Twin Lakes: Please FEED the FISH!!!

[jstuart1]

Made a couple of dives at TL today. Vis was in the 5-10ft range. Was minding my own business at the platforms when all of a sudden this blasted perchacuda decided the top of my ear looked like LUNCH!! All in all over the course of just 30 mins the SAME EAR was attacked 3 times. Will someone PLEASE feed these things!!!! Otherwise the dives were great. I am glad to finally be back underwater again after my 8 week lay off. Planning to go to St. Croix or Puerto Rico in October.

 

[Skyjunky]

I bought a hood for this very reason.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Feeding the fish makes this behavior worse. They learn to associate divers with food and lose their natural fear of them.

Stop feeding the fish and guard your ears.

TwoBit

 

[jstuart1]

Feeding the fish in the header was just a joke. Gonna have to get a hood I guess.

 

[Dee]

We are DM'ing a class this weekend. The first two dives today the perchacuda's were doing their cute little fishy thing trying to entice the divers to feed them. You know....that little dance they do in front of your mask? Or the tail wiggle to get you to try to touch them before they scoot away? Well, the 3rd dive was a whole other story. The look in their eyes had changed! Everyone in the water was fresh meat! Guess they decided we'd had two chances to provide some grub and now we were in for it. I watched one perch the size of a dinner plate grab one of the students ears and shake it like a limp rag, drawing blood! And what is it about ears?!?

Several of the students had plans to find hoods for tomorrow and I'm taking a fistful of Dee-Rags to see if we can't cover up some of those ears.

 

[Foo]

jstuart, try a beanie... I know I look dumb with it on, but it is very comfortable, and I am not in fear of losing an ear while diving. Until it gets too cold to dive without a hood, it's a great alternative.

Foo

 

[Skyjunky]

I definitely need to bring my hood tomorrow!

 

[colt]

I find that depth charges work pretty good, just make sure you and your buddies
are out of the water first.

 

[jstuart1]

....I watched one perch the size of a dinner plate grab one of the students ears and shake it like a limp rag, drawing blood! And what is it about ears?!?

Wow!! I knew it hurt when they grabbed the top of my ear but had no idea they could draw blood! Gonna have to learn to tie my Dee rag.

 

[JWU42]

Saw a few perchacuda but managed to avoid a bite yesterday - I consider myself lucky