another exquisite dive at the 'Dond ...

[Grateful Diver]

So I took Dave out to introduce him to the lumpies this evening. We found a few ... but the highlight of the dive for me was another cute little Puget Sound fish ... we found seven snailfish this evening. It's really strange ... until Saturday evening I hadn't seen a snailfish in a coupla years. Suddenly they're all over the place! And it turns out they're as photogenic as lumpies.

Here's a few pics from the evening ...

A lumpie with a very unusual coloration ...



Slug on a stick ... with a buddy ...



And finally ... the stars of tonight's show ...







... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Mattleycrue76]

Nice pics Bob! I searched all over the eelgrass last tuesday at Redondo and didn't find squat. Of course you told me I wouldn't so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised...

[Grateful Diver]

Gotta go at night. That place is totally dead in the daytime and totally happening at night ... folks are starting to catch on ... there were a bunch of divers out there this evening ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[LCF]

Oh, Bob, the snailfish pictures are wonderful! I want to pet the little guy. I've only ever seen one of them. The winter Redondo eelgrass is clearly where it's happening!

[Tom Nic]

Absolutely gorgeous Bob!!

That Lumpy has one of the most beautiful color patterns I've ever seen, and the snailfish is a beauty - the blue coloration in the eye area especially is so sharp and beautiful....

Well done!

[fmerkel]

That lumpie is nothing short of remarkable. And 7-snailfish! That's a lifetime supply for most folks let alone an evening dive.

Fritz

[Burntchef]

great pics bob, the wife is picking up a g11 tomorrow and i am getting a housing for it for a late xmas gift.

[airsix]

Outstanding! :smt038

[Dusty2]

That next to the last snail fish would have been a show stopper if you hadn't followed it with the last Snail fish! It is just flat AWESOME!

That's how it went for me last Saturday night. The ellgrass was a real let down but the swim back was the highlight of the dive. Them snail fish are just about as cute as lumpies and near as hard to find.

[ktb]

Wow. I am not worthy.

[Cold_H2O]

I need to find a good job so I can move home.
Miss diving with the amazing PNW critters.

Lumpies and Snailfish at the Dond. In 11 years of diving there NEVER saw either of these guys.

[spatman]

beautiful, bob. that last snailfish shot is really great.

[Jan K]

After ten days of absence - open the NW Dive Club site - WOW, Bob not only the king of Lumpies, but also of snailfish !
Beautiful..

[Grateful Diver]

Capped off my 2009 diving last night with Fritz and Joyce and their two friends Doug and Karin. We did an 87 minute dive in LumpieLand ... found a few, plus some bay pipefish and another snailfish.

I got a shot of this little green thing that I've noticed swimming around out there. This one landed and sat still long enough for a picture. What the heck is this thing?



Two more lumpie shots worth showing ...





If any of y'all are thinking to get out there, I wouldn't wait too much longer. The eel grass is deteriorating, and looks to be thinning out rather quickly. Not sure where the lumpies will go when it dies off. And the little ones are growing up so fast anyway ... they're twice the size they were three weeks ago ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[olyvtx]

should post that lil green guy in Critters section Bob. Looks kinda like a Sea Lettuce Sea Flea, pg 277 Andy Lamb's book. Im just throwing that out there..i have no clue.

[Dusty2]

It's called an Eelgrass isopod, Idotea resecata. Pg #282 in Lamb and Hanby. And a great shot of one. They are really tough to get a good shot of. They usually are either plastered onto a blade of eelgrass or flying around in your light beam.

That little yeller guy is soooo cute!

[Joyce_M]

Bob,

What a fun dive!! Thank you so much for taking us on a tour. I saw everything on my check list - lumpsuckers, bay pipefish, and a snail fish. Wow!! Those small eelgrass isopods were swimming everywhere and there were all those tiny plain midshipments burying themselves in the sand.

Your pictures are so amazing. I'm just a beginner but have had some luck during the day with my point and shoot. Night photography seems to be a new challenge. But here are a couple of not too bad shots I took last night.

Thanks again for a wonderful time!

[fmerkel]

Yes, thank you Bob-remarkable dive.
How often do you get to do a 90 minuted dive and only use up half your tank and see so many fine critters?
I like the way the juv. midshipmen would hang a bit over the sand then settle down and promptly wriggle in when you got close. Reminded me of razor fish in the tropics.

I think these are breeding aggregations. Where you find one, there are probably more. Not sure what happens when the eelgrass goes but there are locations they can be found there is no eelgrass. Maybe easier to find them? I know in late winter/early spring really tiny ones will be appearing so it makes sense these are offspring of this group we are seeing. So now to be looking for lumpie eggs. Watch out for that attack guarding male!!

Fritz

[Grateful Diver]

That was fun ... Joyce, I really love the expression you captured on that lumpie. So glad I got a chance to do this dive with you and Fritz. What a way to wrap up my 2009 diving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[lamont]

heading out to dondo right now with my never-before-wet canon S90...

[lamont]

heading out to dondo right now with my never-before-wet canon S90...

lost track of all the lumpies... saw probably 8-10 of them...

lots of those weird green arthropod things...

mostly got blurry pics tonight, i'll see what i can salvage tho...

[Grateful Diver]

Went back out this evening for an 81 minute dive with Jabberjaw. Found some lumpies, but those were for him to video. I mostly concentrated on other stuff ...











... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ljjames]

what is the last one? young plainfin?

[Dusty2]

Yep, Juvenile bout 2", They are all over in the eel grass right now but really tough to get a shot of.

[Jabberjaw]

Thanks for the evening Lumpie dive and the pre lumpie scooter dive. I got some great video of the little buggers swimming. I also noticed that a couple of the shots show the psl to blend in perfectly with their surroundings. Are they able to change their colors? The photo of the redish one on the rocks, in the video has the exact same color scheme as the rock. I also got some video of a little winged nudi swimming like a flying angle. Does anyone know what they are called? I will try and get the video posted as soon as I can.

Greg