Nurses and 'cudas and bulls, oh my!

Interesting dive yesterday.

Black grouper season opened May 1, but yesterday (the 5th) was the first day we could get out. Its been windy most of the spring and while I’ve done a little snorkeling and swimming, actual diving has been minimal. So we were all pretty stoked to be getting out on the water, esp since the wind felt lighter than predicted and the viz, at 20’ was not spectacular but more than adequate, esp since we were generally no deeper than that.

We were 3 divers and 2 line fishermen on Ashley’s boat Alternative Medicine and we hit it with enthusiasm. Found a nice rocky/reefy area, saw several grouper, legal (24”) and larger. I spent 15 seconds lying on the bottom exchanging looks with one larger fellow under a ledge. His head was big, but I couldn’t see body/markings and wasn’t sure it was a black. I don’t really cotton to shooting first and asking questions later, but when he turned to go and I saw his full size, I regretted not taking the shot. Still, cool to see. At one point I saw a commotion and cloud of dust in the reef where a couple of nurse sharks were tusseling with something. Tom said later he’d seen a bull shark in the area but I didn’t see it and suspected mistaken identity, though he’s a very experienced diver and I’ve no real reason to doubt him. Anyway….

After several hours of enjoyable but not super productive diving, we were lounging on the boat with some spicy Thai peanut/beef wraps and sangria Mandy brought . Sun was getting lower, and people were making noises about heading back, but nobody actually moving and I figured I could slip in for 20 minutes and one more pass at the reef.

The current had gotten stronger while we were on the boat, and while I could make good progress against it and the spot wasn’t far away, I was a bit winded (ie totally out of shape) when I got there. The shooting line bungee on my Rob Allen 120 had broken on the last dive, so I had borrowed Ashley’s mid-handle Riffe. It was a little shorter and better for the reef anyway.

The reef was just lit up with activity—big schools of shimmering bar jack, and several larger mackerel were cruising through and if I weren’t grouper-eyed, I could have had good fun with those. But then I did spot a decent sized black, and while he was going around the corner of the reef, he didn’t look in a hurry so I decided to track him a bit. After a few dives I found him holed up and took my shot—and missed. Managed a solid hit on the reef however and Ash’s shaft was doing a pretty good impression of Arthur’s sword Excalibur, defying my repeated attempts to pull it. The kicker was that damned grouper just hung around watching and taunting the whole time, never more than 15’ away.

I entrusted Ash’s gun to Neptune for a few minutes while I swam back to the boat and got my Rob Allen. First things first. I relocated the spot, and gun –and grouper, still out in the open, but close to cover. Still 15’ off, I lined up and popped him. It was a mid-body center of mass shot, and the way he shuddered when hit I thought close to a spine shot. But then he made a strong run toward the reef and I had to fight to keep him out, and then to my surprise and dismay, he tore off.

Well.

I saw where he entered the reef and kept an eye on the area while I reloaded, breathed up, and waited for the current to wash out the dust cloud. I dropped down into a pretty little crack with a 3' sand channel in the bottom. Peering into a cave, I could see him, a little ways back in, but not wedged or anything; if I shot him I could pull him out. I backed my head out in order to get the longer gun in position and was thinking about another breath in case it turned into a wrestling match. I looked up just in time to see a 6’ nurse pass maybe two feet over my head. They’re friendly, right?  Or at least harmless?  Well I was startled, but went up to get my breath and then finish the job. Up top I could see another 6 or 7’nurse also prowling, and 3 of the big barracuda I’d been seeing off and on all day had suddenly materialized as well. Hmm. This was getting interesting. Well heck. I checked behind me to make sure nobody *else* was coming to the party, then dropped, took the shot, and pulled out the fish and headed up, holding him close. He was smaller than I’d thought, though legal, but---no second hole! A different fish! What were the chances? WTF?

I swam fast swivel-necking back to the boat, dropped the fish and gun, aware of the fading light and Ashley’s gun still stuck in the reef. They asked if I wanted backup, but I was feeling sort of embarrassed about the whole episode and knew everyone was ready to leave, and just wanted to clean up this mess and go, so I declined. Probably not bright, but adrenaline and a little O2 deprivation don’t always make for the best judgement.

Swam back (again!), found the gun (again). There was still a lot of activity which I was a little nervous turning my back on, but a closer look in the back of the hole revealed the flopper wasn’t stuck, and a bit of judicious wiggling in the hole finally got it free. I reloaded and made a couple of dives searching for the still missing and probably dying fish, but so were the nurse sharks and ‘cudas. I thought I could follow, using their scenting to find the fish, but they were hot on it’s trail--darting, prowling, twisting, swerving back, just getting a little too worked up for my taste. Meanwhile the others had pulled anchor and motored over to me. I felt bad about abandoning the fish, but it really was getting a little hinky down there, and darker, and there were friends and beverages on the boat, and it just seemed like a good call to move toward the light. So I did. ☺