Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lobsterly?

Lobsterly is your guide to recreational lobstering in South Florida and the Keys. Our goal is to help you catch your limit of lobster any day the season is open.

What’s in the free version?

• Interactive map for navigating South Florida and The Keys
• All No-Take Zones in Miami-Dade & Monroe counties
• Offline navigation and routing
• Lobster Areas from St. Lucie Inlet through Key West
• Save waypoints anywhere. Discover your own spots and save them on your own device
• 100+ free waypoints to lobstering spots
• Built-in regulations reference and advanced lobstering tips

What does the paid version include?

• 2,600+ precise waypoints to lobster spots from Haulover Inlet to Key West
• Waypoint descriptions, approximate difficulty & exact coordinates
• From coral heads on the reef to holes in the backcountry, there's a lobster spot for everyone
• The perfect guide for divers of all skill levels to help you catch your limit

What areas does Lobsterly cover?

• Free: No-Take Zones & Lobster Areas from St. Lucie Inlet to Key West
• Paid: All 2,500+ waypoints from Haulover Inlet to Key West
• Detailed chart coverage of Miami-Dade & Monroe counties

Can I use Lobsterly on another device like my tablet?

Yes. Sign in with the same email to access your account and any premium features on any supported device

I want to kayak or shoredive for lobster. Can I still use Lobsterly?

Absolutely. Many spots are close to shore and accessible from beaches or other launch points

Does Lobsterly work without service?

Yes. We spent a lot of time designing Lobsterly to be reliable offshore or anywhere else you use it without service. All maps, our waypoints, your saved waypoints, and core navigation features work entirely offline without any cell signal. How each device performs offline varies. Newer phones perform better as they have a better GPS chip in them. Older phones will be slower to update.

Why does my location sometimes take a minute to appear?

This is normal behavior for any GPS device. When your phone has been off or without signal, it performs a 'cold start'. It has to search the entire sky for satellite signals, which can take 30-60 seconds. For a faster start, try to open the app while you still have service before heading out.

Can I use Lobsterly for anything besides lobstering?

• Snorkeling: Many waypoints are excellent snorkeling spots. Most of the restricted no-take zones are well known snorkel/dive spots along Florida's reefline
• Fish or explore any of the marked spots
• Save waypoints. Discover new spots, plan a trip, or help plot your course back to the marina
• Plan diving or kayaking adventures using the same map

How does navigation work?

• Uses your phone’s GPS & compass to guide you to spots
• Tech Tip: Enable Precise Location for best accuracy
• • iOS: Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Lobsterly → Precise Location = On
• • Android: Settings → Apps → Lobsterly → Permissions → Location → Allow precise location

Phone GPS vs. boat GPS—what should I use?

• Modern smartphones can get you within ~20 ft of waypoints in open‐sky conditions
• No need to import waypoints or convert to your boat's GPS format if using your phone
• Boat GPS: Reliability and rapid updates everywhere. Recommended for users with older phones
• Offline: tap the star icon in the waypoint info pop-up to store waypoints on your device & add notes
• Can still view all waypoints and your own favorites and spots while totally offline

What are waypoints?

• Precise coordinates to lobster spots like individual rocks, coral heads, ledges, patch reefs, etc
• Pro (orange stars): 2,500+ lobster spots with full details
• Free (teal stars): ~100 waypoints to get you started and aid in navigating to Lobster Areas
• Your Waypoints (red stars): Hold a finger on the map screen for couple seconds (long press) and save your own spot anywhere you want

Do the waypoint names mean anything?

No. We used a simple alphanumeric combination of random letters and numbers. Our goal was to give each waypoint a unique name but also make it easy to enter that name in your boat's GPS if you so choose so that you have consistent data across devices.

How does sharing waypoints work?

Click the share icon in the My Waypoints section and a share dialogue will apear. You can text waypoints including any notes you added to friends or save them to your notes app.

How does saving my own waypoints work?

Tap and hold on the map where you want to mark a new spot for a few seconds and a diaglogue box to save it will pop up. Zoom in for accuracy. View your saved spots in the My Waypoints tab in the Menu where you can manage or start navigation to them. Lobsterly cannot see your spots, they are saved locally on your device

How accurate are the waypoints?

• Most are placed within 20 ft of productive structure
• Approach shallow spots carefully. Some may not be boat-accessible
• Very shallow or otherwise hazardous spots are usually labeled as such - let us know if we missed one that needs this label
• Ocassionally one waypoint serves two or more features like two nearby coral heads or multiple rocks. We tried to note this in the description

Why are some waypoints clustered together?

Generally, multiple nearby features (coral heads, ledges, holes) each get their own marker so you can find them even in low-visibility conditions. We tried to keep about 100 yards between waypoints so if less than that we noted in the description that there may be multiple features

How far are waypoints from shore?

