Night Chills

Finally conditions look good for a night dive! I got my gear together and trekked out across the long expanse of sand exposed by the low tide, trying to ignore the wind biting through my wetsuit. Mask on, gun loaded camera running and I flop face down into the shallows and get under way. The first thing I notice is that it's very cold, and very clear which is a huge relief as this mark is often a real disappointment in terms of visibility. The second thing I notice is that there is a fish at the edge of my torch light, I freeze and slowly inch forward, it's a Bream, who unfortunately for him is coming home with me for dinner.

After a wrestle in the dark with the fish I realise it's a Gilthead Bream, I've never caught one before but have heard good things about them (and indeed when cooked the next day it was one of the tastiest bits of fish I've ever had, superb!).

It's a great start, followed by an hour of seeing very little, I head off around an island and see some mullet (which I leave to fight another day) but very little other life. In fact I start to get a little spooked out there alone in the dark. The human brain is a funny thing, despite knowing there is nothing to be scared of it still doesn't like being out in the sea in the dark :) At times like this I clamp down on those feelings and don't let them get the better of me.

When I come back into the shallows nearly where I started suddenly the sea comes alive again, in amongst the fields of sea grass, string weed and kelp I come across a fantastic cuttlefish, always one of my favourite creatures to encounter. As I was watching it I notice something big moving in the kelp underneath it and my adrenaline spikes, just for a second I think it's the mother of all Sea bass and I'll be eating well for a week. Then a big old Bull Huss emerges from the weed, certainly the biggest I've ever seen, about 3ft long. I'm torn for a moment between filming the fish or the cuttle, but in the end manage both. What a treat :)

On the final stretch, I encounter lots of crabs, also the area is dotted with mermaids Purses (dog fish eggs) and I also encounter a lovely shoal of Sea trout, rounding off a really fantastic night.