Diving in SW Florida in Dec?

[frogman159]

No big deal, have a couple days with my inlaws so i thought it would be nice to take in a couple tanks to break the winter "dry" spell. I dive with my wife so unless there is something good- not really intrested in dragging 2 sets of gear down for a bad experience.

Guess I was looking for something easy- I've heard there are lots of springs all over FL and that they can be really cool (even for just OW folks). Didn't know if there was anything like that near Ft Myer. My Wife wants to do a Manatee dive, but the closest one I could find was crystal river over 2 hrs oneway. Even some easier beach ocean dives-We only have 17 dives under our weightbelts.

 

[Walter]

Very good, you got rid of the "E," now put the "S" back.

Head across the state and enjoy some easy dives in the Lauderdale area. You can do it quite easily on a day trip and including your drive across the alley it's not much longer (sometimes not as long) than a trip out in the Gulf. It's about a 2½ hour drive to diving in that area which is considered a short trip in Florida. BTW, Crystal River is closer to a 3½ - 4 hour drive.

When are you coming down? Nancy wants to hit Crystal River and we could possibly plan to snorkel it when you're here.

 

[Glock Diver]

Glad I found this thread....

Frogman- if you'll be in Ft Myers next weekend (Saturday 12/13) you might want to hook up with Captain Pete's Dive shop. They're planning a day trip up to Venice to dive for shark teeth. It's about an hour North of Ft Myers, and the only cost would be for equipment/tanks.

Matt- I see you're in Ft Myers Beach. I'm pretty new to the Ft Myers area, and would love to get out into the Gulf one of these days. So far I've been trecking East to Jupiter, Ft Lauderdale, Key Largo, etc., but I almost feel guilty for not diving my own backyard! Drop me a PM if you're putting any Gulf trips together!

 

[frogman159]

thanks for all the offers. I won't be in FL until the end of the month. And Crystal river is just a really far drive.

Thanks for all the info provided though

May have to plan another trip later in winter and hit some of the better spots in FL.

 

[matts1w]

Matt- I see you're in Ft Myers Beach. I'm pretty new to the Ft Myers area, and would love to get out into the Gulf one of these days. So far I've been trecking East to Jupiter, Ft Lauderdale, Key Largo, etc., but I almost feel guilty for not diving my own backyard! Drop me a PM if you're putting any Gulf trips together!

We are still figuring out how to handle our Gulf trips. Since the Nauti Gal/Headhunter Charters is no more, we are at a loss. Greg and Jeff had GREAT numbers and always put on on fish. Losing that charter company is a huge loss for us, but a big win for the grouper and snapper population... Ha!

Stay tuned.