Palm Beach Dive Thread

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Thanks for filling me in. I had missed that memo & since I dive from my own boat, I don't have the backstop of a captain to fill me on on things like that.

Several year ago, I made a somewhat related gaff while fishing. I hooked into a really big sailfish & when I got him boatside, I realized that he was WELL over the 65" lower jaw size limit, so I grabbed a gaff & invited him aboard. The boat had the proper HMS permit, so I didn't see any reason not to. Somewhere, I have a picture of that monster hanging off both sides of the tailgate of an F250. A year or two later, I was fishing from one of the charter boats out of Sailfish Marina & asked for the gaff when I got a sailfish boat side. I got dirty looks, followed by an explanation. Billfish are unofficially catch & release in this area & it's been that way for years. The local fishing club has even retired the species from their biggest fish caught records. Apparently the local "spindle beak boys" have farmed a local population of of sailfish that no longer migrates out of the area & stays here year round. They are quite protective of their pets that live in the big fish bowl out in front of the inlet. So now it's just KDW, tuna & bottom fish on my grocery list.
I too dive off my own boat and consider myself a steward of the environment. That said I have no problem harvesting a legal grouper either by spear or hook & line if the area is open. I generally release all sailfish however there have been times when a fish is boat side and in poor condition it will become smoked fish dip. Nothing wrong with that either. There are so many regulations, no need to add fake ones.
 
Went out on Pura Vida on Sunday morning. We did Governors twice. 40-50 foot vis. Light current. Saw a Nurse, Lemon and Bull. Pavao, another boat radioed that there was no vis on the corridor so we stayed and double dipped. Not that i mind. Lots of good life there.
 
Went out on Pura Vida on Sunday morning. We did Governors twice. 40-50 foot vis. Light current. Saw a Nurse, Lemon and Bull. Pavao, another boat radioed that there was no vis on the corridor so we stayed and double dipped. Not that i mind. Lots of good life there.
Yeah, we had about the same at the Breakers on the afternoon dives. A lemon and a bull was seen there as well, I also saw a bull on my morning dive.
 
So there's an 'un-written courtesy' that most of us WPB spearo's follow (Not all do)
We don't spear on Flower Gardens nor Breakers reefs, but do catch lobster/lionfish there. Just those 2 spots and all the captains know about it. It's kinda like you don't blast music at 2am cause your neighbor's 'silent revenge' may not be pretty. It's a big ocean with plenty of other places to hunt.
Great picts and glad you got out on the reefs for a change of scenery from the bridge.
What's the reasoning behind it? Curious
 
Back
Top Bottom