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I've always loved early morning dives. Getting in the water before dawn and watching as the water slowly turns lighter ... and watching the "shifts" change as the nocturnal critters turn in for the day and the water slowly fills with the day creatures clocking in for a hard day of scavenging. I often do these kinds of dives when on vacation, but for some reason don't do them very often at home.
This morning was the exception. I got to Redondo at around 6 AM, parking over in front of the beach just north of Salty's. My destination was the eelgrass beds north of the beach ... in search of lumpsuckers.
It was a perfect morning. The tide was high, and there wasn't a breath of wind or surf. A soft moonlight reflection provided just enough light to make out the shapes of deadheads lying between me and my goal as I suited up and headed down to the water. There was nobody in sight as I put my fins on and slipped below the surface.
Almost immediately I was rewarded for my efforts, as I found a bay pipefish laying in some sea lettuce in less than 10 feet of water ...
Visibility wasn't as good as we've been experiencing lately ... perhaps 25-30 feet ... which is still excellent for lumpie hunting. I hit the eelgrass beds, made my way to the downslope edge, and slowly started kicking into a very mild current. About 5 minutes into the dive I was rewarded with my first sighting ... a fairly good size lumpie (maybe an inch long) sitting on a piece of eelgrass ... just waiting to have his picture taken.
Over the course of the dive I found maybe a dozen or so ... many full-grown and some that were downright tiny. For some reason I was having difficulties with the focus on my camera when attempting to use the macro lens ... but here's a sampling of the best of the many shots I took during the course of a 65-minute dive.
As dawn approached and ambient light got to the point where I could see without use of my light, the sightings decreased dramatically. However, massive schools of shiner perch literally filled the water above me. I ended my dive around 7:45 ... as the classes started gearing up for what promises to be a gorgeous day to be out diving.
It was so nice, I think I'll go back tomorrow morning and do it again ...
Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love deeply, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile.
Not everyone who reads SB is looking to learn how best to use their new snorkel. Some are here just hoping to get the chance to tell someone else exactly what they can do with their new snorkel. While others are trying to sell their old snorkel. (gypsyjim)
Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!
Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love deeply, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile.
Not everyone who reads SB is looking to learn how best to use their new snorkel. Some are here just hoping to get the chance to tell someone else exactly what they can do with their new snorkel. While others are trying to sell their old snorkel. (gypsyjim)
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Too cute!
