Dust off your dive tanks and grab your bug bags. The 2010 mini lobster season is just days away. The two-day recreational lobster hunt, held each year on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July, is scheduled for July 28 and 29.

This special spiny lobster sport season, which tends to attract huge crowds of dedicated lobster maniacs in the Florida Keys, will be followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season, which opens Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. The idea behind the two-day season it to give sport divers and snorkelers a chance to catch some "bugs" before commercial lobster traps are placed in the water on Aug. 1.

Spiny lobsters must have a carapace or body length greater than 3 inches to be legal and all divers must carry a measuring device in the water to ensure that they are following the rules. The bag limit is 6 per person per day for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, and 12 per person per day for the rest of Florida. The possession limit on the water is equal to the daily bag limit. The possession limit off the water is equal to the daily bag limit on the first day, and double the daily bag limit on the second day. Be warned: Possession limits are enforced on and off the water.
 
License requirements: Both residents and non-residents need a recreational saltwater license and a crawfish permit to take spiny lobster.