[Crystal River, FL.–] Hurricane Irma’s lashing winds and roiled waters have done nothing to degrade the fishing along Florida’s Nature Coast. Sure, the Gulf and inshore waters got murky, …
Exploring the Lake Wales Ridge: Central ‘highlands’ with old-fashioned flavor
10 May 20188:56 AM
When folks say Central Florida, what comes to mind? Orlando, Disney, theme parks?
There is another Central Florida and it makes a delightful discovery: the Lake Wales Ridge.
Like a spine up the middle of the state, the Lake Wales Ridge is a 150-mile-long stretch of higher ground, extending from Clermont on the north to Lake Placid on the south.
How high is the ridge? The highest point is Sugarloaf Mountain near Clermont at 312 feet, so, no, you won’t need to worry about climbing any peaks.
But you will be enjoying some of the most beautiful rolling hills, forests, streams and quaint small towns that Florida has to offer. And it’s all within two or three hours of urban South Florida, Tampa and Orlando. It is, in fact, the geographic center of Florida…read more of the article from Bonnie Gross of the Florida Rambler.
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; Captain Madison MacDonald (352-601-7392) and Captain Colin Guy (352-634-2901).
For the last few years, the Nature Coast has experienced something of a snook bonanza. This hard-fighting, line-sided speedster will make you work for it, but it is so much fun. Toney and MacDonald recommend casting a C.A.L. Shad jerkbait in glow/goldrush with a 1/8-ounce chartreuse jig head or a MirOLure Little John around the points of mangrove islands all the way up to the mouths of the Homosassa and Chassahowitzka rivers on the higher stages of the tide.
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Once you've checked off the snook, the red should be a gimme. In the fall, bull reds way over the slot limit of 18 to 27 inches make their way inshore from their Gulf spawning areas following schools of mullet. According to Guy, they can often be found on the spoil banks off Crystal River, in the moats of mangrove islands and around rocky reefs on the rising tide. Guy and Toney say the best bait is live pinfish or shrimp. But for purists who prefer artificials, a good bet is 1/4-oz. Eppinger gold spoon, or various soft plastics.
Sea trout are becoming a lot easier to locate than they were a month ago. The go-to bait just about everywhere on the Gulf coast is a live shrimp fished beneath a popping cork such as a Cajun Thunder or Flats Equalizer. (Purists may substitute a soft plastic for the live shrimp.) Toney and MacDonald are finding the spotted sportsters on the south side of the Homosassa channel and north of the Chassahowitzka River channel and also just west of the St. Martin's Keys.
You certainly don't have to be an expert to score a slam; all three guides are happy to teach novices how to cast and retrieve their baits. And besides the satisfaction of besting the big three, you can have your catch cooked at any of several excellent local restaurants. Some suggestions: Katch Twenty Two in Lecanto (352-746-6691) and West 82 Bar and Grill at the Plantation on Crystal River (<a href="https://www.plantationoncrystalriver.com/">www.plantationoncrystalriver.com</a>), which is also a great place to stay during your fishing trip. Call ahead to make arrangements for preparing your catch.
Take a break from post-Irma recovery with a brief fishing excursion. You might be able to write it off as therapy. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/catch-an-inshore-slam-near-crystal-river/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Join A Live Summertime Easter Egg Hunt in Florida’s Big Bend&body=Small, weird-looking, but very tasty --even raw--and very easy to capture. Only available in the summer and early fall and never in a seafood market. You and your family must be hunter/gatherers to harvest them. They're bay scallops-- the premier mollusk of Florida's Gulf coast Big Bend region. And there's still plenty of time left to catch your share.
"So far, the season's been excellent," said Steinhatchee charterboat captain Bob Erdman. "Limits every day in three to four feet of water."
Erdman wasn't kidding. Last week, he and wife Carole guided my friend Kyle Stewart and me to gather our boat limit of eight gallons. It took us a little bit longer than last year because the region's scallop counts are down, but that just extended the fun.
