Crystal River Scalloping
 

Any SeaCrafters going partake in the annual 4th of July madness? I haven't been in 3 years but have some friends up that are insisting on being out there.... on my sled of course.

I actually enjoy amature season and all there is to see and laugh about as long as no one gets hurt. Part of my enjoyment is the ramp as well but I have the luxury of utilizing a remote ramp if the tide is right.

Scallop Marauders
 

Ken, The Dredge Marshtackie will be in the general neighborhood on the 4th. We're going up on the 2nd to try to "wack" some gags and pick up some hogfish, offshore on Wednesday and Thursday. I'll be down in Bayport on the southern regions of the crazyness, but I'll point it toward the Smoke Stacks and try to find you in that mess of boats.
You'er right, it is nuts in Crystal River about 3:30 PM. They are three wide in the turns like Daytona - a 24' pontoon boat with 12 people on it, a 34' SeaVee with triple Verados and a 10 aluminum Jon boat sandwiched in between 'em. It's almost as bad as opening day of Sportsman's Season in Big Pine Channel!
Did you ever think about running down from Yankeetown?

The barge canal is almost vacant during scallop season and as long as the tide is good I have plenty of water to unload and load up my sled. I'll probably pick up and runout after we get our limit and knock out a load of gags while I have a half a dozen deck swabbers on the boat.

Haven't tried the barge canal, but we've used the ramp behind the Day's Inn and it hasn't been too crowded. Haven't tried it on the weekend of the 4th, though. We usually wait until a week or two into the season before we venture out. Yahoos and overzealous law enforcement are out in abundance for the season opener. The barge canal sounds like a good strategy for avoiding both.

Ken, Would you have a mutiny board the Suzuki Sidewinder if you ran offshore first then headed for the beach in the afternoon when the big cumulus Godzillas rise up in Brooksville and try to turn your tee top into Ropa Vila? If one of those catches you offshore you got to do a lot of "crosstie walkin" to get home. The Scepter will take it, but it's hard on your cerebellum and other important "on board" components.

Dave, if you want to run as far south as Bayport and if you need a place to tie up, use the power, showers and vacuum bagger you are welcome to tie up at our place in Weeki Wachee. We'er just west of the bridge at Shoal-Line Blvd.

I'll talk to my friends who live in Ozello to see where the scallops are the thickest.

Terry, that is the fun part! Nothing keeps family and their friends that don't ever help for gas and expenses from asking for free, all enclusive scallop trips and grouper fillets than having to dodge water spouts and hail storms on the way in. It is worth the sacrifice to maintain my "Crazy Brother in law" status as well!

Bench Racers
 

Kenny, I remember the "C-B-i-L" walnut and silver plaque being right in the center of your office wall at eye level. Seems like the 55 gallon Drum Blood Donor award, Hurricane Response Team Leader Governor's Citation, the 10 Year Commemoration Volunteer Firefighter and the Girl Scout Cookie Wholesale Distributor Certification were all in the peripheral.

So I called "Obie", mayor of Ozello today to see what I could find out about the scallop situation. He couldn't talk because he owns a boat and was working on the Hydraulic steering! the First Lady of Ozello, Jeannie told me they were going out this weekend and would let me know what was happen'in. Normally I don't like to pull this political muscle but you see one time when we all were in a bar in Applachacola the band started playing Willie and the Hand Jive, so Marsha taught 'em all the moves and now they are indebted to me. (Of course I always get mixed up when you switch from hitch-hik'in to that deal where you do your hands back and forth with the palms down so actually we'er all indebted to Marsha!) It was crazy. She had all the "Oyster Tongers" and the "Mullet Fishermen danc'in in their white boots. The oysters and the mullet were safe the next day!

So Kenny, if we were on the Bayliner Site, I'd be afraid to post the report about where the scallops are because those guys have guts and they go out and use their boats and get blood in 'em. You see, they don't worry about water spots on their windshields or what kind of fuzzy dice to hang around the edges of their Tee Tops, and if their bathing suit matches their boot stripe and stuff like these CSC "Bench Racers" worry about. There ain't but about seven on here that know SeaCrafts are just the best race proven "Fishing Platforms" there are. They just want to pose with their SeaCraft and they don't really want to look in the rear view mirror, try to hitch up to it and then tow it to the water and put it in. A lot of them are busy "Saving" their Seacrafts for someone else, I guess.

Kenny, I'll be up there on the Fourth with ya'. I'll be easy to spot - I don't have a stink'in windshield or a tee top but I will have coating of Hogfish slime, Grouper snot and Scallop glick on most horizontal surfaces. When I get done with this '67 Moesly I'll be like Jake and Elwood Blues sliding into Cook County Courthouse - that is if it don't wear me out first!

Elwood: It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarrettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Jake: Hit it.

Not the penguin.

Curtis: "Boys, you gotta learn not to talk to Nuns that way"