Floridian Nature

Citrus County is scallop country! Each year, seafood lovers bag the bay scallop found just offshore of Crystal River and Homosassa. People from all across the country come to the Crystal River area to join in the fun of harvesting scallops for a delicious meal. Governor Rick Scott is excited for scallop season: "Bay scallop season is an exciting opportunity for Floridians and visitors" Scallop season opens July 1 and is a big draw for Floridians until it ends in September. Scallops are often on the bottom of seagrass beds or in places where the grass meets the bottom.Scallops are hard to spot because their natural coloring allows them to camouflage themselves on the bottom among the tall grasses. Most of the time their shells are open to feed and breath, but as soon as they sense an intruder they slam their shells shut and hide. When threatened, the scallop can swim backwards or up by clapping its shell halves together and rapidly expelling water. ...

The Ocala National Forest is a great place to enjoy Floridian nature . Located in central Florida between the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers . The Forest is approximately 383,000 acres and is the southernmost forest in the continental United States. The Ocala National Forest is rich in water resources with more than 600 lakes, rivers, and springs. Water plays an important part in a variety of recreational opportunities on the forest. There are huge springs, twisting streams and lakes for fishing and water skiing. Many of the scenic lakes were formed when limestone bedrock dissolved, permitting the surface layer to slump and fill with water. Snorkelers frequently find a thrilling underwater view of fish, swaying vegetation and cavernous springs. No wonder the Ocala National Forest is one of the most heavily used National Forests in the United States.   I saw this photo in the Ocala Star Banner.  According to the article Richard Jone...

Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, freshwater recreational fishing license requirement will be waived in Florida. Free fishing days are a great opportunity for parents and grandparents to take their children or grandchildren out to fish. Its also a great time for  avid anglers to introduce a friend to fishing without having to purchase a license. On these days, the fishing license requirement is waived for all recreational fishermen. Florida has 3 million acres of freshwater lakes and 12,000 miles of streams and rivers. From those waters over 250 different species of freshwater fish have been collected. This includes several rather rare native fishes and 73 species of nonnative fish. The fish species that most people tend to think about are the larger fish that are used for recreation or food. The Florida black bass or Black Bass is a species of freshwater  fish that displays an elongated body and is part of the sunfish family. Of al...

  Located in the southeastern corner of Hamilton County, B ig Shoals Public Lands was purchased from the Nature Conservancy by the State of Florida in 1986 through the Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) program. It was designated as a state forest in March of 1989.     The river offers excellent opportunities for freshwater fishing. The fishing is excellent and due to limited public access, others are rarely seen. The entire adjacent river frontage from Deep Creek is either Big Shoals State Park or Big Shoals State Forest. Almost all signs of civilization are completely absent. The only local landing is the historic private landing on the plantation itself, Brown's Landing. From this site, outboards are easily launched or canoes picked up from a float down Deep Creek itself or down the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. The Florida National Scenic Trail runs along the property's south boundary. This trail ...