The water is great, with temps in the 80s all the way to the bottom. The weather should be getting better, the seas calmer, and this will make for great diving so, let’s get out there! The red snappers have moved closer to shore on the more popular wrecks but most of them are too small to harvest; the big ones are still much deeper. There are still plenty of white snapper everywhere. The big grouper are still a little further out, so don’t be afraid to travel further and dive deeper on some hard bottom. The water visibility has been good on bottom about 30’ to 50’, but up in the water column, it’s been less than perfect, only about 3’ to 10’. There is a lot of life on many of the wrecks, like Stage 1 and 2, for you to take pictures of or even harvest, however, Stage 2 is very close to shore and the fish are mostly small. It’s still a great dive because it’s only about a 50’ dive with the bottom at about 60’. Stage 1, however, is about 12 miles off shore in about 100’ with big mangrove snappers, gag grouper and some red snapper.
This month’s safety tip concerns repetitive dives. If you want to do them, I urge you to plan them very carefully. The best way I have found is to write them out on paper and go back to it throughout the day of the dive to make sure you are sticking to the plan you laid out. If you need help with the dive tables, any of the great dive shops in Panama City, like the Dive Locker, would be glad to help you.
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476