The Sharks of Palm Beach County

[mscott556]

December 6, 2014 - Lemon Drop 3
Lemon - 12
Tiger - 1

We finally got back to the lemon spot after getting blown out the last few weeks and it didn't take long for the sharks to show up. Some say we had 12, I saw 10. A big tiger also swam by to take a glimpse at us but wasn't interested in hanging around. Seas were around 2-3 for most of the morning, no current, vis 60+, 75deg.

 

[mscott556]

December 20, 2014 - Lemon Drop 3
Lemon - 12-15
Nurse - 2

Winter is heating up!





December 21 - Juno Ledge & Corridor Wrecks
Reef - 3
Nurse - 1
Lemon - 1

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Some friends of mine were on the Calypso Sunday; being back up north for Christmas week I was unable to attend. One thing I noted in the pics and vids was that where they were diving, they had a mixed-gender batch of male and female lemons. I checked in with Cameron on the Emerald and the Bonaire is apparently still a girls-only affair. Something to make note of, I guess.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Are these concentrations being seen on the feeding dives, or is the winter migration starting? I would like to get out with Maribi to see them. Is Lemon Drop 3 a feeding spot or just a regular shark dive?

Thanks,

 

[mscott556]

Lemon Drop 3 is a shark feeding spot. The numbers do seem to be increasing though.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Are these concentrations being seen on the feeding dives, or is the winter migration starting? I would like to get out with Maribi to see them. Is Lemon Drop 3 a feeding spot or just a regular shark dive?

Thanks,

I am curious about the layout of the Lemon Drop; I take it from the number suffix that there's more than one part to the site. I've heard in the past that the Lemon Drop, Jupiter Wreck Trek, and Center Street/Mike O's are all in fairly close proximity to each other. I've seen lemons on non-baited dives in the past on Center Street, which I believe is just inside state waters. It might not be far enough away from the baiting for Guy.

The other spot where in the past I've seen lemons during the aggregation is Governor's Riverwalk, which is typically a sharky spot anyway. Ocean Quest Scuba and Narcosis probably keep good tabs on where to find them on non-baited dives. Narcosis had lemons on a Lemon Drop dive on December 6.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Thanks both Mscott and Halcyon. I do not need to be "far" away, just enough so the sharks are not approaching actively looking for a handout and are engaging in natural unstimulated activity. I guess these spots, with just regular divers, would be OK if no food was in the water and no feeding had recently taken place.

Halcyon, you should also try the MG-111. Two years ago I saw 15 there on one dive with Capt Sl8r. Behavior was very typical, the sharks would circle the area and re-appear about every 5-10 minutes. Pretty standoff-ish but if divers stayed still they would swim close by. Had a hard time with idiot photographer who kept trying to chase the sharks to get close enough for fisheye-shots, and kept spooking them away, but I finally persuaded him to stop.

 

[mscott556]

Lemon Drop 1 and 2 aren't actually used anymore and 3 is a good distance from any "recreational" dive sites (#1 was where the operators were ticketed for feeding inside the state line).

December 23
Deep Ledge
Bull - 10-12



Bonaire Wreck
Lemon - 7
Nurse - 2

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Thanks both Mscott and Halcyon. I do not need to be "far" away, just enough so the sharks are not approaching actively looking for a handout and are engaging in natural unstimulated activity. I guess these spots, with just regular divers, would be OK if no food was in the water and no feeding had recently taken place.

Halcyon, you should also try the MG-111. Two years ago I saw 15 there on one dive with Capt Sl8r. Behavior was very typical, the sharks would circle the area and re-appear about every 5-10 minutes. Pretty standoff-ish but if divers stayed still they would swim close by. Had a hard time with idiot photographer who kept trying to chase the sharks to get close enough for fisheye-shots, and kept spooking them away, but I finally persuaded him to stop.

Nice, I'll keep the MG-111 in mind. I saw a good number of lemons at Mike O's last February (as I called it, my annual "to hell with that day that shall not be named" dive) with Narcosis, and at their behavior was a lot like you described - coming in but definitely not wired up. I didn't get any real good close-ups. Same with that dive on Riverwalk back in 2006 - we estimated a dozen lemons, but they were coming in and out of visual range and not getting particularly close.

I think I've heard even the Wreck Trek is alright when the Food Guys aren't in; I don't recall hearing of anyone getting harassed during the goliath aggregation. I did talk to one woman who went out with JDC at the time and unwittingly parked herself right on the feeding spot off the stern; she had a few lemons look her over at close range but they evidently realized she didn't have food.

 

[ceparker14]

Dove the Play Pen outside of West Palm with Jim Abernathy's crew this past week. Came across a 8-9' nurse underneath the barge. Unfortunately my underwater photography skills are nothing compared to the others' I've seen on this thread and I was limited to a stock GoPro.