Awesome April Conditions

Well the diving in Key West has been incredible, the water is clear everywhere. When I say everywhere, even in the harbor is clear. You can see the shrimp boat wreck in the harbor from the surface and hawks channel is clear and blue.  I have only been diving here a few years and have never seen water this clear inshore. The vis on the drop off and bar has been 80 or 90 feet all day now for at least a week or more. It’s just incredible, I won’t say it’s Bahamas vis but it’s close.  There is a tiny bit of chalkiness here and there, and some areas have a bit of particulate but all and all just incredible.

On top of that the fishing has been fantastic.  We have been out diving the drop off and bar a few times in the last week and every day has been awesome. Big schools of yellow jacks and horse eyes are all over, and there are schools of permit in the hundreds. Sometimes the different types of jacks school up together, pretty awesome shooting a big yellowjack in the middle of a school of permit and watching hundreds of fish take off in every direction.

We dove in hawks channel some of which is really interesting but mostly all you see are grouper and since grouper season is closed it’s kind of a tease. Some spots are just covered in bait, and red and gag groupers.

This past week I have dove with Albie, Lou, Dan, Andrew and Catherine. Catherine has captured some pretty awesome photos.  Although one day the weather report said it was going to be rough and Catherine tried to wear a Scopolamine Patch which basically turned her into a space cadet for the rest of the day.  Of course it was flat calm instead.

Albie shot a cobia, I shot probably the biggest yellowtail I have ever shot, Dan shot yellow jacks to 20#. Actually everyone shot the hell out of the yellow jacks. Lou and I both shot 5# grey snappers, I shot a 30# kingfish and hit him the spine.

We have had at least 3 or 4 jacks eaten by huge jewfish, we have seen schools of spooky cubera snappers swimming mid column, a turtle came up to Albie and gave him a high five, I swam with four sailfish and two scalloped hammerheads. We have seen huge black grouper, some rocks on the bar will  have 3 or 4 big groupers all one rock.   If you like to freedive, I just can’t imagine a better time then these past couple days. (Outside of maybe shooting tunas or wahoos)