by Capt. Bill D’Antuono
2018 has treated us in Southwest Florida right. Warm temperatures and calm days enabled us to get on the water frequently. The visibility has been great also. At the beginning of winter, I try to stay positive and anticipate the cobia run and full moon snapper days, to offset the impending drop in water temperature. We will soon have mid-70-degree water again with divers coming out of the woodwork wanting to get back at it.
Large snapper, grouper and African pompano successfully made it into the boat in 2018 thus far. Some of these trophy fish are far offshore, contact me for a shot to land one. The gulf is littered with dive sites, which also attract nice fish. One tip to finding new spots is to have a nice transducer on your boat, able to scan while at cruising speed. It is not always advantageous to drop in on a potential new spot because the deeper you go, the more ascent time it requires. So, it never hurts to bring a grouper rod along and jig for a quick score. If you pull up some nice fish, you know it’s time to get the dive gear ready.
This year I have a lionfish derby planned at 360 Market, along with a spearfishing tournament in the works. My goal in 2018 is to continue to build the dive community in Naples and get people interested in this often-overlooked local activity. My charter, Offshore Naples, has been running out of Gordon’s Pass and it has been quite some time setting up, but we have been having great days on the water.
Check SCUBAdventures’ dive schedule as we have regular dives going to the Blue Hole and ‘R’ Tower, along with nearby wrecks and reefs.