About 50 ft, straight out from the house with the antlers, on a anchor block, next to a pile of squid eggs. The squid eggs actually drew me over there. I saw the PSL out of the corner of my eye and just couldn't believe it. My buddies had no idea how rare of a find it was (and what the heck it was!), so they couldn't understand why I was practically doing flips underwater.
Nice! They're the kind of fish you just can't go looking for... more of a "stumble on one" type of sighting. Congrats!! PSL's are among my very favorites and are REALLY high on my "uber cool list."
GUE Seattle - The official GUE Affiliate in the Northwest!
Sounder wrote:Nice! They're the kind of fish you just can't go looking for...
You CAN'T??? Maybe THAT'S my problem, eh? I've gone I don't know how many times specifically looking for them at all the hotspots (Three Tree, Titlow, etc) with zero luck. hehe!!
How come you didn't tell me this a few years ago Doug?? I would have stopped looking ](*,)
- Janna
Janna Nichols My underwater photo galleries REEF Citizen Science Program Manager
Seen any cool critters lately?
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Janna--you need to start diving with JDR. He's a magnet for PSL's.
This was my 4th sighting in all my years of diving--3 at Three Tree and 1 at Titlow. It's been at least 3-4 years since I saw the last one before yesterday.
Sounder wrote:Nice! They're the kind of fish you just can't go looking for...
You CAN'T??? Maybe THAT'S my problem, eh? I've gone I don't know how many times specifically looking for them at all the hotspots (Three Tree, Titlow, etc) with zero luck. hehe!!
How come you didn't tell me this a few years ago Doug?? I would have stopped looking ](*,)
- Janna
I saw my first one when I finally had given up hope and quit looking for them... at least, it worked for me. No promises for you though. Sounds like you might want to come up to 3TN for a few dives though if you're still "looking." I doubt they travel very far.
GUE Seattle - The official GUE Affiliate in the Northwest!
Jackie found one at Redondo a few years back, asking on her slate "what is golfball fish?" It was an awesome find. Redondo is still one of my fave places for critters, esp at night.
LCF wrote:Very cool find! I've never seen one, but the pictures make them look as though they might take the "cutest fish" prize away from Grunt Sculpins!
They TOTALLY take 1st prize. Grunties take a back seat to PSLs. If you want to see them, for sure, there is a tank at the aquarium where they've got several. Sometimes it helps to know what you're looking for (having seen them yourself... or in Janna's case (who really KNOWS what they look like), you've just got to stop looking.
GUE Seattle - The official GUE Affiliate in the Northwest!
And so rarely seen (relatively speaking) that if I was in your shoes I would just stay and fill up up the memory card on my camera, buddies be darned. (Don't flame me, I wouldn't really abandon anyone - but for us photographers there should be a standard predive briefing schpiel - "If we see [insert species here] we are staying with them taking pics for a LONG time!")
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT "Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix "Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
nwscubamom wrote:Wow, Tom. That would be a LONG dive briefing in my case
- Janna
Hmmm... I do suppose you have a point there, Janna.
Perhaps a standard "critter and picture nut" pre-dive briefing? Something along the lines of "Watch me carefully, and if there's lots of hyperventilating and flashing in the vicinity of a critter, just stay close and don't donate a hose unless I ask for it!" Or something along those lines....
(Of coure there are those who would say that hyperventilating and flashing describes most of my diving...)
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT "Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix "Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman