Deep Grouper and Hog Hunting

[SpearMax]

Note: the following dives are technical dives below the recreational limit of 130 feet. Please do not attempt these or similar dives without the required special training and certifications.

The spearing on the Florida East Coast off Palm Beach County has been weak lately. So I decided to do some deep technical stuff this weekend. On Saturday, I solo dove the Ande wreck just outside the Palm Beach Inlet in 200 feet of water. There was almost no current, but the cold water upwelling made the temperature below around 120 feet a brisk 60 degrees. :eek: I picked up a nice 7 lb hogfish on that dive. ;)

[SpearMax]

On Sunday, I solo dove the Sea Mist wreck a few miles outside the Jupiter Inlet in 230 feet of water. The water was even colder down there with 58 degrees registering on my dive computer. But the major one day difference was that the current was absolutely ripping --- above 5 MPH :eek: from the surface down to the start of the cold water around 70 feet.. Below that, the current was not as strong. I took a three float ball set-up and all three floats were sucked under was soon as I hooked off on the wreck.

[SpearMax]

It was quite an exercise just hooking off the float balls reel to the Sea Mist wreck. I found myself over-breathing my regulator at around 200 feet down. I was doing this dive on air, so the narcosis was pretty heavy. One has to remain calm in these situations and just relax and breathe. ;) After getting control of my breathing again, I circled the wreck. It was an overcast day, so it was a little dark down there that deep. Down in the hold, I found a nice 52 pound Warsaw grouper that I put a stone shot on. I ate some of that grouper tonight. It was delicious. :thumps:

[SpearMax]

Here is the end result.

[SpearMax]

Here are some dive computer stats and graphs.

[jfjf]

Solo spearing at 230 on air. It's hard to believe there is a current strong enough to suck your balls under.

[SpearMax]

Here are some close-ups of the Warsaw Grouper, especially the distinguishing features.

[chasintail]

Nice Willie Tony!

[SpearMax]

Nice Willie Tony!

Nick, stop by West Palm Beach on your keys trip and I'll take your free-dving or scuba, whatever is your pleasure.

[chasintail]

Nick, stop by West Palm Beach on your keys trip and I'll take your free-dving or scuba, whatever is your pleasure.

May have to do that brother.Sooo,how cold were you in that dry suit? :D

[RichT]

Beautiful fish Tony! :thumps:

[bgbill]

Tony,

Nice warsau, we have pulled a few off of the Ande in the past, but could never get the big ones out, they were always inside the wreck and back then I was diving air also, and we always had ripping current, I was usually so narc'd, I can hardly remember the dives.

[chasintail]

I just took the time to review your dive.Very controlled ascent rate.

[SpearMax]

May have to do that brother.Sooo,how cold were you in that dry suit? :D

Ohhh...Nick, don't tell anyone, ;) but I was toasty warm except for my face and hands. On the Florida East Coast, the summer upwellings are the coldest water we get all year! :eek: Something called the Coriolis Force which is caused by the Earth's rotation. Summer south winds push the top water north and the CF pushes it out. That top water is replaced by the cold Bahamian trench water welling up. Happens just about every year in the summer. Sometimes it gets so cold, a major fish kill happens.

Check out CF at:

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/crls.rxml

Nick, You might want to bring your 7mm.

[kitefisherman]

Congrats on that fat warsaw Tony!

[WreckHunter]

Tony,
Nice fish. Were you solo boating too? Why not throw a little helium in the mix? What kind of setup do you dive? If you ever need a buddy I would love to join you. I have the gear and the experience for that depth (but I would use a little helium). How was the vis?

[ObieWan2bWet]

I soooo look forward to your trips Tony. The photography is awsome. Its interesting that you usually have one of two MONGO fish in most of your pics. You seem to have aquired certain tastes, selective hunting at its finest! Bad arse dive too.

[SpearMax]

Tony,
Nice fish. Were you solo boating too? Why not throw a little helium in the mix? What kind of setup do you dive? If you ever need a buddy I would love to join you. I have the gear and the experience for that depth (but I would use a little helium). How was the vis?

Solo boating in a ripping current...now that would be a test! No, I never solo boat over here. We usually go one up one down. Vis was 40-50 due to darkness from overcast sky.

[Screen Name]

Yeaahhhhhh Baaaabbbbbbbyyyyyyyy! :fro: Nice fish!

[OceanEd]

Congratulations Tony!

[WreckHunter]

Solo boating in a ripping current...now that would be a test! No, I never solo boat over here.

