A Beginner’s Guide to Bay Scallop Season: Catching, Cleaning & Cooking Fresh Gulf Scallops
Scalloping is the Natural North Florida’s alternative to South Florida’s lobster season. It’s a combination of complete madness at boat ramps and marinas, motels filled to capacity, family fun, and some of the best eating around. Here is our comprehensive guide to scalloping in Natural North Florida to prepare you for the upcoming season. Read …
Four Spectacular Florida Springs for Beginner Scuba Divers
Scuba diving for the first time is scary. Putting trust in your knowledge and capabilities, as well as in your gear, requires courage and an adventurous attitude. But the unforgettable experiences of breathing underwater, descending to new depths, and discovering underwater worlds of plant and animal life are all absolutely worth pushing past the fear …
A Taste of “Old Florida”: Bill’s Fish Camp at Suwannee
There are very few real “fish camps” left in Florida. Of those that disappeared, many were sold and their valuable (and strategically placed) real estate swallowed up by developers to build pricey condos and vacation homes. Some of that happened at Suwannee, Steinhatchee, Yankeetown and Cedar Key, but there are a few left. On our …
Fishing News: Redfish daily bag limit in Big Bend to change to 1 fish per person
On May 1, 2016, the individual bag limit for redfish (red drum) will drop from 2 fish to 1 fish on Florida’s Big Bend (Pasco County to the Alabama line). The FWC’s Northwest Zone is affected, as shown on the map below: Red drum, also called redfish, channel bass, spottail, red bass or reds, are …
Pit Stop: Headed Down Beach Road in Taylor County? Don’t Miss “Walter B’s”!
I’m sure if you plugged “15729 Beach Road, Keaton Beach, FL” into you GPS, it would take you to Walter B’s store. However, if you’re headed south from Perry down Beach Road (CR361) towards Keaton Beach, Adams Beach, Dekle Beach or Steinhatchee you’ll encounter this nice store, with gas, groceries, fishing tackle, kayak rentals–and even …
Day Trip Idea: “Plinking” For Free at Lake City’s Osceola Gun and Archery Range
Located near downtown Lake City, the Lewis D. Whitacre shooting range is a free and open to the public. It offers covered 25, 50 and 200 yard target ranges for rifles and pistols, as well as an archery range with a high stand. The range is open during daylight hours, but may be closed …
Fabulous, Feminine Fun at Steinhatchee’s Nauti-Girls Tournament, 6/11/16
NO BOYS ALLOWED! That’s the motto for the upcoming Steinhatchee Nauti Girls Fishing Tournament, scheduled for June 11th. Actually “boat boys”, mostly designated drivers, are allowed to chauffeur ladies’ teams around the local Steinhatchee waters. This is the 7th year of the event, and it just keeps getting more and more popular, attracting ladies from …
Day Trip Idea: Florida’s Citrus History at Gainesville’s Matheson History Museum, Through 8/26/16
Although our Natural North Florida region is no longer an important player in Florida’s citrus industry, there’s still lots of history and images to remind us how valuable “liquid gold” was to the area in past decades. As “cooler” weather crept northward, freezes killed many commercial groves, and only a few remain, mostly near lakes …
Shands 12th Annual Fishing For Kids Trout Tournament, Steinhatchee, FL–4/23/16
The 2016 Fishing For Kids Trout Tournament has a guaranteed $2500 payout, which isn’t bad for a $100 per boat entry fee. And there should be plenty of trout to be caught swarming the Taylor County flats off Steinhatchee. The tournament benefits UF Health Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, so even if …
Gov. Scott and FWC Announce Saltwater and Freshwater License-Free Fishing Days
Governor Scott and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Floridians and visitors will be able to fish without a saltwater recreational fishing license on June 7 and 8 and freshwater recreational fishing license on June 14 and 15. Governor Scott said, “Florida is the Fishing Capital of the World, and fishing is an …