Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III
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Went to the bridge for diving today, after a hiatus of two weeks when I reported the green/white zero visibility water. Arrived at 0725 for an 0859 high tide. Was pleasantly surprised to see not many people at park given that it was a semi-holiday. Inspection of the water from the seawall revealed bluish white, with bottom easily visible. Entered the water on the westside at 0800, Visibility was a cloudy 10-15 feet, sea temp was 81f. The visibility did open to about 20-25ft in the vicinity of the rubble pile underneath the pier just before tide turned, then went back to the cloudy 10-15ft. Did a REEF survey 74 species in 75 minutes. Nothing extraordinary to report. Seemed like the school of Chub that hang between the fishing pier and the bridge stanchions was larger today than normal. Found a Large Hermit Crab with a very large conch shell with some deterioration of the shell, thusly the image named hole in the roof. Also a pair of Black Margate, one of those species relatively common on reefs, but far less common at BHB. Respectively, Barbfish, Black Margates, Gray and Brassy Chub School, Hogfish, and Hole in the Roof Hermit Crab.
Those colors are not what I am accustomed to seeing. I usually see them as more orange, more solid in color, usually with a dark stripe on the tail. Do they vary in color that much? Perhaps do they vary in color depending on what they eat, like swordfish do? I know that the spot fin hogfish & spanish hogfish have different colors, but they also have a different body shape. The body shape here looks like a regular hog to me.
Like many other species of fish Hogfish have the ability to change color instantly. They go from a very dark more solid orangish color to a much more paler color. The one in this in this image was much darker seconds before I took the image.
Also, the hog is distinctly shaped. I don't know of any other fish that shape.
Saw on some Facebook group that a great white was pinged in the inlet near BHB. Wow
Shark watch: Three OCEARCH-tagged white sharks off Florida coast Thanksgiving weekend
Freya, Hali and Tancook are swimming in the warm waters along the edge of the continental shelf.
www.tcpalm.com
Very cool. Makes you wonder what’s just beyond that 10ft of viz. ;0.
I know someone who has seen the big white up close & personal more than once. There is a big tiger that is a frequent flier in the area too. Most of the personal sightings of big sharks inside the ICW, that I know of, came from south of Peanut Island.Shark watch: Three OCEARCH-tagged white sharks off Florida coast Thanksgiving weekend
Freya, Hali and Tancook are swimming in the warm waters along the edge of the continental shelf.
Very cool. Makes you wonder what’s just beyond that 10ft of viz. ;0.
Most of the sharks I have seen right by the bridge were in the 1-3' range. On the outside, ones in the 6' range are more common, but I have seen some in the 9-12' range as well. Unless you are dragging a bag of freshly shot fish, the sharks are usually not interested in divers. They tend to swim away from us.
Some of the local free divers are a little nuts by my standards. The one guy in this news reel grabbed a great white by the tail because he thought it was cool.
I also know of a small team of free divers that shoot cobia who are following bull sharks to snack on the bits & pieces that the sharks miss. Once you shoot the cobia, the shark usually tries to come after it. Those guys have to work in teams & frequently poke the sharks away to keep the fish that their buddy shot away from the sharks. This typically happens just a few miles from BHB.
Most of the really big sharks I see are 5-8 miles north of Lake Worth Inlet, but occasionally I see a big one "right out front", less than a mile from the inlet. They usually seem to be chasing the schools of bonita.
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