Lobstering in Key Largo, Florida: Spots, Access & Tips

Key Largo is the first Key you reach heading south, about an hour from Miami, and it bills itself as the Dive Capital of the World for good reason. The reef is close, the boating infrastructure is deep, and there's lobster habitat from the shoreline out to the reef tract. The one wrinkle: many of Key Largo's most famous reefs are no-take, so the skill here is knowing what you can and can't lobster. Here's how to work it.

Why Key Largo

Two things set it apart. First, it's the closest Keys to the mainland, which makes it the natural day-trip or weekend run for anyone coming out of Miami or South Florida. Second, it's a genuine dive town: ramps, marinas, fuel, dive shops, and fills are everywhere, and the reef sits a short run offshore. If you want easy logistics and quick access to classic reef diving, Key Largo delivers.

If you're new to lobstering, start with how lobstering works and the gear checklist.

Where to lobster around Key Largo

Key Largo has the full spread of habitat. From deep to shallow:

• The reef tract and the fossilized reef just inside it. Work the living reef ledges (look for the U-shaped and C-shaped sections facing shore), and don't overlook the low fossilized reef rock sitting in the sand just shoreward of the main reef. That old, low-relief rock gets passed over by divers running to the pretty coral, and it can be very productive.
• Patch reefs and hardbottom in Hawk Channel. Scattered coral heads, rock piles, and hardbottom in roughly 10 to 20 feet, sprinkled all through the channel between shore and the reef. These take less pressure than the big-name reefs and are your bread and butter.
• Nearshore rocks. Shallow rock close to shore, much of it inside John Pennekamp. Because the park plays by its own rules, we cover it separately in the Pennekamp guide.
• The bayside. When the wind pins the ocean side, the Florida Bay side gives you a calmer option. Keep clear of any Everglades National Park waters, which are closed to harvest.

For more on how each of these habitats forms and produces, see the lobster habitat guide.

Getting on the water

Key Largo has more public launches than most of the Keys:

• Garden Cove (north Key Largo, ocean side) puts you closest to the upper reefs and patch reefs toward Carysfort and The Elbow.
• Rowell's Waterfront Park (around MM 104.5) is a central, well-equipped public ramp.
• The Pennekamp ramp (MM 102.5) launches you straight out toward the central reef.
• Harry Harris Park (Tavernier, around MM 92.5) covers the south end of Key Largo.

As everywhere in the Keys, parking and trailer spots are the bottleneck on busy weekends and during mini-season, so get there early.

Key Largo anchors Lobsterly's Upper Keys region (Key Largo to Islamorada), so you can map this whole end of the chain in one region.

The rules that apply in Key Largo

Key Largo is in Monroe County, so the Keys rules apply:

• Bag limit: 6 per person, per day, in both mini-season and the regular season. The 12-per-day mini-season limit is for most of Florida, not the Keys.
• Size: carapace larger than 3 inches, measured in the water. Carry a gauge.
• License plus a spiny lobster permit are both required to harvest.
• Night diving for lobster is banned in Monroe County during the two-day mini-season. It's allowed the rest of the season.
• No-take and special areas: the SPAs above, plus John Pennekamp, which is closed to lobstering during mini-season and has its own coral rules.

Full breakdown in the Florida lobstering rules guide and the mini-season dates and limits.

Stay safe out there

The boats and the current are the real hazards, not the lobster:

• Fly a dive flag and stay near it. Within 300 feet in open water, 100 feet in channels. Boats must slow to idle within 100 yards of a flag.
• Watch the cuts. Current runs hard through Tavernier Creek and the other channels on a moving tide.
• Dive with a buddy, track your boat, and watch the afternoon weather. See the lobstering safety guide.

Heading down the chain? The Islamorada guide covers the next town south.

Frequently asked questions

Where can you go lobstering in Key Largo?

Work the reef tract and the low fossilized reef just inside it, the patch reefs and hardbottom scattered through Hawk Channel, the nearshore rocks (much of it in Pennekamp), and the bayside on windy days. Stay out of the famous no-take SPAs like Molasses, French Reef, and Key Largo Dry Rocks, and out of Pennekamp during mini-season.

Can you take lobster from the reefs in Key Largo?

Many of the most famous reefs are no-take Sanctuary Preservation Areas (Carysfort, The Elbow, Key Largo Dry Rocks, Grecian Rocks, French Reef, Molasses), where harvest is banned. You can lobster the open patch reefs, hardbottom, and reef ledges around and between them, outside those marked zones.

How many lobster can you keep in Key Largo?

Key Largo is in Monroe County, where the limit is 6 lobster per person, per day, in both seasons. The carapace must be larger than 3 inches, measured in the water.

Regulations change. Always confirm the latest rules on the FWC spiny lobster page before you dive. Last updated June 2026.