# Dive report - Thursday 5/9 Antares/Avocet



## esenjam (Jan 30, 2013)

Played hookie and went out today. Gorgeous weather flat calm all the way out to the Antares. We were the first ones out there, set our lines and went in. Saw a small Thresher shark about 20 ft down the line. No current at the surface, a decent one on the wreck. About 50 ft of visibility, water temp got down to 65F. Lots of snapper, small gags, and baby AJs. Fought the bottom current for a while with nothing legal to shoot, then back up the line.

Went over to the lucky Avocet. Couple of hook and line guys there, anchored up out of their way and went in. A couple of porpoises (mother and calf) were there looking for the red snapper hand out. Again fought the current to get to the wreck, visibility was pretty much the same. While I was on the wreck out in the distance saw a large fish swimming on the out skirts. Had a white bottom to it, almost like a great white, but I don't think it was that. At first I thought it was one of the porpoises, but then I could see a vertical tail? Looked back over my shoulder and my buddy busted a nice AJ, helped him string it up, and went back up the line. Skunked again, at least my buddy is giving me half the AJ steaks - he taped out at 42".

Great day on the water - even better not being at work.


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## aquatic argobull (Mar 2, 2009)

Nice. I wonder if it was a cobia that you saw


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

esenjam said:


> Played hookie and went out today. Gorgeous weather flat calm all the way out to the Antares. We were the first ones out there, set our lines and went in. Saw a small Thresher shark about 20 ft down the line. No current at the surface, a decent one on the wreck. About 50 ft of visibility, water temp got down to 65F. Lots of snapper, small gags, and baby AJs. Fought the bottom current for a while with nothing legal to shoot, then back up the line.
> 
> Went over to the lucky Avocet. Couple of hook and line guys there, anchored up out of their way and went in. A couple of porpoises (mother and calf) were there looking for the red snapper hand out. Again fought the current to get to the wreck, visibility was pretty much the same. While I was on the wreck out in the distance saw a large fish swimming on the out skirts. Had a white bottom to it, almost like a great white, but I don't think it was that. At first I thought it was one of the porpoises, but then I could see a vertical tail? Looked back over my shoulder and my buddy busted a nice AJ, helped him string it up, and went back up the line. Skunked again, at least my buddy is giving me half the AJ steaks - he taped out at 42".
> 
> Great day on the water - even better not being at work.


I saw something out at the avocet about two weeks ago that kind of freaked me out a little. We never did figure out what it was. I was standing up on the side of my boat so I could get a little higher up, and we saw something coming under the boat. It may have been 30 feet or more below the boat but you could tell it was huge. Boat sized huge. It went on. I was yelling, what the hell is that. Thousands of bubbles followed it on out. No boats in site. The first thing I said, was that a damn whale. 
Of coarse it wasn't no damn whale, but what ever it was , it was huge and put out thousands of very small bubbles that went on with the shadow, and then disappeared. 
Any ideas what it could have been........


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## KingMe!!! (Apr 25, 2008)

Chapman5011 said:


> I saw something out at the avocet about two weeks ago that kind of freaked me out a little. We never did figure out what it was. I was standing up on the side of my boat so I could get a little higher up, and we saw something coming under the boat. It may have been 30 feet or more below the boat but you could tell it was huge. Boat sized huge. It went on. I was yelling, what the hell is that. Thousands of bubbles followed it on out. No boats in site. The first thing I said, was that a damn whale.
> Of coarse it wasn't no damn whale, but what ever it was , it was huge and put out thousands of very small bubbles that went on with the shadow, and then disappeared.
> Any ideas what it could have been........


Whaleshark


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

KingMe!!! said:


> Whaleshark


You think. Do they put off tons of tiny little bubbles everywhere they go


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## flukedaddy (Apr 11, 2009)

Chapman5011 said:


> I saw something out at the avocet about two weeks ago that kind of freaked me out a little. We never did figure out what it was. I was standing up on the side of my boat so I could get a little higher up, and we saw something coming under the boat. It may have been 30 feet or more below the boat but you could tell it was huge. Boat sized huge. It went on. I was yelling, what the hell is that. Thousands of bubbles followed it on out. No boats in site. The first thing I said, was that a damn whale.
> Of coarse it wasn't no damn whale, but what ever it was , it was huge and put out thousands of very small bubbles that went on with the shadow, and then disappeared.
> Any ideas what it could have been........


Submarine.....probally whale shark, have also seen the giant manta rays put out alot of bubbles filter feeding.


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

From what I just read , the filter feeding can cause this as air is pushed out for long periods of time after surface feeding. 
This could possible be it. Are they in that area of the gulf. And it could have been a manta ray.... But this thing had more of a whitish color to it. Very noticeable .


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## KingMe!!! (Apr 25, 2008)

Chapman5011 said:


> From what I just read , the filter feeding can cause this as air is pushed out for long periods of time after surface feeding.
> This could possible be it. Are they in that area of the gulf. And it could have been a manta ray.... But this thing had more of a whitish color to it. Very noticeable .


Whalesharks are covered in white spots. I had visit from one a few years ago at Greens Hole.


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## esenjam (Jan 30, 2013)

Chapman5011 said:


> From what I just read , the filter feeding can cause this as air is pushed out for long periods of time after surface feeding.
> This could possible be it. Are they in that area of the gulf. And it could have been a manta ray.... But this thing had more of a whitish color to it. Very noticeable .


What I saw had a white underbelly, and looked huge in the distance. It wasn't a whale because it had a vertical tail. There was a school of cuda between me and it, and it may have just been a large cuda. I looked at the video again and you can tell where I was looking, but can't see it on the video.


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## coolbluestreak (Jun 27, 2011)

Whale sharks have vertical tails.


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## esenjam (Jan 30, 2013)

coolbluestreak said:


> Whale sharks have vertical tails.


Yes, it could have been a whale shark - although it wasn't that big as in the photo. Another reason is when I looked over my shoulder at my buddy as it was passing, he had speared a nice size AJ and had a decent blood trail in the water. Whatever it was didn't come back to answer the dinner bell.


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