Are Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks Around in October?

[ScubaWanderer]

Hello everyone!

I'm heading up to the East Coast in early October and have a few days I plan on spending in Florida between October 10 to October 15. I've always wanted to see some Tiger and Bull Sharks. I know that all creatures have a mind of their own and nothing can be guaranteed, but I'm just trying to understand if Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks are even around the Florida coast waters around Miami in October? I've Googled endlessly and reviewed some migration maps, but I honest can't make sense of them. It seems October is when the Tiger Shark season starts in the Bahamas, but I'm not sure if it's the sharks from Florida that head over there.

I plan on diving with Emerald Charters. I've read practically every thread I could find on this forum about the operator and the experience (including the skillset) necessary for the dive. I'm staying in Miami Beach and if the big fellas aren't around at this time, I'll probably just stick to diving Key Largo. Any help would be hugely appreciated!

 

[sheeper]

sharks are around year round.

we have awesome shark experiences WITHOUT baiting or feeding these animals.

 

[ScubaWanderer]

Thank you sheeper.

@drrich2 pointed me to a section of his very detailed and helpful thread he made about diving out of Jupiter to see the big boys (Hammerheads, Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks). Frankly, I somehow missed the part about the season for these guys when I saw the thread the first time. In case someone else stumbles on this thread and needs more info, here's the section from drrich's thread quoting @HalcyonDaze:

The lemon shark aggregation is December into February; January would be a good pick to catch the height of it. While we do have a resident population that regularly hangs around the feeding sites, there are also "'out-of-towners" that show up. We have one in particular nicknamed "Garbage Guts" due to the fish stringer working its way out of his body cavity; we've seen him the last two years but only during the aggregation months. I would agree that generally speaking you do not need baits to get a good look at them during the aggregation.

The great hammerheads seem to show up in force in the spring; there will be sightings at other times of year but March-May is really the only period when the feeding sites can attract multiple individuals in one go. Before and after that they seem to scatter. April would be the best bet; this past April I did one dive on the Esso Bonaire where we had at least three at once (all of which kept their distance due to the other sharks) and on the last dive we hit "Hammer Beach" where there were at least four with no other sharks competing with them; a couple came in for closeups. Interesting thing is that as far as I've seen, they're all males.

The tigers are also fairly reliable in spring; they seem to pack their bags and leave at the start of summer. The timing varies; in 2014 we had at least one sighting at the start of August, 2015 they all bugged out at the end of June as if the rent was due July 1, and this year a couple booked out by early May. They might drop back in here and there during the fall and winter, but like the hammers it's really springtime when you have a reasonable chance of having two, three, or even four of them all at once. The majority of these are females; this year we had one immature male join the party on a regular basis. Again, what's interesting is that aside from the new guy the rest of the regulars have all been there the past three years.

I'm not so familiar with the schedule on the bull sharks, but winter and spring seem to be the best bets. However in my experience the dive boats that do the feeds really don't go after them much anymore; I have a feeling that's because more often than not even with bait they're skittish around divers (the times they aren't skittish are interesting). These days it's really the snorkel boats that go after them, and I do think they're a lot bolder around freedivers.

The "summer variety pack" that moves into the Jupiter Deep Ledge between late May and August-September is primarily comprised of sandbar and silky sharks, and may include duskies, blacktips, and scalloped hammerheads.

Now, how much of this will you see without bait? Probably a bit; if someone in the party is shooting fish the odds go up. Lemons during the aggregation can be found in numbers, and drifting on the Deep Ledge at the proper times you'll probably run across bulls, sandbars, and silkies. Inside the 3-mile line there are a couple of reliable places to find Caribbean reef sharks. Tigers and hammers - it's not quite lighting-strike odds, but you either have to spend a lot of time out there or get really lucky. Spotting them when they do turn up can be hard; last year I apparently dropped right in on a hammerhead off Pompano that vanished before I could turn around. On one particular dive on the Riverwalk wrecks off Palm Beach three years ago I managed to miss a tiger, several bulls, and a couple lemon sharks (note: the spearos had dropped in first and when I got to the Shasha Boekanier it was half-engulfed in cobia blood, which explained all the fins).

I've also made a few calls to local diver operators. From what I gather it seems unlikely to encounter Tiger Sharks near Florida coastal waters in October, but Bull Sharks are still around. Tiger shark activity in October is more prevalent around the Bahamas (e.g. Tiger Beach). That's my understanding.

 

[Johnoly]

... I plan on spending in Florida between October 10 to October 15,,,,,I plan on diving with Emerald Charters.....I'm staying in Miami Beach...

