Alright folks im just getting back in the water after a couple years making babies and starting a new career. I finally have a great dive buddy that I can count on when im in the water after many others that couldnt cut the mustard. Hes super shy and lurks on the forum daily but refuses to post till hes shot a "real fish" like a grouper or Amber jack. Hes silly like that.
Weve been hitting the inshore waters lately every weekend trying to improve our bottom times and get a better feel for the local waters using my ocean kayak. We have found some great spots and been having a blast.
This morning we had to get up super early to catch high tide just right. So we left the house at 5 am in the dark and were paddling across our emerald green waters by 5:20am. It was a beautiful morning with perfect weather. No wind no rain and no chop on the water. So we glided over to our favorite spot on some pilings at the Destin bridge and anchored up on a piling.
Before we even hit the water we look down and as usual there are at least 50 sheepshead nibbling on the piling getting their morning breakfast of oysters. Just below the sheepshead we could see other bigger fish moving around on the 40ft bottom. Joey and I don our dive gear and silently slip into the warm blue water. As soon as we get in the sheepshead thin out and only the bravest of the brave hang close to us. Mixed in with school of sheepies are a bunch of spade fish all carelessly gliding by us with not a care in the world.
I go ahead and make the first few bottom dives to see whats down below us and what the overall vis is like. I notice that my bottom time has greatly improved since our spring dive last weekend and the clarity is about 25 feet. Before I reach the bottom I can see small red grouper making their way around the boulders and pilings. I surfaced and watched Joey make a few dives trying to work out his equalization issues that hes been battling for a couple weeks now. We work the area and cling onto some of the structure on the bottom trying to push our limits and taking in the scenery. I tend to be way to content in one spot and will spend a ton of time in one spot waiting for something cool to swim by. Luckily my dive buddy Joey is more adventurous than I am he tends to get bored and moves around the area more than I do. So I follow him over to a different set of pilings and I check the bottom for signs of life. On my decent I see a school of "Bull Reds" all over 30 inches long and schooling at the bottom. So I spin around and frantically start waving like a mad man for Joey to come down and get a closer look. From the surface they are very hard to make out but once were below 10 feet or so they start taking shape. We both got a good long look at them and off they went. They didnt seem too happy that we were in their bubble.
So we go back up top over to the kayak and take a break. Usually at this spot all the good fish get scared off pretty quick and theres nothing worth looking at after 30 minuets or so. So we decide to dive some other pilings that we have not hit before just a short paddle over from where we are. So we paddle over to anchor the kayak and drop the dive flag in the water. We slip in the water again and the vis is about the same 25 feet or so. On my very fist drop I came face to face with a fish ive been fascinated with for years and never seen on any of my 1000+ dives. There is was in all its splendor staring me right in the face a giant Goliath Grouper. At least to me it looked huge from six feet away somewhere in the 75 lb range. I immediately move up a little in the water and start signaling to Joey like a frantic crack head needing a quick fix. He made his way down and was just as astonished as I was to see this mammoth fish just chillin in 30-40 feet of water. He wasnt to keen on us getting in his face either and off he went.
Again Joey moves off away from the pilings and hunts down some other structure for us to scope out. I follow in my usual up and down fashion scanning the emerald green and blue water for more signs of life. All around us are small Snapper, Grouper, sheeshead, and spadefish all trying to get some breakfast before the tide starts moving back out. On the next set of pilings we come across another huge school of giant Redfish this one even bigger, as Joey could only describe as a Jetson's highway of 30lb Bull Reds. By this time it was nearing 8 o'clock and boat traffic was already building, with two boaters already ignoring our flag we decided to take two more quick trips down to the bottom. On the first dive Joey went down before me and had the perfect drop on a 30 inch Gag Grouper, while not having a gun he still stalked the fish and lined up an imaginary shot in the process gaining what he called a confidence in his ability. One last quick dive to the bottom to wave bye to the Goliath Grouper who was no longer in his hole and off we went.
