Winter is here in a big way! With the weather being so cold and not much available in the way of fish being in season, I use this time of year to go over my boat and gear for maintenance and operating procedures. Before we get into that let’s talk about what you can expect in the water.
It’s way too cold for me to dive so I do a lot of fishing this time of year. The water here is clearer and more predictable during the winter. If you choose to brave the cold you should see visibility between 30- to 50-feet and the water temperature in the mid 50s to lower 60s. The flounder have moved out to the nearshore wrecks. You should find red & scamp grouper on the wrecks and hard bottom areas to the west, as well as lobster.
With fishing opportunities limited, this is a great time to hone your diving skills like buoyancy and breathing control, gear placement, streamlining the gear on your body, and even underwater photography.
Boat & gear maintenance: I start by making a list of items I want to work on each winter like corrosion, wiring, broken items, upgrades, and boat/motor maintenance both scheduled and unscheduled. After the list has been made, I start at the bow and go to the stern one item at a time. It is very easy to get off track when you come to something that you have been trying to replace or repair, don’t do it, stay focused on your list and you will get to it; you’ll get more done faster than if you jump around as you find different items. This is also a great time to get the annual dive gear maintenance done as well. Get your dive gear to the shop early because it can take a few weeks to get it back, and you don’t want to miss any of the good diving or fishing at the beginning of the season. Don’t forget to perform maintenance on your spear gun/pole spear. All tips need to be sharpened and corrosion removed. If you’re skilled enough, you might even want to open your spear gun trigger mechanism to clean and lubricate it.
Safety tip: make emergency procedures cards! You should also pick a place on your boat to put them and make them a part of your safety briefing to your guests. Some of the cards I have include topics such as buddy system, providing oxygen, general first aid, out of air at depth, runaway air leaks, marine life injury, cuts, and hook stabs; I will go into more detail with these in the upcoming months.
As always, Plan your Dive and Dive your Plan.
Thanks for reading.
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476