SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
First off, the Crab Grab shinanigan report can be found here.
8-12-6 Crab Grab - Paul's Shrimpboat, West Beach Paddlewheeler, Whiskey Wreck, and Alabama Point Jetties
Saturday morning started off very early and I was out the door before the sun met the horizon. By the time I met Paulwall in Gulf Shores, the sun was reaching upwards and the day started off nicely with a few spotty thunderstorms offshore, but blue skies inland.
We headed off to Paul's Shrimpboat to make a quick swoop over the wreckage to pick as many viable crabs as possible. Water temps in the upper 80sF and neither of us wore a wetsuit. We managed to find 4 legal crab and had to let atleast half a dozen others go due to big orange eggsacks attached. There were quite a few flounder and mangrove also onsite, but we didnt' make any attempts on them. Visibility was in the ~5' range. The wreck seems to be covering up slowly. After burning 1000psi, 30 minutes and 17' worth of diving, we were back on the beach and off to our next dive. Thanks for the Redbulls Paul, they're life savers!
An hour later we were onsite for the West Beach Paddlewheeler. Legal flounder, some quite large, and a few legal mangrove(lots of smaller ones too) were all over the wreck. We made note of their presence for the next day as we were only diving for crab on that particular day. We found a single legal crab and released several others with egg sacks. The dive lasted 34 minutes and I hit a max depth of 16'. Visibility here seemed to be 5-10', maybe slightly better at times.
Paul and I headed off to the public access next to Bahama Bob's next to dive the Whiskey Wreck. Here we met up with photohikedive, MysteryDiveBuddy, and KchFLA, followed by Tom Wicker, as well as NateBrr and Hannah. Unfortunately, Tom was attending to jobsites so he couldn't dive, but also couldn't pass up the chance to stop by and meet up with some fellow ScubaBoarders. An hour and a half after getting out from the Paddlewheeler and we were back in the water at the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility was similar to the Paddlewheeler. Paul found a single legal blue crab and took two Stone crab claws. I showed photohikedive what flounder looked like and he even managed to shoot one that I pointed out. I found a couple blue crab, but they had eggs and were released. A few other notable sightings included a scorpianfish(not a toadfish) and a spanish dancer(nudibranch), both were first for me - and at the Whiskey Wreck at that! It always suprises me! Quite a bit of seaweed on certain portions of the wreck though... I hit a max depth of 18' for a 69 minute dive.
We all agreed on hitting up the local Hooters for some grub and then headed to Alabama Point Jetties to catch the high tide. MDB and KchFLA decided to guard our entry as the rest of us dove. We were back in the water about 3 hours after exitting from the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility approached 15'!
The current wasn't an issue and seas inside the channel weren't bad despite the boat traffic. Lots of fish in the water, but not many crab. I spotted a single blue crab, with berries, so it remained. Paul's dive ended with two huge stone crab claws. PHD managed to take a barely legal flounder, but atleast he spotted it himself... and swam right over several others I hit a max depth of 26' for a dive lasting 64 minutes.
We headed off to Gary's Gulf Diver for those who needed fills, Tshirts, ect. Talked to Gary a bit about the dives we made and the charters they went out on earlier in the day. Our group headed over to the East side of Alabama Point to the new pavillions they've erected, which made for our point of boil. Nothing beats fresh live bluecrab/stone crab claws in Zataran's boil with corn, potatoes, sausage, onions, mushrooms, ect(Tom takes credit for most of the fix'n and Paul for the cooking and hte planning of the event!). Kira brought some side dishes which were welcomed with hungry mouths. Nate and Hannah helped me out with beverages and they brought newspaper which aided in our cleanup. PHD and MDB provided the drama. All in all, it was a great little get-together and I can't wait till the 2nd annual Crab Grab.
8-13-6 West Beach Paddlewheeler and Whiskey Wreck Dives and snorkeling West Pass
I met up with PHD and MDB before heading out to the West Beach Paddlewheeler, where Paulwall was already onsite geared up. The surf was down a bit from the day before and visibility was noticably cleaner, even from the surface. It ranged from 8-15', with seaweed here and there. Most of the larger flounder from the day before were nowhere to be found, although I did shoot one(which escaped along with a few other fish from the bag I stuffed them in). I ended up coming back with 4-5 fish. Paulwall shot atleast 2. PHD got skunked. Phillip A, one of my non-diving buddies, joined us on the surface with a snorkel. I had a max depth of 16' for a dive lasting 100 minutes.
PHD and MDB headed back to FL, while Paulwall, Phillip, and I headed to Bahama Bob's for some grub and another dive at the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility on the Whiskey was similar to the previous days visibility, maybe slightly better? The dive lasted 59 minutes and I hit a max depth of 17'. Paul headed back to LA and Phillip and I headed to West Pass to meet up with some friends who had some crab traps.
We were out at West Pass for about 6 hours and caught 14 legal blue crab I did a bit of snorkeling out there as well. Most of West Pass is about waist deep with a few areas near the mouth of the Gulf getting 7-8' deep. I ate crab for the second night in as many days - life is good!
