Hi -

Returning to Bonaire after a 2 year abscence, can't wait to get back in 3 weeks : ) I have been diving the pacific the last couple years (Hawaii and Indonesia) - and have fallen in love with Frogfish. In Indonesia (Lembeh Straits), not uncommon to find 3-4 froggies per dive. Any dive sites that have some regular frogfish living there (obviously, still have to find them lol). Thanks.

Try the dive site "Something Special". Facing the water, enter and go left about 100 yards at a depth of 44 feet. Look for the bright yellow froggy on a background of purple sponges. He really stands out! He was there at the end of May.

There is a yellow Frogfish in the shallows at approximately 10 feet at The Cliffs, just off Hamlet Oasis.

Frogfish don't stay in one place, alas. They will hang around in roughly the same area for a while, but even if you saw one somewhere yesterday, it might have moved on.
Don't want to discourage you, but you're more likely to find one by inching along and stopping a lot and really seeing what is in front of you. They usually blend into the background rather than appearing in a contrasting color. Hover and look for an eye, a mouth, a lure.
Something Special is indeed a site where a frogfish is sometimes spotted. There are many other such sites. But you could drive yourself crazy searching those and miss frogfish at other sites.
If you sign up for a boat dive, you could ask the dive master to go to a site where he or she has recently seen a frogfish. Klein has sites where frogfish often are seen, and you can't swim to Klein.
Welcome to BT, Bruce! And welcome back to Bonaire.
Tish

Sometimes frogfish do stay in the same place for quite a while. There was a yellow one in the shallows at Carib Inn when I was there one October and the same frogfish was in the very same spot when my husband and I returned in March!!! She has since gone Nothing to do with frogfish, but there is a chain moray that lives in the Divi pier that has been there for my last four trips!!!!

Yes, Darlene. That's an excellent example. I used to love checking out that Carib Inn frogfish, very shallow. And then it vanished. Precisely what I mean. Sad.
Which Divi pier? I've not seen that chain moray. Hey, where is it?????
Tish

The chain is in the cement pier. He is on the side closest the dive dock about 3/4 of the way along the side almost near the surface.

Which dive dock? The one by the dive shop or the south one? 3/4 out away from shore?
Just want to be sure I look in the right place.
Thanks so much Darlene.
I see chain morays often diving elsewhere on Bonaire but have never seen one on Calabas. Sounds like this one would be visible snorkeling.

The one with the dive shop and yes 3/4's from shore. We also saw another one right under the dive dock we mentioned, but it is not a regular that I know of. The one in the cement pier you need to be snorkeling to see because he is almost at the surface.

The easiest place to spot a frogfish is in one of the fish ID books! But seriously, folks, Tish has the right suggestion for Bonaire diving in general: SLOW diving, looking in all the nooks and crannies. Personally, I feel that people who travel at high speeds in an attempt to cover lots of ground in order to "see everything" are missing the point and in general are doing exactly the opposite of what it takes to spot marine life around Bonaire.

Hey, Darlene, thanks a bunch!!
Tish

Froggies! In six trips over 2.5 years we've found TWO frog fish in Bonairean waters. We found one totally on our own at Oil Slick and the other from a clue dropped during a phone call with Ellen Mueller, the Queen of Frogs (have you seen her pictures? Incredible!) We're too proud to have a DM actually point us to one but I'll tell you, you can go nutso lookin' fer them little froggies... but they sure are cool.

Ah yes, the elusive Bonairean frogfish. I spent a week with two incredible dive masters last November, going on two-tank boat dives every morning. Never saw one. We looked in the afternoons on our shore dives - never saw one. I return in 10 days and hope to find one; but alas, not counting on it!

We found 5 frogfish at something special. They were all pretty easy to find also. The easiest is just a few feet off the line that runs across the marina. There are 2 yellow frogfish on a large yellow sponge at 25'. Its to the left of mooring heading out from shore. The others are in between the yellow sponge and the marina entrance. I hope I'm not ruining it by sharing one of the best spots I've dove. We did it as a shore dive over and over.