Florida Scallops with a hitchhiker... fresh from the bay.

We arrived in Horseshoe Beach on July 1 as scheduled. The rest of our crew arrived on time and the great scalloping adventure of 2010 was about to begin. We had our three grandsons with us for the summer and showed them all the wonders of the great outdoors here in sunny Florida. They learned how to sail, catch and release sharks, beach metal detect, and now … scalloping!

Last year we were catching our daily limit within an hour or so at this spot, so we were hopeful. The first day showed us that we were going to have to work a bit harder at filling our five gallon buckets. We ended up going north of Steinhatchee where we ‘slammed’ them. Everyone was limited out in under an hour, no oil either.

Before you head out make sure you know what YOUR daily limit is. Check with the FWC website for the official rules and regulations as they change by the number of people you are scalloping with. The maximum daily limit per boat is 10 gallons of whole scallops, regardless of the size of your crew. Check the per person regulation, too. The youngest grandson, who just turned 5, counted towards the daily limit the same as the adults.

We noticed fewer scallops in this area. I’m not sure if they migrated to someplace different this year or if the early season opening depleted the stocks already, but we were working hard to get our limit.

Teaching my youngest grandson how to 'look' for scallops

If you have never been scalloping before, it’s very easy. Just snorkel along and pick up the tasty little critters as you spot them. It may take a bit to develop an eye for them, but you will quickly get the hang of it.

Sometimes the white part of the shell is turned upwards which makes them really easy to see. Generally though, the darker side is up and it matches the grass beds very nicely. With the sun shining into the water, you can sometimes see their sparkling blue eyes along the entire opening of the bi-half shell as they are filtering water.

As you approach they will generally snap shut and remain still. This makes them easy prey. Sometimes you get a swimmer and they are fun to catch. They rapidly open and close the halves of their shell which propels them through the water in an attempt to escape, usually with out success. I’ve seen them swimming along and I’ll hold open my collection bag and let them swim right in. Volunteers, you got to love them.

Watch out for the OUCH! Scallops can snap shut on your fingertips and they really pinch. If you’re picking up a scallop with Attention Deficit Disorder (the one that forgot to slam his big mouth shut as you are reaching for him), grab it from behind along the hinge side. It will keep you from getting pinched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pU6L_BCwjw

Some folks I know are going scalloping for the first time and have requested a detailed explanation of this fun event. So then, here it is.

BASIC ITEMS NEEDED

A good mask and snorkel. Essential. You will have your face stuck in the water most of the time. The snorkel really makes breathing underwater much easier. When you get your mask home, wet the inside lens in the sink. Take some toothpaste, just a tad, and use the tip of your wet finger to very gently clean the inside lens. Trust me on this … it will really make a difference. Rinse the mask well. If you have some anti-fog drops (recommended), apply as directed before swimming. The drops can be obtained where you got the mask or at any dive shop. Don’t forget to dip your mask in the salt water to give it one last rinse before putting it on your head.

If this is all I got, I'm gunna starve here!

Being able to clearly see the scallops is the key to success. A poorly fitting mask, or one that fogs up constantly, makes for a less fun day. Hint: To find a properly fitting mask, stick it on your face without the strap on the back of your head. If the suction created by the mask holds it in place for a few seconds after you let it go … it fits. Then go for a nice stylish look.

I do suggest going to a dive shop or expedition outfitter type store for the mask and snorkel. Discount stores sell discount merchandise. It won’t fit or last. The professional stores have qualified sales people to help you with your selection.

Fins. Necessary. Quality fins will last years and years. I have a set of Rocket fins that still work well. I’ve owned them for over 20 years now. I highly recommend some sort of bootie or wet sock to wear with your fins. This will prevent chafing and the occasional blister.

Dive Flag: Required by law. The dive flag is red with a diagonal white stripe and must be flown when you are in the water. You are required to remain within 300 feet of the flag. Flags are available at all dive shops.

Collection bag: Necessary. This can be any kind of mesh type bag that will hold your catch.

Five gallon bucket(s): Necessary. You need some place to put all your scallops as you collect them, and the bucket gives you a good gauge of your catch to keep you within legal limits. The scallops NEED some place to chill out (in salt water) until such time as the cleaning process begins.

Scallop knife: Necessary (maybe). It all depends on how you like to clean scallops. Some folks use a spoon, I like the knife. You can buy these at the dive shops as well. They are not particularly sharp and only three inches long. The tip of the knife is curved to fit the inside of the top half of the shell. This is important when cleaning scallops.

