I just returned to California after 2.5 weeks in France. I dove Cote d’Azur from Cannes to just across the Italian border and I wanted to share my experience with you all. Sorry that this is so long, especially to Costa who offered to translate
The diving in France is so beautiful! The beauty of the snow-capped Alps as a backdrop to sapphire blue waters is unmatched anywhere I have dived. You are lucky to have that in your backyard.
The fish were sparse, small, and skittish as I had heard. Costa and I started by looking for larger fish (denti and amberjack) on some deep reefs, but after no luck resorted to hunting small sar, and even those evaded me completely. I did see an eel, some jellyfish, an octopus, and a large scallop (?) partly buried in the sand.
The abundance of nets is unfortunate. California banned inshore gill-netting in the mid-1980s and the resulting comeback in so many fish species, most notably our prized white seabass, has been dramatic.
By contrast, the fish in California are abundant and easy to approach. Our water tends to be murkier (average 8m) but can be as good as 25m out at the coastal islands. Our water also tends to be colder (10-20 C), especially in the north. In the south our most desirable fish are the pelagics that come during the summer – mostly white seabass and yellowtail (kingfish). In northern California the desirable species are bottom dwellers, rockfish and lingcod. Both regions have giant kelp forests, which make for beautiful diving. Our coastline can get huge swells and I think tends to be rougher than Cote d’Azur, especially in northern California, but forecasts are usually accurate a few days in advance. The day I dove in Cannes was very windy and Costa explained that your wind can be very volatile/unpredictable.
I hope to return someday and hunt someplace a bit more remote for the elusive denti. A huge thanks to Costa for taking me out, teaching me a bit about hunting in France, and working so hard to put me on a fish – sorry that I could not make it happen. You have a friend in California. I think my next speargun may have to be a roller gun.