Best dive in Florida?

[diveprof]

Jupiter Florida

Drift dive in Sept - Oct

See the Goliath Grouper (HUGE creature)

Video of Goliath

Jupiter Dive Center

Yeah, the Jupiter ledge/wall is about the only real wall dive in florida. Big animals (including sharks), schools of fish, turtles. Best it gets w/o a plane ticket - and even then it holds it's own.

 

[Jupiter31]

Great minds think alike, Angie!

Hope alls good w/ you - we have been doing a lot of diving from our boat in Miami - I can't get Sharon out when its cold and rough, so I live for the summers (and early fall)

See you at JDC soon!

 

[Jupiter31]

Yeah, the Jupiter ledge/wall is about the only real wall dive in florida. Big animals (including sharks), schools of fish, turtles. Best it gets w/o a plane ticket - and even then it holds it's own.

Actually, while none of these are wall dives per se, just dramatic drop offs, I like:

Wall at Biscayne National Park (much more of a "wall")
Carysfort Deep
Conch Wall
Victory Wall

 

[scubaAlan]

Hey seahound!
Get yourself over to jupiter to see the goliath grouper in august. I just did a 2 tank dive with jupiter dive center in mid june. On my second dive with 5 minute ndl left I spotted a goliath grouper under a ledge at 80 ft. It was a magical moment to be in the present of this magnificent creature. I wished we had a few more minutes to hang with a fish of this size. I urge anybody who plans to dive jupiter to be nitrox certifed. Nitrox max bottom time allowed per jupiter dive center-45 min Air diver bottom time allowed-25 min. No comparision!

 

[Chad Carney]

Hey seahound!
Get yourself over to jupiter to see the goliath grouper in august. I just did a 2 tank dive with jupiter dive center in mid june. On my second dive with 5 minute ndl left I spotted a goliath grouper under a ledge at 80 ft. It was a magical moment to be in the present of this magnificent creature. I wished we had a few more minutes to hang with a fish of this size.

scubaAlan, Glad you enjoyed the experience.

Come on over to any Central to SW Gulf of Mexico wreck and many ledges, you'll see your quota of GG's in a day! Often 20 to 50 on the wrecks. I hope you don't see that many over there any time soon... or you can kiss lobster season goodbye.

I have yet to see a bug this year over here. Used to see them every month.

Chad

 

[scubaAlan]

Hi Chad! I definitely will keep that in mind on next years vacation out to florida. I was thinking about heading out south of tampa for a dive or two this year but didn't get a chance. where exactly are the gg hanging out in the gulf of mexico?

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

You can always find them in the northern gulf. Several dives we do always have some in the 3-400lb range. Some say one is in the 5-600lb range but I could not say for sure. Yep makes mud bugs hard to come by. Really have to know where to look ,where the GG"S cant go.

 

[djtimmy77]

Not like we'll see many bugs after next week anyway....

We saw about 15 GG on the Castor in Boynton last weekend.

 

[Chad Carney]

A week and a half ago I saw a GG so big I looked back several times, and so did my buddy also an experienced shooter. Honestly I've seen tons of 500+ lbs GGs, but this one was clearly much bigger on the C47 wreck in 157' about west of Sarasota. 700? 800? I don't know... because it might be the biggest I've ever seen!

There were only 2 in view on this scattered wreck of plane wings, but most fair sized wrecks off central to SW FL have 5, 10 or 20 times as many. I've seen the Fin Barge off St Pete with 50 on each end.

Chad