Date: January 29, 2003
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Sinker
Subject: At the Underwater Arch, Anacapa Island
Anacapa Island is known for its Arch Rock, which is clearly visible and looks as though you could motor right through it. What people do not know is that this island has an Underwater Arch as well on the opposite end coast side. This are is a spawning grounds for Bat Rays, now we are talking the big Mammas some going 200lbs.
In the past I had chartered a 6 pack every year and would go out Thresher Shark Fishing in the early AM then we would drift Halibut in the afternoon, come evening we would hit the underwater arch and hook into these monsters that would pull our boat around if not anchored or motored. We would keep it to one (big one) a piece (catch that is not take), they never came out of the water as we would remove the hook and let them go on their way. It was purely for the battle and man they did just that and would make you sore for a few days.
Divers who have gone down said that there are so many of them that they actually lay on top of one another and when they swim they will all swim in a big circle. They say it is an amazing sight. I do not dive so wouldn’t know but can only imagine.
Subject: Name: Ken Jones
Bat Rays — From PFIC, 2nd Ed. — Scientists report that bat rays move into inshore waters to breed during the summer then tend to move offshore in the winter (so guess when they are more likely to be caught from a pier). While inshore, they are sometimes found in large concentrations. At times these bat ray gatherings contain several thousand individuals. The sea bottom holding these creatures must look a little weird and would certainly have a somewhat alien feeling; not sure if it would be more like a black-cloaked Darth Vader convention, a Raider Nation convention, or something even more outlandish (and scary), a political convention.
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Sinker
Subject: At the Underwater Arch, Anacapa Island
Anacapa Island is known for its Arch Rock, which is clearly visible and looks as though you could motor right through it. What people do not know is that this island has an Underwater Arch as well on the opposite end coast side. This are is a spawning grounds for Bat Rays, now we are talking the big Mammas some going 200lbs.
In the past I had chartered a 6 pack every year and would go out Thresher Shark Fishing in the early AM then we would drift Halibut in the afternoon, come evening we would hit the underwater arch and hook into these monsters that would pull our boat around if not anchored or motored. We would keep it to one (big one) a piece (catch that is not take), they never came out of the water as we would remove the hook and let them go on their way. It was purely for the battle and man they did just that and would make you sore for a few days.
Divers who have gone down said that there are so many of them that they actually lay on top of one another and when they swim they will all swim in a big circle. They say it is an amazing sight. I do not dive so wouldn’t know but can only imagine.
Subject: Name: Ken Jones
Bat Rays — From PFIC, 2nd Ed. — Scientists report that bat rays move into inshore waters to breed during the summer then tend to move offshore in the winter (so guess when they are more likely to be caught from a pier). While inshore, they are sometimes found in large concentrations. At times these bat ray gatherings contain several thousand individuals. The sea bottom holding these creatures must look a little weird and would certainly have a somewhat alien feeling; not sure if it would be more like a black-cloaked Darth Vader convention, a Raider Nation convention, or something even more outlandish (and scary), a political convention.