paulwall
Contributor
Since I couldn't get any buy-in for a 10/6 trip to the Trysler Grounds, I booked one of the last spots on Niuhi's 10/7 midshore trip.
The dawn broke chilly-in the low 60's, and a north breeze at 10-15mph kept things interesting all day. Waves near shore to 5 miles out were 1-2, then built to 3-4, with an occasional 5-6' and a short period between waves. The Niuhi is a 25' Sea Cat, and we were limited to about 10-12 knots heading out to our first site - the YDT-14. I was breaking in a lionfish tamer and looking for lobster...
I splashed inelegantly off the stern as a wave caught the boat while I was overbalanced. My LP95 was only holding 2200psi (about 85ft3), and I was "on the hunt". Water temps were 80o and vis was a clear 50' with a hazy 20' beyond that. I entered the wreck looking for slipper lobster and found about 7 smallish lionfish. I dispatched one quickly, but decided to hunt for lobster rather than chase any others. A fruitless search ensued, and I was soon down to my return pressure and headed with my buddy back up the line. Schools of jacks and spadefish, and several large barracuda watched us all as we dove.
After deciding that heading further offshore to the bridge rubble would be a beating and a half, we turned north into the wind to head for the Brass Wreck - a 100 year old schooner that lays in ruins on the bottom. It is a 10 mile trip from the YDT's, but only 7 or 8 miles offshore, so we hoped the surface conditions would be better. I turned green and worse on the trip between sites. Luckily, I had a downwind, outboard seat.
Arriving on site, the captain anchored us in, and I waited for the others to depart before lifting my head from the gunwale and donning my gear. The brass wreck is a beautiful site, with a large ballast pile, and pieces of the ship strewn about. The ribs jut up from the sand, and some of the deck planking was visible on the bottom. Two very small lionfish were sited on the ballast pile, but I left the Lion Tamer on the boat in my haste to depart.
Vis and temp were similar to dive one, again no lobsters, but schools of fish, some cowries, arrow crabs and toadfish were everywhere.
It wasn't my best day on the water, but the company was good, the crew and captain were top-notch, no gear was lost or damaged, and I successfully bloodied my spear.
The dawn broke chilly-in the low 60's, and a north breeze at 10-15mph kept things interesting all day. Waves near shore to 5 miles out were 1-2, then built to 3-4, with an occasional 5-6' and a short period between waves. The Niuhi is a 25' Sea Cat, and we were limited to about 10-12 knots heading out to our first site - the YDT-14. I was breaking in a lionfish tamer and looking for lobster...
I splashed inelegantly off the stern as a wave caught the boat while I was overbalanced. My LP95 was only holding 2200psi (about 85ft3), and I was "on the hunt". Water temps were 80o and vis was a clear 50' with a hazy 20' beyond that. I entered the wreck looking for slipper lobster and found about 7 smallish lionfish. I dispatched one quickly, but decided to hunt for lobster rather than chase any others. A fruitless search ensued, and I was soon down to my return pressure and headed with my buddy back up the line. Schools of jacks and spadefish, and several large barracuda watched us all as we dove.
After deciding that heading further offshore to the bridge rubble would be a beating and a half, we turned north into the wind to head for the Brass Wreck - a 100 year old schooner that lays in ruins on the bottom. It is a 10 mile trip from the YDT's, but only 7 or 8 miles offshore, so we hoped the surface conditions would be better. I turned green and worse on the trip between sites. Luckily, I had a downwind, outboard seat.
Arriving on site, the captain anchored us in, and I waited for the others to depart before lifting my head from the gunwale and donning my gear. The brass wreck is a beautiful site, with a large ballast pile, and pieces of the ship strewn about. The ribs jut up from the sand, and some of the deck planking was visible on the bottom. Two very small lionfish were sited on the ballast pile, but I left the Lion Tamer on the boat in my haste to depart.
Vis and temp were similar to dive one, again no lobsters, but schools of fish, some cowries, arrow crabs and toadfish were everywhere.
It wasn't my best day on the water, but the company was good, the crew and captain were top-notch, no gear was lost or damaged, and I successfully bloodied my spear.
