Diving Off Hollywood & Dania Beach

Randy Docks with Black Grouper
My buddies, Randy Docks, David Docks, Ann Scutti, and I decided to try some deep diving today since lobster season is gone for another season. The seas were a whopping 6 to 12..... inches... and the weather man was correct for a change. We scooted South out of Port Everglades past the Dania Pier and decided to drop in for a look around. We ended up a bit deeper than 80 feet, but it was well worth the dive.

Our bottom time wasn't that impressive, but Randy skewered (literally, no pun intended) a 34-inch Black Grouper, that promptly cut his 400-pound monofilament shock cord and swam off. Luckily, Randy was able to track and subdue the catch as well as retrieve the spear shaft.

Just a short distance away, I picked up an 18.5-inch Yellow Tail Snapper. This was actually my first yellow tail as most of the fish we get close enough to are usually just at the legal mark. I'm too lazy to clean small fish, so I tend to let them swim on by. However, this one looked like it would be a nice meal or two. For the record, the Grouper in the photo is Randy's, I just borrowed it for a photo opportunity. :)

Our second dive was just burning off what was left of our first tank on some patch reefs off Dania Beach. Ann picked up a few nice hogfish, and we saw the largest Black Margate I have ever seen. He had to be 10 pounds or larger - nice fish! I'm not a big Margate fan so he's still out there.

Ann and I did a third dive on the Donal McCallister and the grouping of wrecks around it. There was no current whatsoever - What A Treat! We were able to hit all of the wrecks in the group and then go back to the McC to enjoy watching the monster Goliath Grouper who was hanging out inside the pilot house.

All in all, it was another fantastic day of diving here in South Florida!

Lobster Season Opened August 6

Lobster season officially opened on August 6th. We're finding lobster at just about every depth where there's structure. The weather has been great, the seas have been calm, and visibility has been phenomenal this summer.

One morning, the seas were glass calm and we were actually able to make the run from Port Everglades to Commercial Pier in less than 20 minutes (35 knots in our little 22 Center Console is blazing fast).

One of the real estate agents who works for me, Claudio, wanted to take a potential customer out on the boat for a quick lobster dive. When we pulled up to our favorite spot we could actually see a stainless steel washer laying on the bottom (shiny and new) at 35 feet while looking over the gunwale of the boat. Amazing!

We only did one dive that morning before we ran out of time and had to get back to work for some other appointments, but I limited out and only covered about 50 yards of reef. No photos this trip, but we had a great morning of diving!

I love being self-employed!

Happy diving!

--Branon Edwards
Real Estate and Mortgage Broker

Mini-Season: Day Two

Sorry for the delay in getting this one out.

Our second day of Lobster Mini-Season was not as productive as our first, but we still had a great day. We finished the day with 43 lobsters (53 on day one) with 8 divers. No single diver limited out for the day, but nobody went home empty-handed.

It seemed like the lobsters were a bit more skittish on Day Two than on Day One, which certainly makes sense. I don't know if anyone has studied lobster communication strategies, but they were much quicker about dashing into their dens they were previously.

Randy shot a very large black grouper that actually ran the shaft under a ledge and broke off the steel shaft like it was a twig. Needless to say, this was the big one that got away. We've marked the spot in the GPS and will be going back again for another try. We picked up a few fish here and there, but nothing else of serious note.

During our last dive, we were dropped on a good sized patch reef in between the second and third reef lines. I could tell we weren't on the third reef because of the depth and structure, so Pat and I decided to swim East toward the third reef once we ran out of reef on this spot.

I give solid kudos to Pat for actually trusting my judgement to make the long swim. We never made the reef, but as Pat was nearing the end of this tank, we came across a large piece of fiberglass laying on the bottom. Apparently, it was a chunk of a boat that had sunk somewhere nearby in years past. Not only are we the only two guys I know crazy enough to try to make the run, we're also the only guys I know who can find a 3-pound bug in the middle of the structureless 'dessert' between the two reefs. All in all a great day of diving!

Looks like it's going to be a good lobster season this year if mini-season is any indication.

Happy Diving!

--Branon