Florida Spiny Lobster Hunting - 2019

Love heading down to the keys and Hunting Lobster. The typical lobster season is from August 6th through March 31st, We head down to the Keys around the end of August and this year we had a great trip. I attached my goPro to my Net and go this good footage. I only went out two days and got 11 Lobster but the guys with me went out 4 and got 24 each.

It is rather simple once you know what you are looking for and if the water is clear it really helps. These were around Cudjoe key.

Pirates....and more

I found this one article about a pirate that is not very well known but supposedly hid treasure in the Cotee river. The section of this article is from this website. http://blog.saltysoul.com/2012/03/pirates-of-tampa-bay-fl/

"Louis dAury is hardly known in the pages of history, although the pirated millions of dollars in loot. A quantity of this plunder is still secreted on Floridas islands and beaches. Some of these treasure sites are in Seahorse Key, Honeymoon Island, Cotee River, Anclotte Key, Amelia Island, and Clearwater.

Louis dAury was born about 1707 in the coastal town of Calais, France. Like so many boys who grew up along the coast, his only prospect in life was fishing. However, dAury wanted more than that from life, so at the age of 15 he joined the French Navy. His first cruise aboard one of Napoleons ships was in the West Indies. Unfortunately, his ship tangled with a more formidable British Man-o-War and sank of the island of Martinique.

Young dAury was among the lucky sailors who were able to gain the safety if the islands shore. Later he signed aboard a merchant ship bound for New Orleans. At the time of his arrival, the notorious privateer, Jean LaFitte, was recruiting men for his ships, and dAury found a berth with him. He was eventually placed in command of one of LaFites ships.

Shortly before assuming command, dAury made several successful raids on Gulf Coast shipping, and before long had accumulated eleven chest of gold and silver, valued in the neighborhood of $14,000,000. In need of fresh water, he dropped anchor in Clearwater Bay on Floridas west coast.

Reasoning that his loot was too valuable to be carried aboard for long, dAury buried his eleven chests in the vicinity of a small spring located on a small bluff, near some oak trees to serve as markers.

In 1818, dAurys name suddenly dropped from history, and no details of his death are known. However, the search for dAurys hidden hoards still continues. Honeymoon Island on Floridas west coast near Dunedin, alone can boast of three treasure tales attributed to dAury. The first tells of a concrete cault supposedly loaded with pirates gold, silver, jewels, and other loot. The second purports that he buried three brass cannons crammed with loot near the northern end of Honeymoon Island. Another story relates that dAury secreted three chest near the islands north shoreline. An old ships anchor was alleged to mark the spot.

A romantic tale of another of dAurys hoards exists in New Port Ritchey, Florida. The old pirate was professed to have built a treasure vault in the bank of Pithlachascotte (Cotee) River just south of town. The way old-timers tell it, the entrance is accessible only by small boat when the tide is low. Otherwise the opening is covered by water."

I am looking to find more information about this pirate and his potential life around the Tampa Bay Area.

Key West Lobstering - Lobster Fest 2013

We headed down to Lobster Fest in Key West for the opening weekend of Lobster Season. The first thing we did was search for where to "Snorkel for Lobster in Key West" we had very few hits and searched for any information on where to go. Someplace close to shore, someplace that may have lobster. We weren't expecting much since we were new to lobstering and weren't really sure if we would catch ANY at all. We rented a boat from Spencer's Boat yard and for a very reasonable price we have a boat that could hold 12 people even thought we only had 7 it made it quite comfortable. The cool thing is we did find a few places to go right in the local area and not far away so we wouldn't burn much gas and would still have a chance to Snorkel and find Lobster. It was kinda rainy and cloudy but we had some sun which helped with the water clarity.

As you can see from the map that we only tried one area but we are sure there are many more locations and if you look at a GOOGLE MAPS satellite image and look at these locations you can see how the ledges look on the map and can possibly find many more.

I know this is a very simple post BUT If I would have had this info it may have helped US tremendously. The ledge is literally a square that was dredged and is now a ledge and looks very prominent. We saw many lobster holes as well as other fish, octopus and Barracuda, including Goliath Grouper and Lobsters. I believe this spot holds a lot of lobster but during the sportsman's mini season it is probably hit pretty hard.

Make sure you have your license, your dive flag, measuring device and a tickle stick. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Egmont Key

South of Ft. Desoto in the mouth of Tampa Bay is a small island that is only accessible by boat. You can catch the ferry off Ft. Desoto for $20 a person and it takes you to the island for the day depending on the year the schedule changes and for the most current information you may have to actually travel to the park to see the schedule. The typical schedule is departing at 10:00am and 11:00am and returning at 2:00pm or 3:00pm. There are other companies that will take you to Egmont key but you must remain within the parks designated areas since some of the southern beaches are all Bird Sanctuaries and the interior is designated as Wildlife Sanctuaries. The southern part of the island is a Bird Sanctuary and if visited by boat you should stay in the water to respect the birds that are nesting. There are walking tours and paths on the northern end of the island. In the summer the sand can be very hot. I am not sure if you can get to the South West of the island without a private boat or charter but if you can there are large cement Structures that once housed gun emplacements that were on the island. They have sense been partially consumed by the ocean and are visible in the water a good ways off shore. At times people have snorkeled around them and in the summer you will see people jumping off some of the rocks that are still in the water. On Egmont key there are ruins of the old Fort Dade which housed soldiers during the Spanish American War. Fort Dade is also listed as a Ghost Town at http://www.ghosttowns.com/ . You can walk around the ruins of this historic fort. It you want more info you can call 727-867-6569 or visit the official Egmont Key Ferry Website. http://www.hubbardsmarina.com/um/egmont.html

