Rob9876
Contributor
Ok, but are there any "best practices" in that situation? Look them in the eyes? Brush their snouts? away if they come close? Lay on the surface and jerk like a dying fish?
Jupiter Dive Thread
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CosbySweater
Contributor
Def don’t try to touch them or brush them on the snout. A lot depends on why they’re interested in you in the first place. If you have no fish and no one around you is hunting, usually if you swim towards them with authority they will turn and swim away and leave you alone. If you do have fish or if there are hunters in the area, the above sends a strong message that you’re not going to put up with being harassed. Maybe they’ll leave you alone maybe they won’t, but at least you communicated that you’re not screwing around and that’s enough to buy you some stand-off distance most of the time.
Johnoly
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As seen,,,Kyalami exiting the inlet with ScubaBoarders @Divin'Papaw & @MrChen , enjoying the FLAT beautiful conditions. I'm jealous ....and just diving the springs tomorrow at Alexander working.
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Hi @Rob9876 I did not mean to be flippant, sorry
I dive Jupiter with Jupiter Dive Center rather than one of the operators baiting/feeding the sharks, who also very commonly dive Deep Ledge. So the group I dive with does not have fish and is not hunting. I'm quite sure that the Bull Sharks come check us out because we might be one of the groups with food. The JDC guide knocks their reef hook against their reel to "call" the Bull Sharks, a common practice.
I have 16 dives on Deep Ledge. Rarely, we have seen no Bull Sharks. On the other end of the spectrum, on one dive, we had many Bull Sharks with us nearly the whole dive and they followed us up to the safety stop/surface. I counted as many as 10 sharks in my field of vision. The sharks swam in a relaxed, relatively slow manner and did not approach close enough to touch. I generally try to keep track of and keep my eyes on the Bulls that are closest to me. Being vertical rather than horizontal makes this easier, not only the sides and back, but up and down too.
I do my Florda diving in Boynton, Palm Beach, and Jupiter. Not infrequently I see just 1 or 2 Bull Sharks on a dive. I am often solo and do not hunt. I consider myself lucky when I get a good view of a Bull Shark, they are often skittish and disappear relatively quickly. I know there are more out there, outside my limited field of vision.
Cool shot! It was indeed flat. Was the calmest surface conditions for me since last summer. Underwater conditions had improved a little bit since Sunday. 30 to 40 foot visibility with a trickle north current. We had two great dives on Area 51 and Scarface.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that the water is still chilly. Both of us had temps on our computers at 71–72.
Surface conditions couldn't have been any better. Other than then cloudy vis and cold water, it was a good day of diving. We did Area 51 and Scarface. On Area 51 we were greeted by a couple of lemons and caught up to a hawksbill. I killed a couple of small lionfish. I intended to catch a couple of lobster, but I forgot my gloves on the boat. Sure enough, found 2 keepers in the same hole giving me the finger. On dive 2, I had my gloves, and we drop right on top of a lobster that @Divin'Papaw points out. Before I can even grab my snare, someone else took it. We saw a couple reef sharks and a loggerhead. The current was non-existent and bottom temp was a chilly 71. Vis was around 30 ft.
Now if anyone ever wants a master class on shooting an SMB, Divin'Papaw is your man. I had just looked at him, looked at my computer, saw it was time to end the dive, turn to look at him to call the dive, and his SMB was already heading to the surface. Imagine an old western shootout where the cowboy pulls his gun out real fast. Yeah, he does that with SMBs.
Surface conditions couldn't have been any better. Other than then cloudy vis and cold water, it was a good day of diving. We did Area 51 and Scarface. On Area 51 we were greeted by a couple of lemons and caught up to a hawksbill. I killed a couple of small lionfish. I intended to catch a couple of lobster, but I forgot my gloves on the boat. Sure enough, found 2 keepers in the same hole giving me the finger. On dive 2, I had my gloves, and we drop right on top of a lobster that @Divin'Papaw points out. Before I can even grab my snare, someone else took it. We saw a couple reef sharks and a loggerhead. The current was non-existent and bottom temp was a chilly 71. Vis was around 30 ft.
Now if anyone ever wants a master class on shooting an SMB, Divin'Papaw is your man. I had just looked at him, looked at my computer, saw it was time to end the dive, turn to look at him to call the dive, and his SMB was already heading to the surface. Imagine an old western shootout where the cowboy pulls his gun out real fast. Yeah, he does that with SMBs.
It was great diving with you again @MrChen. While I may be good at SMB deployment, I clearly have a lot to learn in terms of blocking for my hunting buddy! That other hunter came out of nowhere!
I didn't see anyone with a lobster on the boat, did you? It makes me feel better to think he didn't catch it or it was a small.
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