The water is in the mid to upper 80s all the way through the water column. Triggerfish are open in state waters but not in federal waters. I was out the on the opening weekend and found a lot of them very high in the water column, but most of them were just long enough to harvest at about 4 miles out, so be careful not to shot the short ones.
October is traditionally the best month for water clarity. With clearer water, you need to be more stealthy than normal because like you, the fish can see further as well. A couple of tricks I use is stay high and shot them from above. The other is not to look the fish in the eye; for some reason, this scares most fish. Try using a tinted lens in your mask. Sometimes I’ll lay on bottom and throw a hand full of sand up into the water column which helps hide you and creates a feeding frenzy with smaller bait fish and porgies. With all the new activity large fish like amberjack and grouper will come in closer to investigate and you might be able to get a shot off. This year there has been a heavy green layer in the middle of the water column so hopefully it will clear up this October as it has in the past.
This month’s safety tip is the uses of a reference line. In clear deep water you should use a reference line if not you may experience vertigo and lose your sense of direction. This could be an anchor or buoy line. The line will help you control your descent and ascent rate especially if you are not yet very good with buoyancy control.
Get out there and enjoy some warm and clear water with friends and family and as always, PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN.
Thanks for reading!
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476