Chase Young of Delray Beach holds the 17.8-pound wahoo caught trolling a bonito strip
behind a sea witch in 375 feet north of Boynton Inlet. He won the wahoo division
in the May 30 Sail Inn KDW tournament.
Willie Howard/The Coastal Star
Divers need to make sure that the carapace of a lobster is larger than 3 inches, and no egg-bearing lobsters can be kept.
Graphic provided by FWC
By Willie Howard
Divers will be rewarded for removing invasive lionfish from the water during the two-day sport lobster season set for July 29-30.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a rule at its June 25 meeting that allows divers who bag 10 lionfish to keep one extra spiny lobster per day during the two-day sport season only.
That means divers who first harvest 10 lionfish could take 13 lobster a day during the mini-season (or seven a day in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, where the daily sport-season limit is six.)
Lionfish must be kept as proof of harvest by divers on the water. On land, a photo of harvesters with their 10 lionfish must be kept to document their eligibiity to keep an extra lobster. Lionfish must be harvested the same day and before taking the additional lobster.
Divers who take photos of their lionfish and lobster catches during the two-day sport season and post them on Facebook.com/LionfishReef Rangers will receive a “Be the Predator” T-shirt. One photo entrant will win a lifetime saltwater fishing license through a drawing to be held shortly after the mini-season.
The lionfish/lobster incentive was recommended by the FWC’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management as a way to help control the spread of lionfish — a colorful fish native to the Pacific and Indian oceans that eats Florida’s native fish and steals their food.
“Opportunities like this are a great way to get divers who are already in the water accustomed to removing lionfish,” FWC Commissioner Brian Yablonski said. “Our hope is that once lobster divers realize how easy it is to remove lionfish, they will continue to do so throughout the regular lobster season and beyond.”
Divers planning to capture lionfish should be prepared with a pole spear, gloves and some system for carrying lionfish in the water. Lionfish have 18 venomous spines. Although the lionfish’s spines are harmful, its meat is safe to eat and quite tasty. For more information on harvesting and eating lionfish, go to www.myfwc.com/lionfish.
For those planning to dive for “bugs” during the two-day lobster mini-season, here’s a quick review of the basic rules:
• A saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit are required except for Florida residents who are under 16, over 65 or otherwise exempt from the fishing license requirement.
• A lobster’s head section, or carapace, must measure more than 3 inches to be legal to keep. All egg-bearing lobsters must be released. (Look for the spongy orange mass under the tail.) Divers should carry a lobster-measuring device, measure lobsters under water and bring them back to land intact.
• The bag limit is 12 lobsters per day during the two-day sport season, except in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, where the sport-season daily limit is six. (Add one lobster to the daily bag limit for each diver who first captures 10 lionfish for the sport season only.)
Dive flags are required by law. Red-and-white dive flags (at least 20 inches by 24 inches) must be displayed on boats supporting divers. Flags should be visible from all directions, displayed on the highest point on the boat and must have stiffeners to keep the flags unfurled. Dive flags must be taken down when divers are out of the water.
A float-mounted flag or diver-down buoy (at least 12 inches square) should be towed by divers in the water. Boaters must make every effort to stay 300 feet away from dive flags or floats in open water and 100 feet away in inlets, rivers or navigation channels. Those approaching closer must do so at idle speed.
Divers who choose to skip the mini-season but still want to catch a few spiny lobsters for dinner can wait until the regular lobster season opens Aug. 6. The daily bag limit is six per person during the regular season, which continues through March 31.
Divers who haven’t been in the water for several months should have their scuba gear inspected and make a few dives before heading down to the reef to hunt lobster. Catching spiny lobster is a great family activity, but no lobster is worth a dive safety risk.
Sail Inn KDW tournament results
The Sea Hottie fishing team led by Paul Sheridan of Delray Beach caught a 32.8-pound kingfish to win largest overall fish in the Sail Inn KDW tournament based at Boynton Harbor Marina.
Sheridan was fishing with Ryan Stang, Colin Page and Chris Holland on the Sea Hottie — a beautifully restored 31-foot Bertram. Their winning kingfish hit a live goggle-eye on a weighted line.
