|
A number of years back I was hooping channel islands breakwall. There was a ripping current out of the south and it was a slow night. I had maybe one legal. Some divers got in about the middle of the breakwall and I watched their lights come all the way down right through my nets.
I'll be honest I was pissed, and when one of the guys came up in my nets I verbally let him have it. He apologized and actually offered me a few bugs. I didn't except them (it's illegal) but we did talk for a while and he told me the bugs were right in the rocks for the most part and that the only ones he saw near my nets were ones they had chased out from the breakwall. He then suggested I set my nets closer to the wall, and drifted on down to their support boat. Turns out I did not have to move my nets. The next set I pulled three legals including a five pounder. My take to this day is those bugs ended up in my nets because the scared them out deeper off the breakwall.
Since then I usually take a wait and see approach. I've certainly caught more bugs staking out a good area and waiting them out then any other way. Divers come and go but they are not in your nets very long. The only exception are divers who drive right up anchor near you and then intentionally dive your nets. F-them they are jerks. When this happens I pull my nets immediately before the can get to them. Nothing pisses them off more then seeing your nets going up before they can reach them. I then wait them out and put the nets back down when they leave.
Honestly with all the shit that goes on down there it's hard to tell what the final results going to be anyway. Sometimes like in the story above I think divers actually help hooping because since they work the rocks they get bugs moving.
Dropping rocks or bricks on divers is to put it bluntly a stupid idea. Your not going to hurt them and they will just dump them in your nets anyway.
Jim
|