While on the boat after our dive of the Oriskany, we noticed several large weed patches floating a few hundred yards away from the wreck. We kept an eye on the flow and Captain Dalton of Due South Custom Charters means what he says about a 'Custom' charter. He knew we were here to do some spearfishing and thought some dolphin (mahi mahi, not Flipper) might be cruising the weedline. We motored over gingerly and Armando sighted some blue and green torpedoes in the water. For the record, freediving after scuba diving is NOT advisable as the nitrogen bubbles dissolved in your bloodstream during scuba diving can collect as you descend in freediving and then expand into embolisms in your blood upon a rapid ascent in freediving. None of our divers swam more than 10 feet below the surface during our post-scuba freedives. For the most part, we were simply snorkeling at the surface.
I slid into the water with my freediving gear and speargun and made my way over to the first weed patty. There two juvenile amberjack cruising just under the weeds, but no dolphin. I kicked over to the next patty and was absolutely stunned to see a school of approximately 100-200 juvenile or 'peanut' dolphin. They were perhaps one of the most beautiful sights I've seen underwater in quite a long time. I yelled to the boat that we had 'schoolies' and Ann joined me in the water a few minutes later.
We both floated in awe as the entire school surrounded us and generally stayed right around us for about 15 minutes as the boat checked out the next patty over. There were rumors of cobia, but none to be seen... YET. Armando handed me his video camera and I shot some footage of the dolphin. Link Forthcoming. Each of the divers on the Colusa IV made their way into the water and over to watch the dolphin before we made our way to the the next dive site.
Just a few miles from the Oriskany are two towers, formerly Chevron petroleum platforms. The oil company cut the platforms off the legs and left them in place, the shallowest approximately 70 feet from the surface. Both are in approximately 135 feet of water. As we were locating the wreck, Dr. Jay and I made our way to the tuna tower on Captain Dalton's boat to look for a buoy marker temporarily left behind by another captain.
While trying to spot the marker, I sighted three black and white masses near the surface - COBIA! We were hoping to see some cobia on this trip as their annual migration in the area is apparently coming to a close for this year. We had heard reports of fish over 70 pounds and were just hoping to see one or two on our trip. Armando and I suited up and dropped over the side in a splashless entry so as not to spook the fish. Dr. Jay stayed on the tower to direct us to the fish. Captain Dalton maneuvered the boat to keep them in sight and to keep us pointed in the right direction.
I powered past Armando just under the surface to gain some ground on the cobia. When I cleared my snorkel of water, I didn't see anything but deep blue sea. I looked to the boat for guidance and Dr. Jay and Captain Dalton pointed us toward the fish. Within a half dozen kicks I swam up to a huge school of large barracuda, all gathered around the buoy marker we were seeking. Within the school of barracuda was a dark gray mass with white sides swimming among them. I swam toward the fish with my outstretched Riffe C3XS complete with Carbon Reel for freediving, but the fish kept its distance.
Strategically, I paused and put my head down in a passive posture. Within seconds, the cobia had turned and was swimming directly at me. At first glance cobia look a bit like a shark or a large Remora in the water. They have a head similar to a catfish - flat, round, and bony. I knew a face shot would be iffy at best, so I patiently waited for the cobia to turn. As the fish closed in well within range, it slowly turned broadside. I ceased the moment and placed a perfect shot in the gills.
Cobia are a very soft meaty fish and a body shot will typically tear through thus losing the fish. A gill shot is the most secure shot to make on a cobia aside perhaps from skewering it through the eyes or into the mouth. My shot found its mark and the fish drifted off toward the bottom. I pulled the fish smoothly toward me so as not to invite the barracuda in for a free lunch. The shaft had gone approximately half-way through the fish and the Hawaiian flopper tip opened exactly as it should. I grabbed the shaft and slid my hand down to pin the fish between my hand and the flopper. The fish didn't thrash at all until I pulled it's head out of the water so the boat could see I was ready for pick up.
The Captain yelled to me to keep the fish in the water to attract the other cobia, but unfortunately, they did not make an appearance. Captain Dalton edged the boat toward me and I handed the fish into the boat. The cobia measured approximately 38 inches. Minimum size on a cobia is 33 inches, so this was no trophy by fishing standards, but it was the highlight of the trip for me. This was the first cobia I've ever seen in the water and certainly my first large fish while freediving in the Gulf. Absolutely Perfect!
We located the buoy again and Clay-Doh's boat tied up to it. We rafted up behind them and Captain Dalton ran a tag line from his boat to the descent line. Our divers geared up again and made the plunge onto the Chevron Towers. The towers were well-crusted with corals, sponges, and teaming with sea life. Good-sized amberjack, a huge school of spadefish, and plenty of barracuda were guarding the site. I descended through the middle of the deeper tower all the way to the sand. On the bottom, I was greeted by red snapper the size of large grouper. There were plenty of fish on the wreck, but having just shot the cobia, I was very selective and didn't even pull the trigger on this dive. In fact, none of our divers boated fish, but we enjoyed swimming among the beams and legs of the tower and watching the schools of spadefish, red snapper, and amberjack circle the structure.
I did return to the boat with a Penn 114-H fishing reel on a broken Senator rod that was laying on the bottom just off the deep tower. It hadn't been on the bottom very long and will make a great deep sea reel for my next line fishing trip.
Special Thanks to Captain Dalton Kennedy of Due South Custom Charters (850-565-7247)for a truly customized dive charter for me and our team onboard Colusa IV!
