Remember that an underwater hunt strains your body much more than a typical recreational dive.
If you do not exercise vigorously and frequently on land, do not dive if you are not fit for it. Do not hunt underwater.
Do not lobster hunt on your first dive. If you did not have a chance to make some dives before the mini-season, remember that full lobster season starts in August and lasts through March. Use the preseason time to refresh your skills and improve your fitness. By doing this, you will be ready for many safe lobster hunts during the regular season.
Lobster hunting is a serious dive operation, even at a depth of 10 ft (3m). Ensure that the diver in you maintains control over the hunter in you.
Remember, you caught nothing if you did not bring it to the surface and cook it.
For a more in-depth look at dive safety during the mini-lobster season, visit alertdiver.com.
The northbound lane of the 18-Mile Stretch connecting Key Largo to the mainland is now open, after being closed around the clock since June 18 for repairs.
After the northbound U.S. 1 closure caused a massive traffic jam for weekend visitors heading home June 21, the state Department of Transportation had mandated the road be opened from 10 a.m. to midnight this past Sunday. But it opened earlier, and is now fully open. “They were way ahead of schedule Sunday morning. This is great news,” says Abby Kelley, a spokeswoman for the project’s construction firm. She says some “loose odds and ends” work still needs to be done, but the lanes should stay open.
While the Stretch was closed northbound, traffic was detoured to Card Sound Road, the only other road leading into and out of the Keys. Tolls on Card Sound were suspended but are now being charged. “There is a bit more work for the contractor to do to smooth out some bumps so the [Stretch] meets our specifications,” said Charles Phinizy, a DOT project manager based in the Keys. “That work is to be accomplished late at night and any traffic can be routed on the shoulder around workers and equipment.
The northbound lanes closed June 18 so Granite Construction can repair an underground road divider that failed along the reconstructed U.S. 1.
10 AM to 12 Noon, Every Saturday & Sunday
Hurricane Monument @ 81.6 mm
(305) 879-0390
Agenda Summery
The tour is approx 6 miles, with frequent stops. This is not a race and we will go at a comfortable pace.
Bring your own bike. If you don’t have one, ask your concierge or contact Back Country Cowboy 305-517-4177 backcountrycowboy.com for rates.
The tour is free. If you would like, a donation will be collected for local youth sport program
Bring water and use sun screen.
A feller isn’t thinkin’ mean
Out fishin’;
His thoughts are mostly good
Out fishin’;
He doesn’t knock his fellow men
Or harbor any grudges then;
A feller’s at his finest, when
Out fishin’;
The rich are comrades to the poor,
Out fishin’;
All brothers of a common lure,
Out fishin’;
The urchin with the pin an’ string
Can chum with millionaire an’ king;
Vain pride is a forgotten thing,
Out fishin’;
A fellers glad to be a friend,
Out fishin’;
A helping hand he’ll always lend,
Out fishin’;
The brotherhood of rod and line
An’ sky an’ stream is always fine;
Men come real close to God’s design
Out fishin’;
The state apparently heard the loud rage against the machine — and on Monday, relented to a point.
Following a weekend in which northbound traffic out of the Keys was so backed up that it took hours just to get from Key Largo to Florida City, the Department of Transportation said it would open the northbound lane of U.S. 1 on the 18-Mile Stretch from 10 a.m. to midnight this coming Sunday. Initial plans had it open from noon to midnight. Read more »
With all traffic out of the Keys diverted because of work on the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1, residents and visitors ran into huge traffic jams stretching as far back as mid-Key Largo over the weekend.
On Saturday, traffic backed up on State Road 905 in the afternoon and evening.
On Sunday, the backup was worse, with traffic snarled from just north of mile marker 100 northbound. [that is 6 miles from the split between the stretch and SR 905 to Card Sound]
One resident reported a nearly two-hour delay while driving 7 miles on U.S. 1 in Key Largo around 5 p.m. Sue Sparkes said in a letter to the editor that it took 75 minutes to drive 10 miles on Key Largo.
