South Padre Dive sites from own boat

[Jerry230]

New to this forum and did as much of a search as I could. Curious to know if anyone has any experience or knowledge of dive sites in South Padre? I am going to to be down there in June for a week.

I have a capable offshore boat but I have never used it for diving. I would like to find some places to go try SCUBA diving.

I have read about the rigs and I have fished them before but never dove any. Are there any specific ones I should go to or ones that I should stay away from?

I read bout the the Texas clipper as well. Is there a mooring on it to tie up to?

Any South Padre divers who would like a free dive trip to show me around?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cap335]

Look on the Texas artificial reef web sight there is a reef they built about 7 miles offshore in addition to the clipper. I know that when I did the clipper there was not a buoy. As far as rigs go just about any will do the older the better but I don't think any thing new has been installed on the shelf lately. Do thy to avoid any with active drilling work going on or ny with a workboat tied up.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

Make sure you have your dive flag and you will need a marker. I use a SureMarker they are expensive but very valuable in marking your spot, if it is not marked properly you will never find it.

Drive over the spot and look for it on your depth finder, then drop the sure marker on the spot when you see it on the graph.

If someone is going to stay on the boat, have them circle the marker a 100 yards away.

If no one is staying on the boat, make sure you double tie your anchor. Also make sure it has a nice amount of chain on it and the line is newer.

I would suggest looking at the PLB thread and investing in a PLB and carry case if you will leaving the boat unattended.

Fishing status has good numbers, I have used them before. But they are not always right on the spot, stuff moves down there. This is why it is so important to have that SureMarker.

Link of 520+ spots in your area below:

South Padre Island Texas US GPS Fishing Spots (520+)

I go to the interactive map and find the spots I wanna try, then load them up in my GPS. Also your local bait shop should have a micro chip with spots on it too. Usually around $65 bucks.

 

[Jerry230]

Great Info. Thanks.

Never heard of a sure marker but will do some googling.

I have PLB's, and will definately utilize double anchors.

Thanks again.