Panama City Beach Dive Sites Recommendations?

I frequently visit PCB. I have dove several times down there. I have dived the St. Andrews Jetties, USS Strength, a barge, and several of the old hataway bridge spans. I was doing some research on some interesting sites. Here is what I have found out.

1. Stage I or II – These sites sound kind of cool but are rather far out.
2. Liberty Ship / USS Grierson – I read that sea turtles and manta rays are common here.
3. Warsaw Hole – I understand that this site is the closest thing to a natural reef that PCB has to offer.
4. Quonset Hut – This is supposed to be a spear fishing hotspot. I recently tried spear fishing for the first time last weekend and really enjoyed it.
5. Tarpon – I read that there are still thousands of 1937 beers on this site?
6. Chippewa – This sounds really interesting because it is suppose to be a very natural ship with most of the parts still intact.

Stage I and II can be awesome!!! Covers a very large area and hoardes of sea life.

The Chippewa is about the only "wreck" out of PC that feels like a wreck. It's broken up into 3 parts, but, for the most part, is all there.

Used to be some beers left on the "Tarpon", buuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpppp, but not any more . . .

Haven't done the Hut and the Hole yet.

the K

av8er23:

I frequently visit PCB. I have dove several times down there. I have dived the St. Andrews Jetties, USS Strength, a barge, and several of the old hataway bridge spans. I was doing some research on some interesting sites. Here is what I have found out.

1. Stage I or II – These sites sound kind of cool but are rather far out.
2. Liberty Ship / USS Grierson – I read that sea turtles and manta rays are common here.
3. Warsaw Hole – I understand that this site is the closest thing to a natural reef that PCB has to offer.
4. Quonset Hut – This is supposed to be a spear fishing hotspot. I recently tried spear fishing for the first time last weekend and really enjoyed it.
5. Tarpon – I read that there are still thousands of 1937 beers on this site?
6. Chippewa – This sounds really interesting because it is suppose to be a very natural ship with most of the parts still intact.

Please share your experiences.
Any other information or recommendations is greatly appreciated.​

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1. Stage I rocks! Deep wreck (~105' to the sand) and about 10 miles out. Holds a ton of life because of its size and water depth. You will love it. During low viz it can be a test to your nav skills as it all kind of looks a like (basically a bunch of pipes in the shape of a large cube). I tend to roam the outer perimeter near the sand when spearing on the rig. Only really go through the middle if I'm low on air and needing to make a short cut back to the chain.

2. Stage II is a lot of fun too. Much shallower (~60') and closer (~mile or two out of the pass). It is best to dive Stage II right at the end of high tide. This ensures optimum viz. I've seen some pretty big groupers hanging out under the pipes here but never can get a good shot on them.

3. Never dove the liberty ship but would love to. From what I have been told, it is basically a ~400' canoe sitting of the bottom with little to no relief.

4. Never done the hole. I need to get those numbers. Would love to take some slippers off of there...

5. Not familiar with Quonset Hut. Will need to check my references for the numbers next time we go out...

6. Chippewa is a fun wreck but is in pieces. I always get that and the Chickasaw confused (another fun but small wreck).

Other choices are Dan barge, PCMI barge, LOSS Pontoon, Strength, Ackokey (forget how to spell it), twin tugs, brige spans, hovercraft, etc... The list is endless...

The Ackokee is a deeper, intact wreck. About 102 to the sand, maybe 70 to the deck. It's a decent dive & sometimes the spearing is OK on it. I've taken AJ & snapper there & had fun with pushy bull sharks on her. It's close to Stage 1, so the 2 site can make a nice pair of deeper dives if you're inclined.

Oh, yeah !!! The Dan Barge has a HUGE grouper living in it !!!!





That's about a 4'x6' opening, if I remember correctly.


. . . and the number of fish one can find on Stage I is fantastic!!!



the K