Holocentrus adscensionis
Size: to 12"
Habitat: inlets and rivers, late in the season
Notes: Squirrelfishes are nocturnal - the enormous eye is a dead giveaway. Look for small ones at night in the late summer and early fall in the rivers and inlets. Unfortunately, they are rare visitors to our area.
Scallops are not nearly so easy to get as Mussels but are well worth it. I have never seen a scallop in less than 90 ft of water, most often in 110 ft and below. Sadly, the commercial scallop boats have quite efficiently decimated the scallop population, and they are fairly rare, especially in any kind of useful quantity.
When you do get into a field of scallops though, life is good. Scallops live on the surface of the sand ( rarely on the deck of a wreck ) where each one will excavate a shallow pit. The pits are usually 2-3 ft apart, and a good field of scallops will stretch as far as you can see. Fortunately, good fields like this are usually in the vicinity of wrecks or snags, where the scallop boats will not go with their expensive bottom gear.
More: Collecting Scallops ...
