Me and my GSB and my SMB.

[TSandM]

If the line you have attached to your SMB is going to break from the tension you can put on it, it needs to be better line, IMO.

A bag is MUCH more visible in choppy seas if it is standing up -- speaking from the experience of a boat tender for divers here. It's well worth putting some downward tension on it.

I agree that, if you are launching a 3' SMB, there is no need to adjust buoyancy while doing so. Going just a bit head-down and finning down a bit will compensate for the small amount of lift the inflated bag will have. If I were going to shoot a bigger bag, I'd do it deeper, so I wouldn't have to put so much gas in it before letting it go. But I have to admit I have no experience with 6' bags.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

I just learned how to shoot a bag myself, and love the usefulness of the skill! I learned on a 3' bag, but I actually own a 6' bag (per recommendations of my instructor) and need to really learn how to shoot that sucker without killing myself. I think it has 53# of lift, so practice is much required. Great story though!!

Cheers!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Just for future reference, DFG recommends the following;
VENTING: A sharp needle or steel cannula is used to puncture a fish’s inflated swim bladder.
The California Department of Fish and Game does not currently encourage venting as it can cause
serious injury to fish and angler. You may accidentally puncture the wrong organ and/or introduce
infection. Even when done properly, venting damages a fish’s swim bladder.

Other methods of sinking a fish are at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pdfs/release.pdf

 

[idive2]

The down side of inflating from depth is over-inflating and then having a reel
or spool hang up. I've been using my second stage to inflate but am discovering
it is difficult to get the exact amount in the smb that you want. I give it a
very little shot to get started and it's the second shot that is a guessing game.
I'm thinking of orally inflating for better control. The smaller smb's are easier to
work with and probably more forgiving with an overfill but of course less visible on
the surface. I had my reel hang up just this weekend after giving the bag a bit more
air than it probably needed from 50 ft. In hindsight I probably should have let the thing
go but after a few seconds the line freed itself but in the short amount of time I was
pulled from 50ft to 30ft. I dumped air got back down to 40ft. and did an extra
long safety stop at 15-18ft. I can certainly see the upside to inflating at say 20-25ft. although
you would not get the bonus of the bag filling itself you would avoid a possible
rapid ascent from 50 -60ft. If ascending normally from depth to 20ft. before deploying
smb at least some off-gassing has occured if there is a problem with deployment.

 

[vladimir]

The red tide is making the water murky and we are now over the deep part of the canyon, which drops off to a thousand feet. Hugging the fish and swimming down into the cold dark water, I am also trying to clear my ears, watch my computer and depth gauge, and put air in my wing, and doing none of them well. We get down to about 80 feet and the fish is upright now and looking at me but not trying to swim, so I take him deeper. We level off and I grab my gauge and look - 115' - and I figure this better be enough. The GSB now looks more like a fish than a big beach ball, so I let him go and I swear he looks at me and says "Thanks", and he starts slowly swimming away.

Was the sea bass AOW? I don't think you or the sea bass is qualified to do that dive. I'm sure the sea bass has been deeper, but without the AOW cert, he really shouldn't be going that deep, especially on what was essentially a "trust me" dive. And you should have a divemaster or instructor rating if you're going to be taking uncertified students on dives like that. Don't even get me started on the folly of in-water recompression. You should have called DAN and put the sea bass on O2 while you waited for evac--that's standard protocol.

 

[sk001]

Laudable to help the fish and learn new skills but not very wise to have done the second dive for a number of reasons. No buddy, lack of surface interval etc.

Also, learning new skills like smb deployment should ideally first be done in pool or sheltered water under instruction. As you saw from first deployment a lot can go wrong.

 

[vladimir]

Laudable to help the fish and learn new skills but not very wise to have done the second dive for a number of reasons. No buddy, lack of surface interval etc.

What are you talking about--he had the fish.

 

[StreetDoctor]

The larger SMB's (halcyon 4.5' or 6') really need to be shot from depth in order to inflate. Usually 70' or 80'. I personally use my drysuit inflator hose and have no problem getting the bag full. While inflating I go slightly head down and fin just a little bit. I might have a video clip of me shooting a 4.5' bag this last weekend from 60'. Not carrying extra weight doesn't mean you can't put some tension on the bag. Remember you aren't using the bag for buoyancy. An OPV is also a must, there is no such thing as overfilling. You aren't trying to fill it all the way at depth anyways but more is better. Edit: Deleted the extra footage already oops.

 

[kaerius]

Awesome feelgood story, but not exactly safe diving practice there(solo to 115' while holding a wild animal(fish)).

The GSB now looks more like a fish than a big beach ball, so I let him go and I swear he looks at me and says "Thanks", and he starts slowly swimming away.

Are you sure you weren't just narced?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Great story Mike, thanks for posting it.

Henceforth you shall be known as "Sir Mike, Saver of Sealife and Sinker of Fishes"

Best wishes.