First week of August marks opening of Florida's lobster season

Hundreds of Bay area families will be "bugging out" for the Florida Keys this week because the regular lobster season begins Thursday. It continues through March 31, 2010.

Florida lobsters, aka spiny lobsters, don't have claws like Maine lobsters, but the tail is as tasty as that of its northern cousin. They can reach impressive sizes, more than 10 pounds on occasion. Brushed with butter and grilled over a hot fire, the white flesh of the tail is a classic Florida treat.

Spiny lobsters are found throughout the eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic shelf at least as far north as Cape Canaveral. However, the chain of keys stretching south and west of Miami is the promised land for snorkelers, thanks to clear water and endless rock bottom in shallows from 2 to 20 feet deep.

While experienced families have the best spots entered in their GPS, it's possible to catch enough lobster in the Keys for dinner by freelancing - towing a couple of divers slowly behind the boat on a float board until they spot the waving antennae protruding from ledges and holes below. Seek out rock or coral bottom, plus any manmade "hard" structure. Some people put old barrels and other devices on the bottom to lure the lobsters, though you might run into an argument if you happen to be mining one of these when the original owner pulls up.

Most divers use a "tickle stick," a long, thin rod, to reach into the lair and tap the back of the lobster's shell, slowly herding it out to where it can be captured with a small net or a gloved hand. (No bare-hand grabbing; the shell is covered with sharp spines that earned the species its name).

One thing that never works is grabbing a lobster by the antenna and trying to pull it out. They simply break off, leaving the lobster all the more determined not to come out of the hole. Shooting them with a spear gun is not legal, so you have to use the tickle stick, a small net or a gloved hand to capture them, and they sometimes do not go peacefully. They can swim backward like a shrimp fast enough to escape most divers once they're really spooked.

Reaching into a hole and getting your hand behind the bug to wrangle it into a net works for some, but because moray eels and crabs sometimes inhabit the same holes, the practice is a bit risky.

Lobsters are found anywhere from the blue-green channels that wind under the many bridges of the Keys to holes around the mangrove islands, as well as on thousands of rocky outcrops, particularly on the Gulf side of the Keys. They're also found on the offshore reefs beyond Hawk Channel, which runs along the Atlantic side of the Keys, and on coral outcrops within the channel area.

Lobsters must have a 3-inch carapace or forward shell to be legal for harvest, and divers are required to carry a measuring tool in the water; it's not legal to bring them into the boat to measure. A dive flag is also required when divers are in the water.

The bag limit is six daily per person, or a total of 12 in possession after the first day, statewide during the regular season. The limits are vigorously enforced, on the water and ashore, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission importing dozens of officers to the Keys for the first part of the season. They sometimes put up roadblocks on U.S. 1 and check every boat being towed northward. Those caught with commercial quantities of lobsters can be charged with a felony, so the limits are no joke.

Also, be sure to check for the numerous "no-take" zones in South Florida before you go, including Everglades National Park, parts of Pennekamp Park and the Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary.

Finding overnight accommodations in the Keys at this late date might be a challenge, but once the first weeks of the regular season pass, rooms will be available and there will be less crowding on the water.

There are fair numbers of lobster in local waters, but these are nearly always found in water deeper than 30 feet, so SCUBA gear is required for most divers. A saltwater license and lobster permit are required to harvest spiny lobster.

Visit www.myfwc.com for more information.