8-12-6 Crab Grab - Paul's Shrimpboat, West Beach Paddlewheeler, Whiskey Wreck, and Alabama Point Jetties
Saturday morning started off very early and I was out the door before the sun met the horizon. By the time I met Paulwall in Gulf Shores, the sun was reaching upwards and the day started off nicely with a few spotty thunderstorms offshore, but blue skies inland.
We headed off to Paul's Shrimpboat to make a quick swoop over the wreckage to pick as many viable crabs as possible. Water temps in the upper 80sF and neither of us wore a wetsuit. We managed to find 4 legal crab and had to let atleast half a dozen others go due to big orange eggsacks attached. There were quite a few flounder and mangrove also onsite, but we didnt' make any attempts on them. Visibility was in the ~5' range. The wreck seems to be covering up slowly. After burning 1000psi, 30 minutes and 17' worth of diving, we were back on the beach and off to our next dive. Thanks for the Redbulls Paul, they're life savers!
An hour later we were onsite for the West Beach Paddlewheeler. Legal flounder, some quite large, and a few legal mangrove(lots of smaller ones too) were all over the wreck. We made note of their presence for the next day as we were only diving for crab on that particular day. We found a single legal crab and released several others with egg sacks. The dive lasted 34 minutes and I hit a max depth of 16'. Visibility here seemed to be 5-10', maybe slightly better at times.
Paul and I headed off to the public access next to Bahama Bob's next to dive the Whiskey Wreck. Here we met up with photohikedive, MysteryDiveBuddy, and KchFLA, followed by Tom Wicker, as well as NateBrr and Hannah. Unfortunately, Tom was attending to jobsites so he couldn't dive, but also couldn't pass up the chance to stop by and meet up with some fellow ScubaBoarders. An hour and a half after getting out from the Paddlewheeler and we were back in the water at the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility was similar to the Paddlewheeler. Paul found a single legal blue crab and took two Stone crab claws. I showed photohikedive what flounder looked like and he even managed to shoot one that I pointed out. I found a couple blue crab, but they had eggs and were released. A few other notable sightings included a scorpianfish(not a toadfish) and a spanish dancer(nudibranch), both were first for me - and at the Whiskey Wreck at that! It always suprises me! Quite a bit of seaweed on certain portions of the wreck though... I hit a max depth of 18' for a 69 minute dive.
We all agreed on hitting up the local Hooters for some grub and then headed to Alabama Point Jetties to catch the high tide. MDB and KchFLA decided to guard our entry as the rest of us dove. We were back in the water about 3 hours after exitting from the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility approached 15'!
The current wasn't an issue and seas inside the channel weren't bad despite the boat traffic. Lots of fish in the water, but not many crab. I spotted a single blue crab, with berries, so it remained. Paul's dive ended with two huge stone crab claws. PHD managed to take a barely legal flounder, but atleast he spotted it himself... and swam right over several others I hit a max depth of 26' for a dive lasting 64 minutes. We headed off to Gary's Gulf Diver for those who needed fills, Tshirts, ect. Talked to Gary a bit about the dives we made and the charters they went out on earlier in the day. Our group headed over to the East side of Alabama Point to the new pavillions they've erected, which made for our point of boil. Nothing beats fresh live bluecrab/stone crab claws in Zataran's boil with corn, potatoes, sausage, onions, mushrooms, ect(Tom takes credit for most of the fix'n and Paul for the cooking and hte planning of the event!). Kira brought some side dishes which were welcomed with hungry mouths. Nate and Hannah helped me out with beverages and they brought newspaper which aided in our cleanup. PHD and MDB provided the drama. All in all, it was a great little get-together and I can't wait till the 2nd annual Crab Grab.
8-13-6 West Beach Paddlewheeler and Whiskey Wreck Dives and snorkeling West Pass
I met up with PHD and MDB before heading out to the West Beach Paddlewheeler, where Paulwall was already onsite geared up. The surf was down a bit from the day before and visibility was noticably cleaner, even from the surface. It ranged from 8-15', with seaweed here and there. Most of the larger flounder from the day before were nowhere to be found, although I did shoot one(which escaped along with a few other fish from the bag I stuffed them in). I ended up coming back with 4-5 fish. Paulwall shot atleast 2. PHD got skunked. Phillip A, one of my non-diving buddies, joined us on the surface with a snorkel. I had a max depth of 16' for a dive lasting 100 minutes.
PHD and MDB headed back to FL, while Paulwall, Phillip, and I headed to Bahama Bob's for some grub and another dive at the Whiskey Wreck. Visibility on the Whiskey was similar to the previous days visibility, maybe slightly better? The dive lasted 59 minutes and I hit a max depth of 17'. Paul headed back to LA and Phillip and I headed to West Pass to meet up with some friends who had some crab traps.
We were out at West Pass for about 6 hours and caught 14 legal blue crab
I did a bit of snorkeling out there as well. Most of West Pass is about waist deep with a few areas near the mouth of the Gulf getting 7-8' deep. I ate crab for the second night in as many days - life is good!
