Spear fishing anyone

[FredT]

Originally posted by 100days-a-year
You make it sound like fun.

It can be loads of fun, but it's also a lot of work and NOT for the newbie.

Originally posted by 100days-a-year
We only get 1 thermocline.

The thermocline is at the bottom of the upper murk. The rest are mostly haloclines where it's just as likely for cold water to be "floating" on top of warmer stuff as the other way around.

To give you a feel for a "day on the rigs" we'll leave Biloxi before first light to upt us at dog key pass at "can" (accordign to the Koran that is when a white thread can be discerned from a black one) and head south east. It's a 18 mile run from Biloxi to Dog Key Pass. From there the trip starts. SE for 30 miles or so to the first rigs, but blow by them because all the hook and lners tend to stop there, continue SE for another 30 miles or more. Once at the rig sets dive each rig on a westerly course until you reach the rigs just before getting into LA water (LA has some STRANGE rules for out of state fishermen that will empty your wallet) and then head north northwest diving rigs and wrecks back to Cammile cut.

Total idves can be 17 or more per diver, but there is only room for 3 or 4 tanks per diver on the boat. A dive _starting_ with 400 to 600 psi in a tank is not unususal. Total miles in the boat run dock to dock can be 300 or more. Most of that is spent over 60 miles out from the closeset place you can stand up and breathe. A lot of this is out of range for the coast guard rescue choppers too. It's VERY IMPORTANT to pick your day. Having a squall blow up out of the north while you're in a small boat on an extreme south east rig can ruin the short remainder of your life. SI is based on how long the run is to the next rig. May be as short as 10 or 20 minutes splash to splash, or over an hour.

The constant is that you MUST be back through Cammile Cut or Dog Key Pass before "can't". Either that or hang around outside the sand bars for "can" to come back around. Beached on a sand bar in breakers open to sea and waiting for dawn is not healthy either. BTDT, do NOT want to do it again!

Not every rig is covered in fish, and the ones that are will move day to day, so you hit a LOT of them! Once you find them though, it's magic! We average about 70 to 100 pounds of fillet and steaks per diver per trip, off 5 or 6 fish.

FT

 

[Brendan]

Just as a followup to FredT 's posts, I've got a book to reccomend. Not necessarily the best writing I've ever seen, but it is entertaining and a fairly quick read about diving in the Gulf.

The HellDiver's Rodeo:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871319365

Brendan

 

[FredT]

But it does accurately describe the hardcore crew it's about, even if a few of the tales are "toned down" a bit for the uninitiated. I've been on boats with a few of them. They DO know the good spots, but "caution" and "sanity" in the PADI style aren't the strong suits with this bunch.

It's worth a read anyway. The time frame for some of the more "interesting" tales is more 20 to 10 years ago than today. Although monster fish are still harvested the incidence is a bit more spread out than it was. Big fish today tend to be a bit more skittish, that's how they got big!

IMNSHO Check the library before buying it, but lay hands on a copy and read it. It does give a fairly accurate picture of the rigs, and some of the "characters" in the dance. A rig diver is not normally worried about sharks, however triggerfish are another matter entirely! They take smaller bites, but there's THOUSANDS of them out there!

FT