Posted by Brad on May 02, 2002 at 21:12:54:
In Reply to: Re: The Giant Sea Bass, our most magnificent resident! posted by Franko on May 01, 2002 at 21:24:33:
Hello.
I have had many encounters at San Clelemte Island in the last few years, all of them in 20 to 40ft of water, mostly over white sand.
My favorite encounter was at the Cortes Bank. In mid June, 00' i ran out to the bank and saw an incredable amount of fish in the afternoon. That evening after dark, i put on my wetsuit and slipped back in the water. The swell was up and it was a little disconcerting not to be able to see the anchor light for a few seconds between swells. I would go down 25ft or so and hang on to the kelp and wait for the tell-tale bioluminescent glow of a fish. One one dive, i saw a massive glow. I turned on my light and there were two giants about 20ft away. They both swung around and looked at the light, one of them went off directly away and the other bolted straight towards me. As it approached and shot right by me, it let out a series of 'thumping' sounds.
Being somewhat anthropomorphic (and romantic) by nature, i have to assume that i encountered a male and female pair. When they saw the strange light, the male instructed the female to leave immediately and he then challenged the danger by charging and boom-sounding.
I would say that about half of my encounters were with a distinctive 'pair' of giants...
What we do not yet know about them continues to be an utter fascination to me. We do know that they live to be over 75 years of age. For all we know, they could form bonds that last for years on end....
Here is my favorite picture:
http://www.loveofsea.com/images/06.jpg
Brad
loves the sea...