Exotic Fish tacos 101

I wanted to share a quick recipe on how to make a proper southern California Wahoo fish taco. 

Step 1 Shoot a WAHOO

Step 2 make sure you have a buddy, so he can shoot a bigger WAHOO

Required cooking equipment, Molcajete or blender to make the salsa , tortilla maker , lime press. 

Ingredients

Fresh Wahoo / ONO 

Fresh Corn Masa for the tortillas

Butter , Salt , Cold pressed Olive oil , flavored olive oil of your choice 

Shreded Cabbage,

3 eggs 1/4 cup of 1/2 & 1/2  (its important to beat the egg wash  for 1-2 mins on high)

1 cup of flour

2 cups of panko

7 limes

Homemade salsa

PREP

Start with your fillets pat them dry with a paper towel, dip them into your egg wash 

,from their dip them into your all-purpose flour,

 then immediately into your Panko ,

 at this point I like to push the panko crumbs into the fillets , if you’re a fan of almonds feel free to press a few sliced almonds in there.

Sauté

For an amazing crust I cook the fillets on a medium high in a 25% lemon flavored olive oil , 25% Colivita olive oil 50% salted butter. Take your time and only cook 1-2 fillets at a time and make sure to keep spooning the oil/butter over the top of the fish as you sauté. Its also very important that you don’t cook your fish all the way threw , once you have cooked your fish ¾ of the way through immediately take the fillet out of the pan and place them on a cool plate to finish cooking in its own heat.

Once you’re done simply add a pinch of cabbage, small splash of sour cream , and touch of salsa and lime to taste  … 

MONSTER HALIBUT

I wanted to take second and share the catch of an amazing fish. Last Friday I was invited to dive off my friend Jeff’s Boat the D.V. Lucas J.to look for some White Sea Bass, Our original plan was to dive San Clemente island, unfortunately the Navy closed the island so we had to call a last minute audible. We all decided to head up the cost and dive North County and spend the next two days working our way back down the cost hitting every kelp bed until we reached the boarder. Almost every bed we dove we were hearing croaking , but we couldn’t find the sea bass in the dirty water . After the first day of diving we anchored up in mission bay and had an amazing dinner with fresh yt on the BBQ, after dinner we all got on our phones and called our buddys for any WSB info. Most divers reported slow action for wsb at all the typical WSB beds. So we checked the Chlorophyll charts we noticed that a Sandy Bed that usually has very dirty water was BLUE. The next day we deiced run straight to the blue water kelp bed. When we arrived we were happy to see that the boats that were anchored on the bed were all Line fisherman except one parker Boat the "ocean-bound" it was our friends and fellow PISTOLERO’s  Scott Darnel & Geraled McMurry. As soon as we got in the water fish started to hit the deck. Right before we left, I Decided to swim up the front of the kelp bed, to see if I could dive and ambush a fish from bellow , when I leveled off I noticed how clear and bright the white sand was. I noticed a big brown rock that stuck out like a sore thumb. I thought to myself “could it be “?? “no way” ..” OHH MY GOD IT IS !! And its HUGE”. I quickly changed plans and began to kick down towards the monster fish. As I approached I started to get nervous about blowing the shot , So I just went into an instinctual auto pilot mode and somehow closed the distance and pulled the trigger on my Phil Herranen custom gun. The fish didn’t even fight as I pulled it to the surface with me , as soon as I reached the surface I started pulling the fish closer towards me. When I pulled out my knife to dispatch the fish she went bannans and made a run back to the bottom. My big potts real was screaming , So I pulled the cord on the  CO2 float and applied light drag pressure to my reel. As soon as the fish tired out I began cutting it free from the kelp.Sam was close by and took some underwater photos , on  are way in we stopped at the James and Joseph Dock to weigh our fish. My halibut came in at 44.9lbs on the certified scale. This is one capture I won’t soon forget.

