Catalina - Casino Point

[ystrout]

Hey Everyone,

I'm heading out to dive Casino point this weekend.

Has anyone been out there recently? If so, I have a couple questions.

1. Are the black sea bass still in town visiting?
2. Where does Oscar, or one of his look a-likes tend to hang out? We want to get some good pictures with some massive, friendly sheephead.

Lastly, do you guys know if anywhere on the island fills nitrox for non-oxygen cleaned tanks?

 

[drbill]

The giant sea bass have been back for about two months so you're in luck.

Oscar I is dead (apparently speared outside the park) but there are a few smaller wannabees. Years ago I actually saw four Oscar sized male sherphead cruising in the park in a line. Strange!

 

[ystrout]

I saw two of them! Huge guys. They were swimming all over from 30 feet off the stairs to about 70 feet deep and on both sides of the park all day. But they were moving all day and not staying in one place. Probably all of the commotion from so many divers.

Our last dive started at 5 pm and there was only one other group in the water. I found one of the BSB floating by a kelp stock in 50 feet of water. We circled around the front of him and swam up to 50 feet where he was, then stopped about 20 feet in front of him. Within 5 minutes, the current pulled us to about 2 feet from him. We floated that close to him for about 30 seconds. He had something stuck on his back which looked like a fishing lure or something. I lifted my hand to remove it off of him, but decided not to because it look like it had been in there a couple years and ripping it out would have caused a wound and could possibly get infected. But he swam off once I lifted my arm. It was an amazing experience. I am going to be back in a few weeks and hope they're still there.

That's so sad! He was an awesome fish. Sheephead are so friendly to people. It sucks that they get speared like that.

 

[Trailboss123]

I saw two of them! Huge guys. They were swimming all over from 30 feet off the stairs to about 70 feet deep and on both sides of the park all day. But they were moving all day and not staying in one place. Probably all of the commotion from so many divers.

Our last dive started at 5 pm and there was only one other group in the water. I found one of the BSB floating by a kelp stock in 50 feet of water. We circled around the front of him and swam up to 50 feet where he was, then stopped about 20 feet in front of him. Within 5 minutes, the current pulled us to about 2 feet from him. We floated that close to him for about 30 seconds. He had something stuck on his back which looked like a fishing lure or something. I lifted my hand to remove it off of him, but decided not to because it look like it had been in there a couple years and ripping it out would have caused a wound and could possibly get infected. But he swam off once I lifted my arm. It was an amazing experience. I am going to be back in a few weeks and hope they're still there.

That's so sad! He was an awesome fish. Sheephead are so friendly to people. It sucks that they get speared like that.

What was water temp like?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I wonder if the GSBs at Catalina are wary of divers because they are chased by so many of them. They see so many divers yet most scatter when they get close. Giant Sea Bass at other locations like Hermosa Artificial Reef will approach within inches of divers and stay there, perhaps posing for us.

 

[drbill]

I think it all depends on how you approach them. I've had plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with them at Casino Point by slowly approaching them and stopping every so often. Yes, there are many divers here whose excitement gets the best of them and they approach too quickly or chase them. However, I often find the same GSBs who were chased will allow a slow approach (although they are often a bit more skittish).

I think the mating aggregations that used to be in Lover's Cove and Italian Gardens moved off due to too frequent interactions with divers. The Casino Point ones seem to tolerate it more.

 

[ystrout]

What was water temp like?

Mid to upper 60s on the surface and about 60-62F under the thermocline which was in about 30 feet of water.

 

[ystrout]

I agree, I think their personality and temperament has to do with how you approach them.

I love fish and get super excited when I see elusive ones like yellowtail, massive sheepheads playing, or BSBs. We knew the BSBs were out there so my fiancé reminded me not to swim right up to them if/when we see them.

It paid off. They were swimming around avoiding everyone all day. I saw them a few times on my first two dives but they were always moving. On the last dive, we floated a few feet away for about 5 minutes. The fish would have sat there all day if I didn't lift up my arm and reach toward him when I saw that thing hanging off his back. Even then, he only swam like 20 feet away so we could have swam back up to him if we wanted. But we hung out with that guy enough and it was time to check out the sheephead scene.

Got some amazing pics/vids.