“A Much-Needed Break” by Wayne Nichols
How’s everyone doing? August in South Florida is about the same as living in Death Valley. Between the heat and humidity it’s just about unbearable to do daytime hunts this time of year and afternoon hunts often get rained out. Alligator egg collection season is still in full swing and that kinda work will flat out give you a heat stroke. It’s time for the Red Eye Safari’s crew to take a much needed break, so we’re off to the Keys for a different kind of hunting and our favorite time of the year, I’m talking about crustacean regulation!…LOBSTER SEASON! Fun for you and your crew or great for family outings! Now this is something to beat the heat, fun, relaxing, and put some great eating groceries in the freezer! This isn’t something that takes serious skill to achieve. Plenty of local guides offer dive trips for lobster or you can go out on your own. From coral heads and rock piles, bridges and ledges these guys aren’t too hard to find. With a lil practice and patience, you can quickly become a bug catching guru! All you really need is a mask and fins, net and tickle stick to catch them, and a dive flag for your safety so other boaters know you have people in the water.
Once located place your tickle stick gently under his tail and sweep forward slowly, normally he’ll walk right out to you. At this point place your net behind him and fold it down over his body pinning him to the ground. Make sure you’re wearing gloves as well. Our lobsters don’t have claws but do have several small “thorns” on them. Firmly grab his head at this point and measure him in the water, if he’s big enough, place him in your bag, if not release him and find another one and try again. Lobster like to hang out with their own, so usually you can catch a limit in one spot. Some ledges have hundreds in them while “Chuck holes” generally only have one or two, but they are normally big boys. The daily bag Iimit is 6 per person.
I always have a speargun ready while diving because hogfish and grouper haunt the same areas as lobster. It’s always nice to bag a few fish as a bonus and nobody at the dinner table is gonna complain! Make sure you wear sunscreen and drink plenty of water, you can dehydrate without even knowing it. While diving cools you off, it’s easy to forget that you are basically working out and you’re still in the sun.
If you find yourself in the Keys this season and need a little help or some pointers, or even just wanna say hi, feel free to hit us up, and share your pictures with us, 863-990-7650, Red Eye Safari’s on Facebook or web! We’ll be posting pics daily of our outings, good luck to everyone and stay safe!