Ice cold frosty adult beverage: Necessary, for our crew anyhow. Got to keep hydrated!

Scallop parts, double click for large view

CLEANING SCALLOPS

We generally set up an assembly line for cleaning. This consists of one person splitting the shell open with the scallop knife. You hold the scallop, white shell down, in the palm of your left hand (reverse this for southpaws). Put the back, or hinge part of the scallop facing your fingertips and the bivalve opening of the hinge towards your wrist. The goal here is to use the curved portion of the blade to scrape the upper inside of the shell. This cuts the muscle and membrane free from the top (dark) half of the shell . Peel this half of the shell away. Save the shells if you are crafty … they make lots of neat things.

The next person cleans out the guts (kids love doing this part). Use a spoon or the curved edge of a scallop knife to scrape out the membrane. Practice makes perfect here. The only thing remaining in the lower half of the shell when you are done should be the white muscle. The last person cuts the meat from the remaining bottom shell. This is the easiest job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76D5w2Qzcag

Store your scallops in salt water in a good zip lock type freezer bag. A good fresh water rinse before cooking is all you will need after you thaw them out.

Lined up for cleaning..... yummmm

So there you have it … go out and enjoy some of nature’s bounty. Just don’t forget the sunscreen.

The link below has  more detailed information about cleaning, with photos!

http://www.southerncrosses.com/2009/07/15/florida-bay-scallops-the-how-to-guide/

By the way… have you read my novel yet?

Far Reaches, the modern power yacht!

Taking advantage of any opportunity to avoid disaster I jump at the offer to go fishing.

My neighbor, Reed has a rather stately power vessel and is preparing to go to sea. He is looking for volunteers to assist in the seaworthy task of catching fish. We agree.

6am and the preparations are underway. I go to Dunkin Doughnuts to get the glazed ‘energy rings’ and java. Reed heads to the bait shop for, well, bait. The sun rises on time and Reed’s other guests arrive.

We pull away from the dock on a beautiful morning and approach the local drawbridge. We are all noticing a larger than normal population of Box Jellyfish. They have some long tentacles and are plentiful. It would not be a good time to fall in the water.

Box Jellyfish with long stingers~

Dolphins approach and feed nearby. This is always a good sign.

For the last four or five days the weather has been perfect. Today would be the one day this week that the seas decide to play havoc with our fishing plans. We start rolling back and forth and I hear the contents of Reed’s boat begin to shift positions matching the wave action. Nothing too traumatic at this point, just a little uncomfortable. One of the guys comments that he was glad his wife could not make it on this trip as she would have been seasick by now.

We manage to anchor on a reef about eight miles offshore and start fishing. Several small fish are caught pretty quickly. Nothing to keep though as the red grouper were all undersized and the snapper were kind of small as well.

Dolphins love the bow wave

Several storms start merging a bit further out in the Gulf as one small one passes overhead. The boat gets a quick rinse as the waves build. The Captain decides that it’s time to head back in before the larger storms hit us.

Today was a great day. I caught a couple of fish, and was able to avoid the pain and suffering of my pending solar panel installation project. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for hurting myself…

The difference between fishing and a simple boat ride, bad weather...

Been nowhere in particular

Every now and then a garden variety Florida thunderstorm passes through the area cooling things off for a few hours. The temps are running in the low 90’s with the humidity around 88%. It’s muggy. Small amounts of work will generate large amounts of sweat.

What in the heck are we doing at the marina anyhow?

Unable to answer the above question, we left with the tide. Winds were light and variable. The water is 88 degrees, so perhaps some swimming or diving will have to occur during this trip to nowhere, which is exactly where we were headed. This was a trip without a plan.

You never know who you will run into out here.

We decided to get away from the dock, but were unsure as to where we were headed. We did decide to head basically south. There is a nice place near Lemon Bay (Manasota Beach) to drop the anchor and go sharks teeth diving. I pulled out the chart and found a couple of neat places up along the Manatee River that we have not been to before. Maybe we will go there.

Leaving our marina we were greeted in the Inter Costal Waterway by an old friend of mine. We chatted with John and his wife for a short time as we approached the draw bridge. We tried to plan on going to Egmont Key and spending the night tied up with John. He had to be back to work, so that plan was scrapped. We were screaming along at 5 knots. John was in idle.

I'm just following the bird...

He couldn’t take the slow speeds any longer and soon departed on a plane. We agreed to meet up sometime in the future and spend the evening enjoying sundowner cocktails at the Key. I’m looking forward to that.

