2 Feb--LionFish Hunt - Part 1

Tues, 2 Feb. GroundHog Day ... a tradition i had to explain to Pamela. how do you describe a Groundhog to someone who lives on an island with no mammals (except dogs and cats). i went with a very large rat/mouse. the concept just doesn't make sense to someone who has never experienced winter! we left on our boat with Pamela, Chel, Victor, and Jose. we had a great ride around the east side of the island. it was 'calm' .... but 'calm' is not what we would consider 'calm'. it wasn't scary at all, but at times the boat was at a 90 degree angle riding a wave up before we road or crashed down the other side! we were in a 22ft open boat. at the east end of the island is Pumpkin Hill, the highest point of the island at 290ft. it did get calm once we got around the end, and entered the Turtle Harbour Marine Protected Area. it was a wonderful calm cove with a lot of Patch Reefs! Patch Reefs are what i snorkeled around last year out at Glovers Marine Park. i felt right at home. it was beautiful ! we got in the water, spread out and started hunting for Lionfish. we weren't in the water more than 15min when one was spotted. we all gathered around, and decided Abi should give it a try. we did practice this last night, with a potato! but i wasn't sure if my 'weak hand', could hold the rubber tight enough to get a powerful punch. so Abi made a good try, but missed. this is not as easy as i thought it would be! you have to hold your breath while you dive down, and get within 4-5" of it before you release. ...and of course, there is the distortion of the water you need to get used to; and the fact that your body is bouyant and wants to float to the top. that one darted under a rock, so we waited awhile; but generally speaking, you might as well move on. i took off in another direction, looking and looking for the dreaded Lionfish ... but it was hard not to be distracted by all the beautiful coral and fishes that i was seeing. i had my camera, so i had to take some photos. .... surprise surprise. Glass Eye Snapper. This guy was RED ... and no enhancing the color on this photo. this is a 'night' fish, hence, the big eyes, and was hiding under a ledge. i'd never seen one before. he was awesome! his eyes were huge and glassy. Flounder. i would have never noticed this guy if he hadn't moved. Look hard, he's a professional at camouflage! his tail is in the middle, left of center. you can't see the eyes in this photo. this fish is as flat as a pancake. when it is born, it has an eye on either side of it's body, but as it grows, one eye moves, so they are BOTH on the same side of it's body. it lays flat on whatever it is on, ....and, it changes colors. if it is moving over sand, it's sand colored; when it moves to rocks, it changes to look like the rock. awesome! after awhile i noticed that everyone was hanging out together. i thought the idea was to spread out, but i returned to see what i had missed. they had seen 2 more Lionfish and missed them both. but they were now hovering over another one. i dove down and took some photos. then Abi gave it a try. POW ! she got it !! yeahhhhhh, it was so exciting !!! don't get the wrong impression with the photo below. this is her swimming to the boat after she skewered it. she did not spear it while it was swimming! you spear them while they are on the bottom or next to the rock they are hiding around. we saw another one, and tried, with a failed attempt. and, then a mother and a baby. i decided i wanted to give it a try. i went for the mother and missed. then we found another baby, and i tried and missed again, i had time to reload and try again, and still missed. DAMN! i'll get it, but it will take more practice! it didn't bother my wrist at all. it is getting stronger, but i am still wearing a support and taking my motrin. continued ....