[Ron Reefman]

To 'water is wet',

Although Little Bahia Honda Key and Little Money Keys are 1/4 mile off shore and Money Key is a mile off shore, they are all reachable by kayak which can be rented from any number of locations. Yes, we use an 11' Zodiac with a 20hp outboard, but my wife is a chicken when it comes to getting away from shore in anything small, so I need the speed boat. She's a nervous wreck before we go and then she's always so happy I 'pushed' her into going after we get back. But if the seas are fairly calm, people do get to these islands on kayaks and then do some snorkeling.

G_Sanab922 is right about collecting. A Florida Saltwater Fishing License and obeying the collecting rules and you'll be fine... as far as the FWC is concerned. We got checked over when we came in from Money Key this trip. Getting live critters to your motel, and keeping them alive there and on the ride home can be a much harder task. I use a 7 gallon bucket, a 5 gallon insullated Gatorade container, a 120v bubbler & air stone (in the motel) and battery bubbler and air stone on the boat and in the car. Also be careful about keeping the bucket in the motel room over night. If your room is in the low 70's and you are pushing that air into the water, it will cool off pretty quickly. The animals are in water that is in the upper 80's this time of year and the drop in temp that far and that fast can kill some critters and seriously weaken most others. I use the battery bubbler and leave the bucket outside of our room over night. I also do a water change in the morning and again in the evening (our motel is on the water).

The only other advise is, don't be greedy. Collect a few animals and you run a good chance at getting them home alive. Try collecting a bunch of animals and you'll have a really hard time keeping the water clean. Ammonia builds up and you start losing animals and from there the cycle only gets worse.