Snorkeling & Collecting Discussion Group

[Ron Reefman]

Dunedin Causeway and Caladesi Island. It's been hard, so things may have changed. If the tourist numbers increased or a hurricane caused problems there may be less, but they were great a decade+ ago.

I've never even heard of those places, so I googled them and saw they are just north of Clearwater. Oh, my wife lived in Clearwater many years ago, so I asked her. She's heard of them, but she wasn't into snorkeling back then. I wonder if anybody else has ever snorkeled there.

 

[Rispa]

I've never even heard of those places, so I googled them and saw they are just north of Clearwater. Oh, my wife lived in Clearwater many years ago, so I asked her. She's heard of them, but she wasn't into snorkeling back then. I wonder if anybody else has ever snorkeled there.

It's not especially for snorkeling. We would go to play a the beach and I'd just be face first in the water the whole day in the shallows haha. If you go I'd love to hear how those places look now.

 

[Peter Clark]

I lived in the Keys for about 4 years and loved it. I lived on Long Key at first and later on Grassy Key (ocean side right on the beach). My wife lived on Big Pine Key when we met. Moved to Chicago about 5 years ago though, so sadly no chance to collect anything now. The most I ever collected was just a few hermit crabs, although I did help someone catch a lobster during mini lobster season. And technically I did help catch a manatee, but that was part of an official FWC rescue. The place I worked at (DRC) ran the local rescue team and I was there to photo/video it all.

I didn't do much snorkeling in the keys sadly so I never got a good idea what was available near shore. I mostly would just go out diving, and normally to marine sanctuary areas. You could see all sorts of cool stuff just where I worked though from the docks, so I can only imagine what else was around.

I love that photo of the anemone shrimp. Pederson shrimp? I would see those on corkscrew anemones on the reef.

 

[bobbyM]

I hit up Caladesi Island last month. The surf was rough that day so didn't get to snorkel much.

 

[dochou]

great thread!

 

[Livinlocal]

following along, I will add to the discussion shortly

 

[Ron Reefman]

I hit up Caladesi Island last month. The surf was rough that day so didn't get to snorkel much.

Have you snorkeled there before? What's it like? If it's worth it, I'd make a day trip out of it and stop in Bradenton to see my friend at Gulf Coast Eco Systems.

 

[Ron Reefman]

great thread!

Thanks, I expect ir to be around for a long time!

following along, I will add to the discussion shortly

Always happy to have more people involved!

My wife and I will be out on Sanibel doing cleanup on the Causeway and then a beach walk out on the island after the 4th of July celebrations. And we'll be back in the Keys snorkeling at the end of the month... weather permitting.

 

[Ds04384]

I've never even heard of those places, so I googled them and saw they are just north of Clearwater. Oh, my wife lived in Clearwater many years ago, so I asked her. She's heard of them, but she wasn't into snorkeling back then. I wonder if anybody else has ever snorkeled there.

Hey Ron,

Great thread, thank you for starting it! I moved to Clearwater a couple years ago, but haven’t tried any snorkeling in the local area. I’ve been meaning to try some spots out so maybe I’ll go here and give it a shot! I was wondering where you’re favorite easily accessible (where you can drive to and don’t need a boat) spots to snorkel are in Florida. I’d love to make a day trip or weekend trip here and there to get back in the water.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hey Ron,

Great thread, thank you for starting it! I moved to Clearwater a couple years ago, but haven’t tried any snorkeling in the local area. I’ve been meaning to try some spots out so maybe I’ll go here and give it a shot! I was wondering where you’re favorite easily accessible (where you can drive to and don’t need a boat) spots to snorkel are in Florida. I’d love to make a day trip or weekend trip here and there to get back in the water.

Welcome to Florida and to this thread. I'd be very interested in any snorkeling sites along the Gulf of Mexico. So you have my attention! Down here there just isn't much to snorkel. It's either completely sandy bottom or grassy, no hard bottom which is way more interesting. But if anybody local knows of a spot, please, please please let us know!

So to get some world class snorkeling my wife and I do 3 to 5 day trips (used to be long weekends until we retired) to the Middle Keys. Bahia Honda State Park (see map below) has awesome off the beach snorkeling (but no collecting). But as of July 3rd 2018 the oceanside beach is still closed due to Hurricane Irma damage. And when they reopen you can rent a kayak at the park and paddle out to the tiny island off to the SW from the beach. It's less than 1/4 mile and the snorkeling on the side away from the channel and the side away from shore are very cool. Away from the channel can get extremely shallow (less than 1') and there are tons of rock boring urchins. On the side away from the beach it gets deep and there are some good size SPS corals like you would see out at Looe Key. IMHO the best reef in the Keys, 5+ miles out from Bahia Honda and the park has a charter boat that goes out there as well!

