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Mono-Lobo Wall
One of my favorite north-facing dive sites is the Mono-Lobo Wall. This site sits in between Point Lobos State Reserve and Monastery Beach, and hence Mono-Lobo. This area is rarely dived in summer, but is a great winter dive with vertical walls and colorful marine critters.
The wall begins in about 40 feet of water in a maze of huge granite outcroppings. These create interconnecting passageways that are a real adventure to explore. Many of the rocks are carpeted with thick growths of strawberry anemones. These invertebrates are brightly colored in hues of red, orange lavender, and pink and make spectacular subjects for underwater photographers. Other rocks are covered by orange volcano sponges, cobalt blue sponges, and an assortment of orange sea cucumbers.
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As one approaches the edge of the kelp bed, the bottom begins to drop away and fragments into many giant, granite pillars and massive rock formations before it plunges into the depths. Here, too, divers find an interesting bottom terrain of high-sided canyons, small caves and a many deep recesses to explore. There is still a wealth of color at this depth as well. Along the exposed portions of the walls and in the surge channels are large trees of hydrocoral. Hydrocorals only grow in areas with plenty of currents and clean water, so their presence is a clear sign of a healthy reef.
Throughout the Mono-Lobo area the bottom drops in steps from 40 to over 120 feet, ending on a sand bottom. In most areas the wall resembles a broken talus field that one might expect to find in the mountains. Rock scallops hide in the deep recesses of the many nooks-and-crannies. In one spot the wall drops vertically from 40 to 100 feet and is encrusted with an assortment of anemones, sponges and hydrocoral. The sand area at the base of the rock wall (110-130 feet deep) is a great place to find unusual nudibranchs and shelled mollusks.
Fish life in Carmel ain’t what it used to be, and we see more photographers out here these days than hunters. Still lingcod and cabezon can be found here hiding among the rocks while various species of rockfish occupy different places in the reef ecology. Blue rockfish hunt for jellyfish in the open water near the kelp beds, while kelp rockfish feed on things that can be found on or among the kelp itself, while others like gopher or black-and-yellow rockfish feed on the bottom. This specialization allows very similar fish to live together with minimum of competition between species.
Due to the proximity to the Monterey Submarine Canyon, Mono-Lobo has a lot of pelagic creatures: salps, jellyfish and plankton. These are in turn fed upon by the reef community, and increase the diversity and photogenic critters on the reef. So when the south wind blows, grab your camera and head for Mono-Lobo.
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Dive Spot At - A - Glance
Location: In Carmel Bay offshore between Monastery Beach and Whalers Cove in Point Lobos State Reserve.
Access and Entry: Boat only, charter dive boats are available from Monterey Harbor. Or you may launch your own from the Monterey Breakwater, Stillwater Cove or Point Lobos State Reserve.
Skill level: Intermediate or greater from charter boat.
Depths: 40 to 130 feet.
Visibility: 20 to 60 feet.
Photography: Excellent for macro and wide angle.
Hunting: The entire Carmel Bay is an Ecological Preserve and no invertebrates may be taken. Although spearfishing is legal if you are outside of the Underwater Reserve area of Point Lobos State Reserve, there are few fish worth hunting here. Charter boats prohibit their passengers from hunting here due to the proximity of Pt. Lobos, where no natural object may be taken or disturbed.
Hazards: Surge can be rough at times; thick kelp in summer and fall.
Bruce Watkins is a frequent contributor to California Diving News, as well as author of the books A Diver's Guide to Monterey County and the newly released A Diver's Guide to Northern California (both from Saint Brendan).