Dive Report

May 9 and 10

Wonderful weekend. I'll let the pictures tell the story. First picture a cool Haitian Anenome taken ny Bill Mahn

We came up on a huge baitball that was being attacked by Hammerhead and several Sandbar Sharks. Anita snapped a couple nice pics of a Sandbar. Notice the pectoral fins are slightly forward from the Dorsal.

This was a massive school of Jack Crevalle. In the thousands. They swam around us for a while. Bill got the definitive picture on this one.

April 28

Tuning it in for our annual Spearboard Open Spearfishing Tournament. That's what we call all of our hunting trips until May 16. Today the Emerald took a few hearty shooters out to explore. Seas were 2 to 4 and water temp was 74 with an occassional cold spot just below 70 degrees. We came up on several Grouper. Island Fever shot one out on the deep ledge and took him to the surface. Jeremy, who used to dive with me all the time, has been working the rigs in the gulf and hasn't picked up a gun in two years . He put 2 gags in the cooler and outshot me again! His family will be eating well this week. I was targeting trigger and found them in their usual hideouts. I took 2 and left the rest there for future use. I had a great second dive. A big hammerhead swam with me as close as 4 ft for over 5 minutes. I was on the scooter and felt like the synchronized team. I left him to chase a grouper. I caught the grouper and sent it to the surface on a lift bag. You guessed it! On the surface, the divers on the boat were treated to a violent shredding of my grouper. Captain Tony tried to get between the Hammer and the Grouper and was outmanuevered. I was able to get 4 ounces of meat from the leftovers. Oh well, anyone got a good fish head soup recipe?

Noaa is calling for flat seas all weekend. I have space available for a three tank dive Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

 

Wednesday Jan 7

We decided to go ahead with a three tank dive today after hearing the front was delayed. We did good. The weather held up until we hit the dock. On the first dive, out on the deep ledge, we were expecting to see some big fish as reported earlier in the week. We saw big fish alright... SHARKS! There were 7 lemon sharks hanging out with a school of Horse eye Jacks. On my safety stop 5 Bull sharks joined me and started circling me. As my friend Mike had said earlier in the week, these Sharks are acting very aggressive. We even had a nurse try to steal a lobster bag. I was happy to get out of the water. Second dive, we hit the Mother Lode and everyone maxed out on lobster. 3d dive Tunnels to see if any Gags came in. No but the usual Reefies were there and challenged me to an AmberJack I took. He lost. Another great day of diving with some great people. Thank You.

 

Saturday Dec 27

Seas were 3 to 6 ft with close sets. Water Temp was 74 degrees still.

Thursday December 11

Top to bottom vis. Seas were a little rough in the 3 to 5 range. Beautiful diving. Did 3 drops. First on Juno Ledge to see some Lemon Sharks. There were plenty there. After taking our limit of bugs on the second dive, we headed over to the Tunnels and loaded up on Grouper. We were visited by the local sharks but did not loose any fish. Great day.

Sunday November 23, 2008

Kind of a strange day. We went out Friday and had 3 great dives. By the end of the day the seas were picking up and we called the weekend off. After cancelling , the seas got better and we decided to go Sunday. Sunday AM dive, great group of people but crappy vis. We had no greater than 10 ft vis. On the way back we heard the vis was better south so we took off and sure enough had 60 to 80 ft vis just North of Palm Beach. The second dive we dropped in on the Governor's wrecks and midway through the dive a huge Whale Shark passes overhead. I spotted her and beeped a couple of divers near me. I was actually able to swim with it while Tkat took some video. One diver that has been with us all week and is going back to NY tomorrow was there to witness the action. Hard to admit but this was even better than bagging a big fish or a bucket of bugs. Am I getting soft?

Whale Shark Video

Wednesday Obamer 1, 2008

Went out with a few spearos today. The seas were calm but had a fat swell coming from the North East.The swell tossed the crabs off the bottom and screwed the vis inside. We hit 95fsw outside the Juno Pier and had 10 ft vis. Traveled a little further south, same depth and had 35 ft vis. We took 2 nice size hogs and a handful of bugs. Looks like there are good game opportunities. Current was running SOUTH and the water temp was still about 82 with no thermal. Winds coming around from the North East Thursday, may help with the flushing current to get the vis up for the weekend. I have a three tank dive scheduled for Friday , Saturday and Sunday. We will travel to the best vis and game ops.

You can't eat them but it was cool, last weekend,to have a school of spotted Dolphins hanging around the boat checking out our new paint job. Char painted silhouettes of a school of fish on the bottom and I guess they were curious. Anyway , 6 of them stayed with me on my safety stop and played as I sqeaked at them and swam as if I were in an aquatic ballet. They would take turns swimming by me within a foot and sort of slapping me with water turbulence as they giggled at my antics. I assumed one of them would bite my arm off or something but they seemed docile. (Don't they always!)

Wednesday October 20, 2008

Bit rough out the last couple of days which worked out well because I helped John and his gang move Scuba Works back to its old location on US1 and Indiantown Road. The Emerald stays at the Marina. If you need to pick up tanks , gear or pay for your charter, go to the shop first and then come to the boat, We will now be leaving at 9 am to allow a little extra time for you to shop at Scuba Works. If you have prepaid with a credit card and don't need to go to the shop, come directly to the Emerald and board. The best bet is to take care of the shop business early and come straight to the boat. We will escort you down to load. Same fun as always. Got out over the weekend and got plenty of bugs on Friday and Saturday. Sunday got a little rough and the current was weird so we didn't do too much hunting. Terri took some interesting pictures to share,

This is a picture Terri took of a happy coral anxiously awaiting the full moon spawn.

Others corals sat by and wore hats to hide their identity

Tania, Terri and I occassionally travel to Venice to hunt for fossilized Shark's Teeth.

