Rob Murphy Southeast Florida Spearing Report 6/12/11

The Location:

With reports of very warm water to the South, we left Jupiter inlet on the Dykoke and headed north. We started bouncing wrecks and drifting ledges working our way to Stuart. With the talented shooters on the boat, and one of the best captains in our area dropping us on prime spots rarely seen by divers, I knew we were in for a great day!

The Visibility:

Surface visibility, down to about 60’, was very clear and blue. 50’ + easily.

As we got toward the bottom, the vis degraded drastically. We had between 15 and 30 feet of visibility on the bottom. It got better as we got into the colder water, but was never very clear, though it made for great hunting. The current was really strong most of the day and that stirred things up further.

The Water:

The water was consistently warm on the surface, in the high 70’s, and down near Jupiter that temp carried all the way to the bottom. Halfway to Stuart we encountered a thermocline on the bottom that started in the low 70’s and dropped to around 65* once we reached Stuart. A 5mm one piece or 3mm 2 piece suit would be recommended for the bottom hunters, while the bluewater hunters wouldn’t need much at all.

Seas ranged from a gentle 2-4’ most of the day, to a sloppy, confused 4-6’ out in the gulf stream in the afternoon.

The Sharks:

I saw one large lemon all day that paid us no attention at all. A welcome break after a very sharky Spring.

The Guns:

I carried my 55” Deathstick most of the day. The new 7.5mm spring steel shafts are lighting fast and didn’t bend despite repeated abuse.

There were a couple spots where I have seen 100+ Pound cubera snapper recently and on those drops I carried my 63” 4 band Midhandle Blacktip. Unfortunately no giant cubies wanted to come out and play.

The hunt:

With the wide range of conditions, we really had to work to find the fish. Most of our success was near the temperature break. I got a 17# gag and a chunky red grouper on the first dive. Chip shot a fat gag over 20#. Louis took down a nice cobia that I whiffed on and missed completely. 14 year old Dylan got his first cobia. Congrats Dylan! Chip and Mike both shot big muttons, and we put a few more average sized muttons in the boat throughout the day as well, and one hog.

We pushed North toward Stuart, with visions of fat black belly gags in our heads. We did two drops in the cold water, a wreck that didn’t hold much, and a top secret spot I only got a glimpse of, but it looked to be very fishy. Tons of red snapper greeted us as we hit the bottom. But as soon as we hit bottom, my dive buddy’s float reel ran out of line, and the attached surface floats pulled tight and began dragging him like a flying superman. The gulf stream surface current was screaming and it just wasn’t going to happen. Dive aborted.

Back down toward Hobe Sound, Louis, Chip and I were working a ledge and found a school of about 20 yellow jacks. YJ is one of my favorite fish to eat! Louis shot one and the school stuck around. Chip and I each got to pick off one of the biggest remaining fish and we had a quick 3-fer. Louis got his gag, not huge but respectable, on a quick bounce on the way in. The sun was setting and we had dinner plans, so time to call it a day.

The final count:

2 Cobia

3 Gag Grouper

1 Red Grouper

5 Muttons

3 Yellow Jacks

1 Hog

We all dove hard all day and did a lot of drops. While we got nothing huge, we had nice fish consistently coming over the side all day, and more importantly had an awesome time with some great friends. No video unfortunately but here are some pics: