Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

[Pipehorse]

@Green Frog my reports for BHB all contain the temp for the given day. It has been 74-75f for the last two weeks. When we get a good blow again fresh water mixes better with the saltwater and temp will drop down to about 72f.

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 1100 for a 1302 high tide. The park was not crowded. Snorkeled the trail prior to diving. Did a REEF survey of 49 species in 45 minutes. Visibility was excellent today 45ft. While snorkeling I could easily see the rib boat next to the channel near the pile rocks on the west side of the snorkel trail. Sea temp increased from yesterday to 75f. Returned to my truck suited up in scuba and entered the east side at 1155.

Lots of big Barracuda hanging out under the bridge and to the north of the bridge, unperturbed by the presence of many divers. Usually the bigger ones will clear out, when divers move in, but it did not seem to be the case today. I found a chunk of Orange Cup Coral on the bottom that had probably been dislodged from a piling. It reminded me, when I first started doing macro photography with a Sea&Sea Motor Marine ll in the mid to late 1990's it was relatively uncommon in Florida. Orange Cup Coral is an invasive species from the Indo-Pacific. It is a non-reef building coral. Back in the 1990's small patches of it could be found on artificial reefs (wrecks). It was one of my favorite subjects for closeup macro. Now it is considered a fouling mechanism that competes with native species for substrate space, and most artificial reef wrecks are covered in it. Nevertheless, close examination shows a beautiful animal for the eye to behold, as is the case with Lionfish.

Stayed under or north of the bridge until about the time the tide went slack, and then moved on to the east side of the snorkel trail. Observed, two Reef Scorpionfish, a Belted Sandfish, and a Barbfish. Did a REEF survey of 60 species in 60 minutes. For those interested, the little round organelle located top dead center of the Long Spine Sea Urchin is known as a madreporite. Often the madreporite will be mistaken for an eye on sea stars. Madreporite serves as a filter attached to the ring canal on Echinoderms. Ring canal is used for pumping water to tentacles of the animal for propulsion. Respectively, Barbfish, Belted Sandfish, Long Spine Sea Urchin, Orange Cup Coral, and Reef Scorpionfish

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

For those interested, the little round organelle located top dead center of the Long Spine Sea Urchin is known as a madreporite. Often the madreporite will be mistaken for an eye on sea stars. Madreporite serves as a filter attached to the ring canal on Echinoderms. Ring canal is used for pumping water to tentacles of the animal for propulsion. Respectively, Barbfish, Belted Sandfish, Long Spine Sea Urchin, Orange Cup Coral, and Reef Scorpionfish

View attachment 819018

We were out south of the west span today and I saw lots of puffs of smoke, (for lack of better terminology) from the sea biscuits. Was wondering what that was all about...

 

[MrChen]

74-75.. probably will go down a couple degrees before it will go back up.

The problem isn't really the water temp, it's the air temp when you get out!

 

[Pipehorse]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 1200 for a 1352 high tide. The park was not crowded. Entered the west side at 1225, did the west end of the snorkel trail, then to the rib boat, then to the dinghy south west of the swim area buoy, and onto the southwest side of the bridge. Sea temp was 74f and visibility was 35 ft. 74f seems to be some threshold of coldness for me. 75f is cold but i am still comfortable, 74 i am cold and uncomfortable. Might have to put a one mil underneath my five mil.

Standout of the day was a nudibranch, species Janolus comis, (I think). Also interesting was very small Phoronopsis Californica in colonies of up two dozen, normally I only see one solitary animal. Had a very cooperative Black Hamlet but the lighting of the image was terrible. Did a REEF survey of 53 species in 65 minutes. Respectively, Feather Duster Worms (one on the left is invasive), Flame Streak Box Crab, Janolus Comis, Spotted Moray, and Spotted Scorpion,

 

[Pipehorse]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 1135 for a 1445 high tide. The park was not crowded.

I mentioned yesterday that 74f seemed to be a threshold temperature for me, between cold but uncomfortable as opposed to to cold and uncomfortable. As luck would have it I had a hooded vest hanging in the garage that I had not used before. I used it today under the 5 mil. I normally use a beany hood, because I don't like the constriction around my neck of regular hoods. The hooded vest works well for me because the neck is sewn into the top of the vest, avoiding the constriction of a normal hood.