This last trip we found a 5" Megaladon tooth just laying in the sand at 28 fsw.

Amazing! Thank god its fossilized and the Megs have been extict for about 10 million years or I would not be diving now.

Thursday October 16, 2008

Seas will be 2' or less all weekend starting tomorrow! We are going Friday. Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 am and have lots of room. All 3 tanks with the first dive somewhere off the deep ledge with the big boys. Lobster on 2d and 3d tank. Hunt and photo on the first.

Scuba Works has been sold to some real good people John and Jonathan Dickinson of the famous Shark Tales spearfishing team. Come by and meet them. Real professionals. Only change is they will be moving back to US 1 at Indiantown, the old location, next Tuesday. Lee got called up and is back at Publix to help with the Albertson change-overs. He will be out diving with us soon. I will be staying where I am. See you soon.

Thursday Octoberr 9, 2008

Outrageous conditions yesterday. Over 100 ft vis and the lobster were everywhere. Why? Looks like a nice weekend. We are running Friday,Saturday , Sunday and Monday Colunbus Day. There is a new owner at Scuba Works, John Dickinson. Stop by and say Hi!

Tuesday September 23, 2008

First full day of fall. I can tell because we start to get these weird weather patterns. The seas were great last weekend and will be OK next weekend, but NOAA calls for 6 to 8 ft tomorrow and Thursday with 4 ft swells, Surfs up, Dude!. Where is this coming from? Anyway, this weekend was great . We got lobster , shot fish and got in some good dives. The Goliaths are still hanging on the deep ledge but will dispurse soon ( fall back). Oh well at least the Lemon Sharks will be coming soon. Be sure to book early and often. This is something you should not miss. Starts just sfter Thanksgiving and falls off late January, early Feb.

Happy Campers. Harald with a fat Black , Chuck with a good size Hogfish which he generously donated to me and everyone with a bag full of the good stuff!

Still plenty of GG on the ledge. Photo by Tkatrob

RJ and Turtle. Tkatrob caught me being one with nature. The turtle must be following a Cobia or something!

Tuesday September 16, 2008

Busy, Busy Busy!. With great trips planned for Friday, Saturday amd Sunday, I started planning my dives to see how I could make all of them. I just hate to miss a dive!. Friday was easy. We took out a group of lady divers for a hunting expedition. great group of girls hell bent on having fun. They startited whooping it up on the way to the dock. Everyone at the Marina wanted to know what was going on. I told them it was a group of drunk, loose women. They offered their help. Out on the seas, the water was peaceful until you got down. We had a strong current that kept most of the divers from catching too many bugs. In between dives we stopped to reflect on our fallen comrade, Eve Scwartz. We stopped by her last known GPS and passed roses onto the site as Emily recited a poem exclaiming she is gone from here but only just arriving at her new home. Nice digs, Eve... RIP. We hit better current on the next two dives and some of the ladies limited out on bugs. A few nice shots rounded out the catch of the day.

Saturday we did a wonderful 3 tanker followed by a scientific expedition to the Goliath Groupers aggregating on the deep ledge and the Zion Wreck. Dr Frias-Torres has been studyinh Goliaths and was absolutely amaxed to see over a hundred Goliaths on the deep ledge and another 30 or 40 on the Zion. All cuddling and waiting for the September Full Moon to consumate their holy bonds...yeah they mated all night!

Sunday I took out a sophisticated bunch of rebreather and tech divers. We had CC ( closed circuit) OC ( open circuit and all were OCD. Very meticulous bunch of DIR andf GUE divers. I learned just by listening to them critique check each other as I stepped off the boat with my short 80 and a pony under my arm. We were headed to the Muliphen but got vised out so we hit the Ande. The Ande is 186 fsw. When I got down there were Cubera running everywhere. I didn't want to shoot because this was my 9th dive of the weekend and I was in 172 fsw. I pulled the trigger and nailed a 30 pounder. As quick as possible I air lifted the whole rig to the surface with a lift bag. Somewhee near the surface , the Cube got off the shaft. Tony came up on the bag and recovered my empty gun. In the distance , Anthony noticed a bloated fish struggling on the surface. Tony approached and with CAT LIKE reflexes , Anthony set his personal best Gaf record and hauled the prize to the cooler.He spent the rest of the trip talking about his "kill" shot. He went home with the Cubera. The next dive we hit the deep ledge. Goliaths everywhere. A fat Black Grouper decided to play what's different about this picture and glide about with the Goliaths. Not easily fooled or narced at 146 fsw, I plugged him. He puilled out and holed up under one of my favorite rocks. I motioned for Anthony to be still while I reloaded. he did so and we approached the hiding spot from both sides. On cue, the Black attempted to exit and Anthony added a shaft to his wounds, the Black tried my side and the victory shot was added. Anthony grabbed the 38 pounder by the throat and passed it to me. I headed up so my computer would shut up. We floated the Black and mosied up. Plenty of time in Deco to reflect the weekend dives, I must say, I wish I could have done a couple more.

Ladies Day Pirate Flag.

Char Pole Dancing with a yellow jack.

RJ soaking in the scenery

Black Grouper 34 pounds gutted and Cubera 30 pounds

 

 

Monday September 8, 2008

 

What a gorgeous weekend it turned out to be. Vis was top to bottom and the current was slight north. Saturday we loaded up on bugs and speared several hogfish. There was an abundance of Mutton Snapper and some very large Red Grouper. ALL GREAT DIVES !! On Sunday we went out to see if there were any Goliath Grouper on the deep ledge. What a shock. I couldn't count, but I estimate over 60. The current was perfect an allowed us to hover above the herd and observe them. Bill managed a short video with his camera and posted it to you tube. He calls the video 20.000 pounds of Goliaths. That's me right in the middle of the bunch. We will definitely be going back here this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81GhtxcpMJE

Bill Mahn video of Goliath Aggregation

 

Friday, September 6, 2008

Like chasing windmills, we have been "dodging" alleged Hurricanes for the past few weeks. Fortunately, they missed us. However it sure screwed up our dive schedule. We are going out this weekend come Hell or High water. I'll post a report and let you know how it goes. Funeral services for our friend Eva Schwartz will be next weekend. I'll let you know about a memorial fund being set up for her. Eva had a dive accident last weekend and failed to surface after a dive. She was found the next day in 100' of water by her fiance' Quinn . Our thoughts are with her and all the friends she leaves behind.