Passing the first drawbridge we were faced with which way to go. Turning right (starboard for you sailors) would take us out into the Gulf of Mexico. From there we could head down to the sharks teeth hunting grounds. The only problem with this is that there is no wind. A bit unusual for this time of the year. Nothing to fill the sails with was forecast for the rest of the week according to my marine radio. If we are going anywhere, it will be with the auxiliary engine only. The only thing the sails will be doing this week would be to provide a lot of shade.

We decided to turn left. That would take us through another drawbridge, then under I-275, and into Tampa Bay. Without the wind to drive us along we would have to find someplace closer to go. I don’t like listening to the engine all day and it heats up the boat.

I-275, where all the busy people are

The final decision had been made. Apollo Beach.

We could visit friends, hoist a drink or three at the tiki bar, dinner at Circles Restaurant, and visit with some friends. So that is exactly what we did, not necessarily in that order.

It was all about nothing. No wind, no rain, no chores, no schedule… nothing in particular.

We did have our cocktails, did visit with friends, and had some great food. All as it just happened, nothing planned beyond the next ten minutes or so.

Since we were not in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything in particular, we were compelled to watch Spanish mackerel spawn in Tampa Bay. I don’t believe that they actually cared or not if we were watching. Sheree tossed in a couple of great looking lures into the schools, but nothing would bite. They were busy spawning and running from the occasional opportunistic shark passing by.

Holy mackerel...

We saw lots of sting rays, birds, and a few other passing boats. Nobody appeared to be in much of a hurry as it was a work day for most of the world.

We on the other hand, had nothing in particular to do today, or the next day, or the next…

Do not disturb... busy going nowhere.

The mighty scallop

First and foremost, MAKE SURE IT IS SCALLOPING SEASON. A second little tip, MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN A LEGAL HARVESTING AREA. Failing to make sure you are in compliance will mean you will no longer be able to call the little shells scallops, and will have to use the moniker, ‘baby clams.’

The folks that know me know the back story, but since there may be some Florida Wildlife Commission officers reading this, I have never intentionally, and let me repeat… almost never violated any rules or regulations as set forth by the legal eagles of the Great State of Florida and enforced by those with guns and ticket books.

A fine collection of scallops

Should you accidentally find yourself in an awkward situation whereas you may possess some baby clams, do not do anything that would draw attention to yourself until you are safely ashore and the sun has set. And most certainly do not anchor next to the nearest US Coast Guard station.

Anyhow, as it is presently legally scalloping season, let’s concentrate on the task at hand…

First off, you need to be in an area along the west coast of Florida between the Pasco-Hernando county lines and running up to Mexico Beach in the Florida panhandle. The season runs from July 1st to September 10th. The adept scalloper is permitted to collect two gallons of whole scallops a day, which is about one pint of cleaned meat, but no more than ten gallons whole scallops a day, for any boat.

Step one, let the cleaning begin

You must capture the critters, and take them to shore in an area where it’s legal to harvest scallops. I suppose that this is should you actually be in possession of scallops, on a vessel outside the designated collection area, you will not be permitted to call them ‘baby clams’ and continue on your way. I would also suspect that you would face less of a punishment if you were in possession of 12 illegal immigrants and a kilo of cocaine.

Have a bag of baby clams in the onboard reefer while out of season, and outside the designated area… Well, you may get set adrift by the people who would seize your vessel and subsequently sell it back to you at a government auction six years from now. I suppose you could keep a pack of Ms. Paul’s fresh frozen sea scallops as a handy throw down box should you get boarded and searched.

Step two, guts

Getting back to the original story, we went to Cross City which is due west of Gainesville Fl. We found a small RV park where we set up camp. The water along the coast here is too shallow for our sailboat, the AbbyGale. We cajoled our relatives into coming along, boats and trailers required. We found Poor-Boy’s RV park which was a really neat little campground. $23.00 a night for full hook-ups was a sweet bonus.

Our intended destination for boating is Horseshoe Beach, due west of Cross City, about 21 minutes by auto. They have a county park at the beach with a free boat ramp. They also have a couple of paid campsites there, but they are generally full, and they don’t have much for power, water, or sewage hook-ups. The drive from Poor Boy’s is not that long considering the convenience of the park and nearby restaurants and such.

Step three, getting closer!

