Octopus Hole this weekend

[dphershman]

It was good to get back in the water at Hood Canal after having a cold for a couple of weeks. I'd heard about the great viz and didn't want to miss the chance to try out the new 8 inch dome for the fisheye lens.


The viz was probably about 30 feet, except for when we accidentally kicked up the fine silt coating the bottom.


Andy at the top of the Wall

We found only a couple of octos hidden in crevices too well concealed to be photographed. One was a female that had recently laid eggs and barricaded herself into her den below a large rock.

There were a couple of wolfies, one juvenile that was expecting a handout. (but was disappointed)


Juvenile wolf eel hoping for a handout

At the end of the wall we found a pair of Red Rock crabs that had just opened the shell of a large clam, pulling chunks of meat out and stuffing their faces as fast as they could. A school of Seaperch swarmed around them hoping for a chance to grab a piece for themselves.


Red Rock Crabs enjoying a clam feast

Blackeye Gobies were putting on quite a nice display as well.


All in all a good couple of dives. Hopefully these conditions will last for awhile!


Mark with his Canon G15

Dan

[FlyinV]

Cool Pics!
I was over in Puget Sound this weekend and you choose wisely.
Our viz was not as nice.

[Tom Nic]

Awesome pictures!!!

Put a report in the Viz Reports section - maybe you can talk one of my buddies into diving the Hood this week!

Gotta get out there before Spring viz arrives. Today was a beautiful day, but I can almost hear the plankton starting to sing, "Bow chicka Bow Wow"... :luv:

[Grateful Diver]

Love the crab shot ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[doubtingGunnel]

Great shots! I've never seen a Blackeye Gobie before, love their tail fin.

[ArcticDiver]

Good Shots.

Thanks for labeling everything. Really helps for guys like me.

The shot of the mobile camera and its' propulsion system was outstanding.

[Tom Nic]

Great shots! I've never seen a Blackeye Gobie before, love their tail fin.

Dive Hood Canal! They are often in the hundreds!

[LCF]

That crab shot with the perch is fabulous! I have never gotten a good picture of those striped perch -- they're too skittish, and I don't have enough strobe.

The viz was probably about 30 feet, except for when we accidentally kicked up the fine silt coating the bottom.

I know a class that can help you with that . . .

[dphershman]

That crab shot with the perch is fabulous! I have never gotten a good picture of those striped perch -- they're too skittish, and I don't have enough strobe.

The viz was probably about 30 feet, except for when we accidentally kicked up the fine silt coating the bottom.

I know a class that can help you with that . . .

The crab and fish were quite protective of their clam lunch, so I was able to get closer than usual.

Dan

[Nwbrewer]

Awesome shots. I really need to get out to Hood Canal soon.

(I'm pretty sure those are Dungeness crabs though...)

[dphershman]

Awesome shots. I really need to get out to Hood Canal soon.

(I'm pretty sure those are Dungeness crabs though...)

I'm not much of a crab expert really, I know that Red Rock crabs are able to break through just about any shell with their claws so I assumed that's what they were. Plus, Dungeness typically run away like crazy when approached, whereas a Red will 'hunker down'. Then again, that clam was probably pretty tasty! These fellows do on closer examination appear to be dungeness as they don't have the black marks on the tips of their claws.

Here's a closer photo of the two of them.





dan

[Greg Jensen]

They're Dungeness.