 

Tuesday August 12, 2008

Where have you been. Why don't you write. OK I get it. I enjoy these reports too, so here you go. Lobster season opened without any deaths in our area. Good. Overall I think we lost 5 statewide. Bad. Why do we keep doing this? Should be limited to people that have actually dived in the past few months. Most accidents/deaths are people that dust it off for the big day. Dive often, stay tuned up and be safe. Soapbax down.

We hit the less traveled areas and did OK. Nothing to write home about. Those that could, did but everyone had a good time. More divers limited out than didn't but we just aren't seeing big numbers like prior years. It was like a two day 12 dive party. My computers were screaming but I managed to get them cleared for all dives . That left me with a 16 minute deco on day two, but I have trained for this. that is the difference between a planned deco dive and a dive accident!

Besides lobstering we had some great dives. I will attach a couple of videos from the week. One is a Sandbar shark that was resting out on the deep ledge taken by our friend Marie. Very rare sighting(Marie and the Sandbar). You can see in the video, she is alive, especially as she takes off and runs over the videographer after another diver hit the flash. They hate the electrical recharge on the flash. Oh well no one was hurt. Liz made a superb video from their two days here. The view in the beginning is from the Waterfront Inn next door to the shop and boat. We have a special rate with them for divers, so you can come up and make a weekend of it. Very romantic and you get to SCUBA. Her husband Owen has a rebreather. very cool. Out at the Hole in the Wall, the Goliaths are aggregating. We have about 30 big girls out there now. On one dive we had a group of Cubera swim through the Goliath herd. They are very photogenic and if approached quietly(movement), they let you get close ups.

Couple of special dives coming up including a trip to the Muliphen and the Rankin on September 14. Long trip but well worth it. We have been sold out lately with the opening of the season, but that should slow down as school starts next week. Lots of room on this boat as always. Call me and let's go diving!

These are Liz and Owen's Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYiQKvYVWfw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuptcHUQxCg

This is the video of the Sandbar Shark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGZmuiztIE

 

Monday July 21, 2008

Summertime and the diving is easy. So good I have been on the boat instead of updating my dive report. Lots to cover. We hit the Rankin, a 456 ft navy ship, this past week. The Rankin is about a 1 1/2 hour boat ride from Jupiter so we don't go too often. In addition the vis and current isn't reliable. You more often than not get there and get hit in the mask with a complete black out and 50 degree water. Not this day! We had 80 ft vis, 80 degree water and a 1/2 knot current. You could easily see the structure as you entered the water. What a treat. I swam back and forth over the wreck exploring all the nooks and crannies. At one point I saw a big Grouper go inside. I followed and motioned for Lee to keep watch at the exit. Sure enough the gag turned to run and hit the booby trap. Lee plugged him right in the head. Mark Z quietly swam right up to another and made a beautiful shot to catch his dinner. Some fish, but mostly an extreme neat dive. After celebrating our good fortune at this wreck, we headed south and hit the Loran Ledges. I swam into a fat gag that was posing for Eve, a photographer. After she got her pictures, I motioned for her to slide over just a hair while I had a turn with my speargun. Photo shoot over!

Out on the deep ledge the shark games continue. We have never seen so many Duskys and Bulls. Sunday , Tania and I were in the water and a Hammerhead swam directly at us within 4 ft before turning. No camera! Others with a camera got some good shots of the Duskys and if they send them to me I will share them with you. I had a Spotted Eagle Ray hang with me two days in a row. On the first day it kept swooping at me as if she wanted to play. We are getting ready for a big photog weekend. We are heading out into the Blue Water to attempt to capture some of the macro sargassum weed life. Unfortunately we are sold out on Saturday and have only two spots for Sunday available. If you are interested in the photog only trip, call the shop to book.

On September 7 we are running a No bubbles, No Troubles rebreather only trip. If you are a rebreather diver, come join us. I have 2 spots open for that. This Friday is a hunting trip, lots of room. And of course next Wednesday and Thursday is mini season, we are sold out but Lee may have openings on other boats.

Give Scuba Works a call at (561)575-3483.

Monday July 7, 2008

Just some wonderful diving over this 4thof July weekend. One highlight was a night dive we did on the 4th of July. Terri got there early and decorated the boat. Notice PJ on the back even wore a flag featured speedo. No, I said Flag! We headed out to flat calm seas and went down in the twilight. It is really beautiful at night when the oddballs come out. On the second darker dive, Terri got a picture of a Flame Box Crab, I have never seen one, and a Berried Anenome. Very odd looking animals. On dives over the weekend, Spearos loaded up on Hogfish, my personal favorite. Sunday I opted for my video camera instead of a speargun and look what happened (about 30#s). Click on the video link below.

Cobia Video

Thursday July 2, 2008

Vis: 60 to 80

Water Temp :82 degrees, some thermals!

