Lobster season is in full swing across the southern portions of the state, and though water temps have dropped, action has heated up. Many folks head down to the lower Keys to catch their bugs. That takes a while for most. Here’s a spot that’s more accessible, beautiful, and loaded with lobster.

Carysfort Reef lies in the Atlantic just six miles off the first Florida key, Key Largo. Carysfort is easy to get to and, best of all, especially for novice bug grabbers and children, it’s very shallow—averaging between five and fifteen feet in many places. On a chart, you’ll spot the reef system just outside the northern boundary of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. When you’re headed out from Key Largo, look for the lighthouse tower out on the Atlantic. A marine sanctuary surrounds the lighthouse; no fishing there, so stay outside the yellow buoys.

Carsyfort Reef is actually a collection of many reefs and ledges that extend for miles. The patch reefs are healthy and gorgeous, loaded with corals, fans, all kinds of fish, and, of course, lobster. At low tide, a portion of the reef becomes exposed. Because of this shallow depth break-water effect, the leeward side of Carysfort stays fairly calm even on windy days.

Topside, on Key Largo, there are many great restaurants and places to stay. At Key Largo Kampground, you can reserve a campsite for your camper that includes a dock for your boat. Key Largo is big enough to provide plenty of shopping, grocery, dive shop, and gas station choices to keep you from driving too far for supplies once you get there.

On the Gulf side of Key Largo, beginning at the Intracoastal Waterway, Everglades National Park spreads across the water through Florida Bay to the Ten Thousand Islands on Florida’s west coast. Though catching lobster is prohibited in the Park; fishing is allowed. Snook, Redfish, Bonefish, Mangrove Snapper, and other fun varieties may be found in abundance between the endless dots of mangroves. Everglades National Park provides plenty of opportunity to spread out and leave civilization behind.

And speaking of fishing, Carysfort is full of tasty Yellowtails, Triggerfish, Hogfish, and the occasional Grouper. So bring a rod along with your mask, fins, and snorkel.

Of course, make sure to abide by all Florida Wildlife Commission rules and regulations when lobstering and fishing anywhere in Florida waters. You can find them at www.myfwc.com. And, a good source of information about the spiny Florida lobster is http://floridalobstering.com/.