Lac Cai
An
amazing fish dive and of all east coast dives this is the
most accessible one with a very easy and sheltered entry and
exit. However one of the most difficult to navigate with
areas of lower visibility and a number of different currents
that come into play.
It is a long shallow dive that will take you through a
number of different habitats. Each with its own specific
features. Starting with the channel on the way out of the
bay we will see high concentrations of fish.
Sometimes the fish are so dense that you cannot see the
coral they are around anymore. This soup of fish consists of
Grunts, Parrot Fishes, Snappers and Bermuda Chubs with very
large Rainbow Parrot Fish and Cubera Snappers in between.
The bottom hosts the highest count of Giant Anemones, they
are everywhere! As the current takes us further out towards
the drop off the channel gets a little deeper to form what
is known as ‘The Tarpon Pit’ During the day a large school
of many Tarpon hangs out in this area.
Sometimes they are all suspended throughout the water
column, sometimes they are all neatly lined up next to each
other just above the sandy bottom. But always a great view
to see so many big fish together.
The drop off to the right of the channel is at approximately
45 degrees and is covered with nice hard corals as well as
many large Gorgonians.
There are many ledges along the drop off that make great
resting places for Turtles. Many times Spotted Eagle Rays
are seen cruising back and forth along this stretch of reef.
As we go further south you will notice more and more Sea
Fans appearing in the shallows. Before we turn around we
usually do a D-tour through the shallows as it is beautiful
scenery to see all those Sea Fans waving with the surge.
Reflecting light or blending in as they sway you can
sometimes see waves of light travelling through the field.
Also many times we will see Turtles hanging out in the Sea
Fan fields.
On our way back we will pass by a small sand covered rubble
wall with many holes. Great for juveniles, shrimp, crabs,
eels and lobster. This rubble wall will then turn into a
much more dramatic 20 feet high wall with large cracks and
holes. Most of the rock here is covered with macro algae
which is a perfect habitat for Mutton Hamlet and Spotted
Scorpion Fish. Scorpion fish???? What’s the big deal about
that? We see them all the time. Well, they adapt to their
environment. You are used to see them in a plain sandy
color. Here they are very colorful with red, purple, pink,
gray and are all decked out with flakes on their bodies and
colorful plumes growing on their heads.
Some of the unusual fish we often see on this dive are
Rainbow-, Midnight and Blue Parrot Fish, Huge Cubera
Snappers, Dog Snapper, Sea Bream, Green Moray, Purple Mouth
Moray, Spanish Grunt, Reef Croaker, Glassy Sweeper, Black
Brotula, Tiger Grouper and Yellow Fin Grouper
