Collection trip

Yea I caught it at the bridge. also got a bigeye and a grouper that is new to me.
I'll have to get some pics.

this angel is a little bigger, a little over an inch. he went straight into my reef (grouper free) :cool:
 
I went collecting today on the North shore over by me. Im now fully stocked for the winter with silversides. Only thing out of the ordinary was a lone pipefish, Some small flounders and a few fish i cant identify. I dont believe there tropical though.
 
So far so good! Everything i took home is still alive and swimming including the 6 pipefish :)
 
so yesterday, I caught the usual spotfin butterflies. but on the way in from the dive I saw 5 fish that I really wanted to catch. however I only had 600 psi and not enough weight to keep me down. I went back to the car put on some more weight and went back to catch those fish. I actually did catch 3 out of the five fish I was going for. I caught the four eye b/f, banded b/f, and blue angel. I couldn't catch the two tangs I was after. but during my attempts to catch the 5 fish I was able to catch another angel, several nice damsels, and a tang (but it wasn't the tang I went back for).

its getting cooler but there are still fish down there.
 
Well, these 80-degree October days aren't hurting the collecting season. I went to the inlet yesterday and got 2 large reef butterflies, 2 banded butterflies, 2 cocoa damsels and saw more spotfins, doctorfish, and ocean surgeons than you can shake a stick at. You can waste a lot of air chasing those larger tangs out in the open like that, so I didn't bother. While I was waiting for the tide to slack, I also caught a large grey trigger and a black seabass which I ate for dinner. Maybe Long Island isn't so bad after all.
 
When you guys do this next year post it on the C.T.A.R.S forum, and im sure your turnout will double. Especially when the members see this thread.
 
I work in a public aquarium (Atlantis Marine World), so between our 20,000-gal reef tank, 80,000-gal snorkel tank, and 120,000-gal shark tank, we have space for a few angels. We just started getting lionfish this week too.

As for doubling the size our turnout, I don't know that we necessarily want to do that (especially considering how parking and beach access can be in the Hamptons), but you should be able to get a lot of the same species in Eastern CT and RI. If your club is interested, I have a presentation on collecting tropicals outside of the tropics.
 
Thats pretty cool. I would love to work in an aquarium. Post some pics of the fish when you put them in the aquarium.
 
i tried out a new spot today and it looks like a good one. I saw 3 squirrel fish which are a first for me here. I caught the first 2 but while going for the third I was distracted by an octopus! another first for me on LI.
 
I think it's only vulgaris that can be found around here, IIRC. Not a common sight, but they are around. Where were you?
 
I didn't catch the lionfish. A volunteer brough two of them in this week. She said she got them at the inlet, but I don't know which side. I went to Ponquogue bridge the other night and visibility looked terrible. We also went seining all afternoon on Tuesday and got very little (one lookdown and one cornetfish). The wind has been blowing hard all week and messing things up.

Only Octopus vulgaris is listed for this area (as a tropical stray), but we actually get a couple of species, including one very small, cold-water species. We have fishermen bring them in throughout the year. They are either undescribed, or just haven't been found here by the right scientists yet. Western Atlantic octopi have not been well-studied.

Tom, I'll give you a call this afternoon.
 
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