Got to snorkel for the first time this past week. I'm hooked. Awesome experience. Found it much more difficult to stay steady in the water current than I expected. Also found it quite challenging to change out of a cold wet wetsuit on the side of a busy road...the locals got a show they probably didn't want to see.
Anyway, on to the fun part!
Location: King's Creek, Broad River Drainage, South Carolina
Species that make an appearance at some point: Bluehead Chub, Redbreast, Smallmouth Bass, Sandbar Shiner, Spottail Shiner, Greenfin Shiner (I think that's all of them, if anyone spots anything different, let me know!)
The week prior to this, I assisted DNR in sampling this same spot and we came up with a large school of large Robust Redhorse and Brassy Jumprocks, all were spawning or about to spawn. Unfortunately, when we came back to snorkel, they were gone.
Here's a video I put together from the day. Enjoy!
First time snorkeling
Started by
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
, May 03 2014 05:04 PM
17 replies to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 03 May 2014 - 06:37 PM
looks like fun... gotta love all those chubs from minute 10-12...
redhorse are notorious skittish and seem to always just be out of camera range even when you do see them... your visibility was not perfect, they might have been there, and stayed out of site.
redhorse are notorious skittish and seem to always just be out of camera range even when you do see them... your visibility was not perfect, they might have been there, and stayed out of site.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#3
mattknepley
-
- NANFA Member
- Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.
Posted 04 May 2014 - 08:23 AM
Glad to see you had a great time. Especially glad to hear the robust redhorse to be found in good numbers and reproducing. Also think it's interesting how some of our native shiners bear resemblance to one of my favorite tropicals, black neon tetra ( Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)when seen in the water. Your opening few seconds show that.
As for the locals, they should be grateful; it isn't every day a robust bluetiger parades around on the roadside...
As for the locals, they should be grateful; it isn't every day a robust bluetiger parades around on the roadside...
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
#4
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 04 May 2014 - 08:53 AM
Completely typed the wrong name...notchlip redhorse, not robust. My bad! Just had them in my mind for some reason!
#5
Guest_bbrown_*
Guest_bbrown_*
-
- Guests
Posted 04 May 2014 - 04:29 PM
Great video. If that's what your turning out after your first time snorkeling, I can't wait to see what your doing after a couple of times out!
#6
Isaac Szabo
-
- NANFA Member
- Marble Falls, AR
Posted 04 May 2014 - 06:55 PM
I'm glad you enjoyed your first snorkeling experience. Nice video. I like the minnows swimming in the sunbeams.
Current can be tricky, particularly when wearing a buoyant wetsuit. It's one of the reasons I wear a weight belt, but that comes with its own set of issues.
Current can be tricky, particularly when wearing a buoyant wetsuit. It's one of the reasons I wear a weight belt, but that comes with its own set of issues.
#7
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 04 May 2014 - 07:26 PM
Thanks yall. Future videos will be far less shaky once I somewhat master the current.
Michael, those seemed like some fat and nearly-ready to spawn females to me. Couldn't find any colored up males. Only found one giant nest too with nothing around it. Figured there would've been some males nearby getting ready, but they must have been hiding.
Michael, those seemed like some fat and nearly-ready to spawn females to me. Couldn't find any colored up males. Only found one giant nest too with nothing around it. Figured there would've been some males nearby getting ready, but they must have been hiding.
#8
mattknepley
-
- NANFA Member
- Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.
Posted 04 May 2014 - 07:36 PM
Agree with Isaac; the minners in the sunbeams were especially nice. I didn't think you were shaky at all, really. Maybe when you were adjusting angles or whatnot, but otherwise no. I was pretty impressed in that regard.
I haven't seen many male Nocomis chubs either, at least not many that are gearing up to spawn. There was that one from Little River I asked about awhile ago, and one or two others. For the most part, all females (and some fat, mondo-gravid ones at that) or imm. males not ready to be daddies yet.
I haven't seen many male Nocomis chubs either, at least not many that are gearing up to spawn. There was that one from Little River I asked about awhile ago, and one or two others. For the most part, all females (and some fat, mondo-gravid ones at that) or imm. males not ready to be daddies yet.
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
#9
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 04 May 2014 - 07:43 PM
I had to do a little adjustment on the levels of the video. The raw footage is extremely yellow and hardly shows the sunbeam at all (maybe I shouldn't give away my secrets??). If anyone knows of a way to make the GoPro shoot underwater video that isn't yellow and is more natural like the video above, please let me know. Doesn't matter where I am, whether I'm in a pond/lake or a clear stream, the water is always yellow looking from the GoPro. While this particular stream had a little turbidity to it, it was actually fairly clear while snorkeling in most places.
Matt - while helping DNR, we came across one big male in the (4?) streams we sampled. He was a beast and had one of the largest humps on his head I've ever seen. Looked extremely abnormal, I wish I had gotten a picture. Other than him, haven't seen anything. Haven't seen any chub nests either, except for the one in this creek. Looking at your greenheads in your post, it would seem it's getting about that time, so I figured there'd be some obvious nests. Guess they are still warming up and waiting until the last minute.
