SoCal Kelp Forest Spearfishing

We are a grain of sand in an ocean much bigger than our own. Here, my buddies and I immerse ourselves in the unseen realm under the surface hoping to find knowledge in the mystic and unknown world of the kelp forest.
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Filmed on GoPro Hero4 Silver
Divers : J Bae, Andrew Whitman, James Baeza, Haidar Awad
Fish : Calico Bass, SheepHead, Opaleye, Halfmoon Perch, RubberLip

[@coreyanesi1860]

Thank you for the cool video man. I love the scene and the music in the video as well as the good size fish. That kelp forest is beautiful and I would like to visit it one day to free dive it. Would you mind telling me the location of it in Socal please? Thank you and keep up the good work!!!

[@driftless1870]

Beautiful video. Used to spearfish the kelp forests between Point Dume and Leo Carrillo with a Hawaiian sling. I was never bold enough to wear a game bag. Stay safe, brother.

[@xjinit]

Awesome videos Andrew! One thing I'd suggest is making it a habit of removing the snorkel from your mouth when you dive. In a blackout situation, water will rush down that snorkel into your lungs.

[@andrewbaeza2474]

Thanks for the love! Some of this footage was from when I was just beginning to learn how to dive and learning to equalize properly. I didn't realize at the time that having the snorkel in my mouth actually made it harder for me personally to equalize. Now, every time I make a dive, I always have to equalize with the snorkel out of my mouth.

[@xjinit]

Andrew Baeza awesome! I'll watch out for your next video

[@flaviustiberiu442]

good video.. my favorite if anything...i know is hard to look around slowly..

[@ensenadaspearfishing8440]

👌👌👌🔥

[@speederdeeder430]

Sick video!! Quick question. I saw you spirit a opaleye and I was wondering if you think they’re a good tasting fish

[@gabemirwin]

amazing video. great job mate keep it up

[@andrewbaeza2474]

Thanks Gabriel!

[@MrWodabrzozowa]

What is your gear setup my man ?

[@gabemirwin]

@@MrWodabrzozowa me?

[@andrewbaeza2474]

@@MrWodabrzozowa So being that this is an older video, a lot of the gear that I had been using, I upgraded or got rid of. But my current gear set up is :
Gun - Mares Viper Pro 110/ JBL Woody 38/ Cressi Comanche 90(The Cressi and Mares both have reels)
Wetsuit - Mako Yamamoto 3D Reef Open Cell 2 Piece Wetsuit 5mm
Fins : My buddy has Carbon fiber fins and I use the plastic ones(Looking to upgrade to fiberglass or carbon fiber though)
Gloves/Socks - Mako
Mask - Mares
Camera - Gopro Hero 5
Then I always wear a dive belt with a stringer and about 14lbs of weight
Hope this helps!

[@xxgoclassyxx4884]

Where did you go in California??

[@mileshiggins1085]

What would you say are the deeper depths in this video? Just trying to judge distance

[@andrewbaeza2474]

For the deeper depths, I would say it would range from 20-30ft. I do not own a watch that tells me the depth that I am at, so this is just an estimate.

[@mileshiggins1085]

Ok cool that’s what I was thinking. Never spear fished and attempting to take a freediving course and trying to judge what my goals are

[@bengeis8799]

How deep are you at 2:30

[@andrewbaeza2474]

To be honest, I don't really know exactly. I would estimate maybe 20 ft? what would be your guess?

[@DaNdY7o1]

yo what fish is that @ 1:50 ? great vid

[@andrewbaeza2474]

Thanks so much! It's an Opaleye

[@DaNdY7o1]

@@andrewbaeza2474 thanx for the reply bro. yo can you fillet it or is it better to cook whole?

[@andrewbaeza2474]

@@DaNdY7o1 I like it better fillet, but sure you could do it whole probably. I don't eat these guys too often so i'm not sure which cooking method proves best!

[@MrMusicforthemass]

Thousand Steps?

[@MrMusicforthemass]

Or Catalina?

[@alexp9455]

Cool video but @2:56 made me and anxious, gotta spit your snorkel out man

[@aidano1o]

New to spearfishing, why do you spit your snorkel?

[@paul_major]

@@aidano1o in any freediving situation you don't want the snorkel in your mouth; you want your lips sealed as an extra barrier against the water (can also pack more air into your mouth with lips sealed, if you're comfortable with that style). Keeping a snorkel in penetrates that barrier, so now the diver has compromised some safety.