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Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught
Grow Your Knowledge
“Join our exclusive Spearfishing Master Classes, podcast, and exclusive diving content powered by Bret Whitman’s SpearFactor—the ultimate resource for spearfishing enthusiasts! Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned diver, these classes are designed to elevate your skills and deepen your understanding of the sport. Drawing directly from the knowledge shared on the SpearFactor podcast and Bret's 25 years of experience, you’ll benefit from expert advice on everything from breath-hold techniques and selecting the right gear to advanced hunting strategies for targeting various species.
Each episode features insights from top guests who have appeared on SpearFactor podcast offering you access to the same valuable tips and expertise that have shaped many successful divers. Whether you're looking to fine-tune your technique or take your spearfishing journey to the next level, these master classes—backed SpearFactor is your gateway to becoming a more skilled and knowledgeable diver”
Diving the Hurricane Swell: How to Score Clean Water When South Swells Blow Out the Coast
If you tried to dive the Southern California coast in the last week of July, you already know: a run of big south swells stirred the bottom and blew the inshore visibility to pieces right when the summer bloom had finally started to settle. That's not bad luck — it's the season. Late summer is Eastern Pacific hurricane season, and distant tropical systems off Baja and mainland Mexico fire long-period south swells straight at our coast for weeks at a time. Here's the fix.
Bret Whitman
2 days ago5 min read
Spearfishing Cabezon: A Diver's Guide to California's Ugly Delicacy
If you have spent any time diving the rocky reefs and kelp beds of California, you have almost certainly encountered a cabezon. With their massive heads, fleshy skin flaps, and mottled coloring that ranges from deep red to olive green, cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) are not winning any beauty contests. But what they lack in looks, they more than make up for in table quality. Cabezon are one of the best-eating fish in California waters, with firm, sweet white meat that r
Bret Whitman
7 days ago6 min read
Meeting a Giant Sea Bass: California's Gentle Giant
California's giant sea bass can top 500 pounds and live for decades, and this protected gentle giant is strictly look-don't-touch. Here's where to encounter one, how to behave, and how divers can help its remarkable comeback.
Bret Whitman
7 days ago6 min read
August 2026 California Diving Forecast: Peak Warmth, the Pelagic Prime, and the Bloom's Retreat
August is the warmest month of the year in California waters — and, in a normal year, the tail end of the peak plankton bloom. But 2026 has been anything but normal. After an early June bloom and a persistent marine heatwave that defined July, August arrives with the surface as warm as it will get all year and the coastal murk finally starting to ease.
Bret Whitman
Aug 18 min read
July 2026 California Diving Wrap-Up: The Warm Lens and the Afternoon Clearing
If June 2026 was the month the bloom ambushed California six weeks early, July was the month divers learned to live with it. The plankton didn't vanish — but a persistent marine heatwave, a warm surface lens, and a reliable afternoon clearing pattern gave patient divers real windows. This is what actually happened in the water in July, region by region, grounded in dozens of in-water reports and the offshore intel that shaped the month.
Bret Whitman
Jul 297 min read
Shore Entry Through Surf: How to Time Sets, Read Rip Currents, and Get Out Safely
Shore divers in California deal with surf zones every dive. Here is how to enter through breaking waves and exit without getting tumbled.
Bret Whitman
Jul 284 min read
Spearfishing the San Luis Obispo Coast: Morro Bay, Cayucos, and Central California's Forgotten Reefs
Between Big Sur and Santa Barbara lies a stretch of coast few divers explore - Cayucos, Morro Bay, Montana de Oro, and the reefs around Point Buchon. Here is what the SLO coast offers and how to dive it.
Bret Whitman
Jul 278 min read
Monterey's Backwards Summer: Why the Central Coast Dives Cold, Green, and Calm
On the Central Coast, summer runs backward: cold, green, and calm, with shore visibility routinely 3 to 8 feet even on glassy days. Here is why upwelling and blooms flip the season, and how to dive around it.
Bret Whitman
Jul 257 min read
Does Surf Mean Poor Visibility? Not Always — Reading Baja Hurricane Swell in Southern California
Big surf from Baja hurricane swell doesn't always mean bad visibility — how swell period, spot exposure, and depth decide if the water still dives clean.