The captain opted for the scallop grounds about five miles north of the mouth of the Steinhatchee River. His reasoning was simple: thousands of hunters have been plucking the grass beds to the south since the season opened on June 16, so hunting north might produce bigger shellfish.
As usual, Erdman was right. Snorkeling above the mixed turtle and manatee grass with mask and fins, I didn't spy as many of the little flying saucer-looking animals as last summer, but the ones I found were definitely larger with barnacle-encrusted shells.
"Those may be last year's scallops," Erdman said.
Harvesting them couldn't be easier. You just reach down and pick them up. Their weak escape attempts consist of clapping their double shells together clumsily. This is basically an underwater Easter egg hunt where the 'eggs' sometimes try in vain to get away. Kids as young as five can do it.
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Best places to hunt are in mixed patches of sand and grass where the grayish-white shells are easiest to spot. Sometimes they'll be nestled in the sand; other times, you'll find them perched on blades of grass. Erdman advises scouring the bay bottom closely for the ridged shell's profile.
The hunt itself is entertaining even if you don't spot scallops every two minutes. You'll encounter schools of mullet and pinfish, sea stars, and occasionally a stingray. I came upon a small ray while hunting; it bolted in the opposite direction when it saw me.
A few safety tips: boats must display a red-and-white diver-down flag while scalloping and divers must stay within 300 feet of it in open water and within 100 feet in a river, inlet or channel. Boaters must slow to idle speed when they draw close to the flag.
The bag limit is two gallons of whole scallops or one pint of meat per person, with a maximum of ten gallons whole or 1/2 gallon of meat per vessel. The season runs through Sept. 10 in the Steinhatchee area. If you plan to hunt in the St. Joseph Bay area to the north, the season opens July 25 through Sept. 10. In the popular Homosassa - Crystal River area, the season opened July 1 and closes Sept. 24.
To book a scalloping trip with captain Bob Erdman, call 352-356-2554. Rental boats and accommodations are available at Good Times Motel and Marina (352-498-8088) or Sea Hag Marina & the Shacks at Sea Hag (352-498-3008). Both facilities also are staffed with scallop cleaners who charge $7-$8 per pound. Have your scallops prepared and served with an array of sides at Kathi's Krab Shack (352-498-0605) or do it yourself. Hint: cook them anyway you want-- just don't overcook them.
For a complete rundown on scallop seasons and regulations in Florida, go to <a href="http://www.MyFWC.com/Fishing">MyFWC.com/Fishing</a> and click on "Saltwater Fishing", then "Recreational Regulations" and "Bay Scallops". https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/join-a-live-summertime-easter-egg-hunt-in-floridas-big-bend/){kind=link}
 to double black diamond (most difficult). Instead of a guide clipping your cables and demonstrating each element, you do everything yourself. If you have a problem or a question, just call out to a staffer for advice or --if you're really too scared to swing through the trees--someone will climb up and escort you down.
Even though I stuck to the green and yellow courses during my visit, I found the experience exhilarating and fun. I could understand why a 12-year-old from the neighborhood who the staff calls an unpaid intern visits here twice a week for his three-hour workout.
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After airborne exercise, I headed back to Tarpon Springs-- stopping en route for a little refreshment at the Florida Estate Winery in Land O'Lakes, not far from TreeHoppers. It's a popular waypoint for many wannabe Tarzans and Janes.
For more information about TreeHoppers, visit <a href="http://www.treehoppers.com">www.treehoppers.com</a> or call 813-381-5400.
On the day after my swing through TreeHoppers, I visited a very different kind of park--Key Vista Nature Park in tiny Holiday near Tarpon Springs. This quiet, 100-acre reserve of mostly sand pine uplands is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and Rocky Creek, inviting visitors to fish, swim, hike, and picnic. I walked most of its 1 1/2 miles of trails and climbed the observation tower for a scenic view of the lighthouse at Anclote Key Preserve State Park.