No, I wouldn't solo boat in that current or depth either. I was just wondering since you didn't mention anyone else being with you.

[SpearMax]

No, I wouldn't solo boat in that current or depth either. I was just wondering since you didn't mention a buddy.


My buddy Chef Quinn (Sea Chef) that many people met at SBO was driving my boat. He knew exactly what to do when the three floats were sucked under. He waited about 1,000 feet to the Northeast until I released the hook from the wreck and the floats popped up. That was a swooshing pull up by the way.

[polespear]

:eek: :eek: Nice fish Tony, Great pics. You can see the power those things have, just from the pictures. Great Job !!

[Drop Zone]

Nice fish, I have never been able to break 184 @ the ande and thats in the sand.

[Ray Odor]

Great dive and catch, Tony, proud of you. Do I detect a little of "Fishkilla" instinct in you? You know, take the fishes picture, then shoot. Oh, BTW, did you bend any shafts???
Good job, Ray

[Old Bateman]

Nice report Tony. I don't know that I would get into the techy stuff at this stage of my life, but it is fun to read about it.

[dagodiver]

Very nice Tony.!

Dago.

[SpearMax]

Nice fish, I have never been able to break 184 @ the ande and thats in the sand.

The Ande is 200 feet on the bottom in the sand in front of the bow area to the east. The Sea Mist is 230 feet on the bottom in the sand all around.

[deadend]

Good story Tony. Thanks for sharing that and keep the pics up.

[Charlestondivin]

Nice fish Tony.

[Slay Ride]

Nice going buddy. Great fish and recollection of your dives.

[Spearooo]

Nice!!!!

[kmoose]

Very nice fish Tony. Glad to see you deal with the overbreath situation with a level head. People underestimate how fast things can get deadly bad in deep water. :thumps:

[Mobile Diver]

Nice fish, Tony!! I have bounced as deep as 223fsw on a rig, but I don't think I would go that deep & look around. Great job.

[HeadHunter]

Nice warsaw! You're right..over breathing your Reg in deeper water is a real problem for spear'ers. Gotta maintain discipline, no matter what. 58 degrees??? I'll see you in the winter when it warms up!

[SpearMax]

Very nice fish Tony. Glad to see you deal with the overbreath situation with a level head. People underestimate how fast things can get deadly bad in deep water. :thumps:


Kenny and Dan, you guys are so so right. I think the multi-tasking required of spearfishing combined with the effects of deep water pressure make for a deadly combination. Look at my air pressure graph and note how I went through 2,300 pounds or about 100 cubic feet of air in about 17 minutes from the start of the dive to the point of my first deco stop at 60 feet. Overbreathing the reg....consuming more air cubes at depth than at shallow....dealing with heavy narcosis....risking O2 toxicity....taking a CO2 hit....stringing a big fish....looking out for sharks....avoiding entaglement with fishing gear and lines....what else can we add? You guys know very well how these events have an ability to cascade into trouble if you let them get control of your mind down deep. Sometimes the thought of it scares the hell out of me. Not enough can be said about getting the right redundant equipment, the proper training and extensive experience.

[SpearMax]

Nice warsaw! You're right..over breathing your Reg in deeper water is a real problem for spear'ers. Gotta maintain discipline, no matter what. 58 degrees??? I'll see you in the winter when it warms up!

Dan, I still want to do the deep wreck we discussed with you, Kenny and the boys. ;) The cold water upwelling comes and goes during the summer. Sometimes I wonder if it might not bring in the big fish over here on the East Coast. I am going to get my Trimix certification soon. :cool:

[Chad Carney]

Tony, you are the Willie-Master!

Prepared for everything... even the cold water up-wellings.

I'll gladly check out those wrecks with you, but put in a reservation for summer conditions during summer!

Chad

[dagodiver]

I am going to get my Trimix certification soon.
:cool:


Makes a HUGE difference.
Have fun talking funny.!
:cool:


Dago.

[markZ]

Has anyone been spearing on the Tenneco Towers off Fort Lauderdale, .. the one that goes down to about 200" or so??

[Gradyman]

Way to go Tony...thanks for the info about being that deep doing what we do...I'm certified about 4 months now for dives to 170 or so...have yet to do it on this coast, but wanted to get one in before the storm season.

[SpearMax]

Hey Gradyman! It was great to finally meet you at SBO. I recognized you immediately. Maybe I should round up some east coast tech divers like you and Chris for some deep stuff off my boat this summer. Several of you seem to be up north of me. Are you game?

