Hetland
Contributor
Recharge, Grouper and I set out late Saturday to hit some limestone ledge numbers and do a little exploring South of Pensacola. Our first stop was a rock that was part of the Paradise Hole complex. Larry and I descended to find about six feet of viz at the bottom. I had to use my compass to find the rock, as we were anchored about 60feet from the spot we marked on sonar. Once again, my super-human navigation skills lead us right to the rock we wanted (okay, there was some luck involved, but don't tell Brandon or Larry) 
The bottom (at 100fsw) was pretty silty and it was dark for a sunny day. We were sure there were other ledges in the area, but with the crappy viz, we didn't want to fumble around and get under another boat (lots of H&L fishers out), so we called the dive, and took our time ascending through the comparatively icy (75ish) deep water. We did see tons of snapper around and above the rock, so we will definitely be back, just hopefully on a day with less boats and more viz.
On the surface we debated our options. As much as I wanted to hit more natural reef, the viz was just not there for exploration of new territory. I suggested we hit a barge or wreck next. With structure, we would at least be able to explore in bad viz without straying too far from our anchor line or getting turned around underwater.
On our way to our planned dive spot, Brandon spotted an unmarked spot on the sonar. We did a few passes, and decided it was big enough for a splash. Awesome Idea!
We found viz to be between 50 and 60ft The structure we dropped on had a decent supply of amberjack and a few tropicals. There was a good crust on the metal, and it all looked alive. I had been worried about low oxygen levels starving off the reef critters, and this had relieved me of some of that worry. Larry found a plump octopus with a mountainous midden pile. There were two soapfish that were "allowed" in his hidey-hole. Apparently, everyone else was excluded, because I saw him slap another fish away with a tentacle. Pretty funny.
About 5 minutes into our dive, I spotted a 6ft requiem shark, that I later identified (to the best of my limited requiem shark i.d. ability) as a sandbar. I told Larry, and started keeping an eye on the horizon. I was rewarded by a few close passes, one very close. We also spotted a second, smaller shark, but he stayed further away from us. I'm guessing the second was a sandbar or a bull, but he didn't get close enough for me to be confident.
Larry and Brandon did a second drop on our new location, and we headed in.
It was a good day on the water with good friends. I'm hoping we dodged the bullet on the BP disaster, and that our Gulf will recover fully in a short time.
The bottom (at 100fsw) was pretty silty and it was dark for a sunny day. We were sure there were other ledges in the area, but with the crappy viz, we didn't want to fumble around and get under another boat (lots of H&L fishers out), so we called the dive, and took our time ascending through the comparatively icy (75ish) deep water. We did see tons of snapper around and above the rock, so we will definitely be back, just hopefully on a day with less boats and more viz.
On the surface we debated our options. As much as I wanted to hit more natural reef, the viz was just not there for exploration of new territory. I suggested we hit a barge or wreck next. With structure, we would at least be able to explore in bad viz without straying too far from our anchor line or getting turned around underwater.
On our way to our planned dive spot, Brandon spotted an unmarked spot on the sonar. We did a few passes, and decided it was big enough for a splash. Awesome Idea!
We found viz to be between 50 and 60ft The structure we dropped on had a decent supply of amberjack and a few tropicals. There was a good crust on the metal, and it all looked alive. I had been worried about low oxygen levels starving off the reef critters, and this had relieved me of some of that worry. Larry found a plump octopus with a mountainous midden pile. There were two soapfish that were "allowed" in his hidey-hole. Apparently, everyone else was excluded, because I saw him slap another fish away with a tentacle. Pretty funny.
About 5 minutes into our dive, I spotted a 6ft requiem shark, that I later identified (to the best of my limited requiem shark i.d. ability) as a sandbar. I told Larry, and started keeping an eye on the horizon. I was rewarded by a few close passes, one very close. We also spotted a second, smaller shark, but he stayed further away from us. I'm guessing the second was a sandbar or a bull, but he didn't get close enough for me to be confident.
Larry and Brandon did a second drop on our new location, and we headed in.
It was a good day on the water with good friends. I'm hoping we dodged the bullet on the BP disaster, and that our Gulf will recover fully in a short time.
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