Treasure Coast Scuba Diving Conditions and Forecast: October 2015

Diving in October is great and divers may be surprised what they might find offshore after a low pressure system has pushed through. Photo courtesy of Steve Wood.
Diving in October is great and divers may be surprised what they might find offshore after a low pressure system has pushed through. Photo courtesy of Steve Wood.

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]istorically, as fall gets under way, diving in October is great provided an eye is kept on the weather. Cold fronts have a tendency to shake up local waters making lobsters walk and rearranging fish on local reefs leading to great opportunities to see some action offshore.

Timing is everything when it comes to cold fronts this time of year and surface conditions can change quickly when they move though. Many divers find conditions underwater are really good just ahead of an approaching front and will take an opportunity to sneak out after work during the week to catch a quick lobster while conditions are calm. Captains are wise to review their emergency recall procedures with divers in the event a dive has been called for one reason or another. Common techniques to alert divers underwater, should they come up, include banging a metal object against the ladder or revving engines, usually three times. Not all divers are aware or pay attention to these sounds and a quick review before splashing in should keep everyone safe if surface conditions change while underwater.

As fronts become more frequent, divers will notice lobster tend to move around after a low pressure system has pushed though. Many believe lobster can sense changing weather conditions and will move around during heavy seas. Once conditions are calm again, divers may be surprised to find them closer to shore or in places previously picked over. Grouper are also known to move into shallow waters after periods of strong winds, and with the season open though the end of the year, hunters should be on the lookout for opportunities to bag a keeper. Common on drift dives, many hunters will float a speared fish to the surface on a lift bag or safety sausage in order to keep the tax man from collecting his fee. Experienced divers may color coordinate surface markers so crew on the boat know what’s under them, for example a yellow marker may indicate a fish is attached, while a red marker may mean a diver is below and about to surface.