Seas: Flat

What a day!. Started out with Captain spotting "something" on the surface. As we ambled over, I could see one red fin slapping the water. "Hogfish!" Tony yelled. I ran below, grabbed the gaff and boated a 12# Hog. He must have got caught in the upwelling or something chased it uo. Whatever the bouyancy problem was his loss and our gain. Got South and the current was about 3.5 knots. We tumbled along and somehow Lee shot a 6 # Hog. Second dive, Lee comes up and asks a favor. he wants to dive the same spot again because he shot a Big Black and it holed up. He cut his line and surfaced. After lunch we went down and ganged up on the fish. We got it. Several yellow jacks, Prop Man shot one that had a goat fish hanging out of its mouth. Ocean Ed nailed a 25# Yellow, 2 Hogfish and a snapper. Good catch today. Enjoy the pictures.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Vis 80 ft

Water Temp 84 degrees

Seas 2 to 3 ft

Very nice conditions. We ran into a 10ft Hammerhead out on the deep ledge. First time a couple of guys have ever seen one. Very elegant! On the second dive, Lee swam up on Bob who was kneeling down in the sand mesmerized. Lee looked over and there were 2 Nurse Sharks wrapped around each other and spinning while doing the wild thing. Lee said Bob looked like he needed some popcorn and a tissue! I've never witnessed that before, but I'm sure I would sit and watch. Pictured below is a Loggerhead Turtle Terri took a picture of. The 400 # turtle has been bitten recently by a large shark. Judging by the size and strength, I am guessing a Tiger shark. E mail me if you have any insight on the bite structure or can identify the type of shark from the bite pattern. The bite is approximately 16 inches wide and completely took off one flipper. The turtle was alive and may recover? I think she is too big to capture and take to the Marine Life Center. Any other rescue ideas, let me know. I think I can find her again.

Monday June 23, 2008

Vis: 60 ft

Water Temp: The thermal is subsiding. Should be back to normal by Wednesday

Current: Stronger on top and mild on the bottom

You know the fish have been scarce as of late here in Jupiter/West Palm. In the last few days we have had a thermal that made the deep ledge look like a ghost town. Not even the Sharks were home. I have tried to guess where the fish went and was pleased to run in to a bunch of Mutton on top of the reefs in 80fsw. We dropped in and I immediately spottd a wily crafty Black Grouper sneaking up current. The current was light so I slowly followed. The Black went up under a ledge. Having home field advantage, I knew this wasn't much of a ledge so I hit the gas and zoned in. I was sure as soon as it heard me it would bail out and bolt. It did and I blasted it with a running away hail mary at 12 ft. As usual , luck made it look like an expert shot. Another spearo stopped and applauded having witnessed this immaculsate reception. After sending that one up, we started playing hide and seek with the Muttons. They are quick. I took 2 shots over the course of the dive, gave one a haircut and missed the other. I started snaking through the soft coral and spotted a big Mutton . I approached non chalantly and looked the other way like I wasn't interested. It worked and I was able to turn 90 degrees and get a quick shot. I hit it in the tail and the slip tip held on.Biggest Mutton I have seen around here in a while. Both the Mutton and the Black were 26 inches. The guys on the boat estimated the Mutton at 10 to 12 pounds. I think closer to 8 or 9. Anyway, certainly broke up the dry spell we have been having. Getting tired of shooting Yellow Jacks!

Wednesday June 19. 2008

Vis has gone top to bottom! Water Temp is 83 degrees and seas were flat,Yeah! Beautiful out on the deep ledge. Buttload of Buls and Duskys greeted us as we entered the water and stayed the whole dive. Some nice pictures by Charles Shupard posted from last weekend. The first is a "not so common" Green Turtle. Note the delicate small head. They are skiddish and don't usually sit around and pose. Charles got a great shot with a P&S camera. Still have some openings for Friday. Let's go!

Monday June 17, 2008

 

Some local friends got a group together and went to Galapagos last week. Here is a report posted by John Conley. Great report, Great Trip and lots of Great pictures!

http://www.scubadiving.com/forum/m.aspx?m=101511June 13, 2008

Friday June 13, 2008

Nice Friday the 13th! Water temp is 82 degrees and the vis was 60 and getting better. We had a screaming current out at the Hole in the Wall, about 3 knots! Closest thing to flying without a plane there can be. The usual suspects were on hand to witness our underwater aeronautics. Second dive was on the Jupiter Wreck Trek. I focused on Video today and saw some very interesting little creatures. I hope to be able to post some video soon.

I got a call from some of our friends that went to Galapagos this week. they were pretty stoked. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Got a radio report from some other friends that went to the Rankin today.They had 60 ft vis and one spearo nailed a nice gag grouper. The photo op should be righteous this Sunday, when we treck up. We are sold out but I plan to go again real soon. Email me if you want to go. Give me a date of preference and I will set it up. Not much hunting today, we were all just kinda lollygagging and enjoying the day.

June 6, 2008

Summer is definitely here. The water temp has jumped to 83 degrees. It was 80 out on the deep ledge. In three dives today we saw 6 Bull Sharks, 4 Dusky Sharks, 1 Hammerhead and 3 Reef Sharks. What a complete day. Everyone always is hesitant but really enjoys seeing these big fish. I learned something very important today... do not shoot a Bonita!. Capt Tony said he wanted one to use for bait later in the week so when the opportunity presented itself, I shot a good size one. Mayhem ensued. A big Barracuda sprang after the Bomita and starting ripping large chunks off it. I couldn't even get to my shaft to get rid of what was left. I had to tap the 'Cuda on the head with the back of my gun. Suddenly a Dusky shows up and enters the feeding frenzy. I gave up and shot a liftbag to the surface with the mess. The Dusky followed it up. Capt Tony said my lift bag went down like a bass bobber and came back up a couple hundred yards away. I got my gun back with no trace of Bonita and serrations on my line and bands. Bad idea! Apparently Bonita is to Cudas and Sharks what Catnip is to a feline. Of course the divers with me enjoyed the scene. Good, 'cause that was the last showing of Bonita Chronicles.

