![[Carol's Dive Log] Northern Taiwan Dive Site – Yingge Rock: A Special Ocean Cleanup Dive to Remove Wooden Lures](/_images/ec8393c2b283-1440w.webp)
Toward the end of this year's dive season and into the winter diving period, we made a total of six dives here with Divemaster Ah-Jia, always heading out on a 180-degree bearing and returning on a 0-degree bearing.
Back in 2019, by late September the Northeast Coast was almost completely undiveable. On that particular day the swell was a bit rough, and I was quietly wondering whether we'd be able to dive at all — when 輝哥 (Brother Hui), the innkeeper of the Northeast Coast guesthouse where we rented our gear and scuba tanks, waved his hand and said: "Go check out the northern dive sites at Shicheng and Yingge Rock! You can still dive there through October."
Diving Yingge Rock for the First Time
So with hopeful hearts we drove nearly 30 minutes south, and Divemaster Ah-Jia chose Yingge Rock — where the waves were calmer — as our northern dive site. Standing on shore and gazing out to sea, I was thrilled to spot Guishan Island (Turtle Island) in the distance. When I asked about it, I learned that we were actually very close to Yilan. This geographical setting, so different from Longdong Bay, felt to me like discovering a whole new world. I was absolutely elated and couldn't wait to see what the underwater scenery looked like compared to Longdong Bay.
Yingge Rock did not disappoint. Its topography is genuinely different from Longdong Bay — the seabed is carpeted with rocks of all shapes and sizes, and the visibility, while not crystal clear, gives everything a blue-grey, hazy quality that somehow feels elegantly understated. The fish life at Yingge Rock is also incredibly abundant. Watching schools of fish drift through that soft, hazy blue, I'd sometimes feel a sense of otherworldly vitality wash over me and think — wow, have I stumbled into a fairyland? (The above is entirely my own personal impression, of course.)
Yingge Rock isn't just teeming with fish — what makes it especially distinctive is that small lobsters hide inside the rock crevices, something you rarely see elsewhere. Instructor 又又 (Yoyo) has even spotted lobsters over 30 cm long, though unfortunately only she saw them and none of us managed a photo. The marine life at Yingge Rock is genuinely rich: sea snakes, octopus, and large fish schools all call this place home. I also spotted here the legendary creature I'd only heard about from the Xianglian dive site — the golden sea cucumber (Stichopus herrmanni, the robust sea cucumber; more info at https://reurl.cc/gvAo6R) — though at the time it had curled its body up and looked more like a nudibranch.
During a late-December dive here, I had just finished photographing a nudibranch when I turned around to find a massive school of large red amberjack — each over 50–60 cm long — all around me. They were so close that all I could see were fish heads and eyes flashing past my face. I thought to myself, what on earth is that?! Am I hallucinating? Once I realized these were big fish, I desperately tried to signal my dive buddies to turn around, and fumbled to start recording — it was only after I'd snapped two or three photos that it hit me: what am I doing taking photos of a fish school? I should be filming! Thankfully I did manage to get some video in the end, which goes to show just how completely stunned I was in that moment.
Yingge Rock also has one truly unique specialty that you won't find anywhere else — wooden lures!
Yingge Rock's Unique Specialty That You Won't Find Anywhere Else — Wooden Lures!
Yingge Rock is also a well-known fishing spot, with anglers packed shoulder to shoulder along the shore. The wooden fishing lures they use often end up drifting to the seafloor for various reasons, becoming marine debris. On one particular dive, I don't know what got into everyone — starting from Instructor 又又 (Yoyo) picking up marine debris, it turned into a group effort with everyone scooping up wooden lures, hands full to overflowing. But the seafloor was still covered with them — there was simply no end to it. We got more and more into it, more and more excited, to the point where we forgot the water temperature was a mere 18°C, and nearly drifted into the fishing zone in our lure-collecting frenzy. Looking back, what we did that day wasn't really a dive — it was an ocean cleanup! Divemaster Ah-Jia even coined a phrase for the occasion: "Yingge Rock's Wooden Lure Valley — our dive spirit runs hotter than the water!!" Personally, I think that captures it perfectly. Ha!
In fact, every time we've come to Yingge Rock, conditions at Longdong Bay that day have been rough or the weather has been poor, leaving us secretly wondering — can we even dive? But every single time we've arrived at Yingge Rock, we've been pleasantly surprised to find the water much calmer here, often with the sun breaking through. I'm truly grateful that Yingge Rock exists as a diving gem, giving us somewhere to satisfy our diving cravings at the tail end of the season and through the winter when conditions elsewhere are less than ideal. If I had to sum up the impression Yingge Rock leaves on me, I keep coming back to something Divemaster Ah-Jia once said about it: "Just a little further south — it quenches the thirst in your heart."
Dive Guide: Divemaster Ah-Jia
Carol's Dive Log: 2019/9/24, 12/14, 12/21
Note: The experience shared above reflects personal impressions only.
The scene at the Yingge Rock dive site (it was overcast and rainy that day, though you can't tell from the photo — by the time we arrived, the skies had cleared)
Guishan Island (Turtle Island) is clearly visible in the distance
Diving into Yingge Rock — the seabed is covered with rocks of every shape and size
There's a high chance of spotting small lobsters at the Yingge Rock dive site
A beautiful golden sea cucumber spotted at this northern dive site
The gorgeous golden sea cucumber — because the lens had fogged up that day, it came out looking radiant and luminous in the photo! (A reminder to myself: don't leave the camera sitting in the sun when you surface, or you'll be rewarded with nothing but fog.)
Me — normally terrible at spotting things — finding a beautiful little nudibranch (about 3 cm) for the first time. Definitely had to document this one!
A wonderfully unique heart-shaped pose
A dive buddy triumphantly holds up a haul of collected wooden lures — like they'd just conquered the world
Wooden lures — the signature specialty of the northern dive site Yingge Rock
I left this footage completely uncut on purpose, to capture the chaos and excitement of that moment (my breathing is embarrassingly rapid because of it). I spotted the red amberjack and desperately tried to ring my bell to signal the others — only to find it wouldn't make a sound. I turned back but couldn't grab anyone's attention either. In a panic, all I could do was take photos first as evidence, but the whole time I was shooting I desperately wanted everyone else to see it too — utter chaos. Thankfully, I eventually managed to grab Brother Minxiong's attention, and once I knew someone else had seen it, I could finally calm down and get some proper footage.
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![[Carol's Diving Diary] Love at First Sight with Taiwan's Northeast Coast Dive Sites — Where My Passion for Diving All Began](/_astro/20190901_081909-%E8%A4%87%E8%A3%BD_13yx9E.webp)
