# Dive boat etiquette



## Yakin_it_up (Jun 16, 2013)

So I'm fishing a well known public spot about 3.5 miles out and a dive boat pulls up and after a couple minutes there are bubbles coming up directly under my yak. After that I assume I won't be catching anything else and move on. What's the normally proticall here? I understand everyone has equal rights to access the spot like anywhere else in the ocean, but it really sucks plannig a trip that far out and that happening.


----------



## aquatic argobull (Mar 2, 2009)

It sucks being a kayaker because you probably don't have a ton of numbers to go to. Just keep in mind, divers can't stay down for any longer than about 30-40 mins depending on depth, so sometimes you can just wait it out. The fish will return.


----------



## Big Perm (Aug 1, 2011)

Seems to be a common topic on here of it happening frequently. It seems that SOME divers have little regard for other already fishing a location. They also seem to be the same ones that complain about other boats not keeping their distance from them. 

Hate that you were yaking and couldn't just pick up and head to a new spot. Actullay hate it more that you would actually have to do that because divers ruined it for you!!!


----------



## Shark Hunter (Apr 17, 2014)

Depth Charges!:whistling:


----------



## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

Yakin_it_up said:


> So I'm fishing a well known public spot about 3.5 miles out and a dive boat pulls up and after a couple minutes there are bubbles coming up directly under my yak. After that I assume I won't be catching anything else and move on. What's the normally proticall here? I understand everyone has equal rights to access the spot like anywhere else in the ocean, but it really sucks plannig a trip that far out and that happening.


Why would you assume that you would be catching anything else? Divers do not mess up the bite. How was the bite before they got there?


----------



## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

marmidor said:


> Why would you assume that you would be catching anything else? Divers do not mess up the bite. How was the bite before they got there?


+1
I have personally caught snapper right out from under my diving buddies by fishing near them while they are diving.
- Our crew DOES try to avoid diving spots that are occupied by other boats...I think most do.
BUT....I'm sure that you realize that at this time of the year - MOST of the spots DO have a boat on them.
....so are we to give up diving?
From a divers point of view - we come up on a spot that we have planned to visit. A fishing boat is sitting on PART of the spot. The boat has probably been sitting there for a long time...and will continue to tie up the spot the rest of the day. We could try to get to another spot....but it would probably have a boat on it as well.
If the spot is big enough for two fishing boats to work it.....its fair game.
We dont disrupt the fishing. Most of the time the bite wasnt good before we got there...and It might actually improve once we are gone ( in a very short time.)
I have actually been sensing a lessening tension between divers and fishermen. I think they are figuring out that we can actually be a good thing.
- We can give them an idea of what fish are on the spot.
- Snapper, grouper, trigger, jacks...? Are you wasting your time on that spot?
- We can free up your stuck anchor - if you ask nicely.
Next time - chat with the divers - you might learn something.


----------



## BigRed38 (May 5, 2009)

Had a dive boat set anchor near us a few years back. First he was able to tell us that it was a huge manta ray that moved our marker buoy 100 yards south of its original location. 2nd he was able to tell us that the fish that were whooping our asses were AJ'S. Beefed up our terminal tackle and the rodeo kicked off. Only had one dive boat that was a real issue. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


----------



## no woryz (Oct 2, 2007)

Firefishvideo said:


> +1
> I have personally caught snapper right out from under my diving buddies by fishing near them while they are diving.
> - Our crew DOES try to avoid diving spots that are occupied by other boats...I think most do.
> BUT....I'm sure that you realize that at this time of the year - MOST of the spots DO have a boat on them.
> ...


Firefish is spot on.......... there needs to be "mutual" respect.... we give it but don't always get it in return.... I can post all day on here about the number of times were diving & somebody rolls up while were down and starts dropping on us.... no harm, its public so I just swim away.... heck, I've had fisherman actually try to hurt me while diving before......Sorry for your experience, don't let 1 bad apple ruin the lot, and we wont lump all fisherman in the same category either... Show respect & 99% of the time you will get it back, otherwise post a photo of that 1% and we can all blast them on here... stay safe out there....


----------



## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

I've been on a well known spot about 3.5-5 miles out (depending where you launch) and the AJ went OFF after some divers jumped in. they weren't spearing, just diving.


----------



## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

Have actually had divers make a spot more productive. Not sure why but suspect the strange "fish" may have made the real fish more aggressive. Competition and whatnot.


----------



## Shark Hunter (Apr 17, 2014)

I have also caught Sharks when Divers were 50' away.


