Treasure Coast Scuba Diving Conditions and Forecast: February 2016

Steve Wood with a nice amberjack speared offshore the Treasure Coast during a recent trip. Photo provided by Steve Wood.
Steve Wood with a nice amberjack speared offshore the Treasure Coast during a recent trip. Photo provided by Steve Wood.

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ebruary may not be the warmest month to go diving but those who venture out may be in for a treat. If sea conditions lay down long enough between cold fronts, divers who sneak out local inlets maybe surprised to find plenty of action on area reefs. Hunters are wise to stay alert while spearfishing since cobia and sharks also return to local waters making for exciting encounters during the winter months.

Visibility along the Treasure Coast is quite predictable this time of year, provided an eye is kept to the wind. Strong northerly winds during the winter months should begin to fade allowing water to clear in a few days. Local beach cams at Jensen Beach and Bathtub Reef are great tools for watching real-time conditions for calm seas and good visibility

Since lobster season remains open through March, divers have plenty of time to bag a delicious meal while exploring area reefs. Lobsters are known to move around during large swells and heavy surf into areas that are typically picked over and reefs like Peck Lake, just south of the St. Lucie Inlet in Stuart, or the shallow reef off of Bathtub Beach are good places to look. Cobia should also make their return in big numbers in February and Valentine ’s Day is a great time to start looking for them. Divers will notice these good eating gamefish tend to follow sharks, rays and big turtles and put up quite a fight making them one of the most exciting fish to spear. Hunters should consider floating speared fish to the surface on a lift bag or sausage in order to avoid losing a catch or provoking an encounter. A common technique is to color code lift bags so boat crew know what’s attached to the other end—red for marking divers positions beneath the surface and yellow or green for fish.

[easy-social-share]