Huge Scallop, Mola Molas, and Getting Sketchy
Written by Eric Keener
Nov. 30, 2019
I hopped in the water on 11/30 with a few of the Catch and Cook 2019 winners (Huan, Emmanuel, Charls and almost Matt). It was raining and cold in Pebble as we donned our wetsuits, "braving" (aka lots of whining) the air that was 12 degrees colder than the 54 degree water. I was in a compressed 7mm Yazbeck suit which has served me really well despite the major need for an upgrade. The moment my face met the water, I nearly called it a day right there... It's not often your skin stings when the cold water hits it. I was surely missing the warm tropical waters from my recent dive trip to Baja. However, I was elated to find crystal clear visibility in the shallows. We had a long surface swim to our spot (we ditched the kayaks due to a forecast of 50kt gusts - yikes) but all the way out, the vis stayed on point. From the surface, I could see the details of my gun marking a hole at 25' depth and there was a milky visibility all the way to 40'. It was going to be a good day.
I was super selective for the first 3ish hours and only pulled the trigger on a above average grassy and a large greenling. I did one drop on a deep crack and was surprised to find what I though was an abalone at first... it was a huge scallop and guess who forgot to pack their ab iron? I have a mono belt stringer with a pretty hefty metal flopper on it so I pulled it out with my fish attached and tried to pop the scallop. It was cemented. I took 4 drops, no luck. Decided to do some hole hunting for a MFE I saw earlier and wanted to put Huan on since he said he had a killer recipe for it. Couldn't find it so I went back after the scallop. Finally, 3 drops later, and trying every angle I could get that little metal piece in for leverage, it popped. So stoked to see that it barely fit in the accordion pocket I had put on my suit - I knew it was big because most of my scallops slide right into the pocket. It was rad to find out that Emmanuel also got several PB scallops on the dive (check out that orange one!)
I had 2 firsts on this dive. 1) I was in about 30 fow and saw a fat otter below me checking me out. It swam away. I made a couple drops and while on the bottom, it came up to me within 3' of me and held out a partially eaten purple urchin and then disappeared again. On my next drop, it came back and held out a shell to me. Literal show and tell. Was kinda neat considering those beasties are typically more rascally and aggressive than playful. 2) I hear of people freediving with Mola Molas once in a while and I finally got my turn! I only saw one at first, but a few minutes later I was in a school of about 10 of them. That was super cool! I wish it wasn't so cold or I would have worn my GoPro. Next time.... no excuses - luckily Emmanuel had his rolling. Really cool to have a moment with some unique critters.
This is the kind of adventure that makes freediving so amazing to me and the type of adventure that Fin + Forage seeks to introduce others to. “Adventure. Community. Food.”
Diving with Huan was especially fun. He was willing to stuff himself into deep crevices for the nice scallops too, so we buddied up and just went after scallops, enjoying the great vis and generally just pumped to be out there. There is something so neat and challenging about thinking "I bet I can wedge myself into that crack or deep into this cave, take a peak and hopefully not get stuck" and then going for it - those are the places I usually find the best stuff. We each got a few more scallops and I spooked another nice greenling that I took. It had been raining on us for the 4+ hours in the water and we were all getting really cold - so we called it and made the long swim back in. PRO TIP: Keep a huge jug of hot water in your car, wrapped in a towel for insulation. I love having a 5 gallon jug of hot water waiting for me. It's a huge comforter when you're really cold although even after my SurfFur changing station, in the cold rain, my toes were numb and tingling till well after I got back home and took a shower.
We had family come over the next night and I got to cook some tasty treats for them. There is something wild and fulfilling about being able to share the freshest seafood with others. You relive the tale share about experiencing a world that they have not and likely will never have the opportunity to explore.
