Bugs aplenty for divers

WEST PALM BEACH — Divers on the Loggerhead III found calm seas and good underwater visibility but struggled against a strong current to capture spiny lobster Wednesday off Palm Beach, the first day of the two-day sport lobster season.
Overall, divers reported average takes of lobster in the waters off central Palm Beach County, good takes off southern Palm Beach County and big lobsters in the rocky shallows along the beaches at Fort Pierce.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission reported no major lobster-harvest violations or boating accidents in South Florida as of late Wednesday, but a Venice man died in the morning while scuba diving off Cudjoe Key north of Key West.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, James Gilkinson, 58, was scuba diving in 10 feet of water around 7 a.m. when he signaled to his son that he planned to surface. His wife said Gilkinson appeared to be struggling. Rescuers administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead at Lower Keys Hospital in Key West.
A Miami man was cited for harvesting lobster out of season after being caught Tuesday night with lobsters at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. A bag holding three lobsters was tied to the back of his boat with fishing line, FWC Officer Jorge Pino said.
St. Mary's Medical Center temporarily reopened its hyperbaric chamber for emergency use Tuesday to accommodate divers who might need treatment for decompression sickness, also known as the bends.
As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, no divers had been brought to the chamber, which is expected to remain open for emergency use through mid-August.
For most divers in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, they encountered calm seas, though the current made stopping near the bottom to catch lobster more difficult, especially for beginners. On the Loggerhead III, seasoned lobster divers took home half a dozen or more lobsters after two morning dives Wednesday, while those with less experience harvested two or three.
Ken Kettner of West Palm Beach has been diving the mini-lobster season for 32 years. Kettner bagged nine lobsters using the tickle-stick-and-net method in which the lobster is coaxed out with a tap on its tail, then shooed into a net.
Another veteran diver, Diego Asencio of North Palm Beach, finished the two morning dives with six bugs taken with gloved hands and a storage bag. Instead of approaching the lobster head-on (and possibly spooking them back into hiding places), Asencio sneaks up on them. When he sees a lobster's antennae waving under a rocky ledge, Asencio makes a wide circle, approaches from behind and grabs them by the knuckles at the base of the antennae.
"For some reason, they come out," Asencio said. "You've got about two seconds. If you miss, he's gone."
Beginner Jennifer Mellein teamed with diver Sarah Franklin to bag her first two lobsters Wednesday morning.
"I tickled them out and put the net over them and she grabbed them an put them in the bag," Mellein said. "That was so much fun."
Dave Gerhardt, visiting from Delaware, reached into holes to grab three of the five lobsters he caught during his second dive at the Flower Gardens reef near The Breakers hotel and had scars on his forearms to prove it.
Keith Bauer of Stuart asked friend Greg Fleischer to carry the lobster bag during their first dive. When Fleischer had trouble clearing his ears, Bauer cradled three lobsters against his chest to bring them back to the Loggerhead III.
"It wasn't pretty, " Bauer said.
Although divers encountered many lobsters that managed to squirm free and disappear into holes in the reef, one escaped lobster hid under diver Tim Conway while he was trying to catch another one. After catching the second lobster, Conway reached down and scooped up the escapee.
Roy Cook and Tony Conti brought seven lobsters to the docks at Currie Park in West Palm Beach following two dives south of The Breakers hotel but that's well below the 48 bugs they took diving the same area with friends on opening day last year.
Mike Smith of Palm Beach Gardens, diving with friends Chuck Bratten, Richard Rossodivita and Sean Hironimus, brought three lobsters to the ramps at Phil Foster Park after diving the South Double Ledges reef Wednesday morning. Although they were disappointed with the number, the three bugs were big. "I could tell they were good when I could barely put my hand around them," Smith said.
In the waters off Boca Raton, Tony Coulter of the Diversity dive boat said his group of 10 divers harvested 67 lobsters after two dives on the 60-foot reef north of Boca Raton Inlet.
"There was almost no current, probably 80 to 90 feet of visibility and 1- to 2-foot seas," Coulter said. "A real good day."
Craig Smart of the Starfish Enterprise dive boat said his divers fought a moderate current to capture plenty of lobsters in 50 to 60 feet between the Lake Worth Pier and Sloan's Curve.
Divers fared well on the Treasure Coast. Among the jumbo bugs was an 11.2-pounder taken by Richard King and a 12.5-pounder taken by Andy Ingle. Both of the big bugs were taken in 15 feet near Pepper Park north of Fort Pierce Inlet and were weighed as part of a lobster contest at Little Jim's Bait & Tackle.
Henry Caimotto of the Snook Nook in Jensen Beach said divers were in a festive mood when the headed out Tuesday night, waiting for midnight to arrive so they could begin the Wednesday morning harvest.
Eric Gill was among those who dived before daylight off Fort Pierce. Gill, who returned with several lobsters, said he saw two dozen boats off Fort Pierce's north beach.
"It was like a little city out there," Gill said.