A big-ugly at Sharks Cove

[MikeRDar]

Alright... to be honest, I'm not a big fish guy. I've always spent more time watching eels, turtles, sharks, nudi's, etc. I just recently committed to spending more time learning about the multitude of finned friends down there. However, today, I think I saw something cool...

While diving Sharks Cove today I was heads down trying to relocate a nudi I had only seen out of the corner of my eye 2 seconds ago. All of sudden I realized the coral about 10 inches to the left of my face was looking back at me. :eyemouth: As my brain filtered the shape out from the rest of the rock, I realized it was a HUGE scorpionfish. No, I didn't know it was a scorpionfish at the time, I had to whip out my trusty laminated fish cheat-sheet and figure it out. But having looked at the pictures, both then while it was in front of me and now online, I'm 99% certain it was a titan scorpionfish. And titan is right. I say 18 inches, my wife says 2 feet. She also failed to see it until I pointed it out. As I sit here and look at a ruler, I think she's right. It had to be close to 24 inches. After I backed off a foot or two, the next thing I realized was that it was gorgeous, in an ugly fish kind of way. The pattern, while great camouflage, was really cool looking and fairly bright. His mouth was hanging open just a touch, but he didn't move a muscle the whole time our bubble-blowing brains tried to figure out what he was.

So, for all you fish-freaks out there, should I be major stoked? Should I be kicking myself that I did NOT bring my camera on that, our second dive of the day? :11: It misbehaved on our first dive so I put it in time out, but it looks like the loss was all mine.

 

[CheddarChick]

You always get those opportunities when camera-less.....

 

[justleesa]

Two feet is pret-ty big. don't think I've seen one that size yet. It's a dive memory you'll never forget

 

[under water]

Remember everything look bigger underwater! I think they are listed as going up to 20 inches, so 2 feet is a really big Titan.
I also think that scorpionfish in general are gorgeous creatures. I haven't seen one that was 2 feet yet though.

 

[Shaka Doug]

You always get those opportunities when camera-less.....

I second that!

Wow, sounds cool, and big too! Those fish can really blend in with the reef, even one as big as you say. I've never seen one longer than a foot here on Maui.

One thing to mention....if you 'had' brought your camera, maybe you would have missed this fish. That's diving man!

So if you don't mind my asking, what was the reason for the 'camera time out'? Did you get caught taking pictures of the snorkel babes or something?? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[sea nmf]

Many titans have been spotted in that area recently. But 2' is big!

 

[MikeRDar]

One thing to mention....if you 'had' brought your camera, maybe you would have missed this fish. That's diving man!

So if you don't mind my asking, what was the reason for the 'camera time out'? Did you get caught taking pictures of the snorkel babes or something?? Inquiring minds want to know!

The whole "if I'd had it I wouldn't have seen it" thought did occur to me, not only due to Murphy's law, but also because I'm sure it would have changed the timing etc of our dive.

It was in time out because it didn't want to focus well for the entire previous dive. It's just a point & shoot, an old Canon S400, and whenever something was inside 18 inches, it simply couldn't figure it out, despite macro-mode and the fact that it would pass right through the perfect focus and not 'catch' it, if you know what I mean. So the result was me wasting a lot of time while my wife twiddled her fins and I just got more and more frustrated. So I decided on the second dive not to be beholden to the lens and just enjoy the view. Which I did. But I need to find a middle ground where I can bring the camera for 'emergencies' like a titan scorpionfish, yet not feel obliged to snap 6 shots of every honu we come across.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I've never seen one longer than a foot here on Maui.

I'll second that! one of the things I miss about the North Shore is the large Titans!

If they are in the location they grew up and hunt regularly, they are nearly invisible. Away from their home they can stand out like a circus clown. When bothered they can change color to communicate their displeasure. These three were all in the 18" range back in '03-'04. If they ate well I think 2' is possible. Many authorities say our white tip reef sharks are up to 5' and I think I've seen longer!

Secret dive site; AKA Helms Canyon

First shallow canyon Shark's Cove right

50 fsw outside Shark's Cove​

 

[scottitheduck]

Wow.... great shots. I agree it was probably the titan scorpionfish.... I like em cuz of their beards!

G

 

[rgbmatt]

Definitely a titan scorpion - no other shallow water scorpion fish in Hawaii gets anywhere close to that size.

They're definitely one of those fish that's more common than people think, since they're well camouflaged and tend to live in fairly bland areas that recreational divers don't visit. As you can imagine, a fish like this would stick out like a sore thumb in the prettier dive spots with a lot of coral. However, since they're very good to eat they tend to get caught before they grow as big as the one you saw.