seadoggirl
Guest
“The weather is here. I wish you were beautiful. The skies are so clear. Life’s so easy today….”
As the Jimmy Buffet song says – the weather is ready for you to come join us on the Gulf of Mexico. It is getting warmer by the day both in the water and on the boat. This past weekend the air temps on the water were in the low-seventies and the water temps are not far behind that. As we walked on the beach and visited the cove last weekend, it was amazing how clear the water is even inshore. We may be looking at an early spring and we are ready.
The H2O Below was on the Russian Freighter this week and our new friends from the UK had a great dive. The visibility was about 20 feet due to the weather and the rolling seas but that is improving everyday. The phone traffic has picked up considerably and the schedule is filling up for the summer. Now is the time to call Captain Douglas at (850) 291-3501 to reserve a date.
New Stuff for the H2O Below
Last November at DEMA I watched several safety demonstrations and listened to many professionals talk about safety equipment onboard dive charter boats. I made a decision based on those discussions that I would do everything possible to insure that all necessary safety equipment was on the H2O Below. I have added several new items including additional O2 equipment and had ordered an AED after much thought and discussion with medical personnel.
I received the AED this week for the H2O Below. I believe we are the first charter boat in the South Alabama/Florida Panhandle to have one onboard. As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I and my crew are all about running a safe and professional operation. I felt that the additional money spent for this safety device is worth my customers lives.
Though I hope that we will never have to use it – I would hate to need it and not have it.
What are we seeing on the Oriskany?
My deckhand – Donna (tank lugging monkey) is trying very hard to learn her fish. She has located a website for Saltwater fish and below is her fish lesson for the month. We see a great deal of grouper on the Oriskany and without exception someone will ask about the difference between a Black Grouper, Red Grouper, Jewfish and Gag. Most of the fish that we see are Gags and the ones we are seeing on the Oriskany are plentiful. The Mighty O has been down for a couple of years now and the juveniles are wonderful to watch grow. Grouper are attracted to the structure and hiding holes within it.
Another interesting fact about grouper is that they don’t bite fish like snapper or some others. Grouper swallow their food whole and with internal “teeth” eat the fish. Grouper are a favorite local fish for both spear fisherman and pole fisherman. Like South Florida we have a fair amount of them but like everything else, we must be sure to be wise and cautious about over fishing and tossing back the small ones.
Below are the descriptions of all three of the most command grouper but we also see red rock grouper and others. Pictures of each are included so you can also learn what we are looking at down deep. Note the tails on each example that is one of the defining details of each.
Black GROUPER.
Description: olive or gray body coloration with black blotches and brassy spots; gently rounded preopercle.
Similar Fish: gag M. microlepis; yellowfin grouper, M. venenosa.
Where found: OFFSHORE species; adults associated with rocky bottoms, reef, and drop off walls in water over 60 feet deep; young may occur INSHORE in shallow water.
Size: common to 40 pounds, may attain weights exceeding 100 pounds.
*Florida Record: no Florida record because of identity confusion with gag, which are mistakenly called "black grouper."
Remarks: spawns between May and August; protogynous hermaphrodites, young predominantly female, transforming into males as they grow larger; larger individuals generally in greater depths; feeds on fish and squid.
JEW Fish
Description: head and fins covered with small black spots; irregular dark and vertical bars present on the sides of body; pectoral and caudal fins rounded; first dorsal fin shorter than and not separated from second dorsal; adults huge, up to 800 pounds; eyes small.
Similar Fish: other grouper.
Where found: NEARSHORE often around docks, in deep holes, and on ledges; young often occur in estuaries, especially around oyster bars; more abundant in southern Florida than in northern waters.
Size: largest of the groupers.
*Florida Record: 680 lbs.
Remarks: spawns over summer months; lifespan of 30 to 50 years; feeds on crustaceans and fish. NOTE: jewfish are totally protected from harvest in Florida waters
Gag
Description: brownish gray in color with dark worm-like markings on sides; strong serrated spur at bottom margin of preopercle, less noticeable in large specimens; fins dark, with anal and caudal having white margin. Often confused with black grouper; tail of gag is slightly concave, black is square; gag has white margin on anal and caudal fins, black does not; under 10 pounds, gag's spur on preopercle is distinctive, where black is gently rounded.
Similar Fish: black grouper M. bonaci.
Where found: adults OFFSHORE over rocks and reefs; juveniles occur in seagrass beds INSHORE.
Size: common to 25 pounds.
*Florida Record: 71 lbs., 3 ozs.
Remarks: forms spawning aggregations in water no shallower than 120 feet in Middle Grounds area, January through March; current research to identify similar aggregations off Atlantic coast is ongoing. Young gags are predominantly female, transforming into males as they grow larger; feeds on fish and squid.
