Trip Report one day in hollywood beach

[bassplayer]

i'm in transit from Key Largo to Juno Beach, figured i'd stop over in Hollywood beach to check it out a bit.
really enjoyed doing a couple of shore dives here today: yellow brick road, and perry st rocks.

visited yellow brick road around 9:30 am. i saw lobsters, and i saw what looked like novice lobster hunters, but i never saw the two parties meet. I found a dropped lobster tickler/snare on my way out of yellow brick road, let me know if you lost one.

at one point on yellow brick road, i was admiring a busy cleaning station and general hangout point packed with fish when all the life suddently disappeared into hidey holes or took off. I looked around, expecting doom, and sure enough there were shapes coming out of the fog, but fortunately it was only a thundering herd of divers.

was a little funny to watch them blast by at high speed, finning vigorously against the bottom, and coming within inches of me where i was hovering peacefully. i wonder if they thought there were no fish today (or ever)? and i wonder why dive mobs tend to ignore personal space? perhaps the members are afraid of getting separated and picked off

i went to perry st rocks at around 3:30 pm. i was the only dive flag there, and ran into a few nurse sharks just laying in the open so guessing it's fairly peaceful there. i went out to the east edge and followed it north for a good distance but never found the north edge, if there is one. i was menaced by a large tarpon that kept circling, and found a few big crabs roaming around looking busy. i saw a small sea turtle with only one front limb but it seemed to be doing ok. a lot of trigger fish gave me a look but nothing too aggressive from them. overall a very enjoyable visit.

i was impressed with these dives, i really can't say at this point where in SE florida i would want to live to have the best shore diving access.

 

[NothingClever]

i saw lobsters, and i saw what looked like novice lobster hunters, but i never saw the two parties meet.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Welcome to Hollyweird, you hit two of my fav spots. YBR holds a special place in my heart. Did a solo dive there on Thursday, and yeah, so much better watching the fish and all when there are not mobs of divers. There is a particular fish there, and if you are really quiet, and take your time, it may show up. Never seen it if there are more than two of us.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Oh saw a video from today of a group of divers on YBR. They looked like a mess. Not nearly as bad though as what I've seen at the bridge.. everyone in this group seemed to have a gopro on a stick, or a big knife with assorted lobster gear.. UGh..

 

[bassplayer]

Welcome to Hollyweird, you hit two of my fav spots. YBR holds a special place in my heart. Did a solo dive there on Thursday, and yeah, so much better watching the fish and all when there are not mobs of divers. There is a particular fish there, and if you are really quiet, and take your time, it may show up. Never seen it if there are more than two of us.

I really liked the dives, wish it was a little easier to get back and forth from lauderdale by the sea - i'm picturing a private tunnel:

 

[Rob9876]

Are either of those dives tide-dependent or can you basically dive them at any time?

 

[bassplayer]

Are either of those dives tide-dependent or can you basically dive them at any time?

the advice i got was that you can dive them at any time, and that the more important factors are 1) current sea conditions (calm enough to get out and back) and 2) recent weather and conditions (affecting viz)

hopefully one of the local experts will comment though

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Yes, what bassplayer said. Check out the beach cams, www.sunny.org shows LBTS, and there are links to Hollywood's beach cams, and Dania Beach. All three will give good indications of current conditions. Generally speaking it is usually better in the morning, though I have had decent dives later in the day. Neither site, or any beach site in Broward county is tide dependent.
Biggest issue with diving these sites is parking, especially Yellow Brick Road. I've gotten there at 6am and there is no street parking. UGH.. I refuse to pay the private parking rates and will dive elsewhere.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You were the “dive bum for a year,” if I’m not mistaken. Isn’t it great to enjoy the simple things in life, like Florida diving.

 

[bassplayer]

You were the “dive bum for a year,” if I’m not mistaken. Isn’t it great to enjoy the simple things in life, like Florida diving.

that's right - since i got back to the usa i've been hanging around in SE florida exploring the different areas. i really like the idea of living somewhere with shore diving and the ability to do a bit of lobstering and spearing.
for now, just landed in Juno Beach for the month, hoping to see a lot of groupers