                                           Thanks for reading ,,,,Joe

My Big Fish Story, By Noah Acevedo

                                                    My Big fish story


Yesterday was a great day at the islands. I was with my dad, and are friends Jeff, and Scott. The ocean was very calm on the way to the islands. When we got there I waited for everyone to get in the water before I suited up. 15 to 20 minutes later Scott told me a school of yellowtail swam by and he shot the biggest one but his float line was sinking and the yellowtail took the shaft and the line. We spent a while looking for the float. Jeff was using a pair of gyro Binoculars and spotted it , so Scott dove in and got it back, unfortunately the fish was gone.

After that, things got really slow so we decided to go offshore to look for paddies. We went out 30 miles to no avail. So we decided to go back to the islands to load up on some calicos for our ceviche lunch. My dad and I went a little off the island hoping to see some yellowtail. We were swimming for 10 min when I spotted a school of yellow tail. I picked out the one in the middle and shot at it. The shaft hit the fish but it did not penetrate enough to hold. I later realized that happened because I had it on the loading tab to shoot calicos in the rocky areas.

After that we headed back to the island. I practiced my diving and looked for calicos and sheepshead but I couldn’t find any big enough After a while of doing that my dad and I started heading back to the area we saw the yellowtail. Just as we passed the pinnacle I looked down and I saw a school of six HUGE black sea bass in a snake formation. I squeezed my dads hand waiting for his nod of approval. The second he shook his head up and down I made a quick dive towards the massive beasts. I got down to about thirty feet and picked the one in the back of the line and shot it behind the head. At first it looked like I stoned it but then when I surfaced my little co2 float was out of sight. My dad spotted it and we swam as fast as we could to get to it. Trying to swim to it was no use. We looked up and saw the float zip right by a small center console. The two fisherman inside were amazed at how fast the float was gliding across the water. They asked us what we shot and offered to take us to our float. We accepted the offer with out hesitation. When we were putting extra floats on the line, the kind fisherman had our back the whole time. We put the guns inside the boat and pulled the monster to where we could gaff it. When we got to the boat we realized the fish was to heavy to get into the boat , so we filleted the fish and stuck the fillets in the kill bag. The fillets were so heavy it took two men to get them in the kill bag , on are way home we stopped at are Friend and Mentor Bill Wagner’s house , we told him the story and shared some meat with him , he is one of my spear fishing heroes so this was the highlight of the day for me , I know that I will remember that day as long as I live.

OMER Zero 3 mask review

I wanted to share another unbiased review of a new dive mask with the readers of the Underground Waterman. The reviewed mask is the OMER Zero , I was skeptical about purchasing another ultra low profile dive mask, because they always seem to be lacking any sort of peripheral vision and would always give me a sense of Closter phobia underwater , but that changed the second I put the mask on at my local dive shop , the amount peripheral vision this mask provides is simply amazing ,OMER states that its 30% more vision then the OMER alien mask. This is the first ultra low volume mask I have ever seen that is suitable for hunting .

How this state of the art Mask came to be The head of Omer's technical department Marco Mariani is behind the Omer side of the design.
The other half of the design was Italian design powerhouse MOMO , this is the first of a kind for this type of collaboration between a major spearfishing company and an automotive performance design specialty house.



The shape, when they designed this unique shape they did away with the typical “Brow Bridge”
(See attached photo for reference) I have noticed on my other low volume mask OMER abyss , sporasub mystic etc , at depth the brow of the mask would always seem to Dig into my forehead creating uncomfortable pressure.

The Ridges in the nose area of the mask were designed to break the glare of the sun, but it will also provide traction for those who cant equalize hands free..

The strap is connected by a nice buckle that swivels up and down 60 degrees to insure perfect fit.

　

Technical Data, the total weight of this mask is 126 grams , Internal volume of the mask (tested by Omer using their method) was reported an unprecedented internal volume of 95m1,the Lens is tempered glass for clear undistorted vision

　

Final thoughts, the amount of thought that went into every detail is simply amazing, its just another example of OMER thinking outside of the box and constantly setting the standard on freediving gear , I love the direction Marco Mariani and Marco Bardi are taking this company ,with cutting edge products like the Slolum snorkel , 3D Wetsuit , Airbalete ,Cayman E.T speargun and now the Momo Zero Mask . I strongly recommend you head into your local dive shop and try this mask on , I don’t think I can go back to wearing anything else

The OMER 3d wetsuit

                                                




I would like to share a unbiased Gear review of the with the readers of the Underground Waterman.



