Trip Report - Giant Groupers - Palm Beach County

09/11-12-13/2011

Scuba Diving in the Palm Beach area - Walkers Dive Charters

Captain – Bill Walker

Dive Guides – Karen, Julie, Jeff, Woody

Deck Hands - Karen, Julie, John

Bill scheduled a special set of Giant Grouper dives over three days. The destinations remained the same for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. For the first dive we coursed north to the Zion Train, Miss Jenny, and Esso Bonaire wrecks off Jupiter. Then we headed back south toward the Wetter the Better’s home port to dive the Mizpah, PC and Amaryllis wrecks a little north of Lake Worth Inlet.

Surface Conditions – anywhere from smooth to 1 ft. waves

Weather – mostly clear, bright and sunny

Air Temperature – 80’s to 90’s F

Water Temperature – 74 to 85 F

Visibility – 30 to 80 ft. horizontal

Current – nil to very light, north

The mission was to maximize the number of encounters with the giant groupers during their annual spawning aggregations. I do not know enough adjectives to sufficiently describe what we saw, but words such as spectacular, soothing, and magnificent all come to mind.

The grouper groupings were characterized by up to 30 fish in a tight cluster, within feet of you. These were large animals. A few would tip the scales at around 100 lbs., with the majority between 100 and 250 lbs., and a couple of behemoths well over 400 lbs. I would guess that we easily saw 60 different fish on each dive off Jupiter, and 20 or so on the Mizpah.

The guests aboard were truly exceptionally talented divers, with very good body control in the water, and a preservationist mindset. The divers showed sufficient courtesy to allow the groupers to feel at ease. The results were striking, as we were literally staring at a living wall of the big rascals. We peered at them, and they peered curiously back at us.

Besides the groupers we saw loggerhead and hawksbill sea turtles. We also got views of large feeding southern stingrays, a school of snook and an entirely white frogfish every day. Bait was being balled and attacked by jacks, while schools of spadefish materialized from the edge of visibility and closed in on us.

This is kind of diving that makes Palm Beach County diving so rewarding. It is very difficult for one to become jaded, when the boat crew, the wildlife, and the divers all function at this level of excellence.

Yes, the Goliath Grouper aggregations are increasing significantly every year. The charters running out of the Palm Beaches are all outstanding with the majority of the divers also very competent. Relatively deeper diving and the currents demands increased skills. Glad you had a nice visit. I like head dive master Woody a lot!

I dove the Bonaire, Miss Jenny and Zion on Saturday as well and had a spectacular time. I only saw 40-45 of the grouper on the wrecks, but there were many just on the edge of visual perception in the sand to the east of the wrecks and I found it difficult to estimate their numbers.

Did you see the large spotted eagle ray on the Bonaire? It has been hanging out on the wreck train for at least three weeks (maybe more). I did not see it Saturday, though other divers did but I did see it three weeks ago or so. It was a beautiful beast, flapping its 'wings' but remaining motionless in the current relative to the wrecks until one diver (not from our dive boat) got too close forcing it to move on.

Was the white frogfish near the Mitzpah: there was a resident white frogfish in that area two years ago.

Thanks for the dive report.

Great report, Jeff! I love diving with those magnificent creatures!

Was the white frogfish near the Mitzpah: there was a resident white frogfish in that area two years ago.

Thanks for the dive report.[/QUOTE]

The frog fish was on the Amaryllis, along with a nice school of snook.