On the paddle back to the car we got to discussing how I had never shot a fish with my spear gun. Joey was not willing to accept this and he described a few underwater rockpiles in the bay that always hold some sheepshead and mullet that he grew up spearing. After the taunting we received at the bridge I was more than ready to go home get my gun and finally roll a fish. Not even 30 minutes after leaving the bridge we are throwing the kayak in the water in a different location. As we paddle out Joey quickly describes a plan of attack . Upon arrival at the spot we anchor 10ft down wind, slip in the water and are greeted by wonderful 6ft vis, kind of a big disappointment from where we just were but at least here its legal to get the guns wet. As we approach the spot I decide to switch the plan and take the left side due to being left handed, Joey reluctantly agrees and takes the right knowing there has regularly been more fish on the right. 10ft down the pile I hear the distinct click of a gun and poke my head out of the water to hear Joey complaining about a sheepy shaking off. Back in the zone again not seeing much really feeling like I might have taken the wrong side I hear yet another swoosh from Joeys gun he emerges victoriously from the water with a mullet. As he heads back towards the yak I turn to meet him for closer inspection of the fish, and halfway back to the kayak I see a legal size keeper sheepshead materialize from no where, slowly and methodically I line up the shot and release the trigger on this mammoth speargun I've had for years and never shot, in an instant I see the fish do a quick loop and simply die, I had surprisingly executed a perfect kill shot on the first fish i ever attempted to shoot. Content with our day and only wanting to take what we could eat today we decided to return to the house and enjoy a nice lunch of sheepshead and mullet.
It was an awesome day in and out of the water. The two of us worked steadily like clockwork getting in and out of the boat and slipping silently into the blue/brackish water all day. We seem to have a great sense of what the other is doing at all times and know where each other are at any given moment. Its great to be back in the water enjoying the blessings of the Emerald Coast with a good friend.
Heres the sheepshead I shot and the kayak in the back of the truck. I am holding the speargun ive owned for the better part of 15 years and never struck a fish with it. I know its a big mother but it worked great and shot true.
I know the fish is a smaller sheepshead but like Joey said I sure dont want to shoot an Amberjack for my first kill and not know what to do with it. Im sure theres a lot to learn and I cant wait to soak it all up.
Weve been hitting the inshore waters lately every weekend trying to improve our bottom times and get a better feel for the local waters using my ocean kayak. We have found some great spots and been having a blast.
This morning we had to get up super early to catch high tide just right. So we left the house at 5 am in the dark and were paddling across our emerald green waters by 5:20am. It was a beautiful morning with perfect weather. No wind no rain and no chop on the water. So we glided over to our favorite spot on some pilings at the Destin bridge and anchored up on a piling.
Before we even hit the water we look down and as usual there are at least 50 sheepshead nibbling on the piling getting their morning breakfast of oysters. Just below the sheepshead we could see other bigger fish moving around on the 40ft bottom. Joey and I don our dive gear and silently slip into the warm blue water. As soon as we get in the sheepshead thin out and only the bravest of the brave hang close to us. Mixed in with school of sheepies are a bunch of spade fish all carelessly gliding by us with not a care in the world.
I go ahead and make the first few bottom dives to see whats down below us and what the overall vis is like. I notice that my bottom time has greatly improved since our spring dive last weekend and the clarity is about 25 feet. Before I reach the bottom I can see small red grouper making their way around the boulders and pilings. I surfaced and watched Joey make a few dives trying to work out his equalization issues that hes been battling for a couple weeks now. We work the area and cling onto some of the structure on the bottom trying to push our limits and taking in the scenery. I tend to be way to content in one spot and will spend a ton of time in one spot waiting for something cool to swim by. Luckily my dive buddy Joey is more adventurous than I am he tends to get bored and moves around the area more than I do. So I follow him over to a different set of pilings and I check the bottom for signs of life. On my decent I see a school of "Bull Reds" all over 30 inches long and schooling at the bottom. So I spin around and frantically start waving like a mad man for Joey to come down and get a closer look. From the surface they are very hard to make out but once were below 10 feet or so they start taking shape. We both got a good long look at them and off they went. They didnt seem too happy that we were in their bubble.
