Blue Heron Bridge Trolls

[jimw]

Lorenzoid,

I can usually find Pura Vida and Force E BHB night dives listed under Events on their Facebook pages. Call in the few weeks before the dive to sign up or simply show up at the store the day of the dive to sign waivers and get a parking pass. Sometimes the various dive shops do night dives on different nights so you could do 2 nights in a row. btw, there are a number of other shops who do night dives, but usually only 2 nights fit within the requirement that divers are out of the park by 10PM and darkness during the dive. The first part of the dive is often during daylight depending on the season. Winter=darker earlier. There is a lot of ambient light from the bridges, etc.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Lorenzoid,

I can usually find Pura Vida and Force E BHB night dives listed under Events on their Facebook pages. Call in the few weeks before the dive to sign up or simply show up at the store the day of the dive to sign waivers and get a parking pass. Sometimes the various dive shops do night dives on different nights so you could do 2 nights in a row. btw, there are a number of other shops who do night dives, but usually only 2 nights fit within the requirement that divers are out of the park by 10PM and darkness during the dive. The first part of the dive is often during daylight depending on the season. Winter=darker earlier. There is a lot of ambient light from the bridges, etc.

The "few weeks before the dive" is kind of vague, but I guess there is no set amount of time, or you people would know what it is. I want to do the night dive on Monday June 1, high tide being 8:30 pm. Official sunset is 8:08 pm, so I assume the park will be closed to anyone without a permit by the time the dive is over.

I will be in N. FL over the weekend of May 30-31, so I looked at the tides for BHB to see whether the timing was good for a side trip down. I saw that it was good timing for the night dive I had long wanted to do. But before I make the drive down, I want to be certain I'm "on the list." What I would really like to do is the night dive on June 1, then dive again the morning of June 2, high tide being 8:33 am. Maximum BHB time!

 

[WetLens]

Pura Vida has a BHB night dive on the calendar for Monday, June 1st. I have never signed up in advance. Simply make a stop at the shop sometime the day of the dive, register, sign waivers, and get a dashboard pass that allows parking at Phil Foster Park after dark (and until 10:00pm). Pura Vida does close at 5:00pm. Force E stays open later, but not sure if they have pulled a permit.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Okay, the presumption underlying my posts was that the dive shops limit the number of divers, and that seems to be incorrect. In that case, I guess I'm good. Thanks.

 

[djtimmy77]

There were over 100 divers at the night dive 2 weeks ago. The individual shops don't limit the number of divers, and generally there are multiple shops (not exclusive to Force-E and PVD) that bring people to the night dives, especially in the summertime. Fortunately there are places you can go to get away from the crowds haha.

 

[Lorenzoid]

100 divers in the water?! Don't they stir up the bottom? Is it really worth the hassle? While it would be great to "get away from the crowds," I'd like to be with a group so that more knowledgeable people can point out things I would have overlooked.

 

[jet126]

Been a little froggy lately

Thought I'd surprise you all and post something other than my usual seahorse pics. Two shots of Blackie, otherwise all different fish, all taken within the past week.

 

[TightLines]

Jet - excellent finds and thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[chris.evans]

Anyone have a parking permit for diving tonight? We are macro photogs in town 2 days. Will do night/morning/night. The LDS we contacted was unable to get us a permit, I am unsure if they ticket cars with no permit in window. We have night dove bhb maybe 6 times. (all with parking permit)

Cheers!

 

[chris.evans]

I didn't have a permit to park, the only person that spoke to me was someone from a LDS. He pulled up, asked me if I was permitted, and told me that police will ticket 75 dollars for each person in the vehicle, tow your car, AND can confiscate your dive gear. I am sure all those things *could* happen, but I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the same LDS that, when I called to ask for a permit, they told me it would be 100 dollars for a guide who 'doesn't even have to be in the water'. LOL

I spoke to others who have been night diving without a permit, seems that the fishing pier is open till 10, how would an officer know if a parked car is fishing or diving.. ::shrug:: When we left at 11, many people were parked, drinking in the park, making out, fishing, etc.. none of them were ticketed or had their cars towed.

Today in the morning, there was a metric crap tonne of divers. How many saw this lil guy vs stepping on him


My GF found him, and we brought divers over who had big cam rigs, and they didn't understand what we were pointing at! Just shrugged and went about their business! Maybe hairy frogfish are that common here?