• 80% are within 5 miles of shore
• Farthest waypoint is ~15 miles west of Key West near Boca Grande
• Many can be reached by kayak

Will you add or remove spots over time?

• Yes, new spots are added as we find them. Existing spots are updated for accuracy
• We may remove spots that fill in, become unproductive, become part of a protected area, or are otherwise no longer suitable for lobstering
• Spots that have filled in today may not stay that way. Hardbottom and small rocks get buried and uncovered regularly and it may make sense to check a spot again, especially after a storm that moves around a lot of sand

What if I can't find the marked waypoint?

• We tried to make waypoints as precise as possible and described accurately. However, real world conditions can vary significantly.
• Small spots, like a single rock or coral head can be hard to find. Use your boat's depth finder while navigating over the waypoint and you might mark it.
• Look for a ring of sand from the surface, it's likely within that if the area is mostly seagrass.
• If you can't find it, try another nearby spot. Spots can be buried in sand or otherwise be inaccessible. There's often more nearby to check.
• Let us know. We aim to keep Lobsterly's waypoints as accurate as possible. If one is off or mislabeled let us know.

Do spots change?

• Nearshore waters are extremely dynamic and spots can change - sometimes significantly
• Storms can bury or expose hardbottom, holes & rocks
• ‘Hardbottom’ or ‘hole’ sites are most susceptible to sand movement
• New spots sometimes appear when sand is swept away
• Coral Heads, Reef, and Patch Reef spots generally remain consistent
• Ocean side spots significantly more consistent than Bay Side

What are most spots like?

• Most are small (single coral heads or rock patches)
• Almost all have foraging habitat (seagrass) nearby
• 80% are in <20 ft of water (ideal for freedivers)
• Shallow ‘easy’ spots (<12 ft) and some deeper ones (20–30 ft) for experienced divers

Why aren't any bridges marked in Lobsterly's waypoints?

Our goal was to provide unique spots for divers of all skill levels. Bridges are already well known lobstering spots. Bridge diving can also quite dangerous between boat traffic on busy days and currents which is part of the reason why we chose not to include them.

Why aren't more grass ledges marked?

Grass ledges are fantastic spots to lobster. However, the exact ledges that are productive can change significantly from year to year as seagrass is less durable than say a rockpile or a coral head. With that said, we highly recommend exploring grass ledges, especially those in shallow water, for new divers. It's a fantastic way to introduce someone to lobstering.

Another boat is on the spot I wanted to dive, what should I do?

Be respectful to other boaters and divers. Always operate at idle speed if passing a boat flying a dive flag. Try a different spot nearby, there are thousands of great lobster spots, don't ruin your day or theirs over a few bugs.

Are all No-Take Zones shown?

To the best of our knowledge all no take zones that apply to recreational lobster harvest in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties are shown. Finding accurate info about some of the smaller zones was quite difficult so we took the precaution of making them larger on the map than they likely are officially. Refer to the FKNMS Explorer app for a complete list of all zones within the FKNMS which includes all protected zones, even those that allow lobstering.

What types of No-Take Zones are shown on the map?

• General No-Take Zones: lobster harvest prohibited
• Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs): all harvesting prohibited
• Coral Nurseries/Restoration Areas: also no take, avoid anchoring—delicate structures
• Large protected areas marked as dashed red line like Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, Everglades National Park, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (dashed yellow line)

What are Lobster Areas?

Green overlays on map, productive areas to start looking for structure to lobster on. Usually nearshore or prominent areas that are easy to lobster on

Where can I find lobstering regulations?

Open the Regulations tab in the Menu. We covered the basics there but there are also links to the latest official rules at the bottom

Can I use SCUBA or a compressor?

Yes. Both work well for deeper or trickier spots or just to stay down longer to grab your limit.

Can I lobster at night?

• Monroe County: night diving for lobster is prohibited
• Rest of Florida: night diving allowed and can be a fun change of pace; bully netting permitted where harvest is legal
• Night diving on shallow grass flats where legal, primarily in Miami Dade County, can be incredibly productive. Dive lights and extreme caution of other boaters and your own vessel's location required.

Where should I anchor while lobstering?

• Choose sandy patches near your target spot to protect coral & seagrass
• Dense seagrass can be tricky to anchor in, aim for adjacent bare sand
• Likewise, some anchors don't set well in broken coral rubble that's found near reefs. Always make sure your anchor is set when you enter the water

Where’s the best place to start lobstering?

Nearshore coral heads, rocks, and sea grass ledges in shallow water are often great places to get the hang of lobstering

I’m new to lobstering, where do I begin?

• Read the Tips section for gear & techniques
• Check out the map to see Lobster Areas and free waypoints
• For paid users - look for ‘easy’ difficulty spots (<12 ft depth)
• Watch YouTube videos - there's tons of fantastic lobstering content that covers everything you need to know