Find an octopus at the beach?

aximbigfan

GPO
Registered
Joined
Jan 17, 2006
Messages
167
I'll be going to California for a bit in July, and I was thinking about going to the beach and trying to find an :octopus: to look at.

1. Could I find an octopus on the beach?
2. Where should I look?

Thanks!
Chris
 
unless ur into diving at night, ur probably not gonna find many. i wanted to find some when i was in Australia, but the closest i found was a very small den. although, i cant say that i was on any coral reef; the closest i came was a couple riocky outcrops by a marina. i did get to see a wole shoal of reef squid though, out in the grass flats between the mainland and an island
 
daddysquoc;114995 said:
unless ur into diving at night, ur probably not gonna find many. i wanted to find some when i was in Australia, but the closest i found was a very small den. although, i cant say that i was on any coral reef; the closest i came was a couple riocky outcrops by a marina. i did get to see a wole shoal of reef squid though, out in the grass flats between the mainland and an island

Damn. I thought if I looked under rocks and stuff I could find one chilling out.

Chris
 
There are people who can find them in tidepool areas, but I've never had any luck. Where in California are you going?

marineboy has said that somewhere down by San Diego, he's able to find a lot of young bimacs in the tidepools some times of year. I think marinebio_guy said he's been able to find them pretty consistently, but that may have involved SCUBA diving. I've only seen 2 octos in California, near Laguna Beach, both on twilight SCUBA dives in shallow coves with a mix of rocks/reef and sand on the bottom. Of course, I've probably swam or walked right past 50 well-hidden octos, too.
 
monty;115004 said:
There are people who can find them in tidepool areas, but I've never had any luck. Where in California are you going?

marineboy has said that somewhere down by San Diego, he's able to find a lot of young bimacs in the tidepools some times of year. I think marinebio_guy said he's been able to find them pretty consistently, but that may have involved SCUBA diving. I've only seen 2 octos in California, near Laguna Beach, both on twilight SCUBA dives in shallow coves with a mix of rocks/reef and sand on the bottom. Of course, I've probably swam or walked right past 50 well-hidden octos, too.


I'll be around Balboa island, Long beach, ect.

Chris
 
There is a beach in Newport Beach called Little Corona and I have found octopus there while walking amongst the rocks. You need to check the tide table and go at the lowest possible tide. Have fun searching!
 
Near Santa Maria, there is a tide pool like area: it's open to the sea at all times, but at low tide, there are rock ledges that trap some water in an area. It's kind of hard to explain, but all you have to do is wade in the water and flip over a couple rocks and you'll find tons of them. there are also small eals, sea cucumbers, and all sorts of things. If you can find a place like that, it would be best. Try asking the locals, and doing research on where to look.
 
you need at least a sport fishing license to collect octos of any sort in California... or pretty much anything that's alive. (Shells are OK, I think, although possibly not even those in a marine reserve... not that you can collect anything alive in a reserve, and many tidepools are reserves.)

There is a separate license for collection for resale in the pet trade that is much more restrictive, but you don't need that if you're collecting for personal use.
 
Yeah as CG said, I don't want to collect or bother them, just see one in person. I have never seen one in person before...

Thanks for your guys' help! I'll see if I can get a ride to Santa Monica and find that area...

Chris
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top