Bret Whitman
Jul 256 min read
Spearfishing Safety Tips for San Diego: What Every Diver Should Know Before Getting in the Water
Essential spearfishing safety tips for San Diego — shallow water blackout and the buddy system, boat traffic, kelp entanglement, surf entries, and conditions.
Bret Whitman
Jul 225 min read
Where to Take a Spearfishing Class or Safety Course in San Diego
Where to take a spearfishing class or safety course in San Diego — freediving and blackout-rescue training, plus online options to learn before you dive.
Bret Whitman
Jul 203 min read
74°F and Climbing: What a Record-Warm Week Means for San Diego Diving and the Kelp Rot
San Diego's surface could touch 74°F this week. Here's what that means locally — accelerating kelp rot, worsening blooms, murky warm shallows over cleaner cold water — and how to still get a good dive in.
Bret Whitman
Jul 205 min read
California's Red Tide Calendar: Planning Around the Blooms That Blow Out Your Dive
Plankton blooms are the seasonal wildcard that can beat every other number on your forecast — five feet of visibility on a glassy, swell-free day. But in California they run closer to a calendar than most divers realize. Here's how to plan around the windows.
Bret Whitman
Jul 188 min read
The 2026 Marine Heatwave: A Warm Lens Over Cold Water, and What It Means for California Divers
California's water feels tropical on top and shocking at depth this summer, and that split is the whole story. Here is why 2026's warm surface lens is fueling a heavy bloom instead of clearing the water, and how to read the thermocline to find cleaner, colder visibility below.
Bret Whitman
Jul 178 min read
King Tides and Tidal Range: The Overlooked Visibility Factor You Can Predict Weeks Ahead
King tides are the extreme high and low tides tied to new and full moons at perigee, and they can quietly wreck nearshore visibility. Here is how they work, which California spots suffer most, and how to plan your dives weeks ahead.
Bret Whitman
Jul 167 min read
The San Diego Paradox: Murky Shallows, Clearer Offshore, and Why Winter Beats Summer for Visibility
San Diego's coldest months deliver its clearest water, its warm summers turn hazy and green, and the cleanest water almost always lives offshore and at depth. Here's how to read the seasonal inversion and the permanent inner-versus-outer gradient so you pick the right day, spot, and depth.
Bret Whitman
Jul 157 min read
Can You Actually Predict Water Visibility? (And Why Ours Works Differently)
Can you actually predict dive visibility? You can predict the odds — honestly and usefully — if you stay local and keep score. Why global “exact number” apps overpromise, and how we built ours to be honest about uncertainty instead.
Bret Whitman
Jul 145 min read
South Swell and the Laguna Coves: Why South-Facing Coves Get Hammered Hardest
Laguna's coves face southwest, which makes them especially exposed to south swell. Here is why long-period south swell wrecks shallow-cove visibility, which sheltered spots still hold up, and how to read a forecast into a go or no-go.
Bret Whitman
Jul 148 min read
California's Kelp Forests: Urchin Barrens, Collapse, and Recovery
California's kelp forests shelter the fish and game divers love, but urchin barrens and a dramatic northern collapse have transformed our reefs. Here is what happened, who keeps the forests standing, and how to dive as a steward.
Bret Whitman
Jul 149 min read
Spearfishing Opaleye: California's Underrated Shore Diving
Opaleye are abundant, accessible, and easy to spear from shore - but most divers ignore them. Here's how to find, hunt, and cook this overlooked California reef fish.
Bret Whitman
Jul 125 min read
Sea Snot Season: What That Slimy Stuff at La Jolla Actually Is
That brown-green goo coating La Jolla right now is a plankton bloom — a red tide. Here's what the slime actually is, why the heatwave is fueling it, whether it's dangerous, and what it means for your visibility.
Bret Whitman
Jul 114 min read
What Actually Drives Visibility: A California Diver’s Ranked Guide
Visibility isn’t one thing — it’s a stack of factors. Here’s what drives California dive visibility, ranked from most to least important, and how to dive around whichever one is in charge today.
Bret Whitman
Jul 106 min read
Santa Ana and Offshore Winds: Why California's Best Visibility Often Follows the Wind
The morning after a Santa Ana can be the best diving of the month - and the same wind can blow you out to sea. Here is how offshore wind forms, why it cleans up the water, and how to read it safely.
