Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fish burger adn I realize, Oh my god...I could be eating a slow learner ~ Lynda Montgomery
We couldn’t decide on the Point Pleasant Railroad Bridge or the Manasquan Inlet so we took a look at both. The current was still moving but the water seemed clear as was the approaching night. As we stood and watched the inlet current we could see it visibly slow down and our minds were made up for us.... We were here...the slack tide was approaching fast...lets get wet.
I had the advantage of a few more minutes to get ready (or did I? Hmmmm) while the meter was being fed some additional funds and with a burst of speed I was ready....with all of my gear and forgetting nothing, thank you very much.
We walked over to the sea wall, gave a last look around and rolled on over. The water was cooler than I expected, only 64F, but still comfortable and about 6 or 7 foot of viz. Turning on our lights we descended to see who was awake.
Along the wall were an abundance of small sea bass and they were very busy ignoring us as we passed. I poked several who swam just a few short feet away and gave me a very annoyed look. I poked them twice....one didn’t catch on even then... so I poked him three times....must have been a slow learner.
We continued on and as we reached the jetty the visibility was cut in half and the surge picked up slightly. At one point we could hear boats overhead and knew we had wandered a bit too far from the rocks and moved on back in. There were still plenty of sea bass but they were still only juveniles, but we did see several trigger fish as we went along...my first tropicals of the season. The rocks were festively adorned in an assortment of leaders, sinkers and lures donated by hapless fishermen over the summer months. Crabs were nestled in the cracks and crevices and star fish littered the mussel lined floor. Soft corals and sponges clung to the rocks and it seemed all was right with the world.
I did my best imitation of “it is getting time to turn around soon” and after some additional signing and discussion we turned to ride the tide back in. Along the way I stopped to play with a small oyster cracker. I knew not to poke him on the forehead yet I still flicked him a bit but he held his ground. Gotta love him. There were also two more tropicals that I know I should know the name of...but I cant place them.... They are bottom fish.... Flat on the bottom and a greenish yellow in color with faint stripes running horizontally down their bodies and they were decently sized too. Oh well, I will have to look them up.
A little further along we came across a small fish just laying quietly among the rocks, a puffer fish, doing his little “you cant see me...you cant see me” dance. But I did see him and gave him just a small poke, but he swam in a small circle and came back....and he still didnt move.... So I gently cupped him in my hands and he began to blow up. Not wanting to scare him into exploding I opened my hands and he still stayed on lying in my hand a little while longer before swimming away as he slowly deflated.
There were no other unusual visitors the rest of the way in and the sea bass were backed into their holes sleeping. Only a few crabs were out and the water was getting cool so we climbed up the rocks and onto the wall and headed on home.
I had the advantage of a few more minutes to get ready (or did I? Hmmmm) while the meter was being fed some additional funds and with a burst of speed I was ready....with all of my gear and forgetting nothing, thank you very much.
We walked over to the sea wall, gave a last look around and rolled on over. The water was cooler than I expected, only 64F, but still comfortable and about 6 or 7 foot of viz. Turning on our lights we descended to see who was awake.
Along the wall were an abundance of small sea bass and they were very busy ignoring us as we passed. I poked several who swam just a few short feet away and gave me a very annoyed look. I poked them twice....one didn’t catch on even then... so I poked him three times....must have been a slow learner.
We continued on and as we reached the jetty the visibility was cut in half and the surge picked up slightly. At one point we could hear boats overhead and knew we had wandered a bit too far from the rocks and moved on back in. There were still plenty of sea bass but they were still only juveniles, but we did see several trigger fish as we went along...my first tropicals of the season. The rocks were festively adorned in an assortment of leaders, sinkers and lures donated by hapless fishermen over the summer months. Crabs were nestled in the cracks and crevices and star fish littered the mussel lined floor. Soft corals and sponges clung to the rocks and it seemed all was right with the world.
I did my best imitation of “it is getting time to turn around soon” and after some additional signing and discussion we turned to ride the tide back in. Along the way I stopped to play with a small oyster cracker. I knew not to poke him on the forehead yet I still flicked him a bit but he held his ground. Gotta love him. There were also two more tropicals that I know I should know the name of...but I cant place them.... They are bottom fish.... Flat on the bottom and a greenish yellow in color with faint stripes running horizontally down their bodies and they were decently sized too. Oh well, I will have to look them up.
A little further along we came across a small fish just laying quietly among the rocks, a puffer fish, doing his little “you cant see me...you cant see me” dance. But I did see him and gave him just a small poke, but he swam in a small circle and came back....and he still didnt move.... So I gently cupped him in my hands and he began to blow up. Not wanting to scare him into exploding I opened my hands and he still stayed on lying in my hand a little while longer before swimming away as he slowly deflated.
There were no other unusual visitors the rest of the way in and the sea bass were backed into their holes sleeping. Only a few crabs were out and the water was getting cool so we climbed up the rocks and onto the wall and headed on home.