Venice shark tooth boat dives

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BrackaFish

Contributor
Messages
538
Reaction score
962
Location
Port Orange Fl
# of dives
2500 - 4999
Does anyone know if there are still dive ops in Venice doing shark tooth dives? Thanks and be safe.
 
Absolutely!! Did some in May and found a large mammoth tooth. Did some this past week and finally found my first megs. It is a freaking blast! Let me get home and I’ll send some operator recommendations.
 
-Venice FL, Meg Tooth/Fossil Diving: These are in my order of preference, but to be clear, I have had really good experiences with all of them. The differences are totally nuanced. I would never argue with someone that might put their list in a different order. All quality operators. And all are operators that my family has used. I would not hesitate to call any of them. All prefer cash. As of summer 2020, $100 plus any tip you want to give.

Aquanutz, Capt Mike, 941-961-2235, is a great guy. Nearly valet level service. Three tank trips. Same money as the others but they subsidize their earnings looking for Meg teeth themselves. Captain and two deck hands rotate their dives, but there could be a brief time when the boat is unmanned. So you trade an extra hour+ underwater and knowledge that they are putting you where they can earn extra money by finding teeth, for a small time window when the boat may not have staff on board. You just have to decide where your comfort level is. Six pack sized cat. The trouble is you sometimes need to call weeks and months in advance, depending on the day. I'm not the only diver that likes his business model. (Dove with them last in May. Saw them running last week but had a big group that I couldn't fit into his schedule.)

Top2Bottom Charters, Capt Dustin, 941-525-8744, is a great guy. Bigger boat, can spread out. Two tank trips. V-bottom boat. (Dove with them last week)

Aristakat Charters, Capt Jamie, 941-321-0852, is a great guy. Has a well run operation. Two tank trips. Six pack size cat. (Dove with them last week)
 
I can second Aristakat Charters. I've done a few dives with him and it was a blast!
 
EDIT!!! Aristakat is only $90. Apologies.
 
What are typical depths and time for these dives? Is there any special gear you guys bring ?
 
What are typical depths and time for these dives? Is there any special gear you guys bring ?

They all provide AL80s. If you do the morning dives, they will sometimes restrict you to an hour, or an hour and fifteen minutes. Mike and Dustin don't do afternoon dives and so they do not restrict your dive time. Jamie's afternoon dives do not have any restrictions. I got my first 90 minute dive and a 98 minute dive last week. I really wanted to push it to 100 minutes but decided that being responsible was the better part of valor (climbed the ladder with 500psi). I was pretty stoked regardless. For me that was a cool accomplishment.

25 to 32 ft depths depending on tide and location. A sturdy mesh bag is super useful for carrying your loot. Mike and Dustin will offer loaners. Some folks like a old knife blade or other device to use as a pry bar. I don't use one but can see the benefit occasionally. I have also seen folks dive with lights and even a cave helmet with lights mounted on it. I have used a light occasionally to look under ledges, but it isn't common for me to pull it out and fire it up. If you are taking kids, a lot of folks will use a jon line to tie to their kid. Visibility can be whack at times. And you can make it whack at times with your own rooting around.
 
Aquanutz 100%. Basically solo dives or same day same ocean buddy system.
Depth 20'-35'
Time is not restricted.
Viz 2'-30' (rarely 30')
It is a blast and worth every penny. Even if you don't find a new tooth you will find foils. Smaller share teeth, Mammoth, whaler, dugong, and others just litter the bottom. You will also see lots of neat small life because you're concentrating on small areas. I didn't see the 200lb turtle till he bumped into me. I've heard an occasional manatee will come by and say hi to. Apparently that can be quite surprising.
 
-Venice FL, Meg Tooth/Fossil Diving: These are in my order of preference, but to be clear, I have had really good experiences with all of them. The differences are totally nuanced. I would never argue with someone that might put their list in a different order. All quality operators. And all are operators that my family has used. I would not hesitate to call any of them. All prefer cash. As of summer 2020, $100 plus any tip you want to give.

Aquanutz, Capt Mike, 941-961-2235, is a great guy. Nearly valet level service. Three tank trips. Same money as the others but they subsidize their earnings looking for Meg teeth themselves. Captain and two deck hands rotate their dives, but there could be a brief time when the boat is unmanned. So you trade an extra hour+ underwater and knowledge that they are putting you where they can earn extra money by finding teeth, for a small time window when the boat may not have staff on board. You just have to decide where your comfort level is. Six pack sized cat. The trouble is you sometimes need to call weeks and months in advance, depending on the day. I'm not the only diver that likes his business model. (Dove with them last in May. Saw them running last week but had a big group that I couldn't fit into his schedule.)

Top2Bottom Charters, Capt Dustin, 941-525-8744, is a great guy. Bigger boat, can spread out. Two tank trips. V-bottom boat. (Dove with them last week)

Aristakat Charters, Capt Jamie, 941-321-0852, is a great guy. Has a well run operation. Two tank trips. Six pack size cat. (Dove with them last week)

Thanks @txgoose for all the great information. Seems like I might have to spend some money and time doing a bit of tooth diving. Be safe
 
It really is a blast. I’ve done teeth dives in SC and NC, but haven’t made it down to Venice, FL yet. This year Is not looking promising for me to make it down there. Maybe next year.
 
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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