Matt - while helping DNR, we came across one big male in the (4?) streams we sampled. He was a beast and had one of the largest humps on his head I've ever seen. Looked extremely abnormal, I wish I had gotten a picture. Other than him, haven't seen anything. Haven't seen any chub nests either, except for the one in this creek. Looking at your greenheads in your post, it would seem it's getting about that time, so I figured there'd be some obvious nests. Guess they are still warming up and waiting until the last minute.
#10
Isaac Szabo
-
- NANFA Member
- Marble Falls, AR
Posted 04 May 2014 - 07:57 PM
The yellow color is due to incorrect white balance. I haven't used a gopro, so I don't know what your white balance options are. The best thing to do (if the camera offers it) is to set a custom white balance on a neutral (gray or white) object in the water at your approximate shooting depth and subject distance. With a correct white balance, a gray object will appear neutral without a color cast and all the other colors will be accurate.
#11
Guest_Dustin_*
Guest_Dustin_*
-
- Guests
Posted 05 May 2014 - 09:40 AM
Is that creek on Hwy 121? Doesn't it have greenhead shiners as well? Very nice video. I'm very jealous that I missed all the big suckers.
#12
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 05 May 2014 - 09:54 AM
The yellow color is due to incorrect white balance. I haven't used a gopro, so I don't know what your white balance options are.
I've only used mine a few times and didn't have to adjust it... but then again, I think I always had it above water when I turned it on and then dunked it... on a bright day that may be enough to give it a "normal" setting to start from. Although I will also say that all camera's are more sensitive to stuff in the water than you are... people are great at ignoring stuff and focusing in on what they want to see..,. cameras just see it all equally. This seems particularly true with suspended particulate.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#13
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 05 May 2014 - 02:57 PM
Dustin- this was on State Rd S-11-44, McGill Hwy. Just east of the Broad, south of Blacksburg. I would think it should have greenheads, but we never came across any.
Thanks for the camera tips. Unfortunately the old Hero2 GoPros have no way of balancing white balance manually. Maybe the Hero3+ will when mine comes in.
Thanks for the camera tips. Unfortunately the old Hero2 GoPros have no way of balancing white balance manually. Maybe the Hero3+ will when mine comes in.
#14
Guest_BlueBlood_*
Guest_BlueBlood_*
-
- Guests
Posted 05 May 2014 - 03:51 PM
Welcome to the madness.
#15
Guest_Casper_*
Guest_Casper_*
-
- Guests
Posted 05 May 2014 - 04:54 PM
Welcome to the madness.
That be true!
#16
Guest_BlueBlood_*
Guest_BlueBlood_*
-
- Guests
Posted 05 May 2014 - 08:48 PM
I will add this: More weight on your camera rig will help you keep it stable and less shaky. Look up DIY PVC rigs on Youtube and fill them with sand, gravel, or attachable weights. Your footage will shake less as your rig will be more stable.
Better lighting: Good luck, tough battle to win underwater. Just get used to scrapping a lot of footage. Let me know when you win and what you did.
Better lighting: Good luck, tough battle to win underwater. Just get used to scrapping a lot of footage. Let me know when you win and what you did.
#17
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
Guest_sbtgrfan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 06 May 2014 - 06:53 PM
Good tip. I currently just use a cheap light monopod and attach the gopro to that because I wanted a long extension previously, but now that I don't really need anything long while snorkeling, I'll look for DIY PVC setups.
Thanks
Thanks
#18
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 06 May 2014 - 07:06 PM
two cheap monopod ideas
1) for $0.99 you can by a 1/4 x 20 all thread rod one foot long... this is the standard thread on the bottom of most cameras (but not GoPro). I have used this with my underwater camera. Just screw it in and jam the threaded rod down in the substrate for a very stable mount.
2) I used a PVC tube with a PVC t-joint on top as a simple monopod. Put a stainless steel screw through the top of the t-joint that could also be screwed into the camera.
of course neither of these work with a GoPro as they have a different system for their mounts. But if you get the GoPro bike Mount kit, there are adapters that would easily screw only a broomstick... thats how I got this footage...
1) for $0.99 you can by a 1/4 x 20 all thread rod one foot long... this is the standard thread on the bottom of most cameras (but not GoPro). I have used this with my underwater camera. Just screw it in and jam the threaded rod down in the substrate for a very stable mount.
2) I used a PVC tube with a PVC t-joint on top as a simple monopod. Put a stainless steel screw through the top of the t-joint that could also be screwed into the camera.
of course neither of these work with a GoPro as they have a different system for their mounts. But if you get the GoPro bike Mount kit, there are adapters that would easily screw only a broomstick... thats how I got this footage...
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
NANFA Youtube Channel 
