Man [has] always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reason… ~Douglas Adams
I am pretty sure I am dehydrating. I don’t get wet nearly enough lately. If I don’t poke the fish….who will?
High tide was at 9:51PM. It was debated….at length….several times…..and it still was at 9:51PM…. I like night dives. Benny wanted fish, Tom wanted lobsters, and I wanted to poke something.
There were quite a few fishermen when we first started gearing up, but they thinned out as the last of the days light faded. There were still several there, catching what light they could from the street, and flanking our usual entry point as we readied to go in. We walked past the fishermen and down the jetty looking for another way in. Hiked would be a better word but we did finally find our entry at a group of rocks, somewhat steep but manageable. I sat down, tossed the dive flag in, reached out for the first rock and proceeded to pick my way on down, putting on my fins before entering the water. Visibility was excellent at 10 feet or more and we quietly slipped beneath the water.
Three lights signaled OK and off we went. Crabs and starfish dominated the area, and as I swam past a rock I noticed what looked like a clam with arms. A starfish was sitting inside a large ocean clam finishing up a late dinner. Benny immediately found a keeper lobster. Quick check for eggs and in his bag it went. The horseshoe crabs are still abundant and under one ledge, just hanging out, was one that qualified for “mother ship” status.
We swam almost to the end of the jetty before turning to come back and along the way noted some above average sized sea robbins lolling about. I took care of that with great pleasure, sending them on their way. Several tiny flounder were half buried in the sand (they aren’t any more) and hermit crabs scurried along keeping one eye on me to be sure I behaved. I looked under and about but did not spot any more lobster, but I did see quite a few rays tucked in around the rocks. Tom had picked up 2 lobsters and was on the hunt for more.
Benny spotted a nicely proportioned fluke and wasted no time in spearing him and while I lit up the scene, he placed it in his bag. As we prepared to move on I noticed something on the bag and signaled Benny to stop. In a minute I think he would have anyway. He was caught by a brand new leader and 4 oz. weight. I tried to simply unhook him but it was snagged and he cut the line as I held it before the fisherman started to try to reel him in.
Again on the way back we passed through the congregation of sea robbins and I caught one by the tail. He was NOT happy. At one point a small curious ray swam with us for a short while, following along directly underneath me across the sand and up and over a rock before leaving for other adventures. That was really neat. We occasionally came across several really small bass and other fish and I occupied myself with chasing after them to no avail.
The water remained clear but the 57F temperature was starting to feel chilly after more than 40 minutes in the water, so we picked up the dive flag and swam down to our usual exit, leaving the water with 3 lobsters, a summer flounder and a respectable number of fish poked. Not bad for one evening.