The Tampa Bay Times
American red snapper season opened last on June 11th and many fishermen and spearfishermen made their way out far enough from shore to locate these tasty fish. We went out to the pot-holes and wrecks in 130’ and found red snappers but the visibility from 90’ to the bottom was not good. The silty fine sand that surrounds the hard limestone areas in those depths was all stirred up from the previous weekend’s rough seas. The wrecks and the springs had better visibility and along with the red snappers we found keeper gag groupers. The “sea snot” that has covered most of the ledges out to 30 miles offshore has been pushed away by the previous weekend’s rough seas. More hogfish were found in depths from 60’ to 85’ and the visibility on the ledges was good. The ledges in 30’ to 90’ are mostly surrounded by course white sand and this sand wasn’t lifted up into the water column as easily as the silty area. Our fishermen friends did much better with the red snapper because fishing is always better when the bottom visibility curtails spearfishing. The water temperature is warm and comfortable with out a wetsuit in most depths. There is a thermocline that starts in 100’ of water. The colder water starts about 90’ from the surface and the water drops down from 85 degrees above to about to about 75 degrees below the thermocline.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
