Scuba gear for Southwest Florida?

[Nick Steele]

I believe there are dives anywhere from 9 miles and further. I’m told summer storms can kick up pretty fast much like Lake Erie due to the shallow depths. I better get some more experience before heading to the Atlantic side.

My understanding is that the gulf side dives are just further out then the Atlantic side. Plus don’t let current scare you from any visit from the Atlantic. If you don’t want to experience any crazy currents there are plenty of dives in broward/Miami that have little current. Every dive outside my checkout dives have been from the beach and outside one dive very little current.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

...Of course, someone may even suggest a drysuit when "proper exposure suit" questions arise.

LOL!!

 

[WVScubaSteve]

My understanding is that the gulf side dives are just further out then the Atlantic side. Plus don’t let current scare you from any visit from the Atlantic. If you don’t want to experience any crazy currents there are plenty of dives in broward/Miami that have little current. Every dive outside my checkout dives have been from the beach and outside one dive very little current.

Thank you Nick, and am I correct in assuming that the Atlantic is clearer as is the Keys of course?

 

[Nick Steele]

From my very limited personal experience on the west coast I would say you are correct but I could be wrong. Most of my dives so far off the broward beaches have been in 10-40’ vis.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

The diving over here isn't bad, its just really different. We have tons of wrecks, literally 25 public numbers and I would bet another 100 private number wrecks. These are really old wrecks though, wooden and broken apart. Its like a desert, sandy bottom and then out of nowhere a really small part of a wreck. So most people spearfish here, I have never heard of anyone going out to just dive, they are always at least collecting lionifsh.

Its extremely fishy here, a small wreck will hold 10-50 goliath, and hundreds and hundreds of snapper. So you can either dive wrecks, ledges, or the towers. These are old military communication towers that hold fish. So there are tons of places to dive, they are just really small.

This visibility is not always bad, in fact as of late it has been pretty awesome, up to 50ft on some days. This is because we have had a lot of south wind this year and that pushes the clear caribbean waters into our shores.

All of the good vis spots will be at minimum 35 miles offshore, thats where it just begins to get some visibility, usually, this year its been abnormally clear and even the wrecks and ledges just 15 miles offshore have had 10-20 ft vis. The thing is its a total crap shoot, you don't know until you get out there. You could have an arms length vis, or 50 ft.

One nice thing is we don't really have to worry about current, you can get small current here and there but nothing like i've experienced in the keys.

Usually when we go out, we stop at the R Tower, thats about 35 miles offshore and depending on how the vis is there we will either continue out, or hit some wrecks and ledges on the way in. You will see anything from Cubera Snapper (which is a treat) and even a sailfish here and there.

One cool spot is the blue hole. This is about 25 miles offshore and its 50 ft deep, the hole is probably 20 yards by 20 yards and who knows how deep. I didn't have the guts to get in the hole just stand on the edge. Its loaded with fish and giant sea turtles. Also the barracuda are really thick here, at your safety stop you are usually staring at 50-100 of them.

Sharks are abundant and its common to see one on at least half your dives, mainly bull sharks but we did see a 12 foot Tiger about a month ago, not one person fired their spear gun on that dive lol.

The further out you go, the better the vis is.

This is the guy that taught my group how to spear, as you can see by the recent pics they have been bringing in some monsters. He runs a charter out of naples:

Bill D'Antuono

 

[WVScubaSteve]

I’m very excited for the opportunity to go spearfishing whether it’s by gun or pole. I’m trying to get as much information and dives in as possible to lesson my learning curve before ocean diving. I do realize in order to safely spearfish and use less air the better I am at bouyancy control(as in being second nature) the better the experience. I don’t want to be that guy that asks a million questions and keeps everyone from enjoying the dive. But on the other hand I’m very open minded and value constructive criticism. So, any advice from fellow experienced divers is greatly appreciated.

 

[johndiver999]

Divers should not spearfish until they have a good handle on diving.

Then there is the gun handling and shooting. It is dangerous. Imagine hunting in the woods in extremely dense fog, with the inability to speak or hear effectively and your friend needs to stay close or you may die, but you are both carrying and discharging powerful weapons at moving targets in a three dimensional space.

If you are not used to handling guns or rifles , then speargun handling may take some time to develop good safety instincts and practices.

Then there is the potential of being wrapped in the shooting line. Or having a very large predator who is bigger and stronger than you grab your fish and then pull you or wrap you up.

Most of this stuff won’t happen but it can happen if scuba spearfishing around sharks and Goliath grouper . They can present some significant challenges.

A basic scuba class prepares you for little of this. The smartest way to learn is to watch a good hunter shoot, kill and manage his catch while diving. Maybe just carry an unloaded weapon during this time.

If you absolutely must start spearfishing right away, a
Pole spear is an excellent tool to start with. It has no lines to tangle you, it has limited range, it is difficult to shoot yourself or buddy and it requires the development of
Stalking skills and is appropriate for smaller
Fish generally. These skills will all transfer over to speargun hunting when you are ready.

 

[gulfwiskey]

I’m a recent ow certified diver curious as to what to wear as far as a wetsuit/rash guard for scuba and or spearfishing off the coast of Naples/Marco Island in late August. Any suggestions on who to contact for this experience. Thanks

In the Tampa Bay area, including the Middlegrounds, I'll wear a 0.5mm wetsuit in late August.