Biggen
Contributor
Was hoping to head out to the Tarpon this weekend for some offshore stuff, but we were uncertain of whether the gulf was going to kick up some so we decided to just stay onshore and see what happens...
First dive:
LOSS Pontoon - I don't know why I love this site so much. I suppose because of all the structure that supports all the natural life that totally surrounds the pontoon. While it is never a fish producer except in the fall for flounder, it is still a great dive especially for exploration. Saw two of the biggest tile fish I have ever seen in my life. They had to be the size of basketballs. Also, we are seeing more and more hogs. I must have seen a half dozen yesterday. They are all juveniles, but I'm hoping this is a trend for the future. Its no fun that south Florida gets all the hog snapper!!
Max depth was ~65' for about a 30 minute dive... Viz was the normal 15' for this dive even with an incoming dive. I have only dove the Pontoon once when it was clear (i.e. ~50' of viz). Would love to catch it like that again... Water temps were mid 70's on the surface and approx 65F at depth. No too bad. I wore my 5 mil anyway. Tired of being cold on dives...
Second dive:
Stage II - Our "hangout" as I like to call it as we typically do it every weekend for the 2nd and last shallow dive of the day. Another inshore dive that is a ton of fun with a max depth of ~60'. Viz was the same here as it was on the Pontoon. Didn't see any legal size groupers or snappers (a few mutton were keepers though), but my buddy ended up taking a good size AJ. Gave him quite a fight and he ended up with bloody shins from banging into the wreck when wrangling the fish.
After I unhooked us and got to the surface, I noticed that a dive boat was trying to hook onto the wreck. While Stage II isn't an advanced dive (like its sister Stage I), in low viz with lots of bait fish swarming around, it is easy to get turned around on the wreck and not know which way the chain is. Luckily, we dive it time and time again and I have nicknames in my head for certain pipes and outcroppings on the wreck that let me know where I am in relation to the chain. It just made me wonder why they decided to pick an inshore wreck with low viz. Perhaps some of the other stuff was crowded already... Who knows... I just wouldn't want to be the one that sends some potential new divers to a site like that. With a ship, nav is fairly easy. One knows what the bow and stern look like. But on the stages, a pipe looks like a pipe, especially for divers having never dove it... I know the first time I dove Stage I, I didn't stray far from the chain..
Anyway, we ended up having a fish fry that evening with the AJ. It is remarkable how much meat comes out of two AJ fillets. Feeds several people.. Had a few beers and ended the night on a great note.
All in all, a great weekend.
First dive:
LOSS Pontoon - I don't know why I love this site so much. I suppose because of all the structure that supports all the natural life that totally surrounds the pontoon. While it is never a fish producer except in the fall for flounder, it is still a great dive especially for exploration. Saw two of the biggest tile fish I have ever seen in my life. They had to be the size of basketballs. Also, we are seeing more and more hogs. I must have seen a half dozen yesterday. They are all juveniles, but I'm hoping this is a trend for the future. Its no fun that south Florida gets all the hog snapper!!
Max depth was ~65' for about a 30 minute dive... Viz was the normal 15' for this dive even with an incoming dive. I have only dove the Pontoon once when it was clear (i.e. ~50' of viz). Would love to catch it like that again... Water temps were mid 70's on the surface and approx 65F at depth. No too bad. I wore my 5 mil anyway. Tired of being cold on dives...Second dive:
Stage II - Our "hangout" as I like to call it as we typically do it every weekend for the 2nd and last shallow dive of the day. Another inshore dive that is a ton of fun with a max depth of ~60'. Viz was the same here as it was on the Pontoon. Didn't see any legal size groupers or snappers (a few mutton were keepers though), but my buddy ended up taking a good size AJ. Gave him quite a fight and he ended up with bloody shins from banging into the wreck when wrangling the fish.
After I unhooked us and got to the surface, I noticed that a dive boat was trying to hook onto the wreck. While Stage II isn't an advanced dive (like its sister Stage I), in low viz with lots of bait fish swarming around, it is easy to get turned around on the wreck and not know which way the chain is. Luckily, we dive it time and time again and I have nicknames in my head for certain pipes and outcroppings on the wreck that let me know where I am in relation to the chain. It just made me wonder why they decided to pick an inshore wreck with low viz. Perhaps some of the other stuff was crowded already... Who knows... I just wouldn't want to be the one that sends some potential new divers to a site like that. With a ship, nav is fairly easy. One knows what the bow and stern look like. But on the stages, a pipe looks like a pipe, especially for divers having never dove it... I know the first time I dove Stage I, I didn't stray far from the chain..
Anyway, we ended up having a fish fry that evening with the AJ. It is remarkable how much meat comes out of two AJ fillets. Feeds several people.. Had a few beers and ended the night on a great note.
All in all, a great weekend.
