Anyone tried Stump Pass or Blind Pass?

[cbm369]

Anyone tried the two state parks and had any luck with Meg's / fossils?

Was thinking of trying them this week.

 

[COWSskateGOOD]

I typically dive off of Blind Pass by boat, its a pretty great spot. I have yet to do Stump Pass however .. . I think youll like it

 

[cbm369]

Just got back from Blind Pass.
Vis 8 - 10'
Long swim out, max depth 23'.
One nice 4" Meg with serrations.

 

[cbm369]

Here is photo:

 

[Sidney64]

How long of swim out?

I have a place about at the county line on Manasota Key and wondered if it'd be worth a swim out or better to take a boat operator out of Venice.

Not sure I'd want to dive Stump Pass. Current can be crazy with lots of boat traffic.

Sidney

 

[cbm369]

How long of swim out?

I have a place about at the county line on Manasota Key and wondered if it'd be worth a swim out or better to take a boat operator out of Venice.

Not sure I'd want to dive Stump Pass. Current can be crazy with lots of boat traffic.

Sidney

My guess is probably about 1/2 mile out. I did a surface swim of about 300 yards or so and then went down. Tide was going out, so being submerged wasn't too bad.

 

[Sidney64]

2019 Update:

We'll be at Manasota Key for the 4th this year. Looking to do a beach dive. Any thoughts if better to use Blind Pass beach or any beach access off the Key going to produce the same results?

Thanks,

Sidney

 

[cbm369]

2019 Update:

We'll be at Manasota Key for the 4th this year. Looking to do a beach dive. Any thoughts if better to use Blind Pass beach or any beach access off the Key going to produce the same results?

Thanks,

Sidney

Haven't dove south of Blind Pass, so I'm not sure how that would be. Blind Pass and pretty much any public beach north of it up to Venice Beach will have you in the areas where you can find fossils & teeth. Depending on locations, fossil / tooth beds will start at around 16' up to 30' or so. That could be a few hundred yards off shore or as far out 1.5 - 2 miles. Obviously some spots are better than others, but I enjoy going to spots less traveled. Storms & currents cover/uncover different beds constantly.

Good luck!

 

[Sidney64]

My wife and 15 year old got down last night. They are sending photos now. Looks like we have beach again in front of our place and they said the water is warm and very clear. I plan to use our kayaks and my other boys to drag us way out then we'll drop down and have a look around. (We've never scuba'd off Manasota Key...just Key Largo since we got certified in 2017.) Looking forward to some Megas!

Sidney

 

[cbm369]

Just remember, viz will typically be poor, especially if you're used to diving in the keys. You may have close to zero viz until you reach bottom. Even once on the bottom, you may only have a few feet of viz. I've had anywhere from zero to maybe 10 ft. Best I've ever had in that area is maybe 20'.