Questions about Florida lobster diving

[Fishbeans]

Hello everyone. I'm planning a trip down to Florida for the end of March to get in some lobster diving. I've never dove for lobster before, nor have my friends who will be coming with me. We're also planning the trip on a fairly tight budget. We're all college students (don't worry, we're responsible people, all of us engineers, a couple in grad school), and all have pretty limited dive experience. I've not gone diving in the last 3 years myself. So, if at all possible, we'd like to freedive instead of SCUBA. Because of these limitations, I've been unable to find a place that I can say "Yes, this is exactly where we need to go." Here are the particulars of the trip, any and all advice is welcome.

• It's going to be a 5-7 day trip, depending on success, or if one of us can't commit the full time.
• Budget is ideally less than 200 dollars per person including cost of gear, so chartering a boat is out.
• Camping out in a tent is perfectly acceptable, and expected. We were all Boy Scouts back in the day, and are no stranger to meager accommodations.
• We'll be driving from the middle of Alabama, so distance is a factor.
• Some place we can fish with a rod and reel as well would be a nice plus.
• Freedive locations preferred.
• The general idea is to bring minimal food, and eat mostly what we're able to catch. If all goes well, lots of lobster and blue crab.

What I'm looking at now is Key Biscayne. It's got nice, cheap camping accommodations, and is quite a bit closer than Key West. The only thing is, I don't know how deep the water is, and how successful we'd be freediving. The only boat we have easy access to is just a little 14' aluminum fishing boat, not good for entering and exiting the water, so if we can't dive from shore, that's a problem.

Another possibility is Fort Lauderdale, which is a bit closer, but I don't know how much it would cost to stay there for a week, or really anything about diving there. I've heard of people having moderate success farther north, but I'd rather drive another couple hundred miles and have a great trip than skimp on gas and strike out.

Lastly, I'd love some good recipes for spiny lobster. Preferably something we could do over a campfire, like grilling or steaming, though I hope to take a bit home so more extravagant recipes are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[mselenaous]

Visit the FWC website for lobster regs and fishing license info:
Lobster Information
LICENSE AND PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

And also the stateparks website has info on which state parks have what activities and amenities. Maps and Directions Florida State Parks That may help you widen your geographical target area and then narrow down your choices.

Some friends and I did a similar trip a few years back to Bahia Honda in the Keys, but our diving/fishing/spearfishing/lobstering was all from 3 boats we took down.

Have fun!

 

[matts1w]

1. There is no shore diving in the Keys.
2. There is shore diving a tad north of Fort Lauderdale.
3. If you shore dive in Lauderdale by the Sea and find a legal bug in March then you will be a very fortunate man and should start playing the lottery.
4. Look at camping in the Keys and using your boat to snorkel and fish around the backwater. 14 foot aint alot of boat in the Atlantic.
5. Bring some food money. You will need it.

Have a ton of fun.

 

[Fishbeans]

D'oh. That's what I was afraid of. Looks like we'll be looking for somebody who wants to come and has access to a decent boat then.

All that aside, about how successful do you think a group of novice bug hunters would be in March? Still freediving, but with access to a boat so we can hit the better spots.

 

[rleslie]

Where do you plan to camp? All state camp grounds are full through April and most private camp grounds are RV only.

 

[DennisS]

Big Pine Key Fishing Camp is about 3/4 of the way down the keys, about 30 miles north of Key West, go into town one night. There are some large coral heads within beach diving distance of the shore, check out charts and make sure you have a big dive flag, not a hanky sized one. By the end of March, the shallow waters can be pretty chilly

A small boat would be fine for the back country if the weather is good. I don't know what your range is but contents and sawyer key are back there, good snorkeling. I wouldn't plan on surviving on lobster and crab but you should be able to get your fill of grunts, a small tasty fish with a mild white flesh. If you get two or three lobsters, you'll be doing good.

There are some lobster spots back there in the 10 ft depth range. Don't even think about diving lobster pots. I used to have a seasonal job and get laid off every year, I'd stay there for two or three months every year. There are lots of land fishing spots and bridges. I used to get tired of eating fish. Shrimp is the universal bait, everything eats it.