How to Contact us…
Email – h2obelow@cox.net
Captain Douglas Cell - (850) 291-3501
As the Jimmy Buffet song says – the weather is ready for you to come join us on the Gulf of Mexico. It is getting warmer by the day both in the water and on the boat. This past weekend the air temps on the water were in the low-seventies and the water temps are not far behind that. As we walked on the beach and visited the cove last weekend, it was amazing how clear the water is even inshore. We may be looking at an early spring and we are ready.
The H2O Below was on the Russian Freighter this week and our new friends from the UK had a great dive. The visibility was about 20 feet due to the weather and the rolling seas but that is improving everyday. The phone traffic has picked up considerably and the schedule is filling up for the summer. Now is the time to call Captain Douglas at (850) 291-3501 to reserve a date.
New Stuff for the H2O Below
Last November at DEMA I watched several safety demonstrations and listened to many professionals talk about safety equipment onboard dive charter boats. I made a decision based on those discussions that I would do everything possible to insure that all necessary safety equipment was on the H2O Below. I have added several new items including additional O2 equipment and had ordered an AED after much thought and discussion with medical personnel.
I received the AED this week for the H2O Below. I believe we are the first charter boat in the South Alabama/Florida Panhandle to have one onboard. As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I and my crew are all about running a safe and professional operation. I felt that the additional money spent for this safety device is worth my customers lives.
Though I hope that we will never have to use it – I would hate to need it and not have it.
What are we seeing on the Oriskany?
My deckhand – Donna (tank lugging monkey) is trying very hard to learn her fish. She has located a website for Saltwater fish and below is her fish lesson for the month. We see a great deal of grouper on the Oriskany and without exception someone will ask about the difference between a Black Grouper, Red Grouper, Jewfish and Gag. Most of the fish that we see are Gags and the ones we are seeing on the Oriskany are plentiful. The Mighty O has been down for a couple of years now and the juveniles are wonderful to watch grow. Grouper are attracted to the structure and hiding holes within it.
Another interesting fact about grouper is that they don’t bite fish like snapper or some others. Grouper swallow their food whole and with internal “teeth” eat the fish. Grouper are a favorite local fish for both spear fisherman and pole fisherman. Like South Florida we have a fair amount of them but like everything else, we must be sure to be wise and cautious about over fishing and tossing back the small ones.
Below are the descriptions of all three of the most command grouper but we also see red rock grouper and others. Pictures of each are included so you can also learn what we are looking at down deep. Note the tails on each example that is one of the defining details of each.
Black GROUPER.
Description: olive or gray body coloration with black blotches and brassy spots; gently rounded preopercle.
Similar Fish: gag M. microlepis; yellowfin grouper, M. venenosa.
Where found: OFFSHORE species; adults associated with rocky bottoms, reef, and drop off walls in water over 60 feet deep; young may occur INSHORE in shallow water.
Size: common to 40 pounds, may attain weights exceeding 100 pounds.
*Florida Record: no Florida record because of identity confusion with gag, which are mistakenly called "black grouper."
Remarks: spawns between May and August; protogynous hermaphrodites, young predominantly female, transforming into males as they grow larger; larger individuals generally in greater depths; feeds on fish and squid.
JEW Fish
Description: head and fins covered with small black spots; irregular dark and vertical bars present on the sides of body; pectoral and caudal fins rounded; first dorsal fin shorter than and not separated from second dorsal; adults huge, up to 800 pounds; eyes small.
Similar Fish: other grouper.
Where found: NEARSHORE often around docks, in deep holes, and on ledges; young often occur in estuaries, especially around oyster bars; more abundant in southern Florida than in northern waters.
Size: largest of the groupers.
*Florida Record: 680 lbs.
Remarks: spawns over summer months; lifespan of 30 to 50 years; feeds on crustaceans and fish. NOTE: jewfish are totally protected from harvest in Florida waters
Gag
Description: brownish gray in color with dark worm-like markings on sides; strong serrated spur at bottom margin of preopercle, less noticeable in large specimens; fins dark, with anal and caudal having white margin. Often confused with black grouper; tail of gag is slightly concave, black is square; gag has white margin on anal and caudal fins, black does not; under 10 pounds, gag's spur on preopercle is distinctive, where black is gently rounded.
Similar Fish: black grouper M. bonaci.
Where found: adults OFFSHORE over rocks and reefs; juveniles occur in seagrass beds INSHORE.
Size: common to 25 pounds.
*Florida Record: 71 lbs., 3 ozs.
Remarks: forms spawning aggregations in water no shallower than 120 feet in Middle Grounds area, January through March; current research to identify similar aggregations off Atlantic coast is ongoing. Young gags are predominantly female, transforming into males as they grow larger; feeds on fish and squid.
How to Contact us…
Email – h2obelow@cox.net
Captain Douglas Cell - (850) 291-3501
The bubblehead mask has been doing this for quite some time.
