Venice Beach shark tooth / fossil dive

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kelemvor

Big Fleshy Monster
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Location
Largo, FL USA
# of dives
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A group of scubaboarders met for a tooth hunt dive off Venice Beach today. We met at Service Club Park in Venice, FL, USA. We were lead by @mermaid0sea as she's a regular tooth hunter and has the most experience with this site.

We met at 10:30am and found a most excellent day for diving. We had a nice breeze topside, and glassy seas on the water. It really doesn't get too much better as far as weather goes. The water was warm enough that it was dive skins only.

We met at a covered picnic table, and after saying hello we geared up and did some diving! The visibility was pretty average for this site at 5-10 feet. There was lots of whale snot in the water today (I don't know what the stuff really is, but everyone calls it whale snot). We paired up and hit the water. One pair had to end the dive early due to a gear malfunction, but other than that it was a good and productive day. My wife and I managed to get sunburns on our faces, probably on the swim back to shore.

The dive is basically done like this. Head down the wooden path and then stairs to the beach. Get in the water, and swim out about 500 feet from shore. 350-400 would probably be just fine, it's a rough estimate. Descend (it's around 20' deep) and look for teeth. If you're not sure how to look for shark tooth fossils, there are many helpful youtube videos on the subject. Don't swim too far south and get near the Venice pier. There's an ordinance against it and you can get fined. Also, lots of fishing line/hooks in the water anyway.

Today was my wife, @JSweat 's first time here. We were also joined by @ROXANNE @cardzard @Chris of the Abyss @jsisemore and @Cownose Rachel .

@JSweat and I found 32 teeth, but no megs. I didn't get a count of what everyone else found.

Afterwards, lunch at Sharky's on the Pier.

Other than the gear problem, it was a great day to dive.

Here's my haul, and a group photo for the day:



Thanks, everyone for making it a fun day - especially @mermaid0sea for organizing and guiding us!
 
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Wave above your site to clear silt and sand and TOUCH EVERYTHING!!! I DM'ed for megalodon charters in venice in the past and that's about the best advice I can give you for fossil technique. You should also be as far as safely possible from your buddy to prevent fouling up the visit even more and a bit over weighted for ease of work. Also look for crab holes and rows and nests. Any animal will toss debris out when making its home and a big Meg is often a piece of said debris and the rows deposit treasure in their valleys fairly often too. Happy hunting. Dive safe.
 
Nice report. I'm gonna have to do that dive. Our son now lives in the Venice area, so I see more trips south in our future.
 
Venice is FULL of fossils. Don't just target the megs. Sloth claws and mammoth teeth among others (she'll castings and the like) are abundant. Definitely a fun hobby. I'm more a spear than anything else but fossil diving is remarkably rewarding activity.
 
We had a great time. Maybe we should plan a boat trip for next time. We'll need to see who would be interested.
We have a boat trip to the area planned for 9/11. Unfortunately, it's only a 6-pack and we've got a full boat. Maybe we could check out Megalodon Charters that @Reef_Rat mentioned. Their boat appears to be larger.

Hey, @Reef_Rat - If you're still in touch with the guys from Megalodon, tell them their website is messed up. The site prompts visitors for a userid/pw on the home page.
 
We didn't find a lot this time, but there were some really pretty teeth and lots of stingray mouthplates in the bunch. It was great to see everyone, and we can't wait to do it all again!
 
Kelemvor I will call the captains (Dan or Steve) and see what's up with the website and let you know. Yes we have a larger boat than anyone else in town who only run 6 packs. Google Megalodon Charters or Florida West SCUBA. It should put you in touch with Steve (owner) so you can set up your trip. Dan, Steve, and Bruce are extremely professional and you can't have a bad day diving with them.
 
Dan and Steve are 100ton USCG captains and Dan has 30+years Army Special Forces dive experience and Bruce is an EMT and instructor. They are the most skilled crew I have ever gone down with. You won't regret diving with Florida West SCUBA.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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