The Tampa Bay Times
The spearfishing community has had some banner dive days over the past couple weeks with very good underwater visibility in shallow water and the gag groupers, hogfish and mangrove snappers have presented themselves in large concentrations in these depths. Divers have done well, spotting and spearing these fish species in 20 to 30 feet of water. Water this shallow is rarely clear enough for spearfishermen to successfully hunt and spear. Along with the better visibility, the most important part is that these shallow areas are holding desired fish. The water temperatures are in the low to middle 70’s and that cooler water brings the bait and therefore, the fish. The water temperature should stay in this range as the weather for the next few days is slated to be warm and no big temperature drops are in the forecast. Gag groupers are still very prevalent in many of the limestone ledges and wrecks. It has been a great year for fishermen and divers when searching for gag groupers. Now that they are close to shore many sportsmen looking for gags don’t have to plan for long boat rides. Along with the gag groupers, many divers have been very successful in harvesting legal hogfish. These fish are not known for their ability to evade hunters and their lack of inherent wariness makes it easy for beginner divers to bring home some tasty fish. On the other hand, gag groupers are much smarter and harder for beginners to spearfish.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
