Tim Metcalf and I took his boat far offshore to 29 Mile Ledge and "5 ft Ledge" off Anclote Key last Tuesday. We had great conditions, there was a significant easterly breeze but the chop was going in our direction for the long trip offshore, fortunately, as forecasted, the breeze dropped and the chop laid down in time for our trip home. Tim's new 22 ft Pathfinder has a deeper V than his last one and, combined with trim tabs, gives a great ride on a moderate chop. The water turned a dark blue as we got about 20 miles offshore. When we splashed for our first dive we could instantly see details on the bottom 65 ft below, this is the kind of visibility you dream of getting in the Gulf this time of year.
The moment we started our descent down our anchor line we could see a big school of juvenile Amberjacks coming up to greet us. Once we were down about 20 ft you could see Gag grouper, ranging in size from small juveniles to at least 20 lbs, easily a hundred of them, coming from every direction to see what was coming down the anchor line, it was like time traveling back to diving the Gulf with Tim 47 years ago. Spectacular! Fish were everywhere. The ledge included plentiful beautiful Red Grouper, the first I've seen on this trip to Florida, so this ledge wasn't hit by the horrible red tide that engulfed most of Florida's waters last year. Soon we encountered a huge, dense school of baitfish along with at least three Goliath Grouper, one that cooperated for pictures. The invertebrate life on the ledge was healthy and there were also two types of Angelfish and Butterflyfish. You could easily see Tim's boat on the surface while swimming on the ledge which ran from 72 ft to 65 ft. An unforgettable dive!
Below are some pictures from our dive on the 29 Mile Ledge, to see more, please go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JQWpHkJLqhedbsRV8
Tim splashes to start our dive, look at the deep blue water. We could immediately see the ledge beneath us.
We were swarmed by juvenile Amberjack as we descended.
Tim's boat on the surface 65 ft above. My camera's sensor overloaded by sunlight way down here!
I love this photo of a Hogfish searching for hidden prey in the sand.
Hurray, a healthy Red Grouper. I think red tide wiped them out on the other dive sites I've visited this trip.
I've seen more Batfish on this trip than I've ever seen before.
Another beautiful Hogfish!
Another nice sized cooperative Red Grouper
Tim couldn't resist reaching for the flounder's tail!
Beau Gregory and a juvenile Queen Angelfish
Tim spotted something inside the school of baitfish
Tim and one of the three Goliath Grouper we saw, this one was less shy.
Time to go up for our safety stop.
We needed a surface interval before our second dive so we made our way to another nearby ledge, "Five Foot Ledge". There were fewer large fish on this ledge but it was still very alive. Many divers have seen and photographed Yellow Head Jawfish but this is the first time I've encountered and photoed them, they are really cool fish. Below are some pictures from this dive, to see the rest, please go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VomhV3n8LfhKdWY69
We were welcomed by a pack of Juvenile Amberjacks instead of the last ledge's huge school.
Barred Hamlet
As we reached the bottom we spotted a nearly new danforth anchor, chain, a beautiful nylon anchor line lying on the bottom, doubtless cut and dropped by an unlucky fisherman. Two dive trips with Tim, two beautiful anchors. Tim pointed out that we got three anchors in one day on my last visit.
Invasive Lionfish. Tim found and dispatched two on this dive.
Gray Angelfish
Filefish, species TBD
Beau Gregory
High Hats
A shy fish that dives into the sand to hide, this is cropped so that you can see them. Need to look these up, don't know what they are. While noticing and trying to get close enough to photo these, there were many in the sand near the ledge, I notice Yellowhead Jawfish, a photographer's favorite, but one I'd never photographed before.
These Yellowhead Jawfish are about five inches tall, very shy. I could spend an entire dive watching these guys and trying to get close enough for a good picture...
First time I ever saw these in the Gulf (perhaps anywhere, to my memory) common in Caribbean and off the Keys and east coast of Florida.
Jackknife Fish
One might start to suspect that I can't resist photographing Hogfish....many years ago I could resist spearing and eating them, too, they are really delicious...
Blue Angelfish
What a fantastic day of diving. The breeze and chop had calmed significantly when we started the long ride back. Tim spotted a large patch of sargassum weed with a Trippletail hovering next to it. My old bones were too tired and relaxed to try to slip back into the water to try to photograph it, maybe next time. Plan to get out diving with Tim this Thursday after my two day Catamaran sailing class, necessary to get me ready to captain a big catamaran we've got booked for ten days of sailing and diving and snorkeling with Humpbacks in Tonga this coming August. I like retirement!
No comments:
Post a Comment