Here an eel, there an eel

[MaxBottomtime]

If you want to see moray eels, go to Catalina or Laguna Beach. They're in every crack. You can't miss them. In well over 1400 dives around Palos Verdes I have only seen a moray at one site until last month. I've got the one at Honeymoon accustomed to divers after taking several dozen photos of the little guy. I shot wide angle today, so I only blinded him with my strobes a couple of times. Most of the dive was spent along the east wall, which drops from thirty-five feet to over seventy feet at the sand.

After the first dive the surface was getting a little dicey so we headed back around the west side to Haggerty's. There are two morays on the crane, but only one came out to play.

I found an Orcutt clam on a rock with a serpulid worm on the side of the rock. When I downloaded my camera I found that the worm is surrounded by tiny fish eggs. I shouldn't have let Merry use my diopter.

 

[TSandM]

Love the clam siphon picture. Years ago, my favorite dive buddy and I did a dive where we totally missed the structure we were there to look at, and spent the entire dive on a silt plain with clams. But he took some fantastic photographs of the multi-colored and patterned siphons, and they looked like modernistic castles protruding from the sea floor. I always thought I ought to frame one of them -- that picture brought that day back to me in detail, and it was a fun memory.

 

[lindenbruce]

I've done like 3 three day live aboards around the Channel Islands and loved each one. Tons of eels and other life. Lots to see that's for sure. Great pics. What type of gear you using? B.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Nikon D700 with 16-35mm wide angle lens and 60mm with 1.4 teleconverter for macro.

 

[stevensamler]

looking at the kelp you must have had current or some surge , great photos as usual thanks.

 

[drbill]

Best place to spot morays off our coast could be the Bill Kroll High Spot (Little Gibraltar) named after L. A. County Sheriff and free diver Bill Kroll who passed away in our waters. Phil, I've been seeing a lot of very small morays this year in the dive park... wonder if the unusually warm waters last year brought up more larvae from Baja since they are said not to breed here in SoCal. Or, perhaps the warm water last year allowed them to do "the wild thing" locally!