Bret Whitman
Jul 98 min read
Fish Tacos and Ceviche from Your California Catch: Bonito, Rockfish, and Bass Done Right
Two of the best ways to eat a California dive day's catch are also the simplest. Here is how to turn bonito, rockfish, and bass into proper fish tacos and bright, fresh ceviche at home.
Bret Whitman
Jul 84 min read
Grilled Fish Collars (Kama): The Best Cut Most Divers Throw Away
The collar - the meat behind the gills and pectoral fin - is the richest, most tender cut on a big fish, and most divers discard it. Here is how to cut and grill yellowtail, white seabass, and big rockfish collars.
Bret Whitman
Jul 83 min read
Green Water That Still Dives Clean: Chlorophyll vs. Turbidity
Every diver knows the sinking feeling of pulling up to the coast and seeing green water. But here’s something the veterans have learned and the data now backs up: not all green water is bad water. Some of the greenest-looking days still deliver 30 feet of visibility — and there’s a way to tell the difference before you ever get wet. The trick is reading two numbers instead of one.
Bret Whitman
Jul 44 min read
Crispy Beer-Battered Fish and Chips From California Rockfish and Lingcod
The technique for proper beer-battered fish and chips at home: choosing firm white fish like rockfish, lingcod, or halibut, mixing a light cold batter, controlling oil temperature, and frying chips that actually stay crisp.
Bret Whitman
Jul 35 min read
Spearfishing the Cook Islands: A Rarotonga Travel Guide
Spearfishing in the Cook Islands, a Rarotonga travel guide
Bret Whitman
Jul 26 min read
July 2026 California Diving Forecast: Peak Bloom, Finding the Windows
July is historically California's peak plankton bloom month. Warm surface water, abundant sunlight, and nutrient-rich upwelled water create optimal conditions for explosive algae growth. In most years, July's bloom is less severe than it appears because higher swell mixes the water column and breaks apart surface accumulations.
Bret Whitman
Jul 115 min read
June 2026 California Diving Wrap-Up: The Bloom Arrived Early
June 2026 will be remembered as the month the bloom came six weeks ahead of schedule. Across California's dive zones—from Monterey to San Diego—the combination of marine heatwave warmth at the surface and persistent cold-water upwelling at depth created a perfect storm for plankton productivity. The result: an early-June red tide event that hammered visibility from the Bay Area through Orange County, with only offshore pinnacles and depth-access sites offering reprieve.
Bret Whitman
Jun 308 min read
Reading the Upwelling: Why Central California Went Blue While San Diego Stayed Green
Upwelling: Why Central California went blue this week while San Diego stayed green?
Bret Whitman
Jun 3011 min read
Spearfishing Laguna Beach and South Orange County: Diving the Coves and Navigating the Marine Protected Maze
Laguna's coves are beautiful, sheltered, and almost entirely closed to take. Here is how to understand South Orange County's marine protected maze and where divers can still legally hunt.
Bret Whitman
Jun 268 min read
Spearfishing the Mendocino and Sonoma North Coast: Cold Water, Bull Kelp, and Big Lingcod
California's north coast is the rawest diving in the state - cold, surging bull-kelp reefs full of lingcod, rockfish, and cabezon. Here's how to dive Sonoma and Mendocino safely and legally.
Bret Whitman
Jun 228 min read
How to Make Your Own Sushi From Your California Catch: The Complete Guide to Rice, Knife Work, and Cutting the Fish
A deep, detailed walkthrough of making sushi at home from your own catch, with full attention to which fish to use, how to handle it safely, perfect seasoned rice, knife technique, and exactly how and in which direction to cut the fish for tender, clean slices.
Bret Whitman
Jun 2110 min read
Reading Kelp Canopy from the Surface: Visual Skills for Locating Fish Before You Splash
Experienced divers find fish before they get in the water. How to read kelp canopy from a boat or shore to identify the most productive zones, the bait activity signs that matter, and the surface tells that separate fishing dives from sightseeing dives.
Bret Whitman
Jun 204 min read
Sun Angle and Spearfishing: When to Hunt With the Light, When to Hunt Against It
Where the sun is in the sky changes everything about visibility, fish behavior, and shot opportunity. Here is how to use it.
