On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 07:41:53 -0500, Lee Bell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Brad Stambaugh wrote:
>
>> But the
>> water is 75 deg. F, and the fish here are huge, and there are sooooo
>> many of them. Today, I saw a porkfish and a parrotfish that looked
>> (almost) as big as me!!!  And for the sake of the Groupers, I'll keep
>> my mouth shut! ;-)) There are some coral heads that can be reached
>> from the beach, and though they are very shallow, they will no doubt
>> keep me entertained until I have access to boats.
>
>I told you so.  I've never seen the condentrations of fish anywhere that I
>see here.  I'm pleased you're seeing some big ones.  That used to be a bit
>uncommon, but I'm noticing increasing encounters with jewfish/goliath
>grouper as well as sharks.  I'm even seeing a few legal sized hogfish,
>something that has been uncommon for quite some time.  I attribute the
>return of larger fish to the gill net and drag trawling bans Florida
imposed
>a few years ago.
>

Speaking of large fish, here's a dive from last week...

Linda, the Captain of the "Fort Jefferson" came to tell me that there were
three huge groupers under the boat. She was feeling excited, and unusually
friendly, and asked me to get my gear, and have a look. I got the
impression that it was significant, because she has a jaded outlook toward
most things, having seen it all. ;) I was almost convinced to look
immediately, but decided to finish work. A little later, I showed up with
all my gear, and Linda said the groupers were still there. She estimated
each grouper to be about three hundred pounds, and I was beginning to catch
her excitement. I geared up, jumped in, circled the boat, and saw nothing.
I surfaced, asked Linda where they were, and followed her directions.
Seconds later, I saw the biggest barracuda on Earth. Three nanoseconds
after I saw it, I was heading the other way. I would have started my escape
sooner, but I spent a nanosecond confirming his size, which was about eight
feet long. I've never been afraid of barracuda before, but I've seen two
here that were giants. As I was making my escape, I looked over my shoulder
at this monster, and recalled a story that I had read about a lady who
dangled her feet from the same dock that I was swimming under. Apparently,
her feet were mistaken to be fish parts, by a 'cuda that had grown
accustomed to fish parts being thrown into the water by fishermen. The lady
was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Miami, and was put back together
after hours of surgery. I was sure that I had just seen the same 'cuda, so
my dive came to an abrupt end. Shattered by fear, and without a shred of
grace, I crawled all the way up the beach as fast as I could, on my hands
and knees. Of course the people who were watching were curious about my
strange exit, so I faked a calm exterior, and bravely told them about the
savage eight foot barracuda.

>
>Lee

Brad