So I went to measure my scallops on Tuesday for my growth experiment, which if I had to say, is going fairly well. I conducted a similar experiment last year and ended up with good results, so I added more mats this year and hoped to see much of the same.
It was a long day (at Southold by 8:30, leave the dock by 9:30, back tot he dock by 5:30, leave Southold by 6:30), and I ended up that night with a killer headache, ended up sleeping for 12 straight hours, which never happens to me, but that is a horse of a different color. The water has cooled down considerably, but it was none-the-less a nice day diving on my grass mats.
As soon as I got to the bottom, I saw a huge winter flounder, we are talking dinner for 4 (well maybe not quite that big, but big), and of course I didn't have my catch bag or my camera, but I still tried to grab it by its tail and it swam away. Aside from the flounder, the usual suspects were all out - tautog, cunner, porgies, sticklebacks, gobies, spider crabs, mud crabs, and even blue crabs. And this knobbed whelk, crawling along the bottom, leaving his mucous trail along the way.
Oh, and adult scallops. I found one in my mat that at first glance looked like a really big seed. As it turned out, it was a scallop with a small growth ring, sometimes called nub scallops. These scallops are usually spawned late in the year (October) and only grow a few millimeters until their growth stops for the winter. The next season, they catch up to the other scallops, and end up around the same size. I also saw this guy, who was posing for pictures.
All in all, nice day on the water, and my scallops are looking good.
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