The water is still in the low- to mid-80s all the way through the water column.
The season for the ever-endangered red snapper ends on Labor Day (4 Sep), so it’s time to go out and find all the other fish we’ve been ignoring. You can find black snapper under most wrecks and hard bottom ledges. If you’re quiet and stealthy, they may even come out into the open; do that by controlling your breathing, slowing down, and don’t look directly at the fish you want to shoot…use your peripheral vision. This is especially true for barracuda, grouper and black snapper.
I’ve noticed that with all the rain we’ve been getting, the water clarity is better on the west side of the Panama City pass, being about 30’ to 50’ and the east side being about 15’ to 20’. Most of the fish near shore are still on the smaller side, so use caution when you shoot, you don’t want to kill something you can’t keep due to size limits. Hopefully you have some “out of the way” places that haven’t been fished out so you can get the big ones close in, if not, you may need to go out to deeper waters.
This month’s safety tip concerns deep dives. With all the talk of having to go deeper for the bigger fish, you still need to dive within your certification. If you find yourself needing to dive deeper and deeper to get what you want, then go get the deep dive training; don’t risk it and dive it anyway. You don’t want to hurt yourself for a fish. Tony Snow at Dive Locker would be happy to take you to the next level of diving; call him at (850) 230-8006.
Always PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN.
Thanks for reading!
CAPT. JAMES TEW
Kitchen Pass Dive & Fishing Charters
850-896-6476