Caladesi Island

If you're looking for some secluded sand, and a beach that is not overly crowded and has some beautiful clear water then Caladesi is one of the best beaches in the Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater area. Island video. As a local we typically get to the beach from the Dunedin Causeway located right off hwy 19 on hwy 580 heading West. I recommend two options of getting to the island once you're ready to go.
1. From Dunedin Causeway itself you can rent a Kayak right from the beach and paddle over and it gives you a great experience and allows you to explore other areas that are right on the beach and along the intercostal waterway. $70 for a two person Kayak for the whole day.
2. From the West side of Dunedin Causeway you can take a ferry that departs on a regular basis, takes 20 minutes and you can stay up to 4 hours based on when you go. The trip is $14.00/person and kids 5 and under are free. Both options are very good and based on your situation you should check both out. I personally have never taken the ferry but have seen it go by and can be a very relaxing and easy beach going option. If you want a more connect with nature and freedom to explore experience you should try the Kayak and experience the beach and the closeness to the water. The waterway between Dunedin and Caladesi can be busy in the summer with boats and other water vehicles. The water in the winter and on windy days can be rough due to the pass between Honeymoon island and Caladesi. Once on the island there are long stretches of open sand and areas that are restricted due to bird sanctuaries so be mindful of the environment and take trash with you when you depart. Also there are no facilities on the island unless you take the Ferry across. But packing your own food, drinks and snacks is a good way to enjoy the island in a rather affordable manner and get away to a beach that is not busy and has some unique and beautiful views.

Hit the Beaches

Beaches around Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater are abundant
There is one thing about Florida we have Beaches. Some of the best ones
are listed in all the newspapers and articles that rate beaches every
year. We who live here don't put much stock in those "ratings" because
they are market driven, advertisement, travel promotions that sometimes
exaggerate and do not take into account "what" the beach looks like
today. One year North Ft. Desoto had the #1 rating.....well just so
happened we had a horrible red tide bloom that year and that entire
beach had dead fish on it and it smelled horrible, still an amazing
beach BUT it may have been a surprise if you would have shown up just to
see it.. SO here is what is happening right now on our beaches.
A lot of rain has made the beaches a pretty place to be the cloud cover
is making for some tremendously beautiful sunsets and some of the best
places to see the sunsets in Florida is on our beaches. Obviously we are
on the west coast of Florida so the sun sets over the ocean.

The beaches are in fantastic shape and the waters are nice a clear despite the rain
we have had all summer so far. Remember our summertime patterns for
weather here can be a little crazy from Hurricanes, to Thunderstorms,
heavy electrical storms to wind and blazing heat and humidity.
Clearwater beaches can never be a bad choice. All Along Gulf Blvd you
can find public access and multiple places to get to the water. Watch
illegal parking they love to write tickets to fine people for illegal
parking.
Tampa proper doesn't have many beaches per say unless you are talking
about the bay beaches along Gandy Blvd or 275 or Courtney Campbell
causeway those are local hangouts and can be an option but they do not
offer the full "turquoise" water and white sand experience but you can
find a lot more wildlife, fishing and birds at these locations. The one
of the most popular ones on these roads is the beach on the South East
side of the Courtney Campbell causeway (hwy 60).
St. Pete beaches are another good choice and they extend from Clearwater
down to Ft. Desoto which also has its own beaches and I will talk more
about it later and in my post "Ft. Desoto, Explore a Historic Fort in
our backyard."  St. Pete has St. Pete Beach and it also has John's Pass
a famous location for shopping and fishing charters and has some good
beach and site seeing right on the water.

These are all Beaches that offer the typical beach atmosphere. Sand,
People and long stretches slowly rolling waves and seashells. If you are
looking for a hidden secret that most people are not familiar with try a
more remote beach that just about anyone can afford to go to and is
accessible with just a short paddle of a kayak.  Caladesi Island is a
favorite island of mine and of many locals and it can be accessed rather
easily.  Check out my "Caladesi Island, A Beach by itself."

Joey's Pizza - Marco Island

Wanted to go out into town and have something different and maybe a little more affordable than the typical resort fair. So we heàded into town and foud Joeys. It was already 9:45pm so we thought it might be closed because the islands in southern Florida always seem to close early. But it was open and thankfully so. The restuàrant is decorated in an old Italian theme, The Waiters and Waitresses are all in black and they all seemed pretty attentive. I did not snap any pics but should have becuse the food was very appetizing looking. The Deep Dish stle pizza was about 3 inches think and looked huge. The hand tossed looked similar to a new york style and the Super Thin looked very crispy.
We ordered the hand tossed at the suggestion of the waitress because of the number of toppings we had the combination and she said if it was the thin crust it might not turn out as good. My Wife had a Beer and after being on the beach all day I needed just water. All in all the food came out fast, hot prepared as we wanted it and we never wanted for a drink. The bill came to under $30 for the small pizza (more like a medium, perfect for two to four people). I highly reccommend Joey's and hope to return to try some of the other items on the menu and the deserts.