planning a trip to florida, to spearfish

[philmtl]

im an amateur spear fisherman from Canada, and was looking for info on where to plan a trip to for some good spear fishing in Florida?

i've rod fished in Florida many times but discovered spearfishing last summer, and wish to try spear fishing in the sea. i'm looking for somewhere preferably i can go off the shore, or possibly somewhere i can reach good fishing grounds by kayak.

the trip would be for this winter, maybe December or January

thank you for some feed back

 

[danvolker]

Jupiter , Fl is where you want to go. Juno ledge, hole in the wall, some of the deeper wrecks also.
How deep are you interested in spearfishing?
DanV

 

[Shcubasteve]

Where exactly are you staying? When the water is calm, the Treasure Cost has GREAT shoredives. Having a kayak extends your range for sure

 

[wilz]

We can put together a whole package for you or just some dive trips if that is all you need. Give me a call or visit our website.
Wil
561-886-8925

 

[philmtl]

well i haven't decided where i'm going yet just, its with my parents so if their was scuba diving, maybe some golf, warm water would be nice. i'm looking at Jupiter island and I've gone around their before in marathon, which was quite nice but not much fish off shore.

i would probably be free diving so not too deep, but i do have diving equipment but that just complicated the process with safety stops and all that. and having to re fill my tanks everyday.

what i'm planning to do is find somewhere i can either just slip on some fins and a mask, maybe a wet suit if needed then just swim off from the beach, maybe find a reef or something. also a place where i could rent a sea kayak near by would be nice. i might do a blue water trip, but its more for the enjoyment of spending the day in the ocean swimming and exploring.

thank you for the feed back

 

[danvolker]

well i haven't decided where i'm going yet just, its with my parents so if their was scuba diving, maybe some golf, warm water would be nice. i'm looking at Jupiter island and I've gone around their before in marathon, which was quite nice but not much fish off shore.

i would probably be free diving so not too deep, but i do have diving equipment but that just complicated the process with safety stops and all that. and having to re fill my tanks everyday.

what i'm planning to do is find somewhere i can either just slip on some fins and a mask, maybe a wet suit if needed then just swim off from the beach, maybe find a reef or something. also a place where i could rent a sea kayak near by would be nice. i might do a blue water trip, but its more for the enjoyment of spending the day in the ocean swimming and exploring.

thank you for the feed back

The best freediving off a beach is going to be the Palm Beach inlet....spearing from the beach though is not going to work for you, and even off a boat in this particular area, it is hard to know where legal areas to spear are, and most of it is illegal for spearing.

Off a charterboat, Horseshoe Reef ( just north of Lake Worth beach, about 1/2 mile out) is 37 feet deep on top of the reef crown, and it is a spectacular place to freedive and to spearfish.

Regards,
DanV

 

[philmtl]

oh well bad news for me i guess, the part about not being able to spearfish off the beach.. well i guess i'm gonna have to change plans.. hmmm i'm Canadian i can go to Cuba, anyone know if they have spear fishing there?

i like the idea about taking a charter boat but, i cant spend all my money renting charter boats.

 

[danvolker]

oh well bad news for me i guess, the part about not being able to spearfish off the beach.. well i guess i'm gonna have to change plans.. hmmm i'm Canadian i can go to Cuba, anyone know if they have spear fishing there?

i like the idea about taking a charter boat but, i cant spend all my money renting charter boats.

Hey. You give up too easy.
You can rent a kayak and spearfish off the beach with it.....not cool if close enough to the swimmers to pose a predator threat to them after spearing, but the legal part is OK......You can kayak to plenty of places for spearfishing that will pose no risk to any other person.
Other than renting...you could buy a cheap used kayak, have your trip here, then sell it...could be almost no net cost!!!

Regards,
DanV

 

[philmtl]

any idea about tides or currents that pull you out ward? like strong currents where i wount be able to come back after or i should not have any problems by kayak? i've trolled with a kayak before, like cast out then paddle one side of the bay to the other with my drag on loose and all. but i stayed with in viewing distance off shore like i could see where the shore was and knew where to go to come back, i dont have a gps. sorry to be asking maybe some useless questions just i dont want to make an amateur mistake which i could regret.

also if you kayak spearfish do you tie a rope to you and the kayak or just leave it their and find it when you surface? buying a used sea kayak sounds cheaper than renting a 800$ charter.

 

[danvolker]

any idea about tides or currents that pull you out ward? like strong currents where i wount be able to come back after or i should not have any problems by kayak? i've trolled with a kayak before, like cast out then paddle one side of the bay to the other with my drag on loose and all. but i stayed with in viewing distance off shore like i could see where the shore was and knew where to go to come back, i dont have a gps. sorry to be asking maybe some useless questions just i dont want to make an amateur mistake which i could regret.

also if you kayak spearfish do you tie a rope to you and the kayak or just leave it their and find it when you surface? buying a used sea kayak sounds cheaper than renting a 800$ charter.

Tides are not much of an issue to a kayak...the Gulfstream Current is another matter though....I have used a 19 foot racing surfski to paddle out from Lake Worth Beach to Horseshoe Reef ( one of the best reefs for Freedivers in Florida). While the paddle distance from shore begins at less than 1/2 mile, the drift that begins on Casino ( the reef right off the Pier and beach 1/3 to 1/2 mile out ) and then carries you over Horseshoe Reef, will finish with you perhaps 1/2 mile to 3/4 further north than you started, AND you will have a current to paddle against ( Gulfstream induced) that you can expect to be from 1mph to 3 mph depending on the day.....once in a blue moon there will be no current, but don't ever count on this

So either you have a paddle home that is more like paddling 3 miles or more, or you will go straight in to the beach, and hope you can have someone pick you up at roadside....I never tried the roadside pickup, and don't know how feasible this is, what with private property and also having to have someone come and get you....The surfski I used could run at 7 to 8 mph with me paddling at full speed, and I could sustain this for close to an hour...but the surfski is over twice as fast as the typical scuba kayak. In other words, the surfski can overcome the current, and still make good relative land speed...the scuba kayak can just beat the current, and leaves little landspeed potential..And there is always the walking along the shore to get home option, dragging the boat in shallow water


Make sure you contact me when you are here...I just dug out my old inflatable kayak, and I would be willing to show you some spots from it.



DanV