Trip Report for the Sheridan and Blackthorne, Tanks-A-Lot, September 26, 2009

[Reef]

Ditto what D said.

The Captain Mike, and Heidi rock. You couldn't help but relax the way they run their outfit.

Saturday was my 100th dive, and what a perfect way to celebrate.

Good times...:cool2:

 

[heidit1]

Thanks for the write up of the trip MissD! It was a great day of diving and a great fun group of divers! Just posted 75 pics to the website from this trip and yes they include the pedicure you gave McGowman...LOL. Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Tampa, Clearwater, St Pete Fl Scuba Diving Boat Charter

Video footage will come later tonight. What a great trip and was happy to get some Eagle Ray footage!

Thanks so much for getting the fishing line out of the Sheridan Goliath's mouth. It had been there at least since August 8th. Great find on the anchor also!

Diving on Sunday we encountered some rougher seas. I also spotted what I think is a Cauliflower Jelly on Rube Allyn. I have never seen a Jelly this big before. I may start another thread on that with photos.

Happy Diving all!

 

[Missdirected]

Hey Heidi I'd be keen on seeing the pics of the jelly you saw. Maybe put it in this thread where we've been kind of tracking the different jellies? http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/greater-tampa-bay-area/287825-jellyfish-gulf.html Actually your hubby is the thread starter on that one.

Also please let us know next time you go to The Sheridan if that hook came out for sure or not. I hope so.

As for McGowman's pedicure, it was the least I could do since he fed me chocolates :tongue:

 

[Missdirected]

Wow, Heidi, You took a ton of piccers. That is a seriously cool little treat.

 

[mcgowman]

Thanks for the write up of the trip MissD! It was a great day of diving and a great fun group of divers! Just posted 75 pics to the website from this trip and yes they include the pedicure you gave McGowman...LOL. Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Tampa, Clearwater, St Pete Fl Scuba Diving Boat Charter

Peachy.


Hey Miss D, think you forgot to mention the Moon Jellies on the Blackthorn. I gotta find out what the little fish were hiding inside.

 

[Chad Carney]

Chad, Nancy's bug was in a different area. This guys had himself a nice lil hideout. Right up under the wreck, against the ground. There was a piece of metal protruding from the wreck - so he could get back in there to get out of reach.

I will say, even if he were legal, and he may well have been, there was no way I was collecting him. If they become a common occurance here, like they were many, many years ago then it's game on

I'm certainly not an expert, but from everything I've read about spiny lobster reproduction, we're too far north of the tropic zone and even though they are still often egg bearing, they don't breed here. I've only seen one tiny spiny in 37 years of diving the GOM, and that was on a bridge dive. Think he got really lost and lucky.

Spiny lobster pretty much migrate here mostly from the Tortugas and also the Keys, which explains why there are rarely any shorts, and no rookeries in shallow water canals, bridges etc.

So if you took a lobster here 10 years ago, today, or 10 years from now. I think it just means there is one less lobster. It's also very likely your little GG buddy might hoover him out of that spot PDQ! JMHO.

Chad

(BTW, I hear fish hooks rust away quickly theses days by design.)

 

[heidit1]

Video footage from Saturday's trip...

YouTube - Sheridan and Blackthorn - September 26 2009 Tanks-A-Lot Scuba Dive Trip

 

[Oceandvr]

Glad to hear the vis is good out on the Blackthorn and Sheridan, I've got to get a video day in soon.

It's really rare to see a lobster on a wreck in our area of the Gulf of Mexico. Don't know why, but they seem to prefer natural bottom to metal structure, no matter how long it's been down... unlike so many wrecks in caribbean waters. Was the bug down in the limestone?

Perhaps Nancy can shed a little light about this.

Chad

I'm not an expert on lobsters, but it's my understanding that wrecks, ledges or whatever suitable habitat that may be preferred will be used. They occur throughout Florida and as far north as North Carolina on the east coast. As for why they are sporadically here in our area of the Gulf of Mexico - that could be due to the amount (or lack thereof) of larval influx, suitable post-larval settlement habitat and availability of adult habitat.

It'll be interesting to see if we continue to see them. Post up if you do.

 

[Missdirected]

Well now Chad, You have me more confused then ever (not that that is hard ;-)) Anyway, I only started diving just shy of ten years ago. I hardly did any diving here in the first five years of my diving. So I'm most definitely not an expert, not even a pip-squeek, but would like to find out the lobster situation for sure or understand it at least. So I've heard of people who say they caught lobsters out here, years ago, all the time. I've also heard they left with lots of other stuff with the red tide. That said, I know you have been diving here forever, as you said 37 years. So I'm wondering if maybe they were speaking of the middle grounds maybe??????

 

[Echoo]

My Wifes uncle talks about how he used to get them all the time. In fact he has a newspaper artical somewhere about some local record size he got free diving or something..... Let me look into that