rob
you must be mistaken
the fish you saw couldnt have been red snapper
red snapper are over fished, and the majority of the ocean needs to be off limits to bottom fishing to protect them
Congrats on the fish its definitely a stud… just out of curiousity if you dove solo how did you get the underwater pics?
quote:
Originally posted by backlash
Hooyaa Backlash.
I respect what you are saying and cant even begin to argue. Ive know better divers than I who were lost.
There is a ton of risk and i do everything i possibly can to obsessively prepare and reduce risk. Hours of preparation go into every minute of diving. I replay dives over and over in my head like a broken record thinking about things that could go wrong and how to deal with them calmly. Ive been diving for 22 years and at 16 i was commercial diving with my father in the Tenn River every weekend. He was a navy/commercial diver for 39 years (recently retired). That being said i understand that doesn’t matter to the ocean one bit if i slip up.
JSimpson, The underwater pics were taken at my last deco stop at 15’. One of the guys jumped in with a snorkle and mask and took the pics.
Rob Harding
Charleston diving
http://www.charlestondiving.com
(Fish not Biting? Try a fast presentation of spring steel)</font id=“green”>
Finally got a boat!
Nice grouper, 175FT yikes.
Backlash, my ole man was the 1st acting Commander at PCB dive school, he moved the dive school from the Washington Navy yard in DC. Smmall world
quote:
Originally posted by baseballfireh…the whole world thinks that commercial bottom guys are catchin all the breeders. Maybe they are all gettin shot. Try catchin that fish the real way.
Clueless…
Care to take a guess of how many groupers are “speared” each week, on average? The spear-fishing pressure on the fisheries is minimal at most. Do you know how many dives, the preparation, training, it takes to just have a chance to harvest a grouper like that?
The Charleston diving community is tiny, and we have a good idea of how many fish (and what size) get shot. I can guarantee the recreational spearfishing pressure is not even a decimal point of what the commercial guys pull in.
You are free (well, for now, in theory, until SAFMC comes up with more rules & regs) to catch and keep a big grouper, if you can. Why bash someone else’s success when they do?
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PS: If a fly lost it’s wings, would it be called a walk?
Man thats a nice fish! Glad to hear there are alot of em.
I did my dive training in Key west on a little compound at the end of fleming key , perhaps you are familiar with it. Anyway did most of my diving in water and light conditions that allow you to only see your aluminated compass. Hell your diving alone even if you got six buddies with ya. You are trully skilled but getting narced hard at 175 must have been interesting. Free drunk and even the hangover to follow. Till you’ve been there and done that anybody commenting in the negative is as you put it so well (ignorant or stupid). One can be fixed the other can’t.
Congrats on your continued success.
Be safe.
“Destiny” 35ft
Contender and “Scintilla” 20ft Keywest, Manning SC
quote:
Originally posted by CharlestonDivingquote:
Originally posted by baseballfireh…the whole world thinks that commercial bottom guys are catchin all the breeders. Maybe they are all gettin shot. Try catchin that fish the real way.
David,
You probably mistakenly believe that the big grouper are female “breeders” in fact the big ones are Males. One male can breed many female grouper. The smaller females migrate out to deep water to breed with the males, lay their eggs then come back inshore. There were at least 8 40+ and many other 25+ smaller males within 30’ piece of ledge. Almost every time I have ever dove deep I’ve seen the same thing… lots of mature male gags.
Not sure if your post was out of jealousy or ignorance but i can only help with the latter.
6ft and glassy, I didn’t bring the girls, cant take credit on that one.
Rob Harding
Charleston diving
http://www.charlestondiving.com
(Fish not Biting? Try a fast presentation of spring steel)</font id=“green”>
Who would bring girls on the boat fishing??? They just get in the way…
“No tail like Split Tail…”
Kill as many as you can before the oil gets here
Man that’s awesome… I had to ask