My second choice would be the Sebastian Inlet area, about 200 miles to the north, good camping, good fishing, clamming, crabbing, probably too cold for snorkeling and diving. There is a State park and further north a Brevard county park. They usually fill up fast.

Can you give me a link to camping on Key Biscayne?

 

[matts1w]

D'oh. That's what I was afraid of. Looks like we'll be looking for somebody who wants to come and has access to a decent boat then.

All that aside, about how successful do you think a group of novice bug hunters would be in March? Still freediving, but with access to a boat so we can hit the better spots.

Seriously- Im not trying to be an a$$. Just consider these points....

1. How are you going to find "better spots" People protect their numbers pretty seriously down here.

2. March is prime spring break- i.e the most expensive time in Florida. Everything, especially hotels, campgrounds, etc.., will be expensive.

 

[suprasteve]

I'm thinking of doing a spring break with my buddies down to the keys too, but here's what I can tell you. For the past 30+ years my parents (and then me when I came along) have not missed an opening week for lobster thta I can remember. Last year we did 'above average' with somewhere around 50-60 in 3 days in our group of like 6 people. By day 3 we were bringing in a keeper lobster every 2 hours, that's in a boat btw. We have dozens and dozens of numbers around Marathon for lobster holes and whenever I have any say so we drive as fast as possible from one to the other and don't bother dragging looking for new holes unless it's before opening day or a few days afterwards. If you're going from shore, not only don't you have the advantage of having a boat pull you instead of swimming everywhere, but you don't have any transportation to those areas that the lobster typically congregate. The few places next to shore where you could find them, such as passes, are too dangerous to swim in without a boat nearby, those currents can get ridiculous. During that time of year (August) the lobster are moving through, during March, I seriously doubt it, I hear they usually are all but gone by september/october. All that being said, I still want to go to the Keys for spring break, will I be lobstering? No. Will I be fishing and diving? Certainly, and I still say it is well worth the trip. Alter your plans more towards the fishing aspect and you'll be much happier. And if the rest of your friends can snorkel, consider going out to the coral reefs on one of the 'we take 30 people at once' snorkeling boats for a few hours, last I priced that it was like $25 a person or so
EDIT: and if for some reason you do win that lobster lottery that mattsw mentioned, 1 I'll eat crow for telling you that you wouldn't, and 2 as far as cooking them, we typically split the tails lengthwise from the top with a heavy knife and spread them open. Then we put on butter and garlic and whatever suits your fancy and either broil or grill them. Whatever you do, don't ruin them by boiling them though!

 

[Fishbeans]

1. How are you going to find "better spots" People protect their numbers pretty seriously down here.

You suggested pretty strongly that places you can dive from shore would be depleted by now. Thus, being able to go farther out would yield better locations, unless I completely misunderstood you.

2. March is prime spring break- i.e the most expensive time in Florida. Everything, especially hotels, campgrounds, etc.., will be expensive.

Well aware, but primitive campgrounds never really get expensive by any standards. The Biscayne park's campgrounds are 15-30 dollars a night for a whole group (depending on accommodations), for example. As far as I'm aware, those rates don't change during spring break unlike most other things.

I thank you for your input, but I've been doing hiking, fishing, camping etc. my whole life, and spend quite a bit of time in Florida on vacations (love saltwater fishing), so I know what to expect.

For the person who asked for a link to info about camping in Biscayne, here's one I pulled up from a quick Google search. Just add www before it, I can't post URLs unless I have 5 or more posts.

.nps.gov/bisc/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

[Edit]

Forgot to mention this. As per suprasteve's advice, I'll probably be modifying my trip to just the usual fishing trip down in Orange Beach, and reserve a spot early for a campground the week lobster season opens up. That will give me a good six months to locate a boat we can use.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

[DennisS]

Biscayne Park isn't Key Biscayne, there is no camping on Key Biscayne (money country) The campground is located on Elliot Key to the south, part of Biscayne Nat'l monument. There is a boat that takes campers out there for a fee, the bay can easily be too rough for a 14 foot boat to make the transit. It would be great camping during spring break and there is fairly good diving close to shore. You probably wouldn't be able to take your boat out there, if the wind picks up you wouldn't be able to bring it back. You really don't want to be out there at the beginning of lobster season, hot and really buggy, the mosquitos will carry you away.