The Tampa Bay Times
Over the past month, finding the sweet spot for gags, snapper and hogfish has been tricky. The very warm offshore waters make it hard to find good concentrations of these bottom fish. Three weeks ago many of these fish were in 50’ of water west of John’s Pass. Two weeks ago they were mostly in 80’ and last week they were back in to shallower waters of 50’ to 60’. Finding bait and a thermocline has been the secret to finding good bottom fish concentrations. A thermocline is a cooler layer of water that rests just below the warmer mixed water. The difference in temperature is usually five to ten degrees colder. The deeper the water, the better chance to find a thermocline. The bait and the fish love the drop in water temperature. They tend to hover just inside the cooler water. The thermocline can move erratically from closer to shore and then back farther from shore depending on currents and how the warmer top layer of water is mixed. This past week, the thermocline is ten feet off the bottom in depths of 80’. In a day or two it could be as far out as 120’. This past weekend we found a ten degrees thermocline at 130’ on a dive to 150’. The thermocline can be as much as 10 degrees colder than the top layer, so experienced divers usually bring a wetsuit on the boat for diving inside a possible thermocline.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
