Hetland
Contributor
Set up a lobster/natural reef trip with Capt Conrad Nix aboard his boat the Miss Conduct on 12/31. Capt Conrad dropped MrXRay and I on a reef in about 60ft of water. We found zero current, and 100ft of viz. The reef looked like the Garden of Eden, with acres of growth in all directions. We could have spent hours just staring at the beautiful reef, but we had a mission, so we started scanning the area for bugs. About 10 minutes in, I found a large 6' Green Moray under a ledge. I yelled through my reg and motioned XRay over to the spot where we both spent a minute marveling over the beautiful eel. Of course we had left our cameras (always a mistake) so we continued on. About 15 minutes into the dive I spotted our first bug. I called XRay over, and he made short work of the bug with his snare. It continued like that for awhile, with both of us working together (I had a net and a tickle stick) to maximize our take. We surfaced with 8 legal bugs, and never even touched an undersized lobster. This was fortunate, as we had been pouring on the smack-talk pretty thick on the ride out, and it's always nice to back up such behavior with results 
Our second dive was a short distance away, and we found a slight current over the reef, but calm conditions at depth. This time we concentrated on photos and video, so we didn't take any lobster, but we still had a great dive.
The third drop resulted in us spotting another Green Moray. He was a bit smaller than his cousin from the first reef, and he was mostly concealed, but he did smile for us while we took photos, so we didn't complain. We lost a few shots at lobster, mostly because this area was more challenging, and also because we're new to the game, but we did manage two additional bugs for the grill.
I'll add that the trip was very enjoyable, and Capt Conrad was a pleasure to dive with. He tailored the trip to our wishes and impressed us with his knowledge of the area. He has a great sense of humor and made the trip more enjoyable with entertaining stories of past adventures. I've been lucky enough to dive with a fair number of good captains, but Capt Conrad is a favorite, and we will definitely use him again the next time we're in town.
A few Photos:
Our second dive was a short distance away, and we found a slight current over the reef, but calm conditions at depth. This time we concentrated on photos and video, so we didn't take any lobster, but we still had a great dive.
The third drop resulted in us spotting another Green Moray. He was a bit smaller than his cousin from the first reef, and he was mostly concealed, but he did smile for us while we took photos, so we didn't complain. We lost a few shots at lobster, mostly because this area was more challenging, and also because we're new to the game, but we did manage two additional bugs for the grill.
I'll add that the trip was very enjoyable, and Capt Conrad was a pleasure to dive with. He tailored the trip to our wishes and impressed us with his knowledge of the area. He has a great sense of humor and made the trip more enjoyable with entertaining stories of past adventures. I've been lucky enough to dive with a fair number of good captains, but Capt Conrad is a favorite, and we will definitely use him again the next time we're in town.
A few Photos:
