A scalloping holiday: Fresh from the freezer

When the state fishing regulations brochure cautions not to keep more scallops than you're willing to clean, it's hard not to let optimism course through your veins.

Surely we would limit out on the yummy crustaceans, I told my husband as we drove five hours north of Fort Myers to a remote stretch of the Gulf Coast just south of the Big Bend.

It sounded simple: Take a boat and snorkeling gear out to the grass flats, then look for their palm-sized shells and pick them up. Legal limit: 2 gallons per person in the shell.

The bay scallop season is short here in Florida — from July 1 to just after Labor Day. This year, the season closes Sept. 10. It's only legal from the Pasco- Hernando county line to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County. So for those of you who want to plan a last-minute trip to Cedar Key, Horseshoe Beach or Steinhatchee, this weekend is the time to head north.

I'm here to tell you, though, not to do it like we did.

For example, consider making sure your engine works before you get there. These scallops like water 4 feet or less, but up along that coastline, the shallow water extends out for miles.

FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Bay scallop COMMISSION / COURTESY PHOTO Now, we were borrowing a place from a friend, and the Gheenoe there had an engine the friend had warned us was old. Gheenoes are shallow-draft canoe-like boats that have a transom suitable for mounting a small outboard. The engine we discovered in the storage shed at our friend's place may have been suitable for "Antiques Road Show." It sputtered nicely but would not purr. Or even start.

But we were not deterred. We had brought our canoe paddles from home.

So off we went into the wild blue, er, grassflats yonder.

Even though this scalloping happens at points north of here, it's still just as hot as it is here. So after paddling two hours and not seeing a single scallop, we called it a day. Which killed us because back at the ramp, we saw deposits of hundreds of discarded shells that other boaters had just cleaned the white meat out of.

Next day, first stop: The local marina and local store at Horseshoe Beach. We'd get some tips and then head out. Maybe we weren't doing it right, I thought.

Nope. It really was as easy as snorkeling and picking them up. Yep, people really were getting their limits daily. Only problem was this: The best scallop beds were about five miles away.

Suddenly our weekend getaway shifted from snorkeler-gatherer mode to huntergatherer mode. As in hunting from our car. We drove the back roads and found a few driveways where locals advertised shrimp and seafood for sale out of their freezers. A nice gent sold us a pound of cleaned scallops for a mere $6.

Not being a fool, I emptied my wallet. That night, we enjoyed a scrumptious scallop dinner, and back at home here, we've had several more.

True, we didn't have the satisfaction of getting the buggers ourselves. We've no new chapter for the verbal storybook where our Keys lobster adventures and our Boca Grande stone-crabbing capers exist. Sadly, we cannot join the Labor Day crowds this coming weekend to finish the season out.

But July 1, 2010, isn't so far off, is it?

In other outdoors news:

. Lee County boaters are needed for a research project that Florida Sea Grant is conducting as it examines barriers to lifevest usage. Sea Grant needs you if you're a male angler older than 21, a female boater older than 21 who boats with your spouse at least once a month, or a male recreational boater over 21.

University of South Florida and Sea Grant staff will contact you to learn your views and opinions about boating in Lee County. Participants will receive a $40 gift card as a thank you. All you need to do is call Moya Alfonso at (813) 395-1015. Don't wait. They need to line up boaters within the next two weeks.

— Betsy Clayton is a freelancer based on Pine Island and also is Lee County Parks & Recreation's waterways coordinator. Contact her at boatingbybetsy@ yahoo.com.

Scalloping season

>>Where: Gulf coast from the Pasco-Hernando county line to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County >>Season: Closes Thursday, Sept. 10 >>Limit: 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or 1 pint of bay scallop meat, per day; recreational scallopers may possess no more than 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or ½ gallon of bay scallop meat, aboard any vessel at any time. >>Online: www.MyFWC.com