It's that time of year when a technique used in the Keys to find lobster holes also can work in the gulf to find fish. A dive planer can be made from a piece of plywood, or you can buy fancy ones in dive stores. It allows a freediver to move up and down or side to side behind a slow-trolling dive boat to a depth just less than half the length of the line used. Any more than 40 feet of line usually is too much to deal with. Holding your breath is easy when you don't have to kick, so you really can cover ground. The captain easily can see and even feel when the diver drops off the planer to freedive on a hot fishing spot.
The lack of a strong front has cleared our waters with top to bottom visibility in almost all depths to 60 feet. We found some new grouper ledges offshore from Pass-a-Grille using this technique in 50 to 60 feet. The thermocline is about 10 feet off the bottom in these depths and seems to be attracting fish. Bottom temperatures are in the high 60s. Hogfish to about five pounds and mangrove snapper also were plentiful.
It's nearly your last chance to dive for stone crabs as the season ends May 15.
An Internet bulletin board has become the best way to find out about Florida dive conditions, with more than 500 spearfishermen sending reports. Check out www.spearboard.com
- Chad Carney teaches scuba & spearfishing and runs charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 423-7775 or e-mail info@mobilescuba.com
