Technically….. we didn’t scallop out of Cedar Key but instead left the Cedar Key dock aboard our Plan B Whaler heading 24 miles south to the scallop flats of Crystal River (it’s a lot easier than trailering the boat and dealing with the CR trailer ramp line & parking………)
Monday July 3rd :
At 0800 hrs the seas were flat and it was nice to be able to run at 30 knots. The plan was to find the scallops, get em cold, then run back to Cedar Key before the storms kicked up and then clean scallops off Atsena Otie Key.
Running
An easy run (Lauren & Kaitlyn)
The scallop grounds weren’t hard to find as the scallop fleet at 0915 hours was pretty large already.
With Casey in the water we looked at 3 different spots before deciding that there were enough scallops in abundance to anchor up. Viz was good around 13 feet and the tide was incoming. Water temperature was 88 ˚F.
Lauren with her first scallop ever!!
Lauren going down for a scallop
Common starfish
My wife Pat with her catch
Stone crab in it’s dark hole (used the flash)
Above it are two white banded cleaner shrimps
Kaitlyn grabbing a couple
Kaitlyn
Lauren & Casey with their catch
Casey
The scallops were abundant
At the end of our scalloping I was lucky enough to spot a nice flounder (we always keep a small weighted float in our zipper pocket while scalloping so that when we find a flounder we deploy the float, take a bearing then swim back to get the pole spear).
I was fortunate enough to even get a birthday flounder!!
An added bonus!
AN AWESOME DAY!!
The Plan B crew
Right before we left I did a quick boat count within a small 40˚ quadrant and came up with 100 boats. Applying that quadrant to the boats surrounding us there must have been between 400 – 500 boats scalloping!! I thought that was even more concentrated boaters than Sport Lobster in the Keys.
The CR scallop fleet
Running back to Cedar Key the seas were again flat and it was an easy run. Once at Atsena Otie we dropped the hook and started cleaning scallops.
Kaitlyn & Lauren cleaning scallops
Miss Pat helping too
Cold scallops make for easy cleaning
I’m pleased to say that while we scalloped there were no idiots near us and that everyone was friendly, respectful, courteous and had safety in mind. It’s not always that way.
Red Snapper Tuesday July 4th :
Leaving bright early at 0830 hrs (lol) we headed off on a quick red snapper trip. It was going to be a short trip as we wanted to get back to St. Augustine that evening to attend a good friend’s Fire Works & Pig Roast Party. The plan was to find some snaps, catch a few and immediately head back in.
Once again seas were pretty flat and we ran off 20 miles to 48-52 feet. Going to some of my old bottom numbers that were at least 8 years old it took a while to find the red snappers but once we found them they were quite willing to play almost coming to the surface to check things out.
Running offshore
No snaps yet but running to another number we passed a small tripletail that wouldn’t eat a piece of cut bait on a float so we slowly approached and scooped it up in a net.
What a beautiful fish!!
At our 7th number we finally found a number that was holding fish………….. (it’s amazing how good btm numbers change with time…..). Casey’s girlfriend Lauren had never caught a fish before but she was a fast learner and got a quick handle on our 4/0 grouper gear. She was a trooper!!
Lauren with her FIRST fish ever!!
The abundant black sea bass were even more aggressive than the red snappers so we kept some for the fish box too. In 48 feet of water you could watch the bait drop and watch the fish take up our baits!
Lauren with a nice BSB (and no hesitation to hold any fish!)
A beautiful Lake Gulf of Mexico!!
Lauren with her second snap
Casey with another nice snap
With time running out we didn’t play with the red snaps too long as we had a lot of work to do and miles to cover before we would make it for the St Augy fireworks.
Casey & Lauren putting Plan B back on the trailer
Good looking effort!
St Augy Fireworks……………………….
Hoo Yah!! It doesn’t get much better!!
Brian
