more goliath grouper in Jupiter this weekend (on zion train)

[sportxlh]

Had a couple of great dives with Jupiter Dive Center this morning. The Zion Train was covered in Goliath Grouper. On the Zion itself, there must have been 25, in the sand and on the wreckage of the Miss Jenny, there were another 20 or so. I never made it to the Bonaire since I was transfixed by all the grouper around me on the Zion and Miss Jenny. What a great dive!! Here are a few screen shots from Go Pro videos I took. Since these are screen shots, the quality is not the best, but it will give you a feel for what divers saw.

 

[drrich2]

Beautiful animals, and shots. Would like to dive & see them in person one day! I've been black grouper before (Cozumel and Costa Maya) while diving, but haven't done coastal Florida or seen Goliaths diving.

Richard.

 

[jdandvalerie]

They are stacking up in Palm Beach as well (corridor wrecks) but only about 20 there this (sat) am. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Amazz]

has about a dozen goliaths. On the Jenny, they are stacked underneath. Yep, the Zion is definitely the place to be. The MGIII is loaded up as well. The are stacked on the pilings. I'm going to try to hit Hole in the Wall soon to see what's happening out there. Great diving in Jupiter this time of year.

 

[Aceswild84]

Great shots and I have yet to make it up to Jupiter to dive, but its on my to do list.

Chase

 

[John from the burg]

Thanks for sharing, they are great pictures. I dropped on 4 places yesterday 6-22 miles offshore of st pete and had tons of them also.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Cool pics ! Can someone here clarify that it is now the time of year for them to spawn ? Hence the aggregation ? I'm looking to hop on a plane from the West Coast, and come "see the action".

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Yes now is absolutely the peak time..

 

[muzikbiz22]

Yes now is absolutely the peak time..

Awesome, thank you !! Any preference of dive op ? Jupiter Dive Center of Abernathy or ?

 

[sportxlh]

Awesome, thank you !! Any preference of dive op ? Jupiter Dive Center of Abernathy or ?

I like Jupiter Dive Center. Amazz is a DM for Scuba Works boat (I think) and a lot of divers like that operation too, though I've never been out with that particular boat. Either would be good for Jupiter dives. Interestingly, on Tunnels (a reef site) there were very few Goliaths yesterday while the week before we saw 18 together on the south end of the reef.

In WPB, Jim Abernathy is also a good operation as is Narcosis.

With any of these, you'll want to clarify that they plan to head to a wreck like the Zion train, MG111 or Mizpah/Amarillis (sp?) if conditions permit. I did a dive on the MG 111 a few years ago in early Sept. and it was near magical as well. Diving with Goliath Grouper at Wreck of MG 111 in Jupiter Florida - YouTube The Mizpah (in WPB) can also be awesome this time of year: last year there were at least 25 on the wreck at one point in the late summer/early fall.