Northwest Dive Club

Hi
I was surprised to see longfin sculpin on my last couple of dives at cove 2. I don't recall seeing them south of Keystone or Pt Hudson before. Are they a frequent site at cove2 and south?

They were a bit more drab than you often see in the San Juans.

Thanks!

Cove 2 under the Honey Bear above where the huge GPO's hang out is a common spot for them. I've seen as many as 4 or 5 together under there. I haven't dove Cove 2 since the mooring of the barge and the "reorganization" of the Honey Bear and the entire divesite but that is where I have frequently seen them in the past.

Yeah, that is where we saw them! Cool! Wondering if they're seen elsewhere in the sound?

Thanks!

Therez a few at Redondo

Here are couple of my observations on Longfin Sculpins:

1. I have 66 pictures of Longfin Sculpin: 48 from Rosario Head / Urchin Rock, 14 from Keystone, 2 from Possession Point Fingers, 2 from Edmonds Underwater Park, 1 from Alki Cove 2 (so I thought).

2. Please consider that I dive pretty much all the sites from as much south as Titlow in Tacoma to as much north as Washington Park Anacortes.

3. There are other little Sculpins that may seem very similar to Longfin but are not.

4. Longfin Sculpins are documented by Jan Kocian as a cleaner fish for Lingcods. Would you expect them where higher concentration of Lingcods are ?

5. Why people do not see Longfin Sculpin at Edmonds Underwater Park? - Because only few people ever go to DeLion Dock where this picture was taken:

Apologies. These 2 pictures are a bit over exposed. They are from my "earlier" days (learning curve).
Please click on each picture if you want to see the original size.
6. My statistic needs to be adjusted as my Cove 2 one is not. It has too big head / upper body. It is most likely Saddleback Sculpin but only someone like our Guru - Greg Jensen would know for sure.

Look at this picture:
Apologies. These 2 pictures are a bit over exposed. They are from my "earlier" days (learning curve).
For those who want to study our Little Tricky Sculpins, I recommend Greg Jensen Christmas present from couple years ago: free for download book: "Pacific Northwest Sculpins (3.0)"


Please note that my most popular place to see and photograph Longfin Sculpins is Urchin Rock (off Rosario Head & Rosario Beach).
I see them there pretty much on every dive.

Here are several examples of true Longfin Sculpins from my collection:

Please click on each picture if you want to see the original size.

Thanks. I'll confirm them with my camera once I get it back. I think I also saw one at ttn, we'll see.

They're much more colorful up north...

Fantastic Pics YellowEye!
Here's a Longfin Sculpin shot I got at Cove 2