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Who's going? And where? We are thinking of trying St Marks ourselves. But not sure yet.

chirp chirp chirp..................Guess I'll have them all to myself.

Still waiting on my tank to be delivered.

MudDucker wrote:Still waiting on my tank to be delivered.

Hey man that's cheating. lol

With all our rain I think your going to have a hard time at St.Marks...
I'm curious to hear the first hand reports1

Been hearing the water is nasty at Keaton.


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It was pretty dark over there on Monday.You could hardly see grass in 3 ft.

I've noticed at St Marks that even though the water looks dark the visibility is good once you get in.


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Received this from FWC
Bay scallop season starts June 28
Get your bay scallop bags and shucking tools ready. The recreational bay scallop season opens in some Gulf of Mexico state waters (shore to 9 nautical miles) starting June 28, three days earlier than the season was slated to start. The portion of Gulf state waters is from the Pasco-Hernando county line north and west to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County.
The season will remain open through Sept. 24, with the first day of the closure on Sept. 25.
Gov. Rick Scott asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to open the 2014 season early to provide additional opportunities to Florida’s residents and visitors who flock to the coast to partake in this activity. The season is an economic draw to the coastal counties within the open region. This change is not expected to harm the scallop population.
All size limits and bag limits remain the same. The bag limit is 2 gallons of whole bay scallops or 1 pint of meat per person, per day, with a vessel limit of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops or a half-gallon of meat. Scallops may be collected by hand or with a landing or dip net.
Scallops cannot be taken ashore outside of the open area.
There is no commercial harvest for bay scallops in Florida.
The average number of scallops observed during 2013’s post-season surveys suggests similar or slightly rising abundances for 2014 in Homosassa, St. Joseph Bay and Steinhatchee. The St. Marks average has been decreasing since June 2012, which is most likely due to increased storm runoff in recent years.
Be safe when diving for scallops. Stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag when scalloping in open water and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag if on a river, inlet or navigation channel. Boat operators traveling within 300 feet of a divers-down flag in open water or 100 feet of one on a river, inlet or navigational channel must slow to idle speed.

Steinhatchee friends of ours reported today, TOO MUCH FRESHWATER has messed up salinity.

Steinhatchee Falls remains underwater. Been that way since March?? Rained there yesterday and now again today. More rain forecast for this week. Might have to get away from the river and/or deeper water?? Good luck.

Gotta ask. Where do they go if they aren't on the flats?

We will be at Keaton Beach on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Looks like we will be scalloping in the mornig on Saturday and Sunday with 9 and 10 am low tides. Looks like we may be there almost by ourselves.

Post up a report from there for us. Good luck. If their not in close yet you may want to check around 9 mile bar.


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lonesouth wrote:Gotta ask. Where do they go if they aren't on the flats?

. They are in deep water the rest of the year.


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so 6-15 ft instead of 3-6 ft? Is that sandy bottom or deep grass?

I guess I'm asking if they aren't found in the flats at the typical place, where should we go to look? Would SCUBA be required at that point?