http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/Captain-s-Corner-Cool-off-bring-home-a-tasty-dinner-with-scalloping_169369349
What’s the best way to cool off in July and August? Go scalloping. It’s like going on an underwater Easter egg hunt that results in a bag of tasty scallops to cook up. The most popular places to scallop are in Homosassa and Steinhatchee in 2 feet of water on out to 12 feet; the average depth for most people is 3 to 6 feet of water. I look for a sea grass bed with sand holes. Also, look for the shorter thinner grass that grows in the sand. A scallop looks like the Shell gas station sign with a dark top shell and a white bottom with 24 little blue eyes. When you see them in the grass the darker side is up and the opposite when they are in the sand most of the time. The regulations are 2 gallons whole bay scallops in shell, or 1 pint of bay scallop meat per person with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in shell, or half-gallon bay scallop meat per vessel as the daily bag limit with no minimum size limit. The boundary line is the waters from the Pasco-Hernando County line near Aripeka to Beach Canal in Bay County. The season is from July 1 to Sept. 24, with a special season this year in Pasco County from July 20-29. All you need is a mask, snorkel, fins, and a catch bag to put scallops in. Dive the last part of the outgoing tide and the first part of the incoming tide to hit those deeper spots.
Jim Lemke charters out of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and can be reached at (813) 917-4989 and at captjimlemke@gmail.com.
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