Hurray!!!! Only one month left of this Melbourne Winter!!! Not that we’re complaining about the recent conditions at our local dive sites but 12 degrees in the water with yet another 6 to 8 weeks of water temperatures that will continue to drop, I think that the bottom of the bay will not drop down to single figures but the top of the bay around Williamstown through to Brighton definitely will as those shallow sites are currently sitting at 10 degrees at 3mts of depth.
Although divers are raving about recent viz, everyone is echoing the same observation with a distinct drop in fish life numbers. A drop in the amount of fish life seen at dive sites is normal at this time of the year with our piscatorial friends seeking deeper water outside the bay and in the deeper parts of the navigation channels where water temperature is warmer.
One beneficiary of the cooler conditions is the humble scallop! Scallops currently are in good numbers and are nice and plump, these filter feeders thrive in cooler water temperatures and are making those brave enough to dive for them very happy. Speaking this week to a regular scallop diving devotee, he reported that the scallops on the Western side of the bay in 12mts of water out from Mud Island are substantially bigger than their cousins on the Eastern side of the bay, however not in the same numbers, scallops on the Western side of the bay are fewer in numbers right through along the Corio channel but are also substantially bigger than what you would find around Rye.
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