May 27, 2008

Just finished 4 lovely days of diving with friends. The ocean held out beautifully for us. All 4 days we hit the deep ledge or the Hole in the Wall and were surrounded by Jacks, Sharks and other stray pelagics. The sharks were curious as ever and this time there were a few Dusky Sharks hanging with the Bulls. I have only seen a few. Hope to have picture soon from one photog that got a great shot! On the Jupiter Wreck Trek I came across a school of Cubera. I have never seen this before. There were 10 or 12 in the 30 pound range, just hanging out. I learned this is their mating season and they play a sort of follow the leader until she expels her eggs and then ferilize them game. Gross. I didn't want to get spewed on or interfere with the cycle of life so I opted out on a shot. I was confused by the numbers and motivation. I am a little cautious when I don't understand something. Monday NOAA called for 5 to 7 ft seas. Bull, the seas were 3 to 4 and the vis was over 80 ft. The wind was blowing in from the NE but the seas were great. We did not go to the Rankin as planned. Hope to hit it on Father's Day June 15. Conditions permitting.

May 22, 2008

Her's a few pictures taken by Jeri last week. The first is a Hawksbill. We see lots of them, but this picture just came out so clean. On one dive we came across a Reef Shark in a blow out sleeping? I went in and tickled it's nerve center under it's nose and Jeri, Michael and others took pictures. Back on the boat, they said I was crazy for being in there with the shark. I told them,and you can see from the angle, that if the Shark awoke he would swim straight forward, away from me and towards them. Who's crazy?

Wednesday May 14, 2008

Water Temp: 77 to 78 . Really starting to get warm!

Vis: Extreme, We had several days with 80 plus feet

Seas: Calm

Sounds like pretty good conditions. There is a little weather off the coast that will bring the seas up for a couple of days. Today is 4 to 6 so we stayed in. Friday we have a Southwest wind against a Northeast swell. We call that a confused sea. Seas will be 3 to 4, but choppy. The good news is Saturday will be 2 to 4 ft and Sunday will be 2 ft or less! Team Emerald is preparing for the Spearboard Open Spearfishing Tournament on Saturday. We have spent a lot of time with the film crew and are hoping for favorable editing. We have a good chance with our experience and local knowledge of scoring well. I appreciate all of you that have supported this effort with interest and fellowship. We are competing against teams from 7 states and over 300 shooters. Wish us luck! You know, I need some more photographers on the boat. It is a natural to have photogs with experienced spearos. The things we have seen lately would make a good National Geographic shoot! If you are a photog and want some really cool pictures, come on out. You wil be so excited, you won't know an F stop from a safety stop!

Tuesday May 6, 2008

Water Temp 77 degrees

Vis 60ft

Seas: Calm to 2 ft

Had a great group of University of Florida divers on board today. Good divers. Conditions were great. It was a blast to see such enthusiasm and such a well trained group. I offered them water between dives but they wanted Gatorade, any flavor. You think they might be brain washed? Over the weekend the vis was extreme. I did 10 dives and could have done a few more!. Lots of photo ops. We had a reef shark take a yellow jack from me so close and so fast I could hear the bones of the fish crunching before I saw the shark. Glad it wasn't my hand!. Got some great pictures by Terri of an unusual number of green turtles in the area for us. Chuck speared a whopper 46# Cubera on Sunday. I speared 2 Black Groupers in the 26" range and a 6 # Hogfish that fed 8. Very tendah! We will be out diving every day for the next week so call me or Lee and let's go diving!

Wednesday April 30, 2008

Water Temp 77 degrees

Seas: Pretty calm over the weekend

Vis: 60 ft or so

We had some great dives over the weekend. On Saturday we were on the deep ledge and ran into some Bull Sharks. Very Majestic animals! If you ever get the opportunity to see one...go for it. We also encounterd a school of Manta Rays. They were the smaller 3 foot wide max size. I think they are called Mobula Rays. They were in formation and moved like something from Nemo. The second dive on Saturday Char pointed at a big yellow jack as if to ask,"can we shoot these?" Man ,I nodded and she unloaded. Stone dead kill. She is a dangerous woman! I went over and helped her although she didn't need it. A few minutes later a huge, beautiful Hammerhead swam by to see what was happening. He was dissapointed to learn we sent the fish up on a lift bag for the topside crew to handle. Very exhilerating.

On Sunday we were honored to be featured in the new Underwater Spearfishing Show that Spearboard Tony Grogan is working on. Here's a link to the info on spearboard.com

http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=61192

We had 2 u/w cameramen, a topside Hi Def guy and a director on board as we took the Team Emerald spearfishermen out. They are calling us Team Old Farts due to our advanced experience. We made a good day of it. Cliff wore a headcam for extra footage and nicely captured a big Cobia he stalked and put in the cooler. I was lucky enough to find a 25# Black Grouper holed up after the guys chased it around the reef. On the Wreck Treck, I decided to pick up a couple of Barracuda needed for Dr. Gruber's Shark Research. I was on the saftety stop with Johnoly and Chuckitall and the 'Cudas thinking "sharks really like 'cudas." Well all of a sudden a great Hammerhead comes jumping in my set and tries to get the 'cudas. I beeped at him and he headed for the cameraman. The guy never flinched. We got some great footage and saved the 'cudas thanks to Captain Tony's prompt arrival.