----------



## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

I always feel obligated to stop fishing when a diver is down. Regardless of whos right I dont risk an accident of some sort just to catch a fish. It might not be "wrong" per se but it is a bit disrespectful. It never ruins my day though, I usually just move on. Its tough to find numbers for a yak to get to. Nature of the game I guess. I have accidentally drifted to close to boats on the yak before I think most of us have, most of them were obviously frustrated but polite none the less. As long as no one got hurt its all good on my end, especially if the diver gives me some intel when he comes up!


----------



## Shark Hunter (Apr 17, 2014)

I already had my bait soaking and they came and were diving on a reef next to me. I hooked a 6' Blacktip and they were none the wiser.


----------



## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

It comes down to its a public spot. Anyone can fish or and dive any public spot. Thats what they were put down for. Stop whinning about fisherman or divers. Show me a title for the spot and you own it. That goes for spots you build or not. The second the reef hits bottom its public. Disrespectful my ass what if the dive boat had that spot on a list to dive a week before you go to the public spot.


----------



## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

hjorgan said:


> Have actually had divers make a spot more productive. Not sure why but suspect the strange "fish" may have made the real fish more aggressive. Competition and whatnot.


Many times - when we hit the bottom....the fish get excited. The larger snapper come in to see what we are doing.....and then stay just a little bit out of spear range.
They are excited though....and will bite a well presented bait.
Amber jack come in in schools.... sometimes forming big circles around a diver.
Sharks come in to check it out too.
I have seen them all hooked .....within 20' of my position on the bottom.

I wish fishermen could see their bait - bobbing there ----many times with a halo of fish around it.......none of them touching it....because you can clearly see the big shiny hook sticking out!
I sure rig by baits with more care after seeing it.


----------



## Shark Hunter (Apr 17, 2014)

Now that's pretty cool!


----------



## flappininthebreeze (Jul 13, 2009)

*Etiquette*

I've bubble watched on boats and fished while divers were down. caught lots of fish doing it too. FFV is right, snapper are curious and excitable too. I always idle by and ask how the fishing is going before we dive. If you aren't catching the heck out of em before we go down, we didn't spoil the bite.


----------



## Yakin_it_up (Jun 16, 2013)

Thanks for all the input. I would have never guessed that fishing would improve in some instances after divers go down. I did not mean to sound like I felt that I had more right to a spot than anyone because I was there first, or that fishing takes any kind of priority over diving. But it did piss me off when bubbles starter coming up directly under me. My assumption is that it can't help the fishing with a diver that close to your bait. I'll admit I don't know what it's like from the divers point of view so correct me if I'm wrong, but can't y'all see the lines in the water? Would think you could keep maybe a respectable 20 feet or so away from a line in the bottom on a large wreck. Don't see how that would be any differnt than giving a fellow fisherman reasonable space around there boat as most people do. I would not go fish directly on top of divers. What do dives think if/when fisherman park on them and start dropping down on there heads? 

Is there a risk of hooking divers, or something you should worry about? That was probably the main reason why I left the spot, because I kept having this terrible vision that the next time I set the hook I was going to stick a diver.


----------



## Yakin_it_up (Jun 16, 2013)

marmidor said:


> Why would you assume that you would be catching anything else? Divers do not mess up the bite. How was the bite before they got there?


I think it's a reasonable ASSUMPTION to make that divers swimming around could stop fish from bitting directly under you. I do not have experience comparing before and after fishing results with divers, so I will take others advice that do.


----------



## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

Yakin_it_up said:


> Thanks for all the input. I would have never guessed that fishing would improve in some instances after divers go down. I did not mean to sound like I felt that I had more right to a spot than anyone because I was there first, or that fishing takes any kind of priority over diving. But it did piss me off when bubbles starter coming up directly under me. My assumption is that it can't help the fishing with a diver that close to your bait. I'll admit I don't know what it's like from the divers point of view so correct me if I'm wrong, but can't y'all see the lines in the water? Would think you could keep maybe a respectable 20 feet or so away from a line in the bottom on a large wreck. Don't see how that would be any differnt than giving a fellow fisherman reasonable space around there boat as most people do. I would not go fish directly on top of divers. What do dives think if/when fisherman park on them and start dropping down on there heads?
> 
> Is there a risk of hooking divers, or something you should worry about? That was probably the main reason why I left the spot, because I kept having this terrible vision that the next time I set the hook I was going to stick a diver.


