Inside the Anchovy Bait Ball — White Sea Bass, Barracuda, and a Once-in-a-Lifetime Dive

Diving an anchovy bait ball was one of the greatest experiences of my freediving life. My friend Joey and I had been working a kelp bed for a couple of hours with relatively slow action when we spotted pelicans dive-bombing a bait ball in the distance. No other boats were on it, so we made the move and anchored in. What we dropped into was a massive, living wall of anchovies being pushed against the island in about 20 feet of water and extending into deeper water. On every descent, I would swim beneath the bait and see white sea bass ranging from small fish to giants over 60 pounds. Sometimes the bait would part like an explosion of light underwater, revealing movement deep inside the school. Barracuda slashed through the outer edges, cormorants rocketed down from above, and the entire bait ball would tighten into a frantic, shifting mass. The inside was just as alive as the outside—white sea bass and calicos would slowly rise into the bait and disappear completely inside it, feeding from within. Eventually, I followed them in. Inside the bait ball, visibility disappeared except for the constant motion of anchovies around me. Then came the sounds—white sea bass tail cavitation, grunting, and feeding all around. I watched fish circling with their mouths wide open, gulping bait from within the chaos. It was one of those rare days that reminds you why you dive. Gear Used in the Video: Speargun: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... Slip Tip: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... Mirage Wetsuit: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... FishSkin Wetsuit: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/coll... Fins: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... Gloves: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... Socks: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod... Knive: https://bluetunaspearfishing.com/prod...