Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By BILL HARDMAN
Published April 9, 2005

This time of year, good visibility, like good fish concentrations, can vary widely from day to day. Early this week our divers found reasonable visibility and grouper in 60 feet of water just west of Bradenton. Others found only a couple feet of visibility in the same depths off Tarpon Springs.

The best way to find shootable visibility and fish is to start on shallow spots and work your way offshore. This is called "reverse profiling."

Up until a few years ago, reverse profiles were discouraged because of decompression sickness, better known as the bends. But Divers Alert Network, a recreational diving safety association, now maintains that reverse profiles do not contribute to or aggravate decompression sickness. Divers unfamiliar with current dive medicines or certified more than five years ago still shun reverse profiles. This new information helps spearfishermen by allowing them to safely do shallow dives first and work their way farther offshore until they find fish and visibility. This approach saves fuel and time.

Bill Hardman teaches scuba, spearfishing and free diving through Aquatic Obsessions Scuba in St. Petersburg. Call (727) 344-3483.

[Last modified April 9, 2005, 07:10:29]