consistant current. These traits make
the waters of Ticao an alley for
other pelagics like big oceanic
mantas, marble rays, tiger sharks,
great hammerhead sharks, thresher
sharks, oceanic whitetips, great
barracudas and seasonal whale
sharks. The strong currents also
bring out the schooling fish and it is
common to see blackbar barracuda
shoals, schooling bigeye jacks and
even beautiful yellowfin tuna.
Stick close to the guide and be
weighted enough to be able to
avoid being swept away. The top of
the mount has some scattered
corals but most of it is open reef
flat. These coral stations usually
hold sea anemones with clownfish,
lots of crinoids and a few other
small fish like hawkfish.
The cleaning stations are not all
that obvious so it is again
imperative you have a good guide
to show you where to hook in and
observe. Also, some of the better
spots are a bit deeper at 80 ft. (24m)
as the reeftop slopes gradually
down with the current.
Trips usually start early to take
advantage of morning tide. This
incredible show of marine life
depends on good currents,
so don’t shy away because of
currents. Fish life decreases
significantly at slack tide.
After watching the action,
unhook the reef hook and do an
open ocean drifting deco stop,
again following the guide and the
safety sausage. Because this is really
out to open sea and it has currents,
each diver should have a safety
sausage in case he or she gets swept
off and is separated from the group
or guide.Anemones on Manta Bowl reef flats