Picture1 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Just SW one island is Spanish Harbor Key (see photo map below). As soon as you get off the bridge there is a turn off to a parking lot on the right and roadside parking on the left. From the parking lot you walk out to an old quarry commonly called 'The Horseshoe' (very easily picked out in the photo) that has a great variety of underwater environments and collecting (with a Florida saltwater fishing license) is legal (within limits!). Inside the quarry is 40' deep or more. But all the way around the outside of the quarry walls is shallow and full of a wide variety of life. From the NE side of the Horseshoe you can snorkel out hundreds of yards to the east and the water never gets over 2 or 3 feet deep. Close to shore before you get to the bridge can be interesting as well and it's 2' deep. And one other hugely important feature is that this area is very well protected from the prevailing SE winds which can make snorkeling on the oceanside of any island more difficult.

The Horseshoe on Spanish Harbor Key by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Or park on the other side of the road and walk down the hill to the water. The underwater environment on this side is VERY similar to Bahia Honda State Park (just a smaller area) and again, collecting is legal. There are way more gorgonians and it's more like a shallow reef.

These are three of our all time favorite off the beach snorkel areas!

 

[Ds04384]

Thank you so much for the info! I’ll have to make it down to the keys to check them out. You shared some really great info about collecting while beach combing but what kinds of things would you hope to collect if you went to Spanish harbor key? What is your method for collecting when you’re in the water?

 

[Richard]

Interesting thread ... I have been snorkeling all over the Caribbean, always thought about how nice it would be to be able to put some of the things in my tanks back home. Never did because of the legalities. However really enjoy following this... thanks for starting this thread.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Interesting thread ... I have been snorkeling all over the Caribbean, always thought about how nice it would be to be able to put some of the things in my tanks back home. Never did because of the legalities. However really enjoy following this... thanks for starting this thread.

So don't be a stranger Richard, tell us about some of the places you've snorkeled in the Caribbean. I'm looking for places to go where I can snorkel. The Bahamas are good and Jamaica was good. If anybody specifics, just ask.

Thank you so much for the info! I’ll have to make it down to the keys to check them out. You shared some really great info about collecting while beach combing but what kinds of things would you hope to collect if you went to Spanish harbor key? What is your method for collecting when you’re in the water?

The range of things you can collect even at just the eastern end of Spanish Harbor Key is amazing. I've collected curly-Q anemones, rock flower anemones, yellow sea cucumbers, serpent stars, brittle stars, common stars, coral banded shrimp, Minthrax crabs (green and red), lettuce nudibranchs, cerith snails, turbo snails, flame scallops, green zoas, common clams, chitons, small red feather dusters, small mantis shrimp, arrow crabs, Atlantic Deer Cowrie, gorgonians, urchins, arrow crab, hermit crabs, spaghetti worms. And then there are other things I saw but didn't collect like sponges, juvenile tropical fish (but a friend has collected some), lobsters, reef squid, small nurse sharks, lion fish... how's that for a list? And all within 100 yards of the outer walls of the Horseshoe.

How do I collect? I'm about a 95% by hand collector (I do wear dive gloves). I keep what I collect in either a plastic peanut butter jar with holes or a bigger 1g plastic pretzel jar with holes. I also drill a hole in the screw on lid and feed heavy line (between string and small rope) through the hole. I tie a knot on the inside so it won't pull through and a loop on the other end to go over my wrist. The line is about 3' long and just a bit heavier than neutral buoyancy. On shore or in our Zodiac I have a 5g orange Gatorade cooler with a screw top. I use a battery powered bubbler attached to the lid with velcro and feed the air line through a hole I drilled. And overnight I have a bigger cooler and a AC plug in air pump. I've even started to include a very small powerhead and even a small heater (inside the motel it's 70 degrees and you are constantly pushing that cool air into the water with the bubbler. Some critters don't like that 10 to 15 degree shift in temp over an 8 hour night. And because the motel we stay at has a tiny beach, I can go out and get water to do a daily water change. That's probably about as important as anything given the stress levels in the cooler!

 

[Ron Reefman]

So here are some photos.

My regular collection jars for use in the water (really expensive tools). LOL!
20180703_161559_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

On the beach or in the boat I've used both a bucket and a cooler. BTW, down by the airstone there is a small stainless steel weight to keep the airstone on the bottom of the bucket. I've found many of the animals like to get up close and personal with the airstone!
20180703_161312_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
20180703_161413_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

And I didn't mention this, but here is a mesh bag that fits inside a bucket for transporting. And can hang in the water off the side of our Zodiac when we are out snorkeling. It makes for less use of the air pump and keeps a regular flow of water for the critters. I think we got it at a Bass Pro Shop or Overtons. I think they are pretty common.
20180703_161722_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Here is the most fun thing we now use. After years of just snorkeling off the beach, we splurged and got a used 11' Zodiac with a 30hp Suzuki outboard and a trailer. It's so light we tow it with a Scion xB and it doesn't even affect the gas mileage! Heck, I don't even know we're towing it until I look in the rear view mirror! And before we got the Zodiac we used an Achilles inflatable that had a soft air filled floor so the entire boat can be rolled up and put in a big bag. And it only need a small 5hp Honda outboard. The whole thing fit in the back of the Scion along with all our gear and duffle bags of clothes.
dingy at little money by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

And here is a shot at the Horseshoe. Our local marine aquarium club does a weekend field trip to the Keys every June or July. It's warm enough water and it's before hurricane season really gets started. I'm the guy seated closest to the camera (not that you need to know)!
P6150315 R1 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[Ds04384]

So don't be a stranger Richard, tell us about some of the places you've snorkeled in the Caribbean. I'm looking for places to go where I can snorkel. The Bahamas are good and Jamaica was good. If anybody specifics, just ask.



