Pike display intelligent hunting patterns

DO pike hunt in packs?

Not a question you'll find an easy answer to on the internet but reports from divers at Dosthill Quarry suggest they may have learned some interesting new feeding techniques.

Normally lone predators who favour the "strike first, ask questions later!" style of hunting, it would appear the group of five adults at Dosthill are stealing ideas from dolphins and sharks.

Dive site boss Ian Forster said: "There are five of them hunting in a pack!!

"They are circling around the fry, herding them together in a large ball up against the quarry wall, and then attacking the shoal in two's and three's leaving a few pike to keep the ball together.

"This displays the same intelligent behaviour that is seen in dolphins!!"

Anyone who has seen Blue Planet or Nature's Greatest Events will know the drill. Fish hungry pack hunters like dolphins will surround the smaller fish, forcing them into a tighter an tighter ball by blowing bubbles to scare them or circling the shoal.

Gradually, they increase speed and narrow their path, trapping the fish in a tight ball against the surface before ripping through the centre of the ball for a feast.

pic from Jamie Parker's African Space sardine run tour

pic from Jamie Parker's African Space sardine run tour

pic from Jamie Parker's African Space sardine run tour

The pike are normally found on the back shelf over the weed beds and around the van and caravan, typically hunting in the morning and evening so it might be worth a look next time you are down there.

Underwater photographs using Canon G9's full manual settings

Okay, before I start, I acknowledge that these are in no way shape or form fantastic underwater images. They are not even good if I am completely honest.

But, they do represent a start for me in getting to grips with my Canon G9's manual settings while scuba diving and a better understanding of some basic principles.

First, and perhaps most importantly, lets get the setting right. These were taken in Dosthill in about 3m worth of viz. I've not really tested myself with adjusting the manual settings (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) before so everything was a learning curve of trial and error. Also nothing image-wise was planned, three of us jumped in armed with cameras and started blasting away. And these are a few of my efforts.

Practical things I've learned:

Challenging oneself with three independent functions while also scuba diving was a tad tricky and I would have been better off trialling one first but you don't learn until you give it a go.

You need a lot of patience to get things right.

Taking a white balance before each image is now second nature but I found a white slate left the colours looking a a bit harsh and found using the palm of the hand might be better.

The intensity of the built-in flash can be altered to make it softer or stronger. Don't forget that.

The two images of the perch who was happily hanging about the bottom of the buoyed line that drops onto the house are perfect demonstration of the wrong settings.

The fish didn't want to leave the safety of the line and, like a clown fish darted here and there every time the camera was pointed at him.

Unfortunately, catching him with a bit too much flash left left almost burnt out areas of white on his underbelly and near his mouth. Slightly less flash might have softened the images more.



As the next three images show, while white balance returned the right colours to the underwater realm, the poor viz meant there was still too little light to capture a crystal clear image, hence a bit of blurring as the fish darted around, caused by a shutter speed that was too slow.

Closing the shutter speed down, got a sharper image (below) but left the image darker than those above. A strobe which can be angled around the camera is a must.
I was surprised by how little backscatter was created by such a large unit used by my buddy by carefully angling it when taking different pics.

Dosthill itself is not short of atmosphere and the next two pics, of the buoyed line down to the old pump house and the reeds at two to three metres give two different natural-light perspectives to different parts of the quarry.

The reeds are where we find the population of pike. Below is a jack pike. Hopefully instinct will help me approach a scene with the right camera settings in mind but the best I could get here ended with the rear of the pike giving off too much white reflection and the blue background of the water becoming almost black because of such a short shutter speed.

As the next image shows, the G9 needs a wide angle lens. In poor viz situations the camera just cannot capture a wide enough shot of a diver behind the Parcelforce van. The G10 offered a wider image but a compact fitted with a wet wide angle really opened up the image a lot more.

So, nothing to worry Tom Peshak or David Doubilet but we've all got to start somewhere and despite the issues with each image, I've learned a few things and discovered that there is the possibility of getting decent images even in somewhere like Dostill Quarry.

Advanced Open Water

Thanks to Neil and Adam for making a wet weekend so enjoyable.
The rain torrential at times, soaking us through to the skin, (and that was before we got into the water) it could have been a bleak two days.
But we had a blast and they both successfully completed their PADI advanced course and Peak Performance Buoyancy.
The viz on the deep dive was pretty decent because the bottom draggers (who needs fins when you can trample over the silty bottom) stayed at home because of the weather.
They should take a few lessons from our students - I even got to see parts of Dosthill I'd not seen before.
Bosses have launched a new website with a good map and some pics that are worth a look for those new to diving or the wonders of Dosthill

Scuba Diving Dosthill

Back in front of my computer again after a manic week at work what with people being shot, a man being found with what he feared was a bomb strapped to his chest and another cannabis factory being busted.

