Biotech Diver
Contributor
Has anyone done this dive in Venice Florida? Is there a high chance of finding megalodon teeth? I booked a dive for next month and was hoping someone here might have some good information on it.
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
I was afraid it might be over-hyped. Of course they show photos of people smiling and holding fossilized megalodon teeth but was wondering how likely it is to find them. I don’t want to drop over $300 (dive, hotel, gas to drive there, etc) for a meh experience.I've done it once. I don't recall the charter but I can find it in my log if you'd like to know. The dive was pretty meh. Once was enough. All I recall is attaching a reel to the mooring line and doing circular sweeps digging in rubble. I didn't find any teeth but a few pieces of bone. I found it very underwhelming but I know some people love it. To each their own. Let us know how you liked it!
I was afraid it might be over-hyped. Of course they show photos of people smiling and holding fossilized megalodon teeth but was wondering how likely it is to find them. I don’t want to drop over $300 (dive, hotel, gas to drive there, etc) for a meh experience.
I've done a bunch of tooth dives in Venice. Probably 15 shore dives and 6 or 8 boat dives. I've got a large collection of teeth but never personally found any Megs. Several times someone I've been diving with has found one. They're definitely still out there. Part of it is luck, part of it is being able to spot the corners. My buddy once pulled up a tooth bigger than her hand. Boat captain tried to offer her $100 for it. She ended up using it to help a friend make a mold for some really cool looking shark tooth soap.Has anyone done this dive in Venice Florida? Is there a high chance of finding megalodon teeth? I booked a dive for next month and was hoping someone here might have some good information on it.
I've been on 3 charters out of Venice. I have megs from all three trips. Not huge, 1" to 3" teeth, and they're pretty worn. I also have lots of bone fragments and tons of small teeth plus one whole mammoth tooth. But I did find a few meg teeth.
You need to remember that you're looking for a tooth that is millions of years old. Who knows how long the tooth has been out of the host rock. Most teeth have growth over their surface and they don't look like teeth at all. You might just see barnacles attached to something but when you touch it the something turns out to be a tooth.
I don't know which outfit you're diving with but most of the guys give a really good brief for what to look for. Listen to that brief. Focus on that brief. Think about what was said while you are diving. Check everything you see. The teeth can be really, really hard to see and identify. Your eye is not trained to look for these things and you'll need to train it. The brief helps a lot.
I really enjoy the dives there for the long bottom times and just the relaxation of being underwater. Do be ready for marginal viz, like 3' marginal. It can get worse in silty areas and a lot better at times. I'd guess average is 10 +/- feet. I hope to get back down there soon and do some shore dives in addition to a boat dive or two.
Also, last time we were there I took my non diving wife on one of the river trips that are offered where you canoe on the river and stop at gravel beds to dig and sift for fossils. We had a lot of fun doing that and it gets her into the hunting too.
Enjoy your trip and your dives.