The range of things you can collect even at just the eastern end of Spanish Harbor Key is amazing. I've collected curly-Q anemones, rock flower anemones, yellow sea cucumbers, serpent stars, brittle stars, common stars, coral banded shrimp, Minthrax crabs (green and red), lettuce nudibranchs, cerith snails, turbo snails, flame scallops, green zoas, common clams, chitons, small red feather dusters, small mantis shrimp, arrow crabs, Atlantic Deer Cowrie, gorgonians, urchins, arrow crab, hermit crabs, spaghetti worms. And then there are other things I saw but didn't collect like sponges, juvenile tropical fish (but a friend has collected some), lobsters, reef squid, small nurse sharks, lion fish... how's that for a list? And all within 100 yards of the outer walls of the Horseshoe.

How do I collect? I'm about a 95% by hand collector (I do wear dive gloves). I keep what I collect in either a plastic peanut butter jar with holes or a bigger 1g plastic pretzel jar with holes. I also drill a hole in the screw on lid and feed heavy line (between string and small rope) through the hole. I tie a knot on the inside so it won't pull through and a loop on the other end to go over my wrist. The line is about 3' long and just a bit heavier than neutral buoyancy. On shore or in our Zodiac I have a 5g orange Gatorade cooler with a screw top. I use a battery powered bubbler attached to the lid with velcro and feed the air line through a hole I drilled. And overnight I have a bigger cooler and a AC plug in air pump. I've even started to include a very small powerhead and even a small heater (inside the motel it's 70 degrees and you are constantly pushing that cool air into the water with the bubbler. Some critters don't like that 10 to 15 degree shift in temp over an 8 hour night. And because the motel we stay at has a tiny beach, I can go out and get water to do a daily water change. That's probably about as important as anything given the stress levels in the cooler!

Wow that’s incredible. If I was a little closer I would have to set up a new tank so I could go collecting and set up a Florida keys system!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Wow that’s incredible. If I was a little closer I would have to set up a new tank so I could go collecting and set up a Florida keys system!

I had a 4'x2'x14" shallow tank and that's basically what it was, a snorkeling and beach walking collection tank!

 

[AcroJack]

Any favorite snorkel spots around the FMB/Sanibel area? We get down there a few times a year to see my inlaws and my boys and I love any excuse to get out on the water!

 

[AcroJack]

Any favorite snorkel spots in the FMB/Sanibel area? We are down there a few times a year and my boys and I are always itching to get out on the water!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Any favorite snorkel spots in the FMB/Sanibel area? We are down there a few times a year and my boys and I are always itching to get out on the water!

I live in the area, Cape Coral, and my wife and I spend a lot of time at local beaches. But to the best of my knowledge there just aren't any worthwhile snorkel sites in the area. Especially ones that are off the beach accessible. I wish I could have better news and if anybody in the area has any knowledge of any snorkel sites in SW Florida, I'd love to hear about them.

On the other hand, we have often done net drags at various locations like Bunche Beach (just off the road to the Sanibel Causeway) and along the back bay side of Lovers Key (just south of Ft Myers Beach). We walk in the water looking for grassy flats and then drag a net through them. Most any net on a pole will work, I use a pool cleaning net as it is wide, with a strong plastic leading edge. We find lots of critters like glass (or ghost) shrimp, dwarf seahorses, pipefish, filefish, small flounder, small pufferfish, crown conch and more.

One time, just dragging my net, I caught an 18" porcupine puffer that basically filled my net. It took me 5 minutes to get it out as all it spines got caught in the net! Another time my wife collected 4 big Blue Crabs. Lucky for us it was during Blue Crab season and we took them home for lunch!

While out on Sanibel a good place to visit is the Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum. By far the most exciting find on the beaches of Sanibel is the Junonia Snail shell.
prizejunoniashell by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Find a whole shell and you'll make the local newspaper! Until recently very little was known about the live snail and there were only a few photos of the live snail and no videos. The museum now has 3 live specimens collected in deep water out in the Gulf of Mexico. They have posted video online so we can all see them.
https://www.shellmuseum.org/junonia
One of the first issues the marine biologists has to resolve is, what do they eat? It turns out they are carnivores and love to est Olive snails.

 

[bobbyM]

Have you snorkeled there before? What's it like? If it's worth it, I'd make a day trip out of it and stop in Bradenton to see my friend at Gulf Coast Eco Systems.

I have not. My wife went there with her mom the week before and said it looked cool. We got out there on the wrong day at the wrong time and I forgot my camera. The surf was heavy and the water was murky. My 2 year old got tired quickly. we stayed for about three hours playing in the waves before picking up and heading home. going to try and go somewhere this weekend and get some pictures.