A reporter's life is not a happy one. Well technically that's not true. It's a great job - even if it means standing on street corners for hours on end.

Despite the manic week, I still managed to get a scuba diving session in the pool in to help a recently qualified diver get more practice in a dry suit and dump a few pounds of weight at the same time. And my wife and I got in another trip to Dosthill to give her a bit more practice UK diving again in readiness for a trip next month.

No camera this time but we still managed to see an awful lot, pike, perch, carp, golden orf. And I showed her a bit of the quarry she had not seen before, skirting the edge of the bowl at 17m to take in the cars, Land Rover, tree and van. She also got to see the wall that leads to the back shelf as well.

Thanks to Lee Hatton there is a new map of Dosthill which is well worth checking out and might provide a few new spots you may have missed.

Scuba Diving in Dosthill

So you want to know what it's like to scuba dive in Dosthill at the start of the season? Simple, follow these three easy steps.

Step One: Open tin of Campbell's Pea Soup

Step Two: Pour Campbell's pea soup in large bowl

Step Three: Throw face into cold Campbell's pea soup

If you managed to keep your eyes open long enough, you probably had better viz than we did at the weekend.

BUT amazingly, on my first pleasure dive there for a while (it's mostly been teaching dives in the past couple of years) I saw more freshwater marine life than ever.

The purpose was two-fold, try out my new drysuit and get my other half back into UK diving before hitting the coast next month. And with the Spring sun blazing away it was perfect to just sit and chill.

she looks more glamorous in normal clothes, honest

Despite the water temperature not getting much higher than about 8C -my wife's fingers go numb in anything under the 'tropical' setting - we still had a blast. Well, at least I did.

First dive, I decided to leave the camera behind so I could focus on her and two thirds along the west wall, heading towards the hidden platforms at about 10m down we saw the huge eel lying on the bottom. Six years I've been diving in Dosthill and the closest I have come is the tale end in the hollow in the tree but her she was sunning herself in the shallows.

Then there was the jack pike, giant perch, golden carp and the two giant pike. It's no wonder fishermen want to get their rods out.

Luckily the second dive yielded the same sights as the first, sans eel, so at least the camera got an outing. Oh well, can't be too greedy.

Say what you want about the dive site - yes it is basic, yes there is not as much down there to look at, yes the toilets are crap, yes I've dived it so much there is little to explore any more, but it is a perfect training ground and the fish life has increased massively.

And they make the best bacon buttie!

Diving weekend

Whoooooo-hooooooooooooooo!
Weather's looking great for the weekend and perfect for diving.
Chance to finally try out my new Oceanic Black drysuit after weeks of carefully stretching the neck and wrist seals (so I don't pass out under water).
Also chance to get my other half back into UK waters after her almost three years as a warm water diver only.
Look out Dosthill (okay, not the best dive site, but it's on our doorstep) here we come.

First Scuba Diving Trip of the Year

After a few weeks off following Christmas and a busy few weeks at work, I finally got back into the water at the weekend.........and boy was it bracing.

The weekend I joined a couple of instructors running a PADI Advanced Open Water course at Dosthill Quarry, near Tamworth, in Staffs, UK.

Despite the cold waters, I had a cracking time.

AOW is a great course to help run - particularly when divers sign up for a January course, as you know they are going to be keen and excited with the underwater world.

Okay, the 5C temperature of the water had the potential to be a bit of a dampener but we all had a good time, with six dives over Saturday (dry suit, wreck and peak performance buoyancy adventure dives) and Sunday (deep, navigation and peak performance buoyancy adventure dives).

Sadly, the deep dive at 20m proved a bit of a challenge on Sunday after the bottom-dredgers in their twin sets and ponies had stomped over it.

Sometimes I wonder if its even worth giving them fins the way they walk over the silty bottom and I do wish they'd learn some buoyancy control to avoid turning the viz into pea soup for everyone else that follows.

Maybe they should have watched our students, who quickly grasped control of their buoyancy and fine-tuned it brilliantly over the weekend. Unlike my AOW course.

It might be in the distant past but it's still fresh in the mind. On my first dive (dry suit adventure dive) I remember seeing the back shelf at eight metres, then the surface......then the back shelf......then the surface.

Graphing my dive profile on my computer, it looked like a really toothy Jaws was about to jump out of the screen - but that's entry-level dry suit diving for you. Now I wouldn't be without one.

While the DM's job can be the busiest when it comes to logistics of the weekend (issuing kit, sorting out problems, getting people ready for the dive) it's also the most rewarding, particularly by the end of Sunday when the four smiling faces collected their certificates.