Although officials promised access for businesses at the Jewfish Creek Bridge, on Friday evening a roadblock prevented vehicles coming from Key Largo to reach the access road to the businesses.
On Monday morning, traffic cameras showing Card Sound Road and U.S. 1 also were out of operation. {that’s odd]
KeysNet staff is gathering information on the traffic situation. Updates will be posted as soon as they are available.
Gov. Charlie Crist has proclaimed June 27-July 3 as Dive Flag Awareness Week. “It’s time folks pay attention to what a divers-down flag means and to ’steer clear,’ and divers need to make sure they present their flags according to the laws,” said Lt. David Bingham, a state Fish and Wildlife Commission watch commander.
A divers-down flag is red with a white diagonal stripe, at least 20 inches by 24 inches, and flown at a high point, observable 360 degrees around a vessel. A divers-down flag towed on a float must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches. Both flags must have stiffeners to hold them open. All vessels must make a reasonable effort to stay at least 300 feet away from the flags in open water or 100 feet away within a river, inlet or channel. Within those prescribed distances, a vessel may operate but must be at idle speed. For more, go to myfwc.com.
During Dive Flag Awareness Week, enforcement details will be expanded around the state with radar guns, and they will issue warnings and citations. “With bay scallop and spiny lobster season just around the corner, we really want to emphasize the importance of engaging all safety precautions.” Bingham said. “If you’re diving, display a flag. If you’re boating, look for the flag.”
In other issues at this week’s FWC meeting in Crystal River:
Monroe County waters were exempted from a new reduction on recreational shallow-water grouper harvests in the Gulf of Mexico. The aggregate daily bag limit for grouper species in the gulf will drop from five fish to four, in accord with new federal rules.
State waters of Monroe County generally are managed to conform with South Atlantic federal rules, Schlesinger noted.
A Feb. 1 to March 31 closed season for all recreational harvest of shallow-water groupers (gag, black, red, yellowfin, scamp, yellowmouth, rock hind and red hind) in gulf state waters also will not apply in Monroe County.
Bonefish are just too valuable to waste, say fishing advocates. “Bonefish are a resource we need to protect, and we have not been minding the store,” said Jerry Ault, a University of Miami expert in fish populations.
Staff biologists with the state Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will make a presentation on bonefish to the FWC board at its Thursday meeting in Crystal River. On the table: Making it a no-take species, with possible exceptions. “We have been asking for the state to essentially make bonefish a catch-and-release species,” said Aaron Adams, a researcher and director of operations for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.
Bonefish are stealthy, fast-swimming fish that are challenging to catch.
A study by Ault’s UM research team calculates that a single bonefish may generate $3,600 to the Florida economy in a year from recreational interests, and up to $75,000 over the fish’s natural lifespan of 20 or more years. Florida has an estimated bonefish population of 300,000 to 321,000, mostly limited to the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay shallows, according to reports.
by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels
I’d often driven by Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, but had never stopped. During a recent trip to Key West, determined to rectify that oversight, I carved out a couple of days on the end of my trip, specifically for beach time.
Bahia Honda contains three separate beaches, each of which is completely different from the others. Caloosa Beach is tucked into a gentle cove at the foot of the old Overseas Railway trestle at the southern end of the park. A portion of the old bridge has been maintained as an elevated walkway that offers spectacular views of the beach and inlet. Caloosa is popular with families because restrooms, a snack bar, and ample parking are all located adjacent to the crescent.
At Loggerhead Beach, located in the center of the park, a submerged sandbar emerges at low tide. Sunbathers deposit coolers and perch folding chairs on these exposed sand hills and wade far out into the shallow aqua water to search for shells and sea glass. At low tide, the amazingly clear waters of Loggerhead Beach recede to reveal half a mile or more of sandbar flats.
