By Capt. William Toney
The scalloping just keeps getting better. I would think that with all the boats out there that there wouldn’t be any scallops left, but that’s far from the truth. I believe as the Gulf water continues to clear from the recent tropical rains more areas that have not been picked over will be discovered. The hot spot has been around Gomez Rock but this weekend it seems to be a trend of boats moving south towards St.Martins Keys. Near the Rock Island channel is where I’ve snorkeled with my clients and we’ve found our limit in good time, but what’s nice about this area is the water is about waist deep on low tide and very clear. Try to plan your scallop trip on the low tide phase it really makes the difference and it seems that the scallops just pop out of the grass. This year the scallops that I’ve cleaned have the largest muscle that I’ve ever seen. Some were the diameter of a quarter and over a inch long.
Trout fishing and red fishing have been o.k., nobody is setting the place on fire. The trout are in close for this time of year and the two most productive areas are between Hells 1/2 Acre and Homosassa Point and west of South Point. The broken yellow bottom has the most keeper fish and the best bait is a D.O.A. Deadly Combo with the 3’” shrimp or a MirrOlure Little John in root beer. The oval cork really helps keep the floating grass off your bait so don’t work it to fast let the grass gather on the cork, not your bait. The St. Martins Keys have a smattering of redfish, there’s a few in Fish Creek and south of Mason Creek. Free lined shrimp has been the best bait because the floating grass becomes so thick it renders most everything else useless. High incoming tide this weekend will be in the morning. Capt. William Toney www.homosassainshorefishing.com