Scallops! Another great charter with Fran Marcoux! Dive Report & Pics- Thurs. 6/30/11

[macado]

Thanks for the great trip report! I've only been out of Fran's boat once this year for lobstering and had a great time.

I did do two scallop trips with Boston Scuba (formerly Boston Harbor Diving Co) which yielded excellent results. Your pictures are making me hungry just thinking about scallop diving.

Is Fran still doing scallop dives this year or is he pretty much stopped until the boat traffic dies down from all the summer boaters?

 

[all4scuba05]

He's going again on Monday the 18th.

 

[Tug]

He's going again on Monday the 18th.

Yup, I am tempted to jump on that trip if he still has room

 

[Dr Wu]

Cap. Fran is as good as it gets.

 

[dave4868]

Dave,


For you rec divers like me...pay attention to Dave's bottom time. His success rely's on his ability to stay down over 80 minutes at 60 ft.


80 minutes at 60 feet puts you into deco on air. It doesn't state those depths or times in Dave's report, you have the 2 dives mixed up.

Dave, do you dive nitrox?
Did you breath your pony bottle on dive 2?

Nope, just straight air, and lots of it on dive 2 (used all of my hp120 and al30 pony). My computer is middle of the road (Genesis Resource), and it did not go into deco stops on either dive.

Thanks for the great trip report! I've only been out of Fran's boat once this year for lobstering and had a great time.

I did do two scallop trips with Boston Scuba (formerly Boston Harbor Diving Co) which yielded excellent results. Your pictures are making me hungry just thinking about scallop diving.

Is Fran still doing scallop dives this year or is he pretty much stopped until the boat traffic dies down from all the summer boaters?

I'd like to try Boston Harbor sometime, either with Fran or with Boston Scuba. I hear they both do well there.

He's going again on Monday the 18th.

He'll probably add some more scallop dives from time to time during the summer, but he'll probably stay clear of the boat channels, I think. That might mean diving deeper, darker and shorter dives, though. Productivity might suffer.... In the fall, he sometimes adds a scallop dive here and there.

Cap. Fran is as good as it gets.

That's for sure!

Dave C

 

[macado]

I'd like to try Boston Harbor sometime, either with Fran or with Boston Scuba. I hear they both do well there.

Dave C

Jim and Pat (Boston Scuba) seem to know some very nice productive beds. Some of them are suprisingly quite shallow as well. I was completing filling two mesh bags at around 40ft.

Definitely a problem with summer boat traffic in Boston Harbor Islands though. I believe the same issue with some of the beds being near shipping channels and Boston Harbor Islands are rampant

 

[dave4868]

Jim and Pat (Boston Scuba) seem to know some very nice productive beds. Some of them are suprisingly quite shallow as well. I was completing filling two mesh bags at around 40ft.

Definitely a problem with summer boat traffic in Boston Harbor Islands though. I believe the same issue with some of the beds being near shipping channels and Boston Harbor Islands are rampant

How many pounds of meat did you get? That will tell me a lot about the beds.....

Dave C

 

[macado]

~5-6lbs of shucked scallops. Someone else mentioned they got 8lbs but I wasnt there.

 

[jhupka]

we don't really see many scallops till 100 plus range down in NJ, might have to take a trip up there

 

[jpiolu]

I don't know if this applies to charters, but the Mass. recreational limit on sea scallops is 1 bushel in the shell or 4-lbs. of shucked meats per day.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries - Recreational Fishing - Regulations

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Joe Piolunek