Cardiac Hill, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
(aka Pt Vicente Fishing Access)

Free Diving/Solo Diving/Spear Fishing

Max depth: 20 feet or so
Waves: 1-2 feet, pretty calm
Visibility: 15 feet, murky in some places
Total Ocean Time: A little over one hour
Temperature: Cool

I was in the water at about 9:30 AM and went to the right looking for the supposed “yellow tail.”

I dove deeper than last time out – probably to 20 feet or so.

I remember thinking “this is a long way up…” On one dive I came up pretty dizzy, seeing stars in front of my eyes.

I rested a bit after that.

I chummed the water a bit with some sea urchins.

Just as before, I didn’t see any fish big enough to shoot!

All I saw were small sheephead and Garibaldi.

I made it back to shore with no problem, and out again with an empty hook.

I met a few SCUBA divers while walking up.

Cardiac Hill, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
(aka Pt Vicente Fishing Access)

Free Diving/Solo Diving/Spear Fishing

Max depth: 15 feet
Waves: 1-3 feet
Visibility: 10-15 feet
Total Ocean Time: 60 minutes

Man! Cardiac Hill is a lot easier with no tanks.

I was going to check out Malaga Cove, but this was my first stop and it looked good.

I took my spear gun and trolled around the cove, but I didn’t see any fish big enough to shoot.

Free Diving is fun, but I had to consciously think “hold your breath; don’t breathe when you’re underwater.”

I will be doing this more often.

I talked to two free divers afterwards; they said that their SCUBA gear is gathering dust.

They were explaining how I need to “read the fish patterns.”

They also said that free diving was great for hunting because you can hear a fish’s tail snap.