Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By BILL HARDMAN
Published December 3, 2005

There are still concentrations of grouper on the ledges starting at about 60 feet. Two of our divers did very well last weekend on the 12-foot Ledge. They even landed a nice 15-pounder. The visibility was less than 10 feet, so they abandoned the spear dive and headed home.

The water temperatures in the Gulf have dropped into the 60s. The water stayed warm much longer this year than in past years. Proper thermal protection is a must. A good quality 3mm two-piece wetsuit is no longer enough for most divers.

When the temperature goes below 70 degrees, it is the right time to wear a wetsuit hood. Your head is one of the greatest areas of heat loss and one of the most important areas of the body to keep warm. Your brain needs warmth more than most other parts of your body to function correctly.

Hoods are notoriously uncomfortable and even cause some divers to have a panic attack. One tip is to put on the hood and stay by the boat at the surface for a few minutes until you acclimate yourself to the restrictive characteristics of the hood. Another tip for hood diving is to buy one of the new style Max Flex hoods. They have a lot of stretch, they don't cost much more than a regular wetsuit hood, and they don't squeeze down on your throat like conventional hoods.

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

[Last modified December 3, 2005, 01:22:20]