Two Very Good Dives on Clearwater Wreck March 9, 2023

On Thursday I went out for two dives off Clearwater, FL with "Tanksalot" diving aka 2Shea Charters. We made two dives on Clearwater wreck which is about 20 miles offshore in 60 ft of water. We had 74 degrees at the surface and 70 degrees at the bottom with 15-20 ft of water. The wreck is full of fish, some of the species I saw include: Red and Black (Gag) Grouper, Hogfish, Spadefish, Batfish, Great Barracuda, sardines, several species of grunts, anchovies, Sheepshead, Amberjack, Jack Crevalle and last but not least, Goliath Grouper. We were told about a resident Loggerhead Sea Turtle and how curious he was. He sure lived up to his billing and you'll see in pictures below. I had several visits from the Loggerhead, below, he actually put his nose right into my dome, twice. Below:

Several cooperative Red Grouper:

Huge walls of baitfish and grunts are on the wreck:

Batfish:

The most Great Barracuda, 3 -5 ft long, I've ever seen in a group:

The Goliath Grouper were a bit shy, but here's a couple of shots:

Sheepshead:

Hogfish:

Above: Spadefish Below: Grunts and Mangrove Snapper on the wreck:

I saw two Redfish on the wreck, in all my years of diving in the Gulf, I'd never seen Redfish miles offshore, let alone 20 miles offshore, on a wreck. Neither had the captain or the dive guides. We guessed that it may be because of the tragic outbreak of dreaded red tide in the local bays. I didn't get very close for a decent picture but wanted to document seeing them:

Below, Amberjack:

A fun day. One of these days I'll get back to my Raja Ampat photos and blog, probably multiple blogs, about that great trip..