[Divin' fool]

WTG Tony....that's a fat Willie :thumps:

[Gradyman]

Tony...you got it...PM sent!

[WreckHunter]

Has anyone been spearing on the Tenneco Towers off Fort Lauderdale, .. the one that goes down to about 200" or so??

No, but have always wanted to. I hear it is good spearing.

[markZ]

I keep hearing about the rig diving up in LA, so I was wondering if the deep Tenneco Tower/Fort Lauderdale was any good. It goes down to around 200' as I remember .. here's a photo I took in 2001.

[kitefisherman]

Mark: I hear more people talking about it than actually doing it. I have never done it myself. We could probably put together a 6 pack spoearing trip with Conrad on the Miss Conduct.

[markZ]

Kite -
From Pompano Beach, its a bit far to go, but Brownie's is closer and I believe they would run the trip. Right now my freezers full, and I would rather do video or still photography of others spearing it .. I think I'll start shopping for a new camera :cool:

[jfjf]

I would be up for doing something different, if you get a trip together. I suspect that some of us may not have all the certification credentials that a charter boat may require, however.

[sbh]

Has anyone been spearing on the Tenneco Towers off Fort Lauderdale, .. the one that goes down to about 200" or so??

I'll let extremediver or some of the other lauderdale guys give the details, but there are definately fish on tenaco. Its been several years since I freedove it, but it holds pelagic and reef fish action. Only fish I've shot there is a rainbow runner, but wahoo, cobia, and lots of others are taken there.
I'd imagine its good for scuba at times too.
Brent Harris

[dagodiver]

I'm in for sure.!
Z we can have that scooter race that we were talking about.!
I will bring a video camera also.

thanks

Dago.

[markZ]

Suggestion:
SpearMax & friends run the boat down to the Deep Tenneco, and Dago and I (on scooters) get the images for the magazine and SpearBoard.

[SpearMax]

OK, let's do it in about two weeks. Where would I be trailering my boat to? I will shoot video also along with fish hopefully. ;)

[dagodiver]

Suggestion:
SpearMax & friends run the boat down to the Deep Tenneco, and Dago and I (on scooters) get the images for the magazine and SpearBoard.


Cool stuff...sign me up for that.!


Dago.

[markZ]

I'm on the June 29 HS charter, so can't go then, but after that I'm open. If you go and I can't make it, then I volunteer for future photo's missions.

[WreckHunter]

I'd love to get in on this if you have room. I don't have cameras or scooters but I can shoot fish, tell fish stories, and pitch in with expenses of course.

[apexpredator]

I'll let extremediver or some of the other lauderdale guys give the details, but there are definately fish on tenaco. Its been several years since I freedove it, but it holds pelagic and reef fish action. Only fish I've shot there is a rainbow runner, but wahoo, cobia, and lots of others are taken there.
I'd imagine its good for scuba at times too.
Brent Harris
Do not listen to Brent there are no fish on the tower. Extremediver will tell you the same thing....don't waste your time. Not only that but the thing is loaded with fishing mono and cut off wire.....serious entanglement risks. ;) ;) When Speedy reads that Brent is recommending the towers to scuba **********s he will be uhhhhh.....nevermind just remember....there are NO FISH ON TENACO TOWERS
:D :D

[dagodiver]

I'd love to get in on this if you have room. I don't have cameras or scooters but I can shoot fish, tell fish stories, and pitch in with expenses of course.


After we get to the site in the 5 knot current you can use my scooter.! :D
I will just take some pictures at that point.!


Dago.

[junior]

Used to be a pair of bulls on Tenneco that knew the ring of the dinner bell:D Ripping currents sometimes. I have not dove it in a few years but I thought it was a great dive.

[PrincessSlaya!]

Tony, What a great fish! You are such the slayer.

[markZ]

More TT stuff ..

[markZ]

even more TT stuff .. with diver for scale.

[markZ]

OK, here's the other wacko's I did this dive with ..

Nice bunch of people, but they had a tendency to want to stay on the bottom all day, and kept dragging all these bottles around with them :lol:

[dagodiver]

Cool stuff Z !


Dago.

[Seahuntress]

Wow nice fish...you are as bad as me...solo diving...I was caught last Saturday offshore..

Thanks for Sharing

[Chad Carney]

Cool pics Mark!

I dove the mid range (130'-ish) Teneco Towers back in 95 with the wife and just shot video. I was looking at brand of boat the charter operator had, so it was a perfect way to check it out.