This is also a great place if you are interested in going to any of the many natural springs in the area. Perhaps another post…

We put the boats in the water and parked the trailers. Within 20 minutes we were in scalloping territory. All you need is about 5-6 feet of clear water about five miles away from the ramp, and a desire to go swimming. We dropped the anchor in some wiregrass beds and began the hunt.

The scallops are easy to spot once you know what to look for. Once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy to get your limit in an hour or so. Some will be lying on the grass, and when you dive to get that one, you generally see one or two more. Some of our hunters were picking up five scallops in one dive.

Step four, here's the meat

We would bring them up to the mother ship dumping our collection bags and continue the hunt. Anyone not wanting to get wet can begin the cleaning process speeding things up.

Grasp the scallop in one hand and with a scallop knife, insert the blade into the side. The knife is curved, and not sharpened. You need to use the blade to scrape the membrane free from the inside of the top half of the scallop shell. Peel this shell off and toss in a bucket.

There will be a glob of goo remaining in the lower shell. The next step is to scrape the membrane away and into a bucket. What remains is the scallop muscle, which is white in color and about the size of your finger tip, from the knuckle up.

The boat cleaning station

Using the backside of the blade, scrape off the scallop muscle and put it into a pint Tupperware container. (This helps with seeing when you have reached your limit)

There you have it… cleaned scallops. Feel free to try one of many recipes available for the tiny morsels. Just remember, do NOT overcook them. Drop a scallop in a hot skillet with butter, lemon, garlic, and a little seasoning, for an easy treat. It will take less than 60 seconds to completely cook the little guy.

Should you desire to relax and enjoy your catch, there is another way. For the truly lazy (which I’ve been known to be a time or two) there is a nice little restaurant at the end of Horseshoe Beach. You can get the standard frozen microwave fare if you’re absolutely starving, but for the true seafood lover; hand them your baggies of fresh caught seafood.

The Horseshoe Cafe

They will cook your catch for under $10.00 per person, which includes two sides. They will blacken or fry your catch and serve it up hot and steamy. It’s tough to get anything fresher. They did have fresh caught soft-shell crab available the night we were there, and it was mighty tasty.

And there you have it, another hidden Florida tasty treat just waiting to be plucked from the sea. Oh, and by the way, ‘baby clams’ taste amazingly like scallops!

Enjoy!

For more information please see the newest post on scalloping:

http://www.southerncrosses.com/2010/07/25/florida-bay-scallops-2010/

You could get lucky and find a flounder

A woman who can catch fish, clean them, and cook ‘em up: Absolutely PRICELESS!

Sheree and dinner!

(No… sorry… she is not for sale or trade)

It would seem that while I’m overseas on a business trip my lovely wife Sheree has found herself in Key Largo hanging out with her brother, Capt. Robert Lovell. He is a professional backwater fishing guide in the Florida Keys, and my favorite brother-in law.

One of the wonderful benefits is that since we are family, we get to fish for free!

Robert does take some getting used to however. He takes most of the mystery out of fishing. I like to chunk a pretty looking lure out into the clear water. I generally make sure the hook is sharp by seeing how much blood I can draw from my fingers while tying the lure on.

I’ll throw it out, wind it back in and just enjoy the day. Ahhhh ~ Island time, ya mon…

Robert on the other hand, takes the scientific approach. You have to tell him exactly what kind of fish you want, how many, and what size, what color, how long and such, prior to leaving the dock.

You ride along to the ‘spot’ and wait until receiving further instructions. Robert will subsequently point in some direction and firmly state, “There, there he is, do you see it now?”

Capt. Robert Lovell ~ he knows where to go!

Any answer other than, “Yeah, WOW, I see him,” will only reward you with a sneer and look of, ‘you’re such a failure.’

Chunk your lure into the direction indicated, start reeling back in. Adjust your retrieval speed until you no longer hear, “reel it faster damn it,” or “for God’s sake, slow down… you have to let the fish see it!”

Then simply follow the hook setting instructions, “Pull harder, aw come on… you got to set the hook,” or “what are you trying to do, rip his lips off???” You will eventually find the happy medium in there somewhere.

As the fish appears next to the boat Robert will bring it on board. To avoid the ‘you idiot‘ look, make sure you have the appropriate amount of slack on the line, but not too much or you will still get the ‘you idiot‘ look…

Sheree and the baby Sheepshead

Roberts methods do seem to work though. I’ve never caught so many fish in my life as when we are on his boat. I’ve learned a lot from him, he knows where the fish are, and one day…

I’ll even see that fish in the water.

http://www.flkeysflyfishing.com/