After nearly a four-month closure, local divers are eagerly anticipating Florida’s annual lobster mini season on July 29-30.
The two-day sport season, which is the
last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday
in July, is the first opportunity for recreational divers to catch lobsters since the regular season closed on April 1.
Being able to once again gather the main ingredients of a delicious seafood dinner is a big deal, but the mini season is extra special for two additional reasons.
With both the recreational and commercial seasons having been closed for so long, lobsters are generally more abundant during the mini season. They’re also typically less wary than when divers are poking and prodding them with snares, tickle sticks, and nets every day.
Another reason to love mini season in Broward and Palm Beach counties: The daily bag limit is 12 lobsters, or bugs, per person, which is double the regular season limit. (The mini season limit in the Florida Keys and Biscayne National Park is six bugs per person per day. Visit myfwc.com/fishing/ saltwater/recreational/lobster.)
Preparing for the mini season is essential, so now is the time to make sure you and your dive gear are in good condition. Especially if you’re one of those divers who only dives during the mini season.
Divers should bring their equipment to a dive shop to have everything checked out. That includes regulators and BCs (buoyancy compensators), which should be serviced annually. Hoses should be inspected for cracks and tears that could cause leaks.
Even the straps on fins and masks should be examined. It’s always distressing for a diver to get in the water during mini season and have a broken fin or mask strap end the dive before the first bug is bagged. So it’s also a good idea to carry spare straps in your dive gear bag.
Some equipment failures can be deadly, such as a BC that won’t inflate, which could send a diver plummeting to the bottom and not allow the diver to get back to the water’s surface. Likewise, a leaky air hose could cut short a diver’s bottom time or lead to panic, and worse, when the diver realizes he or she is out of air.
The earlier you get to a dive shop this month, the better. Some stores have cutoff dates to service equipment. Those divers who wait until the last minute to bring in their gear, even if just to fill their air tanks, will likely have to sit out the mini season and wait until the regular lobster season opens on Aug. 6 to hunt for lobsters.
Another way to make sure you and your gear are ready for the mini season, especially if you haven’t been in the water in a while, is
to go diving. That way you can re-acquaint yourself with your equipment and proper dive procedures. If any gear issues arise, you can get them addressed.
Diving before the mini season is also a good way to locate lobsters, which hide in coral reefs and rockpiles and under ledges. Jim “Chiefy” Mathie of Deerfield Beach, who has been spearfishing on a regular basis since the lobster season closed, said he and his dive buddies have seen plenty of lobsters, which should make for a successful mini season.
Things can always change based on weather and water conditions, sometimes for the better.
“I remember one year, we went to one of our regular spots the Monday before mini season and if we counted 12 lobsters, that was a lot,” Mathie said. “Come Wednesday morning, it was loaded. We got our seven-man limit of 84.”
A retired Deerfield Beach fire chief, Mathie is the author of “Catching the BUG: The Comprehensive Guide to Catching the Spiny Lobster,” which covers everything from finding to cooking lobsters. The softcover book is available for $24.95 at local dive shops and at chiefy.net and online retailers.
One of Mathie’s tips in the book is to send two divers down to check out a potential lobster hotspot. If the spot is loaded with bugs, the diver towing the dive flag will yank on the line attached to the flag so the divers still in the boat know that there are plenty of lobsters for them.
Another good lobster-hunting tip: If you’re not seeing bugs, but you see lionfish, take a closer look. Lionfish often hang out around lobsters, which might not be readily apparent if they’re hiding deep in a hole in a reef.
In addition to diving before the mini season arrives, those who are new to diving might want to book a mini season trip with an experienced dive operator. Those trips tend to fill up early, so the sooner you call, the better your chances of reserving a spot on a charter dive boat.
By Steve Waters