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Topic: navarro diving?  (Read 1062 times)

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dirkbeachman

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I was torn between driving down to Big Sur or the longer haul up to Mendo, but was curious about the Navarro river since I've seen guys launching kayaks from that little parking area.

I probably should have loaded up the yak but did a couple things in the morning and thought I might get a quickie dive in and still make the Stanford/USC game.  Should have taken the yak...

Anyway it was my first time there. I just did a shore dive. Can't remember seeing so many really dinky abs. With all the talk this summer about starving abalone I looked around for "urchin barrens." I was amazed to actually find some even though they were small zones, just loaded with purple urchins. Just as people described, there are some REALLY flat abs in there, sometimes only 25 feet from good bull kelp- guess they don't move enough to find better grazing.

Also didn't seem very fishy- took me quite a while to put some scraggly ass (that's a highly technical term) rockfish on the stringer. Didn't really come on great structure of the type you find launching from Albion.

Question to you veterans of this area? Where do you heading out from the parking? BTW: the wind and swell were forecast to pick up big time that afternoon, and right on schedule as my pup, Skipper, were relaxing and packing up, the swell started pumping. Going north on a day like that seems either pretty crazy or heroic? But I'd love to get more knowledge and experience if anyone wants to share either here or by PM. Thanks!


BigJim

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I've paddled and dove out of there a few times...beautiful area for sure, but I don't have enough experience there to tell you which way is better to go...

My one piece of advice if you end up parking before beach and coming back in with yak up river is to have a long bowline to help pull yak behind you while you walk upstream...paddling against the current can be a royal PITA, but it is pretty easy to walk along in the shallows.

 :smt006

Sincerely,

Jim

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Yowlie

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I was torn between driving down to Big Sur or the longer haul up to Mendo, but was curious about the Navarro river since I've seen guys launching kayaks from that little parking area.

I probably should have loaded up the yak but did a couple things in the morning and thought I might get a quickie dive in and still make the Stanford/USC game.  Should have taken the yak...

Anyway it was my first time there. I just did a shore dive. Can't remember seeing so many really dinky abs. With all the talk this summer about starving abalone I looked around for "urchin barrens." I was amazed to actually find some even though they were small zones, just loaded with purple urchins. Just as people described, there are some REALLY flat abs in there, sometimes only 25 feet from good bull kelp- guess they don't move enough to find better grazing.

Also didn't seem very fishy- took me quite a while to put some scraggly ass (that's a highly technical term) rockfish on the stringer. Didn't really come on great structure of the type you find launching from Albion.

Question to you veterans of this area? Where do you heading out from the parking? BTW: the wind and swell were forecast to pick up big time that afternoon, and right on schedule as my pup, Skipper, were relaxing and packing up, the swell started pumping. Going north on a day like that seems either pretty crazy or heroic? But I'd love to get more knowledge and experience if anyone wants to share either here or by PM. Thanks!

Crazy game that was . . . .


Malibu_Two

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I've kayak-dived Navarro and had decent luck to both sides, but the shore break can be NASTY NASTY NASTY! Even on small swell days, the steep beach can have some big sneaker waves coming in out of nowhere that will throw you on the beach and then drag you down, scattering your gear, before throwing you back up the beach again. Despite that, I would recommend using a kayak when diving Navarro as you need to get away from the beach and explore in order to find the good stuff.
May the fish be mighty and the seas be meek...


dirkbeachman

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I appreciate the feedback, also some PMs. Yes, the Stanford/SC game was interesting, but that rivalry has a pretty good history.
I can see the need to kayak either way.
I totally get the shorebreak. When I first got there, went out, and even for a little bit after we got back in, the break was so gentle you'd send little kids to play with no worries. But there was a big bump forecast, I think it was supposed to go to 8 feet or something by the next day (I was checking Ft. Bragg forecast) and wow! just like clockwork, the wind and waves picked up.
Guys going to the south- do you ever get hammered with that and regret going in that direction?
Oh, and I meant to bring a phillips head screwdriver out to try an experiment of just poking a quick hole in them, then checking back in a couple weeks, but completely spaced that out. Still want to try that in a small patch of "urchin barrens" someplace that I can definitely be sure I come back to the exact same spot.


 

anything