Homosassa to Steinhatchee

Includes Horseshoe Beach, Suwanee, Cedar Key, Waccasassa Bay, Yankeetown, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Homosassa.

July 3-6

Find Your Own Scallops!

The Big Bend communities of Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Crystal River and Homosassa are getting ready for the hordes of scallopers to invade, starting this week. By the time this report is posted there will already be some hard evidence of exactly where the scallops are. But, as I write (Monday, June 29), there’s just a bunch of speculation.

First things first. Hopefully by now you’ve taken the time to heed my advice in last week’s column and have your boat, snorkeling gear, fishing licenses and trailer all in order. And you’ve probably got a good idea as to where you plan to go. It’s just a matter of finding the pesky critters once you get there.

When the FWC Scallop Survey numbers came out late last week about half of the business owners on the Big Bend were outraged. The ‘numbers’ were lower than last year and some ports got lower counts than others. Of course, everyone blamed the lower numbers on ‘bad science’ and no one seemed to take into account that scallop concentrations move around and may or may not have been in the areas the FWC has surveyed for years and years. I recall not finding any scallops south of the Steinhatchee River in 2007 and catching my limit there in 2008. I also recall that St. Marks’ expectations of a ‘great year’ in 2006 were dashed when just a handful of the bivalves showed up! It’s not necessarily ‘bad science’—it’s just statistics!

Essentially, it’s up to you to find your own scallops. They’re going to be found from the Hernando/Pasco County line (Aripeka) to Mexico Beach, but only in clear, salty water. Sting rays, whelks and starfish will eat a few, and heavy rainwater may move them offshore into water too deep to comfortably snorkel, but humans will be the main predator until September 10th, when the recreational season closes.

The ‘easy’ way to find scallops this weekend will be to show up after the first few days of the season and simply look for the ‘scallop fleet’. Another solution is to ask any employee of any marina—they’ll be happy to share what knowledge they have.

The ‘best’ way to find your own personal cache of scallops is to head out and find an area that’s likely to hold them and start a localized search by putting a diver or two into the water for a few minutes. And where’s that area? There are lots of arguments as to the best bottom structure. Some veteran scallopers say turtle grass; others say manatee grass. Some found them last year around areas of fuzzy reddish algae growth. I prefer the edges of sand patches or prop ditches. I don’t know the answer yet, but here are my suggestions as to a few places to start looking:

Homosassa: Stay north of the main channel and start looking in 4 feet of water, working your way north towards the old bird rack at N28 47.235 W82 47.774 If you don’t find any scallops in 4-feet, move deeper, but understand it’s difficult to snorkel in 8-feet (unless you’re Aqua Man!).

Crystal River: The water to the north of the river channel is mostly cloudy, so most scallops here traditionally come from the southern area between the ‘scallop platform’ (N28 52.202 W82 47.041) and the Gomez Rocks area (approx. N28 52.180 W82 45.314).

Horseshoe Beach: Head towards the bird racks to the north that lie along the 1-fathom contour (Start at N29 26.545 W83 21.203 and run a course of 275-degrees for three miles to follow the contour.) If the water’s clear, the scallops will likely be there. If the water’s cloudy, keep going towards the western end of Pepperfish Keys and try there.

Steinhatchee: Reports from the Sea Hag Marina tell me that there are decent numbers of scallops off of Rocky Creek in 4-feet of water. The deep flats off of Big Grass Island (try N29 45.372 W83 36.367) have been traditionally good early-season scalloping grounds, as is an area off Dallus Creek near N29 41.650 W83 34.101.

Please take special note that I used the word ‘traditionally’ several times in this report. Until I hear from my spies and readers and get a chance to do some scalloping myself, I won’t have any really firm data. If you’ve got information to share, please send it along!

Be safe, and watch out for stinging critters like rays, urchins and jellyfish. And if you must drink while scalloping, be sure to enlist the help of a designated captain for the ride home.

PS—people are still fishing with hooks and line. Just stand by until next week, and I’ll get back ‘on topic’.

By Capt. Tommy Thompson
Inshore Light Tackle and Fly Fishing
Steinhatchee, Florida
(352) 284-1763
www.saltwateranglersguide.com
captain@twotree.net

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