How to start fish id'ing?

Nike style, "Just do it!".

You can use wet notes and write down the fish name and quantity.

Name/Quantity (S Single 1, F Few 2-10, M Many 11-100, A Abundant 100 +)

REEF BUTT (Reef Butterflyfish) M (Many)

The REEF slates http://www.reef.org with a bolt snap work well and fit in pockets. Using the waterproof paper (free with fish id course) and the slate makes it easier to check off the fish seen and faster to enter the data on line as the form follows the water proof paper. Wet-notes make you scroll up and down the Internet page finding the fish which gets old.

Once you start, you'll find all the fish you know, then start making notes of identifying characteristics of new fish you don't know the names for. Then go look them up. Soon you'll be able to figure out the families "Big lips, Silvery, odd shaped bottom dweller" and go from there.

On the next dive, you'll find the old fish, the new fish you just learned (re-enforcing the memory and learning) and then take notes on some new fish to look up when you get home. Then the cycle continues. Then go to class to answer the tough questions and learn some new families of fish to look for.

Diving with other fish id divers speeds things up as they can tell you the name of the fish underwater saving you the "look up" phase of learning.

Also, you'll start with the big fish, Grunts, Angels, Butterflies, and move to the smaller fish, Blennys and Gobies. Once you figure out that Rough-head Blenny's are abundant and not just the "single one your found" you've reached fish id nirvana and enlightenment.

Soon every dive becomes a treasure hunt for fish. You'll be the one on the boat saying, "Did you see that hovering goby?" and everyone else will be wondering what your talking about? All they saw were Angelfish, a Barracuda, and a Green Moray.

--Matt

CACA FRITA!!!!

I thought Mike and Dave left me with full deco bottles. My o2 only had 1200 psi. Emailed Jody an update. Jody had 3000 psi fill from Alex so we equalized the bottles to 2K psi each. Nice!

The seas were 2ft, but choppy as all hell, we were taking water over the bow. It was a very rough ride. Once we got there, seas were 1 ft, very calm.

Current and wind was moving the boat at 3.2 knots. We figured 2 knot surface current with 300 foot drop.

I wasn't sure about Bryan finding our lift bag so I volunteered to take the Riffe float. We got down and 15 5ft jacks circled us and scared the shite out of us! We hit 196ft and couldn't see the wreck. We hit the trigger and Jody took off, I stayed in place, the Gavin pulling me forward and the flag line pulling me back.

We reviewed "dead float" procedure with Bryan before the dive.

So do we, sand dive, let go of the float and scooter to the wreck, or abort? We didn't review these options on the surface as part of the plan.

I singled, "let go" and got a positive response, so I let go of the reel to head for the wreck. Jody looked puzzled and thumbed.

We aborted and surfaced 35 minutes later.

At 70ft switch, my reg was at 0 psi and I hardly purged it before putting it in my mouth, I got a blast of salt water on the first breath. I coughed several times and get it cleared. Jody was right their monitoring the situation.

Our lift bag was parallel to the float about 100ft away. We made it very easy for Bryan to find us!

In the future....

1. We dive the deeper wrecks when conditions are good. We bring a stage of 32% and dive something easy when conditions suck.

2. Next time we'll anchor up on the wreck and scooter down the line to make sure we hit it. We are not smart enough to bomb, and we can't "read" the bottom to the wreck. Past 150ft its just too dark and our eyes take several minutes to adjust to the lack of light which hinders us on descent.

3. I think G3 might be wrong about dragging a float with current past 150ft. Maybe 200ft without current, but with current and rough seas, its not happening.

Strike 2 on the Star Trek.