Hood Canal Sites / Giant Pacific Octopus

I am a San Diego CA based diver, very interested in visiting the Seattle area to shore dive and try and see a giant pacific Octopus. I dove Seattle way way back in the very early 1980s but have been in California diving since 1983.

I am a rebreather diver, but I imagine for searching sites to see a GPO that isn't really necessary. Is there a certain time of year that is best to come up and dive, and are there any sites where it's more likely to see a GPO?

Are there any local divers familiar with these sites who might be willing to go diving with me if i come up there to try this out?

Are there any CCR dive clubs where some of the members might be skilled in locating GPO's in the area? I don't think I can possibly find one without some expert local help of one sort or another.


-Roger Uzun
San Diego CA

I haven't been here but Octopus Hole (Octopus Hole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) sounds like it is exactly what you are looking for.

Personally, I've seen a couple GPOs down at Alki and Redondo. There is almost always one at Alki Cove 2 in the Honeybear wreck.

My favorite site for seeing GPOs in Hood Canal is Flagpole, just south of Mike's Beach Resort. You can access it from shore by paying for access at MBR, who will give you a key to access a private driveway down to the water. It's still quite a swim out to the pinnacle, which is usually marked by a buoy (but it's not always there). I prefer to scooter out. The top of the pinnacle ... known as "the knuckle" is at about 60 feet. There's a steep dropoff on the outside that goes down to about 120 ... I see octopus there every dive, and probably about half the dives will find them out on "walkabout". This is also a great place to see healthy cloud sponges, that start relatively shallow once you start down off the knuckle ... there are some fairly large ones in the 80-90 foot range. With a rebreather you'll have plenty of time to do a leisurely return to shore, and even if you go into deco the profile is perfect for honoring your deco obligation while looking around ... I've found more octopus and other interesting critters to look at on the return.

Winter to mid-spring are the best times to go, for good visibility. As the water starts to warm up into summer and through mid-autumn there tends to be a lot of jellyfish in the water ... in particular the lion's mane jellies get pretty thick here. I've been stung several times here, including one "face slap" while scootering ... which wasn't any fun at all.

Here's one of my favorite pictures from the place ... I also saw, on the same dive, two massive GPO's mating ...



... Bob (Grateful Diver)

uzun:

I am a San Diego CA based diver, very interested in visiting the Seattle area to shore dive and try and see a giant pacific Octopus. I dove Seattle way way back in the very early 1980s but have been in California diving since 1983.

I am a rebreather diver, but I imagine for searching sites to see a GPO that isn't really necessary. Is there a certain time of year that is best to come up and dive, and are there any sites where it's more likely to see a GPO?

Are there any local divers familiar with these sites who might be willing to go diving with me if i come up there to try this out?

Are there any CCR dive clubs where some of the members might be skilled in locating GPO's in the area? I don't think I can possibly find one without some expert local help of one sort or another.


-Roger Uzun
San Diego CA

Click to expand...

Hi Roger,

I did see one GPO last Sunday at Octopus Hole. It was large but pale-colored so maybe it is on its last legs. I live on Whidbey Island and at Keystone Underwater Park there are "resident" GPOs. I don't know how far north you want to go diving, though. With a rebreather you probably want to dive with other rebreather divers or somebody who uses doubles. Here is the link to Northwest Dive Club where you may be able to find a buddy suitable for your kind of diving, info about visibility and local dive sites:

Northwest Dive Club ? Index page

unless you don't mind diving with a buddy who dives with a single tank but I cannot guarantee, like Bob, that you would see an octopus out in the open.

Whatever you decide to do have fun and good luck with the GPOs!