So we go back up top over to the kayak and take a break. Usually at this spot all the good fish get scared off pretty quick and theres nothing worth looking at after 30 minuets or so. So we decide to dive some other pilings that we have not hit before just a short paddle over from where we are. So we paddle over to anchor the kayak and drop the dive flag in the water. We slip in the water again and the vis is about the same 25 feet or so. On my very fist drop I came face to face with a fish ive been fascinated with for years and never seen on any of my 1000+ dives. There is was in all its splendor staring me right in the face a giant Goliath Grouper. At least to me it looked huge from six feet away somewhere in the 75 lb range. I immediately move up a little in the water and start signaling to Joey like a frantic crack head needing a quick fix. He made his way down and was just as astonished as I was to see this mammoth fish just chillin in 30-40 feet of water. He wasnt to keen on us getting in his face either and off he went.
Again Joey moves off away from the pilings and hunts down some other structure for us to scope out. I follow in my usual up and down fashion scanning the emerald green and blue water for more signs of life. All around us are small Snapper, Grouper, sheeshead, and spadefish all trying to get some breakfast before the tide starts moving back out. On the next set of pilings we come across another huge school of giant Redfish this one even bigger, as Joey could only describe as a Jetson's highway of 30lb Bull Reds. By this time it was nearing 8 o'clock and boat traffic was already building, with two boaters already ignoring our flag we decided to take two more quick trips down to the bottom. On the first dive Joey went down before me and had the perfect drop on a 30 inch Gag Grouper, while not having a gun he still stalked the fish and lined up an imaginary shot in the process gaining what he called a confidence in his ability. One last quick dive to the bottom to wave bye to the Goliath Grouper who was no longer in his hole and off we went.
On the paddle back to the car we got to discussing how I had never shot a fish with my spear gun. Joey was not willing to accept this and he described a few underwater rockpiles in the bay that always hold some sheepshead and mullet that he grew up spearing. After the taunting we received at the bridge I was more than ready to go home get my gun and finally roll a fish. Not even 30 minutes after leaving the bridge we are throwing the kayak in the water in a different location. As we paddle out Joey quickly describes a plan of attack . Upon arrival at the spot we anchor 10ft down wind, slip in the water and are greeted by wonderful 6ft vis, kind of a big disappointment from where we just were but at least here its legal to get the guns wet. As we approach the spot I decide to switch the plan and take the left side due to being left handed, Joey reluctantly agrees and takes the right knowing there has regularly been more fish on the right. 10ft down the pile I hear the distinct click of a gun and poke my head out of the water to hear Joey complaining about a sheepy shaking off. Back in the zone again not seeing much really feeling like I might have taken the wrong side I hear yet another swoosh from Joeys gun he emerges victoriously from the water with a mullet. As he heads back towards the yak I turn to meet him for closer inspection of the fish, and halfway back to the kayak I see a legal size keeper sheepshead materialize from no where, slowly and methodically I line up the shot and release the trigger on this mammoth speargun I've had for years and never shot, in an instant I see the fish do a quick loop and simply die, I had surprisingly executed a perfect kill shot on the first fish i ever attempted to shoot. Content with our day and only wanting to take what we could eat today we decided to return to the house and enjoy a nice lunch of sheepshead and mullet.
It was an awesome day in and out of the water. The two of us worked steadily like clockwork getting in and out of the boat and slipping silently into the blue/brackish water all day. We seem to have a great sense of what the other is doing at all times and know where each other are at any given moment. Its great to be back in the water enjoying the blessings of the Emerald Coast with a good friend.
Heres the sheepshead I shot and the kayak in the back of the truck. I am holding the speargun ive owned for the better part of 15 years and never struck a fish with it. I know its a big mother but it worked great and shot true.
I know the fish is a smaller sheepshead but like Joey said I sure dont want to shoot an Amberjack for my first kill and not know what to do with it. Im sure theres a lot to learn and I cant wait to soak it all up.