Keys dive report: a mystery solved!

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Chuck Price

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Messages
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Location
Tavernier, FL
# of dives
100 - 199
Greetings, all -

I've mentioned before how I found a 'secret spot' about a half-mile southwest of Pickles Reef. I had gone out to Pickles three times over a few weeks and every time there was a dive boat (with dive flag a'flyin') parked over the spot. It was clearly beyond the reef's boundary, so it was a mystery what the divers had found.

Someone suggested it might be a wreck, but a fairly thorough search for wrecks in the area didn't turn up a thing. Someone else suggested it might be a lobster den, but I talked to two old 'bug divers' and they dismissed it outright for a couple of reasons. The mystery remained.

So there I was the other night having dinner with a local divemaster and his girlfriend. I asked them what their favorite dive spots were, and he told me about this off-the-beaten-path mini-reef. He made it sound pretty spectacular. There's a bowl in the middle of the coral bed about six feet across and he said it looked like that first scene in 'Finding Nemo', of all the neighborhood fish. A real "one of everything" bed of activity. There are also huge schools of baby fish circling the bowl (or at least when a diver's inside of it) and the whole thing sounded pretty amazing.

I asked him where the site was.

"Oh, about a half-mile southwest of Pickles Reef."

Mystery solved!

I brought some divers out there a few days later and, sure enough, it was everything he said, and more. There are actually three small bowls, each with its own 'Finding Nemo' scene taking place.

And one of the divers noted how unusual it was to see lobster and crab around a dive reef. As might be expected, any such critters around a regular reef have long gone into the stew pot, but these divers saw a lobster that was about 4" thick and a mega-crab that was half a yard wide. Throw in the nurse sharks and barracuda and it was quite a day all around.

As far as the regular reefs go, the latest hot spot is Hens & Chickens. We went out there one day and the guy said four tanks wouldn't have covered it. It's not particularly large, but it's full of goodies and takes a while to get through. It's also somewhat unique, in that most of the regular reefs are five miles out and right on the dropoff, so the seas can get a bit choppy, but Hens & Chickens is a couple of miles inshore so everything's much calmer.

And if you've been thinking of diving the Keys, now's the time. The nasty summer heat and humidity are gone but the days are still warm and balmy. September and October are truly our best months.

Happy divin',
Cap'n Chuck
Premiere Charter
 
Thnx for the update. Feel free to pm me the gps(lol)
 
Thnx for the update. Feel free to pm me the gps(lol)

Heh. I was wondering if anyone would notice that I accidentally left out the name and location. It actually does have a name and there is a single mooring ball there, so somebody knows about it, but I've never seen the name on any map. And I did a fair amount of research getting this shindig ready.

If you're serious about going there, I'll be glad to let you know the location privately. Please have your credit card number handy. :)

Chuck
 
That would be Snapper Ledge, of course; one ball and about one click SW of Pickles. Easy to find. Most of the local dive ops go there on a somewhat regular basis. Ocean Divers several times a week. The down side is that the one ball is frequently taken. It's often the second dive so the 10:30-11:30 time frame is real iffy. Scuba Do had it last time I was with Conch Republic Divers so we had to go elsewhere. VERY nice site. Jeff (HMS Minnow) gets out early so he gets it when he wants it.
 
That would be Snapper Ledge, of course; one ball and about one click SW of Pickles. Easy to find. Most of the local dive ops go there on a somewhat regular basis. Ocean Divers several times a week. The down side is that the one ball is frequently taken. It's often the second dive so the 10:30-11:30 time frame is real iffy. Scuba Do had it last time I was with Conch Republic Divers so we had to go elsewhere. VERY nice site. Jeff (HMS Minnow) gets out early so he gets it when he wants it.

We were there last week and had a very nice dive. There are actually 2 balls but the second one is not in a great spot IMHO
 
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