                                             The OMER 3D Wetsuit






My first impression:

Right off the bat you can really feel the quality of construction and overall attention to details of the suit.

For example :

The nylon patches in the ear area , by doing this little step , They prevent that annoying suction / the vacuum affect , during the dive

the neoprene : is the softest neoprene I have ever felt , it really helps with your diaphragm breathing , its so soft you almost forget your wearing a suit ,

The knee pads : the unique knee pad design provides great protection and the same with out sacrificing flexiblity

The Loading Pad : this is a great pad very soft , perfect amount of protection , and big enough to load on chest or upper abdomen area , so no matter if I’m loading my little Mr. carbon or my Big US tree trunk , the pads always there

　

The Sizing   its about time that a production wetsuit company let us mix and match the tops and bottoms making it possible to fit almost any diver . I hope more company’s follow suit and this becomes the norm.





                                              The Meat & Potatoes

Ok here’s the review with after 1 year use with approximately 683 Logged Hours of free diving 0-20 meters , with lots of Hikes up and down steep rough and rocky cliffs with a few spills threw out the year , I have to say with all the suits I have owned this by far has been the most comfortable suit I have ever worn , I have had custom suits custom tailored to my body and they don’t come close to the comfort and fit of this suit . I have had to repair the suit once due to a bad fall hiking down a cliff , I repaired with spetton wetsuit glue and the repair seems to be holding fine after 5 months. After the 12 months of abuse I think this suit has served me well , I will keep the suit as a summer suit replace it with another OMER 3D for the winter and spring. So if your looking for the best suit money can buy I would strongly recommend that you give this suit a try

FEAR

Fear, it's a specific response we all have. In the cult novel "Dune" they called fear "the Little Death" and "the mind killer". Quite applicable definitions for freedivers to consider. The secret to being a good Freediver/Hunter is to be able to control your fear, making reliable, sub-conscious, risk assessments while prepping for, during, or post dive.



Fear of Depth

Diving with fear can be dangerous, if left unaddressed it could quickly turn into panic .
When you dive with fear, it effects your breath hold in a negative fashion. Most divers that take a professional freediving course often reach amazing depths during the course. Once the course is over, the diver discovers there is a struggle to reach the same level of performance with out the safety of an instructor watching over his every move. This dependence on a "bail-out assistant" is not always available while hunting, and should be addressed in your mind. Likewise, even when you dive "One Up-One Down" it's the trust in the partner that needs to be strong and transparent, as it should be intrinsic and comfortable, not a supervisory feeling.











Hunting with Fear

Do you ever wonder why certain divers that are loud or have sloppy form seem to always nail big fish? If you look closely at those divers, one thing you will notice is that they routinely take big fish because of the manner in which they are always relaxed and are in the water without fear.



Controlling your fear

There's no denying we all possess fear as an emotion and instinct. The secret is to be able to keep Fear's negative aspects at bay. This requires a great deal of soul searching as you must be at peace with yourself, life, and even the eventuality of death. Once you subtract the "unknown" out of the ocean, you will find the environment a place of beauty and serenity, not a place to fear.



Facing your Fears

You must run every scenario through your brain and deal with it within. For example; shark attack, shallow water black out, being run over by a boat, etc. Once you compile these fears in your brain, compartmentalize them, and learn to deal with fear on a subconscious level. Visualize events and scan in a smooth rhythm, listening to your body and learning its actual limits.




　

Tips to help Relax

For me, my ritual starts the night before the dive with a family prayer. We pray for the safety of myself and dive partner in the following dive session and travels. The day of the dive, I ensure to wake extra early so I never have to rush for anything, fearing later on driving down the road equipment was left behind.
If I'm diving for a fish that requires me to dive deep or lay on the bottom for a long period of time, I'll put my body on auto pilot, and take my brain to a relaxing memory. Often going back to being a 3 year old boy, having my grandmother wash my hair in the sink. I remember feeling the warm water, the fluffy towel under my neck, and the smell of the Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo. In the meantime, my body is taking care of the rest.
Sometimes when diving at a drop off and the bait disappears in a Boom, I will only need to play a familiar song like "Ave Maria" Di Franz Schubert in my head, again leaving my body to keep kicking against the current and my eyes scanning for the visitor. The mind is content and comfortable with a lack of thought or strain towards fear.
    