 

Monday April 21, 2008

Water Temp: Up to 75 to 77 degrees. Very Pleasant

Seas: Calm all weekend

Vis: If possible, better than top to bottom

I really should take the time to write every dive but it was just too busy. I'll try to recap but I must say there was a lot of extremely good diving this weekend. Let's start with Friday. No trip That was easy! On Saturday we took a bunch out for a three tank dive. The first dive was out on the deep ledge starting at 110' The group got to see a bunch of Bull Sharks. One diver said he saw a "big bull shark with 6 smaller sharks swimming with it," Cobia! Wish I had seen it. Dennis scored a nice Hogfish and everyone had a great dive. Back inside on one of the main ledges, we started seeing Grouper everywhere. The full moon and the swells from last week caused a grouping of Gags and Black. They were darting around all over the place. We grabbed a few and enjoyed the action. When one Grouper holed up wounded, the Sharks came out and started buzzing the group. They didn't bother anyone but made for some exciting diving. We had a big 9 to 10 ft Hammerhead show up and I noticed a few divers taking that opportunity to return to the boat. On Sunday we did a morning and afternoon two tank dive. We heard a boat down south talking about Hammerheads. I don't know what triggered it but we had one on every dive at 4 different locations? One at the Tunnels had to be 12 ft long. Again, they diidn't bother anyone but what a sight to behold. Their dorsals looked like the ones on those Killer whales in Alaska. BIG FISH. Lee ,owner of Scuba Works, and I hunted together on the PM dive and put 3 grouper in the cooler. Looks good for a Wednesday Three Tank dive this week. We will be out on Friday 3 tank, Saturday 3 tank and Sunday Am and PM 2 tank. See you soon.

Deckhand Alex and Captain Jeff with Saturday's Catch and Sam with his first Grouper

 

Monday, April 14, 2008

Water Temp 72

Vis 60 ft or so on the bottom after you got through a layer of yuck.

I had a seasonal run in with a Bull Shark. We were on the Zion Wreck in Jupiter and I shot a Jack as ordered up by Chuckitall. He wanted one to boil up and feed to his dogs and said to keep an eye out.. Anyway, I kept it on the stringer and proceeded to search door to door under the wreckage to see if any groupers had holed up. I looked up just in time to see , honest to god, the biggest Bull Shark I personally have ever seen. She was only 20 ft away and on a dead bead for my stringer. Quick to respond in an emergency, I screamed. Not a ninja stay away scream but a coed, stranger jumping out of the closet scream. The Bull turned and , after I got over the shock, I noticed a Cobia close underbelly . I wanted a chance at the Cobia so I tapped my gun with my light and sure enough, she turned around and made a pass within 6 feet of me. I took this opportunity to pull the trigger and blasted the 20# Cobia. The Bull took off again. I slapped a lift bagon the gun seeing I had the Cobia through the gill plates with a slip tip, and sent the whole tangled mess up. Captain Tony retrieved the Jack, Cobia and Gun. Swimming in the background observing this melee the entire dive was our Divemaster JR with a fairly new diver that wanted to see some action. Done.

Monday April 7 2008

Water Temp: Still about 72 degrees

Vis: in excess of 60 ft.

Rough seas today. The forecast said 2 to 5s. We had a hearty crew and decided to go. At the first drop on the deep ledge, as soon as we hit bottom, John lands on a fat gag grouper and nails it. We stood by and did backup in case there were any visitors. All along the ledge groupers and Cobia kept popping up . The Cobia were being escorted by some large Bull Sharks and although we would have taken the shot, (sure) we didn't get close enough. (Thank you, Jesus!) Second drop on the Tunnels produced as always. Barry and I ran into a Southern stingray with 2 Cobia . I waited and Barry took a good shot through the gills. I added a kill shot for insurance and lifted the 32 pounder to the boat. The seas turned out to be an easy 6 to 8 ft. One diver decided he "had to go" and , against our advice, went down below to the head. After a few minutes, we were overcome with the aroma and moved to the open section of the boat. The diver came out and like any guy proud of his work, said "you don't want to go in there for a while." I had to go down below later for routine maintenance and decided to check the head. I was shocked when I saw what happened. Somehow this guy managed to completely spray paint the entire head and actually HIT THE CEILING. I left the area and fell over laughing. He must have got tossed during emission and had his ass go off like an unsecured water hose! I have never seen such a work o fart. The diver was given bleach, a scub brush, oxygen and a hose back at the dock and was courteous enough to clean it up. Courteous or not , he will always be known as the MAD CRAPPER.

John with a 20 pound Gag Grouper nnd Barry with a 32 pound Cobia.

Wednesday March 24, 2008

 

I finally got the video that Kent Bonde took of a sneaky Reef Shark attacking my catch. Kent has been featured on Discovery Channel and Spearfishing Magazine. He was the one that had his calf eaten off by a Bull Shark while free diving in the Bahamas. Kent, an old friend and dive buddy called and said he would like to see some sharks in Jupiter. I told him I was going spearing on the Tunnels and something would probably show. I haven't been to the Tunnels in a long time and the Sharks are not as docile as they once were. You used to be able to move up in the water column and they would go away and leave you alone. Apparently. they are over that and to my surprise actually attacked me while I was stringing a fish. Kent held his camera steady and got the moment captured on video. Not as bad as it sounds, but could definitely have been worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFWs6cYaBSg

Wednesday March 12, 2008

It got better. We went back to the same area we were at Saturday. We hit the bottom and on the first dive tagged 4 Gag Groupers, 1 Black and a Cubera Snapper. The harvest continued on subsequent dives until our final tally pictured below. Amazing action . On the surface interval Captain Tony spotted some Dolphin so we jumped in. Brian put one small 20" in the cooler.

See you this weekend.

L to R Lee Scubaworks, Brian Aqualung, Dan Blue Tang and Rjnjupiter with L to R,

35# Cubera Dan Brady

Black Grouper Lee

Yellow Fin Grouper Lee

2 Gags Brian

1 Gag and 1 Black RJ

I don't even remember where the Hogfish came from!

