1st Time Tomorrow / Advise?

[dperalta]

I am planning on heading down from Tampa tomorrow to to do a little tooth trip with my wife and kids. This will be our first attempt at searching for Megs. Neither one of us got the chance to dive last year so were also doing it for a chance to get in the water and get comfortable before heading out to some of my deeper spots up here. The questions I have are:

- Any advise on where to start?
- Is it possible for my son who is 9 to find any in say around 10 feet freediving?
- If we decide to run out a little deeper to get in another dive in say 30-40 feet what would a local recommend as I don't have many numbers that far south?

Thanks,
David

 

[WonderMellon]

David,
Plenty of people here can give you advise if you want to shore dive and there is a forum post pasted that will give you some information. For the deeper diving you would want to get with a charter. I have always used Captain Jamie at Aristikat Charters and have had a wonderful time.

As for your son; he can actually find teeth without diving at all. Walk along the beach where the waves break on the shore. There will be a slight ledge about 6 inches to a foot tall. Get a little sifter, or you can even use your hands if you like. When the wave comes in, reach down and grab a pile of shells/sand from the ledge. Then just sort through it looking for anything black. You can find plenty of small teeth that way.

I hope you and your family have a great time.

Mike

 

[dperalta]

We'll be diving from the boat. We have plenty of small teeth at home that we've collected on the beach there years ago. At this point I guess the plan is to try to find a good area in about 20ft south of the pass to do some diving and then move in a little closer for the kids to try. If we have time I would like to run out a little deeper to something in 30-40ft but I'm not too familiar with the area so I'm open to suggestions.
If anyone is out there tomorrow we'll be in a blue SeaPro220.

David

 

[Reef_Haven]

First, I want to start off by saying, Welcome to the board!
There are alot of great people here who are willing to share information, advice and trips with.

Many "New Members" show up and one of their very first posts will be, "Hey, where are all the great finds located?"
It starts to grate on you after a while.
Once in a while someone will at least offer to take an experienced diver out, in exchange for a little information and in return they get a wealth of experience, that really shortens the learning curve. Many things you aren't going to learn by just asking, "Where's the Good Stuff?"
Sorry for my rant, I imagine it's really frustrating for a few folks here whose livelihood depends on it.
If you really just want some numbers, I and several others have posted some to get you started, just use the search bar at the top of the sub-forum.
But I really do think you will have a much more enjoyable and successful trip diving with one of the experienced locals.

 

[dperalta]

I'm not interested in anyones secret honey holes or #s. Just heading down with the family tomorrow to try something new. I'm sure we'll be o.k. and I'm sure I can dig up some #s to dive down there just thought someone may be able to suggest a good shallow dive we can do while down there.

David

 

[Reef_Haven]

Hopefully someone else will chime in here about areas shallow enough for a child to freedive. I don't know the law, but I do know beachgoers get a little nervous with a boat that close to shore. Viz is usually not good at 10 ft. Most teeth are found between 15 - 30ft. I could be wrong but I don't think there is much tooth hunting beyond 30 ft. Maybe you can bring along some fishing gear and try to find some hard bottom or a bit of a ledge to dive near, so the people on the boat have something to do while you dive. I know there is a small ledge just south of the inlet, maybe someone could post the #'s for that.
How old are/is your other child? Hope he/she is fully capable of pulling the anchor and certified to operate the boat or are both you and your wife going to be doing your dives seperately?

 

[dperalta]

Thanks Reef Haven. That's the kind of info I was looking for. I know alot of peaople shore dive but I wasn't sure if I could find an area shallow enough for the boys to freedive without getting right on the beach. I'll just have to see what we can do when we get there I guess. My 16 year old daughter won't be able to come with us, just my 9 & 4 year olds. We'll be bringing my neighbor and her 11 year old son so we can have an adult on the boat at all times. The boys are really stoked and they're the main reason for the trip down there. I have 3s for most of the artificial reefs down there so depending on how the tooth hunting and weather go, we may try to hit one of those.
I've been diving offshore of the Tampa Bay area since '91 but really haven't done much in the last few years due to the age of the kids. I'm really looking for more family oriented diving than spearfishing so the wife and kids can be more involved.

David

 

[Rickelpickel]

sorry about the late reply,... hope you get it in time....Their are the blocks that are in like 14-16' of water and I feel they are shallow enough to free dive.. sometimes their are teeth that get caught up around them but I'm gunna side w/ reef haven here in that most teeth are found in 20-30 fsw there are no absolutes tho!! I've seen 4"ers found in 15 fsw before!!! to find the blocks first find sharkies pier.... it's south of the inlet... then go out about half a pier length past the end of the pier... and north and south of the pier you'll find the blocks they very in size from 4' to 6'and they are in rows.. they might be in as shallow as 12' but its been a while since ive been on them... they run about 50-100' long running east to west. and usually theirs something to look at at least other than sand..... a far as the ledges ....theirs tons of them out their.... 2'ers to 4-5'ers usually running north to south...get out to 22-24' about 1000' -2000' out past the jetty rocks and head south... I usually find them out in front of the condos about .5 -.75 mi from the jettys,.. watch your bottom finder and you'll find em... good luck youll probably see other divers out there... most are lookin for teeth so youll get the jist.... be safe and let the rest of us know how you do and how the viz was .....

 

[Fossilbabe]

I'm sorry for seeing this late.
Welcome to the board ! If you need any help or information there is a wealth of knowledge here. While learning to maneuver our forum if I can (suggest ) some links that may be useful!

Sea you there!


For identifying your fossil finds
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/venice-fossil-divers/262453-i-d-your-fossils.html

Post your finds or just pictures
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/venice-fossil-divers/266091-post-your-pictures.html

If you would like to know what conditions were like in the gulf
Its only to REPORT what you experienced that day.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ve...65-dive-reports-beach-weather-conditions.html

Directions of (venice for diving)
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ve...9-insider-info-directions-venice-beaches.html

How to clean your fossils
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/venice-fossil-divers/263092-how-clean-preserve-your-fossils.html

Feel free to PM,EMAIL,PICTURE MAIL,me with any questions you might have on fossils. I'm here to help!

I also have a website below if you would like to look at what fossils can be found in this area. Happy hunting be safe and looking forward in corresponding with you in the near future. My toll free number and website is on the bottom.
Again welcome to Scuba board!
__________________