Surrounded by Striped Bass & Chasing Angry Crayfish while SCUBA diving in Urban River | WLDT? Ep.12

Years ago I braved the dark, swift-moving waters of the American River near Sacramento, CA to SCUBA dive in search of interesting wildlife and random bits of discarded "treasure". I filmed some of these adventures with my trusty old SONY DCR-VX700 and some of the results were hauntingly beautiful and surreal. Now I finally have an excuse and proper outlet to share these "vintage" videos with the world.
Travel back in time a bit with me to see...
...WHAT LIVES DOWN THERE?
Featuring the premiere of new music by ICE PLANTS.
Aaron John Gregory - guitar, beats
Jackie Perez Gratz - cello
Enjoy the music and illustrations?
Visit AJ's other channel;
@Riffs, Scales, and Fish Tales
/ giantaaron​
All Illustrations by Aaron John Gregory ©2020
www.aaronjohng...​
"Emerald Bay" written by Aaron John Gregory
performed by GIANT SQUID, featured on
The Ichthyologist ~ Translation Loss Records.
San Francisco Garter Snake shirt drawn by
Aaron John Gregory, available at
www.cottoncrus...

[@BassNBaseball]

Dude this and all your videos are legendary! Love the footage, the history, and all the information. Keep this going! ✌️

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

This means the world!! Thank you so much. You're inspiring me to do more, haha. I promise some more to come. Thank you!

[@mustangsandwich]

Just moved from there in 2021 when I finally left Cali. Lived there in Sunriver for 20 years and LOVED spending time by the river there. Saw all kinds of beautiful fish there over the years. Cool vid!

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Right on! Yeah, I grew up on this river. It really is a gem in the middle of all of these suburban neighborhoods. Makes me miss that area so much. Hope wherever you moved too treats you well!

[@mustangsandwich]

@@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE Moved to Reno late 2021. Am really getting into Pyramid Lake fishing, and a little Truckee River fishing after work once in a while. The trout in Pyramid are incredible. Gotta let me know if you ever want to see "what lives" around here!

[@kimsungku]

Stumbling on your video a year later after moving to AZ.. digging the fishermans life gear

[@HangNFish]

Was the stripers at the fair oaks bridge?

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Yup! Right underneath the red bridge. They're probably there right now, since I filmed this in June many years ago.

[@MaxRioux321]

Gorgeous video but most importantly - WHAT A SONG! I definitely want more Ice Plants. Gives me some strong Bong vibes, with a hint of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, perhaps. Entrancing stuff.

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Thanks so much, Maxime! I'm feeling all those inspirations. I think we're heading in a Nick Cave/Warren Ellis direction, at least that's what I'm aiming for!

[@Mftrout101]

Damn guess I gotta fish for stripers more 😂

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

They're out there! Back in the day, the Shad were really prevalent in the Summer too, around June/July. Thanks for watching, Evan!

[@MyMurphysLaw]

Can't believe I missed this upload-- fantastic work as always 👍

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Thank you so much!! Yessss. Hit that notification bell!

[@garrettlane2842]

Love the video, love the music, love the footage, and love that snake shirt (where?). Can't wait to watch Grayceon in SF at the brewery next month. This is where I grew up and currently live. My wife and I take our daughters to the river regularly and also take them on a lot of rafting trips down there during the summer. So cool to see a video at Red Bridge.

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Thanks so much, Garret! Great to hear from you. I’m definitely going to dive this spot again this summer with the modern cameras. I used to hit it once a year for a while. And the SF Garter Snake shirt can be found at Cottoncrustacean.com! See you at the show.

[@brennanl1108]

Excellent video. Whens the new album come out? Love the song!

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Haha, we're workin on it, I promise!! Thanks Brennan.

[@breakingh2o311]

Nice work. Really like your video editing. Would you be interested in doing some work together? I have been trying to bring awareness to the garbage and pollution that is going on in the river. Either way, nice work.

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Hi! Just seeing this. Sorry! Hit me at [e-mail]. I'm absolutely slammed with work/moving (hence no videos in a while) but want to hear more about what you're doing.

[@denisecozzitorto1844]

Are the Asian Clams edible?

[@WHATLIVESDOWNTHERE]

Yes! Totally edible, but since they’re filter feeders, you don’t want to eat any found in polluted waters. Anything in or below below Folsom lake. The catch 22 is that they’re hopefully not found in clean waters cause they’re crazy invasive.

[@LeeJ31]

Bikes and garbage. No wonder why the delta is so polluted you can’t eat the fish out of there. It’s sad how much people don’t give an f about our water and wildlife. Love the videos. Just found this channel while watching Fisherman’s life.

[@apwkastmaster2096]

Agreed man pack it in pack it out!. Such BS

[@LeeJ31]

Love the Al Bundy profile pic. Been watching re-runs.

[@apwkastmaster2096]

@LeeJ Love me some fishing and AL. Thanks and stay safe..

[@dudleyvasausage7879]

i love that area almost joined a reggae band there. thank god i didnt