark swimming with two yellowtail.

“He had to swim to the boat with that thing following him,” Jones said.

The thing about the diver that flabbergasted Jones the most was that after he moved the boat about 100 yards from where they encountered the massive shark, the freediver jumped right back in to the sea.

In the spring around the Palos Verdes kelp, white seabass gather to mate. Once they stake out their territory, they have a tendency to stay there throughout the summer. Experienced free divers have been spearing lots of big fish during the past several weeks. One Palos Verdes free diver has speared four white seabass this season, another six, and another two.

But there is a culture of silence amongst them. One source told me that he did not want to go on record because he feared being ostracized by the free diving community.

“I need their info,” he said.

They spend as much as six hours in the sea, just waiting for a glimpse of the gray ghosts. They must remain silent, make no big splashes and try to blend in with their environment. Some free divers use camouflage wetsuits while hovering beneath the sea trying to become one with the kelp forests. Some enter the sea from a boat, while still others swim out from the rocky and rugged shoreline.

"You are basically hunting, and you need to act like any hunter," Jones said. "Drop down beside a kelp strand like you are hiding behind a tree, and be silent. Stealth is the key. Slow movements and no noise, just like sneaking up on a deer.”

Jones has some other pertinent advice.

“All the guys I talk to agree on what the most important thing is, and that is to avoid shallow water blackout," he said. "Basically to spend the same amount of time or more above the surface, as below. This helps prevent carbon dioxide from saturating your blood stream.”

While encountering white sea bass is tough enough, getting off a shot is even more difficult and hitting your target makes this endeavor even more difficult. Then there are times when a speared sea bass may get wrapped up in the kelp in 70 or 80 feet of water. Free diving in deep water and trying to extricate your trophy can add another layer of potential problems.

“This is not something that you just swim out and do one day,” Jones said. “You really have to do your homework, be prepared and put safety first.”  

Spearboard.com has a wealth of information and Jones is available to speak at 562-704-9545. Also drop by local dive shops for some sage advice. Shops like Dive and Surf in Redondo Beach not only offer great equipment but also offer classes.

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