Entered the eastside at 1159 to snorkel west along the trail. Water had a slight green component to it suggesting fresh water was mixing with the saltwater, or that there was a fresh water layer on top of the saltwater. Even though I did not have my computer to snorkel with it, I could tell the temp was less 74f. I was glad I put on the hooded vest. Snorkeled the trail to the westside. Did a REEF survey of 43 species in 45 minutes. Shallow free dives along the way confirmed colder green water on the surface and warmer blue water below. Visibility was degraded since yesterday, down to 25ft-30ft range.

Decided to do the eastside, given the condition of the water, i.e. the eastside normally gets a better flush from the tide than the westside does. Observed three Spotted Eagle Rays together in the distance to far away for decent images.. After an hour or so just north of the bridge span, I made way under the bridge to snorkel trail. Weird for the eastside is that I did not encounter another diver under the bridge span or just south of the bridge span. Only encountered other divers on the snorkel trail. Did a REEF fish survey of 53 species in 65 minutes. Spent some time playing around with 10+ diopter for my camera. But it was a little to cold to concentrate on macro that small. Continued west along the snorkel trail, visibility degraded further by increasing wind and divers on the snorkel trail to about 20ft. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and the tide is not until 1540, so I will skip diving the bridge tomorrow. Respectively, Box Crab (species not known to me), Madreporite of a Cushion Sea Star, Mutton Snapper, Coincidental/lucky shot of leaping Needlefish, and large Spotted Scorpion.

 

[PBcatfish]

... Coincidental/lucky shot of leaping Needlefish, ...

View attachment 819306

Your fish ID skills have always proven to be better than mine, so I'm not going to make a fool of myself by trying to say that this is wrong, but I am going to ask you to please help me understand how you identified this as a needlefish. I don't see the long nose with fine teeth top & bottom that I normally see on a needlefish. The body shape is as consistent with a ballyhoo or balao, as it is with a needlefish. Needlefish tend to look more evenly green. I could even think that it might be a juvenile cuda, since I can't see a big long nose on it & I have accidentally caught cudas that size in the area when throwing a cast net on different types of baitfish.. I have seen ballyhoo, balao, king mackerel, and juvenile cudas jump like that before. I haven't seen needlefish jump like that. I understand that me not having seen it does not mean that it can't or doesn't happen, but I have seen the others jump regularly. The smallest cuda I ever caught in that area was able to fit in the palm of my hand.

 

[Pipehorse]

Your fish ID skills have always proven to be better than mine, so I'm not going to make a fool of myself by trying to say that this is wrong, but I am going to ask you to please help me understand how you identified this as a needlefish. I don't see the long nose with fine teeth top & bottom that I normally see on a needlefish. The body shape is as consistent with a ballyhoo or balao, as it is with a needlefish. Needlefish tend to look more evenly green.

It's a Needlefish for sure, the behavior displayed in the photograph is common at BHB, as in I see it almost every time I am there kind of common. They will hang 10-20ft away from a school of Scaled Sardine, and do the leap through the air to catch the sardine off guard. Underwater they accelerate into a school of Scaled Sardine in the same fashion as Barracuda will. I have not seen Barracuda leap like this at the bridge. The reason you can't see the snout is because of where it was caught in the frame of the image, i.e. the snout has already penetrated the water so it is hidden. It's tough to judge the size because there is no frame of reference. But I would guess the size in the 12''-15" range, consistent with the needlefish commonly seen at BHB. And also too big for Balao or Ballyho. THe exposure was just lucky, I was not trying to capture the fish leaping, was adjusting focus and just happened to press the shutter release. They are a pain to try and get good images of while underwater. They float just below the surface where the lighting is terrible and tend to move just out of range.

If we look on inaturalist.org, we find seven species of needlefish that occur in Florida. The most common being the Crocodile Needlefish, aka Houndfish, Tylosurus crocodilus. Probably the most common occurring at BHB, and probably the species in the image. You can find Redfin Needlefish in very shallow water on the east side among the rip rap as the tide is going out. Keeltail Needlefish as well, usually smaller than Houndfish. In the REEF database Houndfish is reported in 6% of surveys for BHB, Redfin Needlefish for 2.3% of surveys at BHB, and Keeltail Needlefish reported 19.6% of the time at BHB. Its difficult to tell the Keeltail Needlefish from juvenile Houndfish so sightings might not be all that accurate.

Below is cut and pasted from the "About Section" on Crocodile Needlefish on Inaturalist.