 

 

March 11, 2008

People ask me,"Should I wear my 3 or 5mm wetsuit?" If I knew before the Saturday's dive what I knew after the dive, I would tell them to dive naked because NOTHING IS GOING TO KEEP YOU WARM! We jumped off in 120fsw and hit 55 degree water. The west winds caused an unseasonable coldwater upwelling that left its mark in the way of an ice cold abyss. As we drifted down the deep ledge one thing was missing, Life. There wasn't a creature to be seen. Who in their right mind would be hanging out in this numbness? Oh that's right... us. I finally came across a wrasse of some nature that was barely alive. I reached down and picked it up and out of nowhere comes a 30# AJ to investigate, so I shot it in the head. On the second dive, the hearty divers decided to see if it was any warmer inside. We stopped in at 85 feet and were elated to find it only 65 degrees. Seemed warm compared to the first dive. The freak show started as soon as we hit the bottom. All the fish from the deep had congregated on the shallower reefs. We started seeing Black Grouper, Hogfish and Huge Muttons from the time we got in until we left. Everyone that got anywhere near the bottom loaded up. We dropped back in on the same spot for the third dive and the harvest continued. Todd shot a big Mutton somewhere in the trunk and expertly gathered the line to subdue the barely hooked fish. Manhandling would have lost it. At one point I watched a big Hog blow by Todd, Lisa and Barry. The animal was in a big hurry and there was no way anyone could turn fast enough to get a shot off. After the group left, I rock climbed back against the current and went door to door until I found the perp hiding in a tight spot. I nailed him! Headed back with the cooler full, I started to think it was worth it, but as I toweled off and shivered dry I was glad I was not diving on Sunday. Should be better by Wednesday when we hit the water for another three tank dive.

Lee with a 9# Dog Snapper and an 8# Hog . Lisa and Todd got a nice AJ and a fat 7# (est.) Mutton. Barry got...wet.

Another 8# r.

February 27, 2008

Seas: Calm all weekend.

Water Temp. 72, Saturday upwelling to 64 degrees

Visibility. 40 to 60 feet

Good conditions all weekend. We hit the water Saturday after a nice dive Friday and were greeted by a thermal upwelling of deep water that was 64 degrees. A few got readings of 61!. That hurts!. The fish were huddled together and lethargic. Just before we jumped off the boat at the Jupiter wreck treck, Roger, a good diver but somewhat inexperienced hunter, asked me to review the difference between a Goliath Grouper and the others. For simplicity, I told him "don't shoot any big fish if the tail is rounded!" That is the easiest identifier. When we hit the bottom near the Jenny, I saw a flash under the wreck and watched Roger scurry over. As he drew his weapon, I prayed he wasn't beading on a Jewfish. He shot and easily pulled a large fish from under the wreck. the first thing I saw was a squared off tail, followed by a large fish and a full set of teeth. Roger shot a 40# Cubera. His shot hit the monster in the spine and the fish came along with no resistance. Roger beamed from ear to ear as we bagged the fish and sent him up. Roger was so excited he wanted to surface immediately to be sure the fish made it to the boat. It made it to the boat and will become a part of Roger and family's diet for the next few weeks. Good job, Roger. This fish disallows your novice status!

 

February 18,2008

Seas 2 to 4 Saturday, a liitle rougher on Sunday

Water Temp. Holding steady at 74 degrees

Visibility: Pretty much top to bottom.

What a wonderful weekend. I know we dive for the peace the ocean brings us, but., I just love a good fight! On Friday we dropped in on the ledge in about 120 fsw. The vis was great. As we neared the bottom, a huge gag grouper swam up to the group and said,"Welcome to Walmart!" I swear he was so friendly, I hesitated until I had a clean merciful kill shot. As I retrieved my shaft and prepped the corpse for a lift bag ascent, a couple of Bull Sharks wandered by. I sent the fish up and admired the size of these Bulls. They had to be 500 pounds each. All was well until someone upstream wounded another gag that swam south and into a holey sanctuary near me. I hovered 30 ft off the bottom and watched as a dozen or more of the biggest Bulls I have ever seen attempted to get at that poor wounded Grouper. I looked down and it was like looking into a bucket of Missouri Minnows on crack. They just rolled over each other and kept slammimg the rock. I very quietly held my breath to gain a litttle altitude and drifted off. I'm not saying I was afraid, but I didn't stop at the ladder to take my fins off. I barely used the ladder. Great Dive.

 

Saturday, I had an all star group on the boat. Some hunters and some photogs so we dropped in at the Jupiter Wreck Trek. Well known for sharks and big grouper, I figured someone would get something or something would get someone? Anyway , we strolled up on the Jenny, the upside down barge and second wreck in line on the trek. I noticed a piece of heavy monofilament sticking out from under the debris. I was feeling eco- sensitive so I grabbed the line to trash it on the boat. As I wrapped it around my hand, the line grabbed back and quickly slammed me into the side of the wreck. Looked like a Yo Yo war! There were several divers present. One big guy, assuming I was a goner, grabbed me around the waist and started tugging. I haven't had that kind of action since I did weekend detention in 7th grade with Mr. Marzolf, but that's a different story. One lady diver Bobbi, fearlessly went under the wreck to her ankles and helped extract the line from around some debris. I was then able to pull the fish from under the wreck. The Goliath Grouper was hooked to one of the biggest circle hooks I have ever seen, attached to a clothesline size stainless cable attached to 400# mono. Very heavy duty rig. I swore after my last Goliath encounter I would never do it again, but I wrapped my legs around the beast. As I looked back ( you get extra points for form in a Goliath Rodeo) Bobbi, the fearless , was holding onto the fish's tail and getting a spanking. He tired well after the mandatory 8 seconds and I was able to grab him by the lips and manhandle the hook out. He had enough energy left to flee the scene. The group just stayed above the melee and snapped pictures. One diver took video and I would love to share that with you but, HE LOST HIS CAMERA THE NEXT DAY! So sorry for your loss. Great bunch of divers all weekend. Still time to get some tail in your freezer. Remember Lobster season ends March 31. Call me or Lee to reserve. We are on our new schedule 3 tanks on Friday and Saturday. Morning and afternoon 2 tanks on Sunday. 2 tank dive every other day.

