| displayed where it is visable 360 degrees
in all directions, this means at the highest point above anything
else on your boat, not tied to your stern light. An easy way to
display it is using a piece of 1” PVC attaching your flag to
it. PVC is available at most hardware stores and comes in 10 ft.
lengths which is plenty high to display it above your bimini top.
The flag must be of required measurements of 20” x 24”
when you are diving from a vessel and 12” x 12” when you
are going from shore. You can buy a flag at Wal-Mart, any dive shop,
and most marinas. You must stay within a 300’ area of your
boat. When entering an area where divers are in the water you must
maintain idle speed when you are within 300’ of a dive flag
displayed on a vessel. When you move and your vessel is underway
your flag must be taken down and only displayed when you have divers
in the water.
When you are in the water it is a great idea to raise your head
up and see where your own boat is periodically, many times I have
had people come up by my boat thinking it is theirs and be 600
or more yards from theirs. Should you get into trouble try to
hail someone for help. A good idea and very inexpensive is to
buy a toy whistle and hang around your neck, just be sure the
little ball in the whistle is plastic and not a bean, the bean
is useless when it gets wet. If you are in distress blow the whistle
until help comes to your aide.
Be sure you have a good anchor and plenty of anchor rope so you
can get a good angle on the anchor. It is advisable to check your
anchor when you get into the water and make sure it has dug in,
if not, take your foot and push it into the sand. This is important
so your boat doesn’t leave you if the anchor breaks loose.
If you are already an experienced scalloper you would be doing
a service for all of us to share some of this information with
the novice and first time scallopers. Many people are dangerous
to themselves and to the rest of us because of lack of knowledge
of the waters, rules, and regulations. Let’s all help them
be safer boaters and scallopers. Each year more and more scallopers
hit the waters and it is a madhouse on the weekends.
With only a few weeks left until it opens it is time to start
checking your equipment and making sure it is safe and reliable
to use. Check your mask straps, put on the mask and see if you
have any air leaks, you can do this by trying to inhale through
your nose, if you can pull air through the sides of the mask check
to see why. Your mask may need replacing. Same for your snorkel
and fins. I have seen many people have to sit it out on the boat
because of equipment failure.
Another thing to put some serious thought into is getting yourself
a SEA-TOW membership; one tow can cost you more than the year’s
membership which is only $149 per year. You can pick up an application
at most marinas or call SEA-TOW at 1-800-4-Sea Tow. They will
be happy to take your application by phone and you can use a Master
Card or Visa.
Cleaning your catch can also be fun, especially if you are in
one of the local campgrounds. Others are usually happy to lend
you the advice of the dos and don’ts of scallop cleaning.
Many areas have local people that will be happy to make a few
dollars by cleaning them for you. Usually they will have their
phone numbers posted around local convenience stores, marinas
and campgrounds.
Now for locating the scallops, if they are plentiful you can
see many boats parked in the area of scallop beds. Although you
may also run into the monkey see monkey do situation, one or two
boats try an area and before you know it there are a hundred boats.
Another way to find them is to go to the grass flats and idle
as slow as the boat will go and have your party look into the
water for them. If you begin to see a few anchor and try that
spot. If they are scarce load up and move a few hundred feet.
Another way of finding them is to invest a little money into a
guide to take you on his boat and show you where to go. Most guides
that take out scallopers spend a lot of time on the water in June
scouting for scallops and storing the numbers (spots) into their
GPS. Please do not call us and ask us to give you our numbers,
they are our livelihood and are not to share. Also do not consider
trying to bring your handheld GPS aboard our vessels, we will
ask you to leave it in your car. We will be sure you get your
limit and it is easy to find the spot again.
If you have any questions about the state laws governing scalloping
or fishing you may call the FWC hotline, Division of Law Enforcement
toll free at 1-888-404-3922. In an emergency use this number,
if you see anyone committing a violation use that number or call
on your cell phone *FWC, *392 or hail a FWC officer on VHF channel
16. Please remember that ch.16 is an emergency channel for hail
and distress; please take your idle chit chat to another working
channel. Some areas use ch.68. In N.W. Florida most go to 14 or
18.
Captain Rick Moseley operates SCALES N TALES CHARTERS out of
Keaton Beach and Crystal River and is a U.S.C.G. licensed Master
Captain. I am also a member of Florida Guides Association, a member
of the National Association of Charter Boat Operators, and an
IGFA designated Certified Captain. I can be reached by telephone
at Keaton Beach 850-578-2627 or Crystal River 352-628-3392. Please
note that we Scallop in the Keaton and Dekle area only. You may
e-mail me at fishrick@gtcom.net. You are encouraged to take a
look at our website at www.scalesntalescharters.com
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