Knot work is one of the most underrated skills in spearfishing. The five knots that handle 95 percent of rigging, line repair, and emergency situations - and why every diver should learn them before depending on them.

Sea urchin barrens and Tijuana River sewage are devastating California kelp forests - not recreational spearfishing or diving. The science behind the decline, and the real solutions: sheephead recovery, urchin culling, and binational cleanup of the Tijuana River pollution flowing north into Imperial Beach and Point Loma.

Monterey Bay offers cold, clear water, big lingcod, cabezon, and some of the best kelp forest diving on the West Coast.