The Caribbean Spiny Lobster season will close in:

grouper season opening

  • May 1-3, 2017 - Grouper Opening 2017 - Why are we the only ones out here?

     Wind Seas Viz Temp
    E-SE 18-24mph 4-6' 5-15' 79F

    The excitement for grouper opening started a few weeks ago when my brother in law and I started discussing our plans. There was talk of scouting on Sunday and taking Monday through Wednesday off to maximize our time on the water. We would connect with our friends Lazaro and Chris and we were hopeful that we would have a good opening like last year. As usual, we talked timing, accommodations and weather forecasts. After talking about it for about a week, Lazaro told us to forgo the logistics and stay with him as his place would be empty (with the exception of himself).  We gladly accepted his generous invitation.

  • Apr 30-May 3, 2016 - Grouper Season Opening

    Wind Seas Viz Temp
    15-25 ESE 4-5' 30-40' 81F

    Once again, the most anticipated weekend for Florida spearfisherman rolls around and this year I actually got to plan some time off and hit it for a few days in a row. I hadn't had many opportunities to dive this winter (with the windiest winter I can recall) and even on those few occasions I did get to go, it just didn't live up to expectations. I was so excited to finally get back in the water this year for a full weekend of diving and spearfishing that I spent the 2-3 weeks leading up to the weekend double checking everything I could on my boat and my gear to make sure I was ready. My new Koah 110x was ready to go, the boat seemed to be in good working order and everything was lining up for a great time. We were actually waiting to decide which boat to take until we got a clearer weather picture, but some mechanical difficulties on my brother-in-law's bay boat had us calling upon my boat. It would have ended up this regardless, once we saw the forecast calling for 20-25mph ESE winds and 3-6' seas inside the reef in the Florida Keys. I had done everything I could, so we were as ready as we were gonna be (which would unfortunately prove to be not ready enough).

  • May 1-3, 2015 - Grouper Opening Weekend, well day anyway...

    Wind Seas Viz Temp
    10-25 ENE/Variable 3-4' 5-15' 78F

    In South Florida, probably one of the most anticipated and planned spearfishing outings (aside from those that take you to major global destinations) is the trip we make on or about May 1 of each year for the re-opening of Grouper season. It doesn't always fall on a weekend but when it does (like this year), the planning begins early. The season closure has barely taken effect on January 1, and we already start talking about how many grouper we've seen on our winter dives and get all worked up about the 20+ pounders we'll be slaying when grouper opens up again on May 1. This year was no different with respect to the hype and anticipation, but April had been pretty windy and rough and we were running out of time for the wind and seas to lay down and the water to clean up. Yet we were still hopeful and faithful that the weather gods would be merciful and give us the window we all hoped for. 

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