Most Divers have a vision in their heads....of being hooked!!! Not something I'd want to happen.
Take into account that there may currents moving in different directions....at different levels of the water column. Bubbles floating up from even 50' down may travel some distance before reaching the surface....so where you THINK the diver is....may not be where he is on the bottom.....but further away.
There are few days that are clear enough to be able to see the surface from the bottom....so a diver will rarely be able to tell where you are once he leaves the surface....but I guarantee he will keep his distance from a hook when he sees it.
Hope your next interaction is better, just relax....and keep fishing.:thumbsup:


----------



## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

sealark said:


> It comes down to its a public spot. Anyone can fish or and dive any public spot. Thats what they were put down for. Stop whinning about fisherman or divers. Show me a title for the spot and you own it. That goes for spots you build or not. The second the reef hits bottom its public. Disrespectful my ass what if the dive boat had that spot on a list to dive a week before you go to the public spot.


So with it being a public spot, and the fishing boat was there first, why is it that all dive boats I come in contact with, come real close to my boat and everyone one on the dive boat just stares at me. Usually two full circles around me. Then three or four bail off the side, and someone whistles at me, and points to the water. 
I get the impression they expect the fishing boat to reel up and move on. I usually do move on, but is it expected for the fishing boat to stop fishing, or is this a public announcement for all fishing boats to continue fishing, since they were on the reef first. Way before the dive boat arrived. And we are all supposed to share the public spot placed for the publics use.
Just want some clarification for all fishing boats on public reefs when encountering a dive boat.

I find it difficult for a diver to get hooked by a circle hook. Because the barb turns in. The hook should not hook into anything unless it is clamped down on, like a fish biting the hook. There for a legal hook when fishing a reef, should pose no threat to a human getting hooked while diving.


----------



## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Chapman. The best thing to do is just accept the fact that public spots are going to be crowded at times. That charter boat capt is most likely upset also when he looks up and sees 2 or 3 boats fishing the spot his customers have paid to dive on. I ran charters for 10 years and customers dont like to be told we got to go to a different spot because a fisherman is on the spot. The fish tend to follow the divers so just pull up the line and drop back down after they swim by.


----------



## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

sealark said:


> Chapman. The best thing to do is just accept the fact that public spots are going to be crowded at times. That charter boat capt is most likely upset also when he looks up and sees 2 or 3 boats fishing the spot his customers have paid to dive on. I ran charters for 10 years and customers dont like to be told we got to go to a different spot because a fisherman is on the spot. The fish tend to follow the divers so just pull up the line and drop back down after they swim by.


I usually try to keep my distance. I wouldn't want to get hooked either. I try to give divers their space, but sometimes it is safer to just travel on another mile or two. I just don't like getting stared at when a dive boat expects you to leave when the fishing pnoat was there first. 
A dive boat and a fishing boat are usually on different pages when it comes to sharing a public number. 
I usually stick around until the flag goes up, but sometimes they throw their flag up 20 minutes before anyone touches the water. I had that happen this weekend. I kept fishing until they hit the water and I finished my drift over the spot one last time. It was me and a buddy boat and the dive boat. We moved on after that final drift. 
Could not catch any quality fish this week like I usually do. I don't think either of us caught a keeper snapper this trip. I was mainy in the Allen, Wallace reef area . The fish were there but only small snapper and small jacks were interested.


----------



## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Chapman5011 said:


> So with it being a public spot, and the fishing boat was there first, why is it that all dive boats I come in contact with, come real close to my boat and everyone one on the dive boat just stares at me. Usually two full circles around me. Then three or four bail off the side, and someone whistles at me, and points to the water.
> I get the impression they expect the fishing boat to reel up and move on. I usually do move on, but is it expected for the fishing boat to stop fishing, or is this a public announcement for all fishing boats to continue fishing, since they were on the reef first. Way before the dive boat arrived. And we are all supposed to share the public spot placed for the publics use.
> Just want some clarification for all fishing boats on public reefs when encountering a dive boat.
> 
> I find it difficult for a diver to get hooked by a circle hook. Because the barb turns in. The hook should not hook into anything unless it is clamped down on, like a fish biting the hook. There for a legal hook when fishing a reef, should pose no threat to a human getting hooked while diving.


your legally fishing, by state law you aren't doing anything wrong and they aren't supposed to interfere with you.

if its really like you say, keep a bottle of red food dye on board. when they point to the water, start pouring out 5 gallons worth of "blood" and deploy a senator. (I've had similar instances on the kayak where they would circle us several times then anchor or deploy divers, but I figured they were marking the spot and finding the best entry point)


----------



## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

I wouldn't want to dive around 5 gallons of blood either.