Team Hurricane won top dolphin with a 16.8-pound fish, and the Boatsetter team led by Chase Young won the wahoo category with a 17.8-pound ’hoo taken on a bonito strip/sea witch combination trolled behind a planer.
The sixth annual Sail Inn tournament, held May 30, attracted 24 boats and raised $10,000 for Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation.
Lionfish derby set for July 25 in Boca Raton
The third annual Gold Coast Lionfish Derby is set for July 24-25 based at Waterstone Resort & Marina in Boca Raton. Thirty-four cash prizes will be awarded to divers harvesting the most, the largest and the smallest lionfish.
The derby begins with a captains meeting at 6 p.m. July 24 at Waterstone Resort & Marina, 999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton.
The Waterstone is offering lionfish derby participants a special rate of $129 per night for romms overlooking Lake Boca. The derby entry fee is $120 for a four-diver team (by July 11) or $150 thereafter.
Dive teams will bring their lionfish to the Waterstone Resort & Marina from 4-6 p.m. on July 25. Lionfish experts from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation will be there to answer questions.
The public is invited to taste freshly cooked lionfish for free beginning around 6 p.m., tournament organizer Sean Meadows said.
For more information, call World of Scuba in Boca Raton at 368-2155 or go to www.world-of-scuba.com/goldcoastlionfishderby.
A web posting shows the aftermath of the sinking of the Rapa Nui off of Deerfield Beach, with the statues upside down.
Rapa Nui Reef update
Diving and public art enthusiasts who promoted the Rapa Nui Reef are picking up the pieces and starting over after the barge holding the 15 Polynesian busts rolled upside down on June 7, instead of sinking with the concrete busts upright as intended to create a diving destination.
“When it hit the sand, the whole thing went to pieces,” said Jim Mathie, a longtime diver who has been working on the dive-destination project.
Although the $500,000 project still has value as a fish-attracting artificial reef, it did not become the underwater public art project it was intended to be.
Mathie said organizers are raising money for the New Rapa Nui Reef, the first parts of which could be lowered into the waters off the Deerfield Beach fishing pier later this summer.
This time, he said, the Polynesian busts (resembling the moai of Easter Island) will be placed in the water one at a time and lowered slowly to the bottom.
“What’s there now will stay there, and we’ll add to it,” Mathie said.
Coming events
July 11: Big Dog, Fat Cat KDW Shootout fishing tournament based at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island. Captains meeting July 10 at Sailfish Marina. 315-3722 or www.bigdogfatcat.org.
July 25: Basic boating safety class taught by Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 54, 8 a.m., Coast Guard building (next to boat ramps), Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, Boynton Beach. $40. Call Ron Cuneo, 389-1850.
July 27: Veteran South Florida diver Jim Mathie, author of Catching the Bug, will speak on lobster-harvesting methods in preparation for mini-season, 6 p.m., World of Scuba, 2181 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. For details, 368-2155.
Aug. 8: The 21st annual Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament based at Deck 84 restaurant, 840 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Captains meeting 6 p.m. Aug. 6 at Deck 84. Weigh-in the afternoon of Aug. 8 at Deck 84. Entry fee $200. Benefits children’s causes in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. 251-1945 or www.mgmft.net.
Tip of the month
Head out early to fish the ocean for snapper and kingfish, then take shelter during the heat of the day. Try getting lines wet by 7 a.m. and pulling them out around 11 a.m. to avoid hot, still summer conditions.
Fish for snapper and kingfish at the same time by drifting in 80 to 90 feet with dead sardines on the surface for kingfish (triple 5/0 hooks, 50-pound leader) and squid, ballyhoo or sardine chunks for snapper on the bottom (double 4/0 hook or single circle hook under an ounce of weight with 40-pound leader). Add an eighth- or quarter-ounce sinker to the kingfish baits to pull them down slightly below the surface.
If you have live bait (such as sardines or greenies), use them on the surface or with a small weight above the leader. Rig them with a live-bait hook and a 6-inch wire trace above the hook to guard against the kingfish’s teeth.
Alternative plan: Head out at 4 p.m. or so and fish until dusk — or fish at night if you’re confident about navigating the inlet after dark. (Drift boats running out of Boynton Inlet offer night fishing trips.)
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat caption. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
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