There weren't any fish to shoot, but some wacko Miami pseudo-hunters chased a jewfish around with their tiny pneumatic and short band guns. They brought up their loaded guns into the crowd at the safety stop on the line, so we bugged out about 20' away and maintained position finning against the moderate current.

I remember that one of my tech instructors from Miami shot some decent fish on many of their deep wrecks.

I took some photos of my "Hell Diver Riding Rig" if you guys need to get your guns up to snuff for that trip! (I even used it freediving for my cuda this year, wrapping that ugly toothed critter at about 10' on a rig leg.)

Chad

[WreckHunter]

Chad,
I'd be interested to see what modifications you made to your gun for rig diving. I know some of those guys use SS cable. That seems pretty dangerous to me, in case of a wrap up. What did you do?

[CGator]

Hey Dago and Mark, let me know if you need another person on that tower trip. I'd be glad to tag along.

[SpearMax]

Wow nice fish...you are as bad as me...solo diving...I was caught last Saturday offshore..Thanks for Sharing


Well Sea Huntress, I think there are many advantages to solo diving while spearfishing. ;) In my technical training, I actually earned the "Solo Diver" certification from the agency Scuba Diving International. It was part of the tech training package. The real question is whether to solo dive deep? :scratch:

I enjoy deep diving with a buddy quite often, but my equipment configuration is always oriented toward solo diving --- redundant everything --air supplies, regulators, computers, etc. Often when I am buddy diving whether deep or shallow, I find my buddy has disappeared chasing after some fish. At least when I am completely solo, I can concentrate on the task at hand which is hunting instead of spending a third of my time watching out for my buddy.

Anyway, those are just a few quick thoughts on the subject. There are many other advantages and disadvantages to solo diving. Thanks for your feedback on my catch. :cool:

[Chad Carney]

Chad,
I'd be interested to see what modifications you made to your gun for rig diving. I know some of those guys use SS cable. That seems pretty dangerous to me, in case of a wrap up. What did you do?

Wreck,

It's not my modification. David Dauzat rigged up my MGS with a "riding rig" for the 2004 HDR.

Yeah it's SS cable, but the rig is not like any other set up I've ever used. Key thing is it works on rigs.

I posted a separate thread with the pics. http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?p=315113#post315113

Chad

[Seahuntress]

even more TT stuff .. with diver for scale.



Why are there not any fish on the Rigs?? :confused:

We don't have Reefs to Spearfish on here in Texas. Just Rig diving. The Rigs are covered with fish...even little fish.

[markZ]

Nope, no fish on the Tenneco Tower .. don't know why

[markZ]

I've got tons of these photo's .. SpearMax, I appologize for hijacking your thread !!

[omni]

Hmmm. I have never dove the ocean but that water temp doesn't sound bad. At the dive shop Tuesday they had the thermocline listed at 30 feet with a temp of 46 deg below that. We are at 1200 feet elevation in northern Arkansas.


Omni

[inletsurf]

Nice toad Tony!!

[WreckDiver]

Well Tony I have a hijack question for you. Can I see a better picture(s) of your dive ladder. I am getting ready to have one built for my wife & I have not seen one like yours.

[Louis Rossignol]

I keep hearing about the rig diving up in LA, so I was wondering if the deep Tenneco Tower/Fort Lauderdale was any good. It goes down to around 200' as I remember .. here's a photo I took in 2001.
Nope, no fish on the Tenneco Tower .. don't know why

We dive hundreds of rigs to find the good ones. There are alot of crappy rigs in La. You just learn to avoid them. Some rigs will never have good fish.

Is the Tenneco Tower a working rig?

Some of the best rigs in the gulf when you pull up to them you can't even hear yourself think. Also the ones with living quarters on them are really good, the oil workers throw food off the rig.

Mainly, and this applies to anywhere you spearfish: If you see a "No Diving" sign. On a rig, on a golf course, off a bridge, they must be hiding something and you need to jump that structure, ASAP. If you get run off before entering the water, come back next week and do a "Drive by Shooting". It's all in the PADI manual.

[bubblejunkie]

Funny, Lewis, I remember doing a few of those, when we pull up drop, they were always productive, imagine that.

[SpearMax]

Well Tony I have a hijack question for you. Can I see a better picture(s) of your dive ladder. I am getting ready to have one built for my wife & I have not seen one like yours.


Roland, the ladder and platform is custom made so we can come out of the water with our fins on. Here are two photos of the platform with the boat on the trailer. Most of the time the boat is kept in the water.