Destin Diving Nov 18, 'Operation Octopus Photo'

[Skeptic14]

With the end of the dive season quickly approaching for a "warm weather" diver, I had a mission; get some shots of an octopus. I'd seen them on a handful of dives but never got a decent photo.

I knew the best bet for finding an octopus was a shallow shore dive with artificial reef pods. The water has looked great this entire fall compared to last fall when a red tide and algae really messed up our waters so things looked promising. The wind picked up overnight and stayed pretty strong but surf and surge in the Panhandle of FL isn't the same as the Pacific or Atlantic so it was manageable.

The water temps had fallen from around 76 two weeks ago to 72 but my 3mm was sufficient. Despite the waves and surge kicking up a good amount of sand the water was beautiful and there was easily 25' of visibility a mere 100 yards off the beach!

Fish and marine life galore, but after searching the first half of the pods still no luck on finding the target subject. Undeterred the search continued and then, expertly camouflaged both in color and texture was the first octopus of the dive! After a good 5 minutes working angles on it a brave blenny was spotted. A second octopus of much larger size was spotted on the next pod that was more cooperative and less shy.

After the cooperative octopus, the dive was turned with the mission accomplished!

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http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/NQWFq.../photos/skeptic14/]Skeptic14[/url], on Flickr
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http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/NQWxF.../photos/skeptic14/]Skeptic14[/url], on Flickr
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http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/NQWEv.../photos/skeptic14/]Skeptic14[/url], on Flickr
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[RyanT]

Thanks skeptic...love your photos from the gulf coast!

 

[sportxlh]

Again, some nice shots: thanks for sharing. Where did you do the beach dive? I thought the Jetties were the only beach dives in the panhandle.

 

[Skeptic14]

Thanks skeptic...love your photos from the gulf coast!

Again, some nice shots: thanks for sharing. Where did you do the beach dive? I thought the Jetties were the only beach dives in the panhandle.

Thanks guys, I'm afraid this uw photography and diving thing might become a problem

There are two locations where artificial reefs were made for diving/snorkeling. The structure is concrete disks on a column stuck in the sand. There are three rows of ten separated by about 10-15 feet. One of these is located near the Navarre Beach Causeway the other is further west toward Gulf Breeze.

The pods start about 100 yards offshore in about 10 feet of water and the last pods are in about 15 feet of water, so it's a very shallow dive but there are resident turtles, tons of fish, usually octopus, rays, etc. Fun little dive to throw in the mix when tides aren't right for a jetty dive but you don't want to do a half day on a boat.

Here's what the pods look like now with some good growth on the concrete discs.

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[sportxlh]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check those sites out next summer: I like easy beach diving and have been missing Blue Heron Bridge in WPB since I moved to Atlanta

 

[Skeptic14]

It wont be as impressive as BHB, but sometimes it's nice to have the freedom and autonomy of a shore dive vs being on a dive boat schedule. The best times to do it are in the spring early summer before the june grass starts or later in the fall around late august early september (or later) once the june grass has started clearing up. From mid June to mid to late august our waters are effected by june grass and not as clear as can be. And it tends to accumulate on and near the beaches which really messes up this site.

 

[flyingDiver75]

Bummed, I missed your PM Thursday! -- although I might have scared the octopus away! Hopefully I can sneak a Navarre beach dive in soon.

 

[TMHeimer]

Nice photos. I've dived the whole area many winters while snowbirding--including those Navarre structures (not much going on in Jan-Feb). Have seen those Southern Rays at the Destin Jetty. PM me if you are up for buddying to St. Andrews (PCB) in Jan./Feb. I bring my 7 mil but at times the shorty will do.

 

[Skeptic14]

Bummed, I missed your PM Thursday! -- although I might have scared the octopus away! Hopefully I can sneak a Navarre beach dive in soon.

Next time! The water is so nice this fall, a light wind especially northerly is perfect for that site to keep sand less stirred up, it's a good place for macro photography and then there's the resident turtles.

Nice photos. I've dived the whole area many winters while snowbirding--including those Navarre structures (not much going on in Jan-Feb). Have seen those Southern Rays at the Destin Jetty. PM me if you are up for buddying to St. Andrews (PCB) in Jan./Feb. I bring my 7 mil but at times the shorty will do.

Thanks.

Flyingdiver75 has a 7/8 semi I think and might be up for that in jan/feb but I'll def have my gear stowed for the season by then

 

[iamrushman]

thanks for sharing such nice photos....