Key Vista is best known for bird watching; with more than 220 documented species, it's a must-stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.
Save for a nesting osprey cheeping in the pines, I saw few birds on my afternoon walk, but I did get to eavesdrop on an amorous gopher tortoise trying to get lucky with its partner in the scrub.
For more information on Key Vista Nature Park, call 727-938-2598. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/a-tale-of-two-parks-near-tarpon-springs/){kind=link}
 <a href="https://cnso.nova.edu/ghri/index.html">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a> (GHRI) and collaborators from the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.
The research on whale shark aging growth dynamics, published in the Marine and Freshwater Research Journal, was conducted in the Republic of Maldives using a unique approach.
According to Cameron Perry, the first author of the scientific paper, and at the time a graduate student at NSU’s GHRI, “What makes this a novel approach is that we took repeated noninvasive underwater measurements of live sharks over the course of a decade.
“Up to now, such aging and growth research has required obtaining vertebrae from dead whale sharks and counting growth rings, analogous to counting tree rings, to determine age. Our work shows that we can obtain age and growth information without relying on dead sharks captured in fisheries. That is a big deal.”
You can read the full study <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF17393">ONLINE</a>.
According to the research study, “Comparing length-measurement methods and estimating growth parameters of free-swimming whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) near the South Ari Atoll, Maldives,” taking repeated measurement of the same sharks over many years was possible because many of these sharks came back to the same place every one to two years, and individuals could be recognized by their unique spot patterns. The researchers then modeled their measurement results and found that:
• male whale sharks can live as long as 130 years (that means some whale sharks swimming the world’s oceans today were born when Grover Cleveland was President of the United States);
• whale sharks may grow as large as 61.7 feet on average, which is longer and bigger than previously believed (nearly 17 feet longer than a school bus.)
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WhaleSharks__2-Zozi-2017_02_16-20_46_24-UTC.jpg"><img class="wp-image-5122 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WhaleSharks__2-Zozi-2017_02_16-20_46_24-UTC-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" /></a>Photo by George Schellenger
“Growth and reproduction of whale sharks, which are endangered in many places, are poorly understood,” said Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of NSU’s GHRI. “When you couple this lack of knowledge with the fact that whale shark products such as fins, meat and oil are highly valuable – they are harvested in many countries – one can quickly see the urgency in learning as much as possible in order to help save these majestic creatures.”
Perry agreed.
“The more we learn about these animals, their growth dynamics, where they go, what areas may be their nurseries, it can lead to a better understanding of their life history, which is imperative to guide conservation efforts,” he said.
Primarily funded by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, NSU’s GHRI works on initiatives and studies to provide the necessary information to better understand, conserve, monitor and effectively manage shark populations.
About NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute: Established in 1999, the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) is a collaboration between the renowned marine artist, scientist and explorer, Dr. Guy Harvey, and Nova Southeastern University. The mission of NSU’s GHRI is to provide the scientific information necessary to understand, conserve, and effectively manage the world’s marine fishes and their ecosystems. The institute is one of only a handful of private organizations dedicated exclusively to the science-based conservation of marine fish populations and biodiversity. The research, education and outreach activities of NSU’s GHRI are supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, AFTCO Inc., extramural research grants, philanthropic donations by private businesses and individuals, and NSU. Please visit http://cnso.nova.edu/ghri for more information.
About the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation: The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs aimed at conserving the marine environment. The GHOF also funds affiliated researchers working to better understand our ocean ecosystem and educators helping to foster the next era of marine conservationists. The GHOF will help ensure that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a properly balanced ocean ecosystem. Please visit www.GHOF.org for more information.
PHOTO CREDITS: Daniel Bruehlmann (Laser measurement); George Schellenger (Whale Shark opens mouth) https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/novel-approach-studies-whale-shark-ages-the-best-way-while-they-are-swimming/){kind=link}
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