Houndfish are considered to be gamefish, and can be caught by use of artificial lights, in a similar manner to other needlefishes. Although houndfish are considered good to eat, and are usually sold fresh, the market for them is small because their flesh has a greenish colour similar to that of the flat needlefish.[21] The IGFA world record stands at 4.88 kg (10 lbs 12 oz) and was caught off Goulding Cay, Bahamas in 2013 by angler Daniel John Leonard using a live pilchard as bait.[22]

Houndfish are considered to be dangerous, and are feared by fishermen because of their size and tendency to leap out of the water, causing puncture wounds with their beaks, when frightened or attracted to the lights used to catch them.[2] In April 2000, a woman snorkeling in the Florida Keys was severely injured when she was stabbed in the neck by a houndfish that leapt out of the water.[23] In October, 2010 an ocean-kayaker was injured when she was struck in the back (and was treated for a collapsed lung) by the beak of a houndfish that jumped out of the water near her boat.[24]

 

[PBcatfish]

It's a Needlefish for sure, the behavior displayed in the photograph is common at BHB, as in I see it almost every time I am there kind of common. They will hang 10-20ft away from a school of Scaled Sardine, and do the leap through the air to catch the sardine off guard. Underwater they accelerate into a school of Scaled Sardine in the same fashion as Barracuda will. I have not seen Barracuda leap like this at the bridge. The reason you can't see the snout is because of where it was caught in the frame of the image, i.e. the snout has already penetrated the water so it is hidden. It's tough to judge the size because there is no frame of reference. But I would guess the size in the 12''-15" range, consistent with the needlefish commonly seen at BHB. And also too big for Balao or Ballyho. THe exposure was just lucky, I was not trying to capture the fish leaping, was adjusting focus and just happened to press the shutter release. They are a pain to try and get good images of while underwater. They float just below the surface where the lighting is terrible and tend to move just out of range.

If we look on inaturalist.org, we find seven species of needlefish that occur in Florida. The most common being the Crocodile Needlefish, aka Houndfish, Tylosurus crocodilus. Probably the most common occurring at BHB, and probably the species in the image. You can find Redfin Needlefish in very shallow water on the east side among the rip rap as the tide is going out. Keeltail Needlefish as well, usually smaller than Houndfish. In the REEF database Houndfish is reported in 6% of surveys for BHB, Redfin Needlefish for 2.3% of surveys at BHB, and Keeltail Needlefish reported 19.6% of the time at BHB. Its difficult to tell the Keeltail Needlefish from juvenile Houndfish so sightings might not be all that accurate.

Below is cut and pasted from the "About Section" on Crocodile Needlefish on Inaturalist.

Houndfish are considered to be gamefish, and can be caught by use of artificial lights, in a similar manner to other needlefishes. Although houndfish are considered good to eat, and are usually sold fresh, the market for them is small because their flesh has a greenish colour similar to that of the flat needlefish.[21] The IGFA world record stands at 4.88 kg (10 lbs 12 oz) and was caught off Goulding Cay, Bahamas in 2013 by angler Daniel John Leonard using a live pilchard as bait.[22]

Houndfish are considered to be dangerous, and are feared by fishermen because of their size and tendency to leap out of the water, causing puncture wounds with their beaks, when frightened or attracted to the lights used to catch them.[2] In April 2000, a woman snorkeling in the Florida Keys was severely injured when she was stabbed in the neck by a houndfish that leapt out of the water.[23] In October, 2010 an ocean-kayaker was injured when she was struck in the back (and was treated for a collapsed lung) by the beak of a houndfish that jumped out of the water near her boat.[24]

Thank you for yet another very complete and interesting explanation.

Most of the needlefish I see are near docks & seen from above the surface. They typically travel in small schools of 3-5, but occasionally as many as 8 or 10 & often alone. The dockside ones are usually in the 6-12" range, but occasionally a little larger or smaller. The larger ones are usually solo. They tend to sit still or move very slowly, then suddenly rocket to high speed as if shot from a gun.

The ones I know of as houndfish are typically 2-3 feet in length & caught on live blue runners within a mile of BHB. They are toothy critters. They tend to be aggressive.

I have occasionally caught smaller ones in a cast net, as by-catch along with bait-fish. The needlefish tend to tear up a monofilament net. They are also lousy bait. Nothing seems to go after them.

They tend to be translucent & green until they get very large, then they are just greenish. The small ones tend to hang right at the surface. The ones that are over 2 feet in length are usually caught lower in the water column.

 

[SubNeo]

Can confirm the water temperature is 74. Brrrr

 

[Green Frog]

Gear is scattered all over the living room floor will finish packing first thing in the AM. This talk of “cold” water at 74 still sounds good to me. We don’t have snow on the ground here, but hard frosts at night. Florida here we come!!