Trip log 18 September the first day of action

When our boat arrived at the first spot by 06:00hrs all divers where still affected by the rough ride that we had. The wind was blowing aprox over 10 knts which made us expect the low visibility in the water. I went along with Sherif for a test dive to check out the fish finder report. The water temperature was acceptable until the 7m mark.

 

After scanning the sea floor for about 10 minutes we decided to return to the boat since the visibility wasn't impressive only 3m max & the coral formations where not pointing out any potential at this time. Most of the sea floor in that spot was sandy with scattered corals & rocks.   

As we returned to the boat, the captain suggested some areas that where a must visit & are within range so we have decided to move on & try one of his spots.    

After another 30 minutes of sailing in the rough sea, we reached an area that showed some how good potential for reef fish. As in Groupers, Emperors & doradas. All divers went into the water perfectly & smoothly in teams.

We headed to the rocks to find our pray that we have longed for after a long time. This is because we have recently been blue water hunting for almost all summer & have not seen reefs since a long time.

On that site, almost all of us got decent sized groupers & some emperors. I have spotted a massive emperor that was out of range that weighed almost 6-7 kg however; that one kept its distance & was always perfectly intact behind the rocks.

We finished our fist site with a decent catch of groupers that filled up an entire ice box & we had some extra fishes that will cover our lunch meal. The boat took off to our next spot while the crew started to prepare our late breakfast. We needed the energy as the sea seemed to us that it will not become better that what it was on on that day. 

We have tried several sites on that day that where considered mainly as reef hunting. As I mentioned earlier all of us where craving some reef fish after satisfying our pelagic fish hunting needs all summer long. As the day passed by the wind kept blowing & the sea became even more rough. The visibility was simply resembling chocolate as Ximo always say when the visibility is not that good. 

We finally returned back to the same reef spot by the end of the day & decided to go for a dive before the sun sets. This is considered the best time for fishing. Since the fish generally starts feeding by that time. To our astonishment; while sweeping the area, Sherif comes to me in the water & tells me that he found a very good area that was about 500m of fining from where we were. We powered together with the help of our long fins to reach a completely undiscovered spot. Our partner hunters joined us & the scenery was just breathtaking. Not only the abundance of fish that we have witnessed; there where even some species that are not known to inhabit such areas. Most of us have witnessed some Red groupers, Wobbies, Sand Sharks & even the color formation of the rocks was quite different. Imagine this; only separated from the other area by 500m.

We have spotted several large targets that seemed to be residents of this area however; we have decided to visit the place again in the early morning as the sun was almost setting & we where totally worn out.

Ximo was quite impressed & started using his camera instead of the pistol. Here is a video clip withe some teasers, enjoy.

Click here to watch the teaser video of the day ... enjoy it