If you still can't shake the fears within, there are great external tools that can help, for instance the shark shield, or the freedive recovery vest. The most cost effective way to establish a calm, fear-free, demeanor, is with practice visualizing, diving experiences, and acceptance of the ocean environment allowing you to be it's guest.
















                                                   








Joe Acevedo


____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Links mentioned above
http://www.oceanicss.com/vest_progress.htm Link for the free divers recovery vest

　http://sharkshield.com/ Link for the shark shield

　
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y Ave Maria , Di Franz Schubert

The Eulogy of Jack Prodanovich , By Carlos Eyles

I wanted to share this special eulogy with the readers of the Underground Waterman , every time I read this it gives me the chills , I still remember hearing it for the first time . It was at the Jack Prodanovich Memorial,words cant describe how moving it was , it’s a moment I will not soon forget . I hope you enjoy

Begin=

Back in 1954 things were very much different than they are now. The sea and men were as different as the sea and men are today. Back then heroes were authentic real people not caricatures out of the television. They were accessible and earned their reputation in real ways; they fought big wars, sailed big seas and climbed big mountains without the civilized world backing them up. No GPS, no cell phones, hell, no real gear to assist the climb or the dive. The physical unknown world was rapidly disappearing yet individuals aspired to conquer that which had never been available. Two men conquered Mount Everest in the same era that Jack and Wally on the Pacific Coast of California were descending to depths on a breath-hold that was unheard of and hauling out fish larger than themselves. Their efforts when first recorded appeared Herculean and defied belief. But when asked of their incredible achievement, so far removed from what anyone else was doing, they would, as authentic heroes did in those times, illicit a humility for their deeds and an enthusiasm for their newly discovered world. A world that now seems to have all but disappeared from the landscape of our present culture. And it was this utter realness of them and their achievements that magnetically drew me ever nearer to the hunt in blue water. Yet, unlike Hillary and Tenzing who climbed the great mountain they were afforded neither fame nor scarcely any acknowledgement for their achievements. If any of you had ever spoken to Jack or Wally you know that their life’s work, though triumphant, was never about them, it was always about the sea or the next dive. They lived in relative obscurity to the world at large and in accordance with such men they could have cared less, for they were on the hunt, not only of fish but of new territories that at the time were as remote as the peaks of Everest, making those same depths today accessible to everyone here.

They were the first, and to the first must go all the accolades, for they must forge through physical and psychological barriers that those before could never muster up. And to those ever-after, once the way was known, have only mere records to break, much like footnotes in an already written novel.

Jack’s passing marks the end of an incredible era. A time in men and a time in nature that we will certainly never see again. It was, in retrospect, a glorious time, and without question a time to embrace within each of us. Jack’s gift of the sea was precious, and if any part of it resides in you, protect it, cherish it, pass it on to your sons and daughters. Never loose sight of it. In many ways it is the greatest gift you will ever receive.


We all sit here today in deep gratitude to those men awash in a debt that can never be repaid. It is not asked to be repaid. Yet begs to be repaid. How can we honor the gifts bestowed upon us by Jack? For these words today will eventually vanish into the ether of time, yet each of us is, in a very real way, is carrying the legacy of these two remarkable men. We can only honor their gift to us by honoring the sea itself; there is no other way. Each of us is a voice of the sea. So when fouled and abused and betrayed by civilization the sea cannot speak for Herself, thus we are obliged to speak for Her and support Her in all ways, politically, spiritually, and physically. In the doing we honor Jack and Wally as we honor ourselves by taking only what we can use, and encourage others to do likewise. As free diving spear fisherman, we are closer to those spiritual elements of the sea than any human ever will be or has been, thus the responsibility to support and maintain her is directly on you and on me. I for one am proud of the responsibility, and would want to align myself with no other group. As Jack and Wally honored the sea so must we honor them.