The weather is finally warm so let’s go diving! Hopefully your gear has had its annual service by now so there’s no excuse for not going.
The June forecast is always tricky because the weather is trying to fall into its summer pattern, so it can be a little crazy on the water, but usually we have good weather. One of the biggest things to watch for is the afternoon sea breeze and the storms it can produce along shore. If you’re offshore when this occurs, just wait it out before you go in, they don’t last long.
The good news for spearfishing is just about everything is in season to catch. Be very mindful of your size limits, if it does not make you say “WOW,” then just don’t shoot it. You can’t throw it back once you’re aboard the boat for it to swim and live another day. Remember, everything looks 33% bigger than it really is underwater.
From what I have seen and heard so for this year, it might be a pretty lean year on the fish numbers, so just be patient and be willing to move from site to site to get the best results. I’m not seeing big numbers of large fish out there but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Just slow down and wait for the right fish, and the right amount of fish. I think we will all have to be satisfied with quality over quantity of fish this year. Please be sure to conserve and take only what you need for that day. If we don’t, the state and feds will put more and stricter restrictions on us; we all know they’re tight enough on the recreational angler now.
This month’s safety tip is, yes, hydration again, and always do a safety stop before surfacing on every dive no matter how long or deep you dive. You never know, a wahoo or tuna may just come up to you to say “Hi!” It’s happened to me before. As always, Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan.
Thanks for reading.
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476