Friday is the last day of the regular lobster season and if you were thinking about heading to the Keys to get your last limit or two, you’re going to need to head for the backcountry.
Strong winds this week have churned the waters in the Keys, making for poor visibility under the water and bumpy boating getting to your dive spots.
Seas were rough in the Atlantic Ocean. A fishing trip Monday afternoon in 150-200 feet with Dave Bingham and Shawn Verne featured waves of 4-6 feet.
The trip did produce a sailfish and three bonitos drifting with live pilchards, but conditions were bad enough that Bingham said we needed to dive in the Gulf of Mexico to have any shot at catching lobsters on Tuesday.
Bingham said that this time of year, most of the bigger lobsters have left the Gulf for the Atlantic. But since diving in the ocean was out of the question given the seas and poor water clarity, we were going to take our chances out back.
After all, the two-day lobster miniseason isn’t until July 26 and 27 and the regular season opens Aug. 6, so it was now or never.
Even though the winds were about 10 knots, the Gulf was milky from strong winds over the weekend. At our first stop, there were a couple of tiny lobsters on a coral head in six feet of water, but it was impossible to see if there were any of the crustaceans underneath the head because the visibility was so poor.
At the next spot, the water was much clearer, but all the bugs we found were too small, their carapaces measuring less than 3 inches.
Then Bingham headed in his 17-foot Boston Whaler to an area 8-12 feet deep with clusters of coral and rock ledges. To our delight, they held plenty of lobsters, many of them keepers.
Although the visibility wasn’t great, Bingham was able to pick out the antennae of bugs hiding under the ledges. Once we dove down to the bottom, the lobsters were easy to see and to coax out into the open with our snares.
We had our six-lobster-per-person limit in short order. Along with a 16-inch hogfish that Bingham speared, that gave us the makings of a fine dinner with which to celebrate the end of lobster season.
‘Crazy’ Everglades fishing
Capt. Alan Zaremba of Hollywood reported “crazy fishing” in the Everglades for largemouth bass, peacock bass, oscars, Mayan cichlids, chain pickerel, spotted sunfish, bluegills and warmouths because of falling water levels in the canals.
He said his top lures were 4- and 5-inch Bagley Minnow B jerkbaits. “Soft-plastic baits will work,” Zaremba said, “but the little fish are tugging on all ends.”
Zaremba guided Dick Weinstein of Boca Raton and Tom Amik of Boston to more than 100 fish on an afternoon trip in the canals along the west side of U.S. Highway 27.
Howard Kalka of Long Island, N.Y., caught a total of 44 peacocks up to 5 pounds fly fishing with Zaremba for three days in the C-100, C-8, C-9 and G-15 canals.
Benefit Fish Fry
The seventh annual Fish Fry at Cardinal Gibbons High School is 6-9 p.m. Friday in the cafeteria. Choices include a fried farm-raised catfish platter with coleslaw, French fries and macaroni and cheese or a variety of seafood pasta dishes. The cost is $15. For an extra $10, diners can upgrade to snow crabs. Two executive chefs are preparing all the meals and Cardinal Gibbons students are the servers.
All proceeds benefit the United Special Sportsman Alliance, which provides hunting and fishing adventures for disabled and critically ill youngsters. There are also silent auctions, a 50/50 raffle, wine and beer, door prizes, music and a kid zone. Contact Tim Davis at davis@cghsfl.org or 954-914-5475.
License-free fishing
Saturday and Sunday are license-free fishing days for Florida residents and visitors who fish in fresh water. That means they do not have to purchase a fishing license to fish in freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers and canals. All seasons, bag limits and size limits still apply.
swaters@sun-sentinel.com, Twitter @WatersOutdoors
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