Just a tip but on a weekday morning with traffic on I-95, that could be a 2 hour drive (without accidents). Kinda like Sacramento to Tahoe on a saturday morning after a 3ft snow the night before. {Been there, done that}

 

[Dan]

Just a tip but on a weekday morning with traffic on I-95, that could be a 2 hour drive (without accidents). Kinda like Sacramento to Tahoe on a saturday morning after a 3ft snow the night before. {Been there, done that}

True. I just came back from there last weekend. Many parts of the I-95 are under construction too. From Ft. Lauderdale airport (FLL, I-95 exit #27) to PGA Blvd (exit # 79A) it took me 75 minutes at Thursday midnight, arriving to the hotel near US1 around 1:15 AM. It took me about 2 hours on the reverse direction on the next day (Friday), leaving the hotel around 4:30 PM and arriving in the FLL airport around 6:30 PM. If you go on further south to Miami Beach during the weekday, count yourself lucky to spend 2 hours on the road (4-hour roundtrip). I'd rather stay in Jupiter the night before the dive trip.

 

[sheeper]

let's try this again. I also got some great video.

this was Sunday's dive. Our shark friends followed us off the wrecks and kept us company on the surface https://1drv.ms/i/s!AjIx1IX8mCE68C-2mAeOdiN9ZyED

 

[ScubaWanderer]

let's try this again. I also got some great video.

this was Sunday's dive. Our shark friends followed us off the wrecks and kept us company on the surface https://1drv.ms/i/s!AjIx1IX8mCE68C-2mAeOdiN9ZyED

You're getting me excited to get back in the water! Paul, do you guys run daily trips out of Jupiter and Stuart? Do boats out of both locations go to the same sites?

To those wondering, we've decided we'll be extending our vacation a bit. We'll be doing some diving around Southeast Florida and then taking a ferry to the Bahamas and staying there for a few days to do Tiger Beach (and possibly a few others) to see the Tigers.

What was originally a "while we're visiting family on the East Coast might as well" 2-day quick stopover has turned into quite an adventure! P.S. My wife just looked at the map and pointed out how close Turks & Caicos is to the Bahamas. Oh no. Haha

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I second the idea of staying up in Jupiter - I live in Miami and while on a weekend it's not that bad of a drive, weekdays might be another story. Also, deep dives and sharks haven't come close to killing me, but driving home tired after a 4 am wakeup call and three loads of nitrogen has nearly killed me a few times. There's a thread on the A&I near miss section where I talk about nodding off at the wheel on I-95 after a Jupiter dive.

That repost from the other thread is pretty accurate - in October you may have a slim chance of seeing a tiger in Jupiter, but don't bet on it. Same with great hammerheads. Bulls may still be around in numbers and the resident lemons are a good bet.

let's try this again. I also got some great video.

this was Sunday's dive. Our shark friends followed us off the wrecks and kept us company on the surface https://1drv.ms/i/s!AjIx1IX8mCE68C-2mAeOdiN9ZyED

Sunday morning or afternoon? I was out freediving the Jupiter Deep Ledge and Zion Train Sunday afternoon and we passed by Paradise Below and her divers on the Zion Train; the lemons actually broke off from us and checked out the divers. Not much action after that, although we did get a glimpse of a sandbar and a blacktip plus a big momma bull that came rocketing up from the deep and then left about as quickly.

Deep Ledge before that was a lot more lively - my first time freediving with bulls. Total 180 from my experiences on scuba - I'm used to them staying well below us and being very skittish when approached. On the surface Sunday we had at least 15-20 all up in our business for an hour and I had to establish some personal space with my GoPro pole.

 

[PeesInPools]

Hello everyone!

I'm heading up to the East Coast in early October and have a few days I plan on spending in Florida between October 10 to October 15. I've always wanted to see some Tiger and Bull Sharks. I know that all creatures have a mind of their own and nothing can be guaranteed, but I'm just trying to understand if Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks are even around the Florida coast waters around Miami in October? I've Googled endlessly and reviewed some migration maps, but I honest can't make sense of them. It seems October is when the Tiger Shark season starts in the Bahamas, but I'm not sure if it's the sharks from Florida that head over there.

I plan on diving with Emerald Charters. I've read practically every thread I could find on this forum about the operator and the experience (including the skillset) necessary for the dive. I'm staying in Miami Beach and if the big fellas aren't around at this time, I'll probably just stick to diving Key Largo. Any help would be hugely appreciated!

I know im way late but I used to hook into tigers off the beach in Saint Augustine like clock work the first week of October every year when I lived in Florida. Usualy an hour before or after high tide super early in the morning 2 to 5 am.It was always a short lived week or two but they swim through in numbers. As far as bull sharks go they always seemed plentifull. Frankly I miss sharks. I catch a glimpse of a nurse shark or white tip here and there out here on Guam but never on purpose and they always are easily spooked unless im spearing fish.

 

[Texasguy]

I dive solo. Feel like each dive is baited.