Fruits of the sea

[SuPrBuGmAn]

... could be Trysler Grounds(sp?), they're 25-30 miles out of Orange Beach.

 

[Florabama]

... could be Trysler Grounds(sp?), they're 25-30 miles out of Orange Beach.

Could be. The T-Grounds is a great site, and its loaded with fish and lobsters, but its kinda deep at 120-140 ft and there's very little relief, so a dive there is a pretty flat profile. I dove it once and got away from the anchor. It's so big, it's easy to get lost, and I did chasing a big grouper. Had to make a free ascent. Came up 200 yds from the boat. If you're going to dive it, it would be a good idea to use a reel and attach to the anchor, but if you do, it could be very rewarding.

 

[Tom Smedley]

The site that I was talking about is Trysler Grounds. The lobster out there were huge and plentiful. I have also found several keepers in shallower wrecks. Back in the early 90s there was no season law or at least they didn't enforce it. We did honor the short and gravid female rule though.

Because of the depth and logistics required for decent dives on Trysler grounds there were few out looking for them. I think that the ledge is 20 miles due south from Perdido Pass.

 

[Florabama]

The site that I was talking about is Trysler Grounds. The lobster out there were huge and plentiful. I have also found several keepers in shallower wrecks. Back in the early 90s there was no season law or at least they didn't enforce it. We did honor the short and gravid female rule though.

Because of the depth and logistics required for decent dives on Trysler grounds there were few out looking for them. I think that the ledge is 20 miles due south from Perdido Pass.

I don't know of anyone that dives the T-grounds regularly, but it is loaded. It's funny because my son and I were just talking about how we could dive it safely. I fished on it just after snapper season opened in April, and it was loaded. The fish were so thick, it looked like there were two bottoms on the bottom machine. We loaded the boat with snapper, triggers and one red grouper.

The only problem for diving it is the depth and the profile. Where we were fishing was 130 ft with no relief. So, a trip to the bottom looking for lobster would be spent all at 130 ft. Its definitely doable but needs some planning.

 

[Quetzal]

nitrox 30 percent 16min bottom time. longer if your willing to deco a little. I wanta go!

 

[Florabama]

nitrox 30 percent 16min bottom time. longer if your willing to deco a little. I wanta go!

Mini season starts the last weekend in July. If you want to go, I can set it up with the dive boat that I use regularly. Probably cost $100 a piece for a trip that far out, but we could come back in a make some shallower dives, or have a little surface interval and go back down on the T-grounds.

 

[Florabama]

I thought all lobster were protected out of season... correct me if I am wrong.

http://myfwc.com/marine/history/LOBSTER-SPINYANDSLIPPER.htm

EDIT: That looks old. On the 2005 Regulations it only specifies spiny lobster as protected.

http://marinefisheries.org/Regulations/Regschart2005.pdf

I found the response the FWC sent me about shovel nose lobster.

Here it is:

Good Afternoon Mr. Adams,

Thank you for your e-mail to the Division of Marine Fisheries
Management. The shovel nose, or slipper lobster, species in which you
are referring does not have an established limit in the State of
Florida. However, the Florida Administrative Code (FAC) states that the
harvest of egg-bearing females is prohibited. For species that do not
have an established bag limit, more than 100 pounds or 2 per person per
day (which ever is greater), is considered commercial quantities. A
saltwater products license and commercial vessel registration is
required to harvest commercial quantities of unregulated species. This
information is published in the Florida Recreational Saltwater Fishing
Regulations Newsletter and is viewable online at
http://myfwc.com/marine/lines.htm.
Also, please be aware that there are certain regional limitations
associated with lobster species. Should you be in the Florida Keys, you
will need to refer to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
guidelines for harvest. They are accessible on the internet at
http://www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov/ and the current brochure on the harvest
of lobster in the keys is available at
http://myfwc.com/marine/2003_Lobster_Brochure.pdf.
Also, there may be additional gear restrictions applied in certain
regions. For further clarification, please contact the local DLE office
for a region. The contact information for the FWC DLE is available at
http://myfwc.com/law/FWC-DLE_map2.JPG. For full text rule, please visit
the FAC online at http://fac.dos.state.fl.us/ and reference Chapter
68B-24 and 68B-11 for Lobster.

I hope that this information is of use to you. Please feel free to
contact me should you require further information.

Thank you,

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Division of Marine Fisheries Management
(850) 488-6058
Visit us at MyFWC.com

 

[Quetzal]

Mini season starts the last weekend in July. If you want to go, I can set it up with the dive boat that I use regularly. Probably cost $100 a piece for a trip that far out, but we could come back in a make some shallower dives, or have a little surface interval and go back down on the T-grounds.

Sent you a PM.