Bret Whitman
Jun 194 min read
San Diego's June Red Tide: Why Early-Summer Visibility Drops Every Year (and How to Dive Around It)
Every June, San Diego visibility tanks from a red tide bloom. Here's why it happens like clockwork, where to still find clean water, and when it clears.
Bret Whitman
Jun 184 min read
Why California Yellowtail Fishing Has Been Off the Charts This Week
Warm water, a new moon, and ripping tidal currents lined up for a world-class June yellowtail bite in California. Here's why — and how to capitalize.
Bret Whitman
Jun 175 min read
Spearfishing Vanuatu: South Pacific Reefs, Volcanic Coasts, and the Untouched Outer Islands
Vanuatu's volcanic island chain in the South Pacific offers spearfishing access that's rare in the modern world — small populations, minimal pressure, and reef systems that look like Pacific diving used to look 50 years ago. What to expect, where to go, and the logistics of getting there.
Bret Whitman
Jun 154 min read
Spearfishing the LA County Coast: A Region-by-Region Guide from Palos Verdes to Malibu
Los Angeles County's coast offers more spearfishing variety than most divers realize. A region-by-region breakdown covering Palos Verdes, Redondo, Malibu, and the Catalina Island connection - dive sites, target species, and what each zone produces.
Bret Whitman
Jun 147 min read
The 5-Minute Pre-Dive Briefing: A Buddy Conversation Template Every Diver Should Use
Most dive accidents happen because the buddy team never had the conversation. The 5-minute pre-dive briefing template that makes the buddy system actually work — even with strangers and new dive partners.
Bret Whitman
Jun 124 min read
Father's Day 2026 Spearfishing Gift Guide: What to Buy the Diver in Your Life
Father's Day 2026 falls on June 21. Looking for a spearfishing gift that actually gets used? A practical gift guide organized by budget - from $25 stocking stuffers to $1500+ trip-changers - with picks for new divers, intermediate divers, and serious spearfishing veterans.
Bret Whitman
Jun 113 min read
Reading Tides for California Spearfishing: Tide Phases, Slack Water, and Timing Your Dives
Tide drives bait, predator behavior, and water clarity — and most California divers ignore it. Here is how to read the four phases, slack versus moving current, tidal range, and the best tide windows for white sea bass, yellowtail, halibut, and reef species.
Bret Whitman
Jun 106 min read
Reading Water Color: What Bottle Green, Cobalt, Brown, and Milky Mean for the Dive
The color of California water tells you what is in it and what to expect underneath. Learning to read color is a 30-second skill that saves wasted dives.
Bret Whitman
Jun 107 min read
Reading the Lateral Line: Why Stealth Underwater Matters More Than You Think
Fish detect divers through vibration before they see them. Understanding the lateral line changes how you move in the water.
Bret Whitman
Jun 93 min read
The Aspetto Hunt: Sit-and-Wait Hunting in California Kelp
Aspetto is the most productive technique most California divers underuse. Here is how to do it well.
Bret Whitman
Jun 95 min read
Hunting the Vertical Inversion: How to Dive the Surface-to-Depth Visibility Gradient
When surface conditions are trashed but deeper water stays clean, the diver who knows how to read the inversion gets the dive. Tactics for hunting in vertical-gradient water — and how to recognize the pattern before you even splash.
Bret Whitman
Jun 94 min read
Upwelling Events: How California Divers Adapt to Sudden Cold Water
Upwelling events drop California water temperatures by 10-15 degrees in a single day. Why they happen, how to recognize them, and the tactical adjustments that produce fish during sudden cold water rather than waiting for conditions to recover.
Bret Whitman
Jun 84 min read
WSB Squid Bed Tactics: How to Hunt the June 14 New Moon Spawn Window
The June 14 new moon is one of the strongest WSB windows of the season. How to find squid beds, when to dive them, and the tactical approach that puts trophy white sea bass on the stringer.
Bret Whitman
Jun 74 min read
I Built a Trip Optimizer to Skunk-Proof Your Next Trip
I built a trip optimization tool to skunk-proof your next fishing trip.
Bret Whitman
Jun 56 min read
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