By: Capt. Chad Carney
Coastal Angler printed my “Favorite SW FL Wrecks to Spearfish” in Dec. 2020. You can still see my top 6 by clicking e-Magazines and choose your area, Naples to Sarasota, scroll down to archives, where all articles since late 2016 appear. I’ve been revisiting more middle range sites and some are shallower than 132 ft. Here’s my next 6 SW FL Wrecks.
- Bay Ronto – sunk in 110 ft of water in a 1919 hurricane 31.5 n.miles off Boca Grande. In 1972 it was my first deep wreck. It’s broken into 5 major pieces now and the years have produced AJs, gags, blacks and mangroves.
2. Fantastico – a Honduran Freighter sunk in the 1993 No Name Storm, 47nm off Fort Myers Beach in 115 ft of water. I dove the 2nd trip there with a bunch of wreck/tech divers who swore it was the Roatan Express. I dropped on a big cobia which led me to the bow where I shot him in front of “Fantastico” painted the size of a bus!
3. D6W & D6E – Artificial Reefs with fiberglass boat molds 31.3nm off Venice in 109 ft. Because of the distance and little fanfare this site is good. i shot a 30# gag in the center, and the E area is very good.
4. USCGC Mohawk – a 165 ft cutter sunk 7-2-2012, 40nm off Fort Myers Bch. in 90 ft. This wreck is attracting lots of marine life due to its size, durability and distance offshore. Looking forward to diving this ship.
5. Skyway Bridge Wreckage – is 58.5nm offshore Boca Grande at 170 ft. In May 1980 the freighter Summit Venture collided into the 200 ft high Skyway Bridge which spanned Tampa Bay. 35 people died in their vehicles with a Greyhound bus. On my dive I could see the bridge’s steel and concrete in very clear water, but I was maxed out on depth and dove the top 100 ft for AJs.
6. Long Island – a shrimp boat 47.9nm off Sarasota in a depth of 163 ft. In 1998 & 99 this wreck was upright & intact with the name welded on the bow. We shot gags, blacks and AJs.
Coastal Angler’s Outdoors Section – “Diving & Spearfishing” has 13 pages with some great stories written by their Editorial Staff, which includes lots by my good friend Sheri Daye. To my surprise I found 2 articles of mine. Pg 12 “Fall Spearfishing in Florida” and Pg 9 “Spearfishing Course for Freedivers.”
Shoot straight
Capt. Chad