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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
July 15, 2002
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Scallops Season in Homosassa Opens With Success
On the Fourth of July, I talked to Pam MacRae of MacRae's in Homosassa, Florida. I asked her how the scallop season was going.
“Most of our guests are getting their limits,” she said with enthusiasm.
When I ask her where to go, she offered: “Try going shallow about three or four feet of water, that’s where the most are, Hammer!”
Scalloping provided great family fun in Homosassa before the seven-year ban was lifted. My 14-year-old daughter, Courtney, had been anticipating the opening of the season for weeks. We had gathered the necessary gear, which included masks, fins, snorkel and a mesh ditty bag for each of us.
Courtney had also purchased a new red with a white diagonal strip dive flag, which is almost twice the size of our old standard one, which was 12-by-12 inches. The new minimum regulation size is 20-by-24 inches.
Any divers-down flag displayed from a vessel must be displayed from the highest point of the vessel or a location where the view of the flag is not obstructed in any direction. I told my daughter and her two friends, Rachel Frazier and Beth Woods, who accompanied us on the trip to stay within 100 feet of the boat, even though the law reads 300 feet in open water.
Not displaying the flag could cause a visit from our friends from the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), aka the old Marine Patrol. I read a recent FWC report which had stated more than 1,500 boats were spotted from the air on opening day, July 1, in Citrus County. From the vessel Guardian and other patrol boats, some warnings and citations were written for careless operation, no dive flag, over the limit and illegal equipment. The report stated that most of the people checked had close to their limit.
The day we went was cloudless and very calm with little tidal current. Scallops could be seen in the 3- to 4-foot depths of the clear water from the boat’s deck. However, we did not have a long-handled dip net to scoop them up. Courtney said that was way too boring when we could snorkel for them. Some of the folks I saw nearby were scooping them from the boat, which looked like fun if you don’t want to get wet.
We all had put on our waterproof Bullfrog sunscreen an hour before getting in the water to allow ample time to soak in.
Since I was not wearing my cap, I applied more sunscreen to my balding head. I added a T-shirt as part of my additional equipment to protect me from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
After 30 minutes we had gathered more than 70 scallops, Courtney had retrieved the most. We moved to find a better spot and continued gathering scallops when all of a sudden Courtney rushed over to me like she was being attacked by a shark. “Something has stung me!” I said probably, a jellyfish, quick let’s go back to the boat. Fortunately, I had some sting wipes in my first-aid kit. I heard that meat tenderizer or vinegar is good to neutralize the stinging. Ice is also recommended to bring the swelling down from the research I did.
On Courtney, some small whelps and a rash had popped up on her shoulder and along her arm. Within 15 minutes she was OK and eating the lunch we had brought. We decided to post a lookout for the jellyfish. After lunch, Courtney bravely got back into the water, saying she was no wimp and that it would take more than that to spoil her fun. I suggest to the public that wearing a wetsuit, shirt or applying lots of sunscreen could avoid a minor injury such as a sting from the moon jellyfish. The rash and itch can last for several hours.
Even though our harvest was hampered somewhat by the fear of the jellyfish, we still ended up with a nice mess of 150 scallops, which we took home to prepare for our dinner.
The first step to cleaning scallops is to ice them down in seawater or ice water. The point is to get them cold as possible so they will open up for easy access. When we got back home we used regular teaspoons and butter knives, and the four of us cleaned the scallops in less than an hour.
I lightly floured the collection and pan-fried them for a few minutes. We baked a few French fries to go along and we had a meal. The kids felt a sense of accomplishment, diving up their own meal to eat.
For the report, most everyone I talked to got their limit. Capt. Ted Johnston took his family out several times and got plenty of scallops. Dr. Rick Weisenburger also helped Ted fill his limit quota. Ted stated that two gallons of whole scallops yielded 20 ounces of meat. This yield should go up as the season progresses and the scallops get bigger.
A recipe in part I will pass on comes from Jim Farrior via Ted. Jim overheard a scalloper say he was going to grill some scallops in the half shell. Sounding like a great idea the two shelled out a platter full leaving the meat attached to one side. They sprinkled on some Everglades Seasoning, garlic and some special sauce (use your imagination here).
When the juices came to a boil in the shell, it was slurp up time.
According to Wilma MacRae, Rodney MacRae and his family got their limit very easily on opening weekend. Capt. Charlie Harris guided a party of two to their limit of scallops as well. Charlie also had a minor encounter will a jellyfish.
Scallopers are limited to two gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or 1-pint of bay scallop meat per day during the open season. In addition, scallopers may possess no more than 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or ½-gallon of bay scallop meat aboard any vessel at any time.
Bay scallops may be harvested only by hand or with a landing or dip net.
A salt-water fishing license is required if you are a resident between the ages of 16-65 if you are scalloping from a boat. All non-residents are required to purchase a license to harvest scallops.
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