The water is great with temps in the low, to mid, 80s on the surface and mid, to upper, 70s on the bottom. The spearing has been great everywhere! The vis has been better this year at 50+ feet than in the last few years. As I noted before in past articles, most of the artificial reefs are very different than they were before the storm. Every dive now is new and exciting again. With so many changes you will need to relearn each site to find out where the fish are hanging out. Please be careful around these sites; we still don’t know how stable they are. Remember, with some of these changes the currents moving across them has also changed which will make the site more hazards until you learn the difference…it will also change where the fish are going to be. Remember to keep your eyes glued to your bottom machine as you run from site to site. I’ve added over 400 new sites to my GPS in just the last three months! There is a lot of new stuff out there and a lot of the old stuff is gone. Be patient as you relearn Panama City waters.
One thing you must know when spearfishing is how to identify fish by type and size limits underwater. It’s easy to identify them above the water but not so easy underwater because you don’t have most colors at depth and water also magnifies the size of the fish so be careful not to kill something you can’t keep.
Safety Tip: Have multiple safety devices on you such as a safety sausage, reflective mirror, flashlight, whistle, and above all preplanned communication though hand and noise signals with the person staying on the boat.
Get out there and have fun with family and friends on the water and as always, PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN.
Thanks for reading.
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476