Photos courtesy of Terri Ratcliffe. " I didn't know if I should be taking pictures." She thought I had speared the Goliath! Way to hold your composure , Terri!

Here's a video Travis shot of this incident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tzZE0Hj3hI

Feb 3, 2008

After the first dive on Friday, I noticed one diver did not look so good. I asked if he was OK. He kind of stuttered and said," I was down there by myself and a 15 to 20 ft shark came by and swam toward me. I stopped breathing and acted like a rock as he passed. I thought he would eat me." What did he look like? " He had a big head and white spots on top." Good news, Whale sharks are Plankton eaters and you will probably never see one again!. Poor guy didn't calm down for a half hour. Saturday we hit heavy lobster action in about 100 fsw and I put one gag in the cooler. On Sunday we hit a lesser traveled area. I heard commotion hundreds of feet away and swam up on two frenetic divers. Lee from Scuba Works shot a gag that holed up. He had to cut his line to get him. There was a second one holed up and Dave was looking for him. He motioned for me to look "under there.". I stuck my head under a rock and saw a huge mutton . As I positioned to shoot, Dave blasted one off on the other Gag about a foot from me. No problem, Dave is a good shot. I pulled out and Dave left the scene with the Gag. American Gagsters! Lee recovered his Gag and spear and we all had a good story topside. Beautiful conditions all weekend. Great bunch of divers!

January 29,2008

Picture courtesy of Jose Santiago. " We were covered up, man!"

Nothing like Winter time. Sometimes it looks so good and NOAA is calling for 4 to 6. You cancel a trip and curse all day. Othertimes you go and the seas pick up and kick your puke ass divers all over the place. We have had a few of these trips this month. On the bright side, the fish are definitely more abundant in the winter and its not snowing. There have been reports by divers on other boats that have speared 2 groupers on a single trip. This list of A Hunters includes Barry, John D and even Adam snuck out with Temptation and plugged a couple. On our trip Sunday, I had a world famous photog on board with a select group of invitees from Force E dive shop. They wanted to see sharks. Not being sure if the Lemons would show, I started down near Juno Ledge where there are always sharks. I speared the first edible fish that came along and sure enough the Reefies showed. Everyone saw sharks. All was good until a fat Gag crossed my path and I nailed it. The reef sharks went ape. I grabbed the grouper and headed up about 20 ft to get off the bottom. As I worked with the grouper, my gun dropped down below me still tethered and still holding the small yellow jack I shot earlier. I looked down and the meat was right next to the photog. The sharks were in a frenzie and the pro was covered up. HE NEVER FLINCHED! I tagged the stringer to a lift bag and watched as 10 sharks all left the area at the same time angled towards my lift bag. Apparently someone has trained these sharks to play fetch. I could hear the boat accelerate to chase down the bag. Back on the surface the Captain appeared to be a little white. In his view, a diver sent a lift bag up and the water exploded with Sharks. He said they were flying out of the water. All he saw was fins and tails and meat being tossed about. He thought it was a diver! By the time the boat arrived there was nothing left but half a chewed up lift bag floating on the surface. Must have been pretty exciting for the crew.

Second dive we dropped in on the Jupiter wreck trek to see if the Lemons were in. Again, the first thing I see is a stupid Gag that comes up to see what I was doing. The grouper holed up under a piece of metal debris after it was shot. With all the commotion, I expected to be visited by Lemons or Bulls. No visitors. We opted out on the third dive and enjoyed our lunch on the intercoastal.

I have been spending a lot of time helping Lee and crew relocate to their new shop in the Marina with Emerald. He is officially open Friday at the new Jupiter Pointe Marina formerly Seagate Marina. Its nice to have the boat and shop together, nice view! I wanted to call the shop Jupiter Pointe Dive Center (JpDC) but Lee is keeping the recognized Scubaworks name. Good decision Lee. Please stop by and ask Lee about our signature concierge service.

January 7, 2008

Took a couple of days off because the wind was at 40 mph and the seas were 12 to 14 ft.We got back in the water yesterday and were hit with 80 ft vis(good) and 74 degree water temp.(bad) We started out near the deep ledge. It was spectacular. A huge school of horse-eye jacks escorted us down the reef, sometimes too thick to see around. Chris nailed a large Hogfish I missed after failing to adjust for the new bands I just put on. Any excuse works for me.We saw several Nurse sharks on the ledge and divers that headed West off the ledge ran into a school of Lemon Sharks. On the second dive we hit some lobster holes. I brought up 6 that averaged over 2 pounds. Chris came up with a hairy legger that scaled in at 3.25 pounds. Chris said he might mount it but I warned him of the laws against such public displays of affection. On the third dive we hit the Jupiter Wreck Trek hoping to see a herd of Lemon Sharks that are known to inhabit these parts. Instead we were greeted by a herd of BULLSHARKS. I quickly swam over to one of the spearos and advised against any shooting at this time. The Bulls were in a frenzy and left a dust cloud where they had attacked something. Fortunately we did not see any grouper to tempt us. Good reports from some of our friends out on other boats. 2 divers I know shot two gags each over the weekend on other boats. Looks like everyone in Jupiter is hooking up. Big animals of all sorts are on the way.

Chronos with a fat bug and Butch Meloy proudly displays a nice 6# Hogfish.

Octopus pictures taken last week by photog Terri Roberts. You don't usually see these big ones in the daytime. This one was just tickled to see us.