[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by asonitez

Fishing

Hey Ron,
I'm heading down to the Daytona/Ormmond Beach area in April (8th to the 15th) - I'm expressly going to do as much Fishing as I could. Preferably the Canals and the Ocean.

I'm ok with going out on a party boat or something like that 1/2 of the days but I would much prefer doing some surf and jetty fishing.

Could you offer any suggestions for that area of Florida and what the game fishes might be?

asonitez, I'd love to help, and maybe somebody else here can jump in and offer suggestions, but I,m not a fisherman. In fact I have never been fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic and my only trips to Daytona have been to watch sports car races at the Speedway. Sorry I know nothing that can help.

Originally Posted by Moshahin

Amazing thread, thank you very much!!

I have a question, we are planning a trip in mid july (i realize all the humidity, heat, and weather issues). We were planning on staying in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and i was hoping to do a couple day trips to do snorckeling off the Keys. I have never been in the area, so i see by way of google maps it is just a 3 hour drive to Marathon, is this accurate given local traffic etc... Also, would you know of a few good spots in the northern side of the Keys?

I really do appreciate this thread, i was searching for a while for most of this information.

Moshahin, what kind of snorkeling do you want to do? There are lots of 90-120 minute charters that take people out to the big offshore reefs and then there is free, walk off the beach snorkeling which is my personal favorite. Both have advantages. The big reefs have some great corals and lots of tropical fish, it's pretty much what most people want to see and they are fun. We take a charter out to a big reef every year or two. But for me, I like to get really up close and personal when I snorkel. Off the beach you can be in shallow water (2' to 5' deep) where it's possible to reach out and touch things and pick things up (I highly recommend wearing dive gloves). The corals are small, except for the Gorgonians which can get 3' to 5' tall. The tropical fish are juvenile, but there are some big ball sponges (2' in diameter) and lots of other sponges. But under rocks you find a completely different world of serpent stars, emerald crabs, spaghetti worms, huge fire worms (be careful!), anemones, urchins, sea cucumbers and more!

There is Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo (very much in the Upper Keys and much shorter drive). They have boats that go out to several nice reefs, but their 'off the beach' snorkeling is awful IMHO.

There may be some worthwhile off the beach locations in the Upper Keys, but I'm unaware of them. Again maybe somebody else can offer advise. I'd take a look at Harry Harris State Park that may have some decent off the beach snorkeling.

Further down the Keys, just past Marathon, over the Seven Mile Bridge is Bahia Honda State Park and it has, IMHO, BY FAR the best off the beach snorkeling over acres of shallow water. They also have a charter boat that goes out to Looe Key on the big reef 5 miles out. I think it's one of the best. Just past Bahia Honda Key is Spanish Harbor Key which is where the Horseshoe is located. It's an old quarry which is deep inside but shallow around the outside with rubble rock everywhere. If you like being in shallow water and picking up rocks to look for and watch sea creatures, this is the best. However, there is very little coral or sponges here, it's mostly rocks covered with small sponges and some encrusting corals that don't look all that cool... unless you haven't seen much coral up close and personal in the ocean. Also, the Horseshoe offers some protection against waves, and we go there when off the beach someplace else is too choppy.

July is getting fairly hot, but that makes for more comfortable water temps. Have clothes that you can wear in the water that have long sleeves and long pants to help protect you from the sun (I wear an inexpensive dive skin... about $75 new). Also good water proof sunscreen for your head, face, neck and ears. Plan to snorkel in the morning as the afternoons often have spotty thunderstorms. A good app with weather radar on your smart phone can be a huge help to watch where far off storms you may see on the horizon are headed. July is unfortunately also getting into the hurricane season. But there are places to go and things to do in the area. My top 3 would be Aquarium Encounters, the Turtle Hospital and the History of Diving Museum.

Originally Posted by sam.basye

Ron, your collecting adventures always make me jealous!

Thanks for posting pics.

Hey Sam, it's a special kind of adventure as we only get to do it a few times a year when a strong cold front gets this far south. I'm especially lucky being retired so I can go in the middle of the work week if that's when the front happens to past through. And although it sounds like fun, going the the beach on a windy, 45 degree morning, with mostly overcast skies, in heavy clothing isn't as fun as it sounds! I want 85 degrees, a soft breeze and a bathing suit! I mean my fingers have become numb pulling sponges apart because it's so cold. But when we do find freebies to collect for our aquariums and we are likely saving most of these critters from certain death drying out on the beach!

But if you had told me last year that I would save a small shark that had washed up if rough water, I'd have said you were crazy. But in this photo I'm wearing a wet suit under my bluejeans and a long sleeve thermal undershirt under my flannel shirt and this is mid to late morning. Of course the other guy is a tourist and he thinks 45 degrees in the winter is warm. He's just happy he's not shoveling snow! [/QUOTE]