While scalloping in Steinhatchee, I'd be hiring the kids at Sea Hag Marina (who consider cleaning scallops a prize summer job) to do it. Trimming a bunch of black innards from brown-shelled mollusks isn't really for me. You're stuck cutting off the top shell, removing the innards and, finally, harvesting the meat. (Each vacation home has a grill and an oven.) Cleaning can be a bit tricky. Those staying at Steinhatchee Landing Resort, an amalgam of 30 Victorian and Conch-style vacation cottages ideally situated on 35 riverfront acres, can cook up their catch once you get back to the resort. Dive into the grasses, and once you find the scallops - notable for their quintessential seashell shapes and striated brown coloring - start grabbing. Upon arrival, all you need is a net or bucket, and snorkel. Your captain will take you out to the edges of turtle grass beds, or to areas where several types of grasses mix together. Still, you may find it best to hire a charter boat. Scallops live in shallow water, typically around three to four feet, although the mollusks can be found in water depths of six inches to six feet. The sport is particularly popular with families any child who can swim can catch these creatures. July is the start of the scallop season in Florida, which runs through early September. You can find scallops - and their tender, white meat - by the gallon where the Steinhatchee empties into the Gulf of Mexico, in an area known as Apalachee Bay. ![]() Steinhatchee is best known, though, for its scallops. During the Florida scallop season, you can find anglers in the brown waters of the Steinhatchee River fishing for largemouth bass, cobia, grouper, red snapper. This has kept rampant tourism at bay, and left Steinhatchee a mecca for fishermen. Placed squarely in Florida's Big Bend, Steinhatcheeis a Florida contradiction: a coastal town without expansive stretches of white-sand beaches. As my quickly numbing fingers fumble with the chicken necks, I wonder whether scalloping would have been easier. All that's left is to tie my bait to the bottom of each (I've been assured that chicken necks work best), throw them over the dock, tie to same, and wait for a tug. I've purchased two crab nets and two pre-assembled traps. They'd jump into the bone-numbing Atlantic, whip off their T-shirts, then use the shirts to pick up the crabs they'd find. ![]() My father grew up crabbing with his brothers outside of Boston. "I got the traps! I got the fishing gloves!" Surprised to find all the gear I need, and surprised at how cheap it is - less than $35 to fully outfit two people. After a few confused moments in that department, I find myself surprised. "Over in sporting goods," she answers, in a polite but offhand way that makes me feel like an idiot. Of all these bits of gear, the only one I can picture fully is "rope." So I feel a little unnerved asking the Wal-Mart greeter where the mega-chain keeps its "crabbing stuff." It seems as exotic as asking, "Hey, can I grab an infusion of lamb's blood here?". Beyond the crab traps and crab nets, you need only fishing weights (to weight nets to the Gulf or Atlantic floor) fishing gloves (for picking up the prone-to-pinch creatures) and rope to tie your nets or traps to the dock. Which brings me to Wal-Mart.Īll the articles I've read on crabbing have said you catch with traps or nets. (In fact, enthusiasts bill crabbing as a great activity for kids.) I'm looking forward to a low-key day ending with the crabs' succulent, spicy/sweet taste.įirst, I need to gear up. The crustaceans' seeming willingness to climb into your trap renders the sport equally popular among locals and visitors. While you can catch blue crabs in Florida throughout the year, you'll find them more plentiful in the warmer months. I decide to start with crabbing because I've been told, and I've read in innumerable how-to articles, that any idiot can catch a blue crab in Florida.Īny idiot at all. The bounties of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean seem endless for those who think seafood just tastes better when you catch it yourself. A lot of my father's buddies crab here, so I thought we'd try our luck.Ĭrabbing - in this case blue crabbing - is one way to catch your dinner in Florida. It was an unusually blustery afternoon in Florida, the first cold snap of the fall, and my dad and I stood, shivering, on the pier at Crystal Beach near St. ![]() ![]() Crabbing, scalloping & fishing in Florida - anyone can do it! Here's what you need to know, from equipment you need to the best places to go.
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