----------



## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

I just found me a good 5 gallon bucket with a good top. I'll get some red food color when we take the engine out to lunch today. I will save that solution for the next next a dive boat chooses that route. It will be saved for the perfect situation.


----------



## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Chapman5011 said:


> I just found me a good 5 gallon bucket with a good top. I'll get some red food color when we take the engine out to lunch today. I will save that solution for the next next a dive boat chooses that route. It will be saved for the perfect situation.


you don't have to keep it full, fill it up when they arrive, they probably wont be paying attention. then dump it in front of them. hahaha. turn on a camera first too


----------



## flappininthebreeze (Jul 13, 2009)

*Etiquette*

Keep in mind, if you see bubbles under you, the divers probably aren't. There is rarely so little current that bubbles don't drift. Divers do see your lines, baits, and schools of fish checking them out, but bait is usually lying on the bottom where snapper and jacks don't feed. They feed 5-20 feet up, which is why you see echoes up off the bottom as you scan the site. Divers see the active baits and avoid them. We also see the tackle shop full of gear left hung on the structure, because so many fishermen insist on dropping, and leaving the weight on the bottom. Divers actively avoid your hooks. Nobody got time for getting hooked.



Yakin_it_up said:


> Thanks for all the input. I would have never guessed that fishing would improve in some instances after divers go down. I did not mean to sound like I felt that I had more right to a spot than anyone because I was there first, or that fishing takes any kind of priority over diving. But it did piss me off when bubbles starter coming up directly under me. My assumption is that it can't help the fishing with a diver that close to your bait. I'll admit I don't know what it's like from the divers point of view so correct me if I'm wrong, but can't y'all see the lines in the water? Would think you could keep maybe a respectable 20 feet or so away from a line in the bottom on a large wreck. Don't see how that would be any differnt than giving a fellow fisherman reasonable space around there boat as most people do. I would not go fish directly on top of divers. What do dives think if/when fisherman park on them and start dropping down on there heads?
> 
> Is there a risk of hooking divers, or something you should worry about? That was probably the main reason why I left the spot, because I kept having this terrible vision that the next time I set the hook I was going to stick a diver.


----------



## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

I would not want to get hooked by a 10/0 circle hook in salt water. It would probably burn a little bit. Plus it would probably get infected because of the nasty bait that is on the hook. 
Infection city. 

The bucket of bright red water is probably the best idea I've heard of. And it's environmentally friendly and safe for both parties.


----------



## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

My experience as a diver and fisherman for the past 35 years is that divers can shut down the bite on a spot. Large snapper for example will move off a spot and out into the sand away from the reef. Just being honest here.


----------



## below me (Jan 13, 2012)

i dove in the madness opening weekend on a couple wrecks near the liberty ship. nobody fishing near us seemed to have any problems catching fish before we got in the water. we left my buddy's girlfriend on the boat to bubble watch. i told her to pay attention to all the fishermen while we were down because they like to accuse of us killing the bite. she said they continued to catch fish the entire time we were down there. 

i could see a couple of lines while i was there (and the fish picking them clean). someone was using some braid that was easily visible. the mono was more difficult to see until i was right on top of it (no big deal - just swim around it), and some of it i didn't see at all. on our ascent, my dive buddy pulled a hook out of my regulator hoses!

i've been on trips where our one bubble watcher put more fish in the boat than 3 divers!

there are some a-holes out there but another thing to consider is that we typically do not have the flexibility in locations that the rod and reel guys have. yall can drop lines on anything. we can't necessarily just pick from any spot out there. a lot of us dive nitrox which, to summarize, means the mix of air in our tank becomes toxic beyond its maximum operating depth. as many have already said, i don't want to swim where you're fishing...most wrecks are plenty big for all of us...and if not then i will move on whenever possible.


----------



## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2011)

Chapman5011 said:


> I would not want to get hooked by a 10/0 circle hook in salt water. It would probably burn a little bit. Plus it would probably get infected because of the nasty bait that is on the hook.
> Infection city.
> 
> The bucket of bright red water is probably the best idea I've heard of. And it's environmentally friendly and safe for both parties.


I don't know why people on here assume they are going to mistakenly hook a diver...that is just not going to happen unless the diver is braindead. Like firefish said we can clearly see your bait and hooks down there and its not hard to steer clear of them.


----------

