Florida Spiny Lobster Hunting - 2019

Love heading down to the keys and Hunting Lobster. The typical lobster season is from August 6th through March 31st, We head down to the Keys around the end of August and this year we had a great trip. I attached my goPro to my Net and go this good footage. I only went out two days and got 11 Lobster but the guys with me went out 4 and got 24 each.

It is rather simple once you know what you are looking for and if the water is clear it really helps. These were around Cudjoe key.

Pirates....and more

I found this one article about a pirate that is not very well known but supposedly hid treasure in the Cotee river. The section of this article is from this website. http://blog.saltysoul.com/2012/03/pirates-of-tampa-bay-fl/

"Louis dAury is hardly known in the pages of history, although the pirated millions of dollars in loot. A quantity of this plunder is still secreted on Floridas islands and beaches. Some of these treasure sites are in Seahorse Key, Honeymoon Island, Cotee River, Anclotte Key, Amelia Island, and Clearwater.

Louis dAury was born about 1707 in the coastal town of Calais, France. Like so many boys who grew up along the coast, his only prospect in life was fishing. However, dAury wanted more than that from life, so at the age of 15 he joined the French Navy. His first cruise aboard one of Napoleons ships was in the West Indies. Unfortunately, his ship tangled with a more formidable British Man-o-War and sank of the island of Martinique.

Young dAury was among the lucky sailors who were able to gain the safety if the islands shore. Later he signed aboard a merchant ship bound for New Orleans. At the time of his arrival, the notorious privateer, Jean LaFitte, was recruiting men for his ships, and dAury found a berth with him. He was eventually placed in command of one of LaFites ships.

Shortly before assuming command, dAury made several successful raids on Gulf Coast shipping, and before long had accumulated eleven chest of gold and silver, valued in the neighborhood of $14,000,000. In need of fresh water, he dropped anchor in Clearwater Bay on Floridas west coast.

Reasoning that his loot was too valuable to be carried aboard for long, dAury buried his eleven chests in the vicinity of a small spring located on a small bluff, near some oak trees to serve as markers.

In 1818, dAurys name suddenly dropped from history, and no details of his death are known. However, the search for dAurys hidden hoards still continues. Honeymoon Island on Floridas west coast near Dunedin, alone can boast of three treasure tales attributed to dAury. The first tells of a concrete cault supposedly loaded with pirates gold, silver, jewels, and other loot. The second purports that he buried three brass cannons crammed with loot near the northern end of Honeymoon Island. Another story relates that dAury secreted three chest near the islands north shoreline. An old ships anchor was alleged to mark the spot.

A romantic tale of another of dAurys hoards exists in New Port Ritchey, Florida. The old pirate was professed to have built a treasure vault in the bank of Pithlachascotte (Cotee) River just south of town. The way old-timers tell it, the entrance is accessible only by small boat when the tide is low. Otherwise the opening is covered by water."

I am looking to find more information about this pirate and his potential life around the Tampa Bay Area.

Key West Lobstering - Lobster Fest 2013

We headed down to Lobster Fest in Key West for the opening weekend of Lobster Season. The first thing we did was search for where to "Snorkel for Lobster in Key West" we had very few hits and searched for any information on where to go. Someplace close to shore, someplace that may have lobster. We weren't expecting much since we were new to lobstering and weren't really sure if we would catch ANY at all. We rented a boat from Spencer's Boat yard and for a very reasonable price we have a boat that could hold 12 people even thought we only had 7 it made it quite comfortable. The cool thing is we did find a few places to go right in the local area and not far away so we wouldn't burn much gas and would still have a chance to Snorkel and find Lobster. It was kinda rainy and cloudy but we had some sun which helped with the water clarity.

As you can see from the map that we only tried one area but we are sure there are many more locations and if you look at a GOOGLE MAPS satellite image and look at these locations you can see how the ledges look on the map and can possibly find many more.

I know this is a very simple post BUT If I would have had this info it may have helped US tremendously. The ledge is literally a square that was dredged and is now a ledge and looks very prominent. We saw many lobster holes as well as other fish, octopus and Barracuda, including Goliath Grouper and Lobsters. I believe this spot holds a lot of lobster but during the sportsman's mini season it is probably hit pretty hard.

Make sure you have your license, your dive flag, measuring device and a tickle stick. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Egmont Key

South of Ft. Desoto in the mouth of Tampa Bay is a small island that is only accessible by boat. You can catch the ferry off Ft. Desoto for $20 a person and it takes you to the island for the day depending on the year the schedule changes and for the most current information you may have to actually travel to the park to see the schedule. The typical schedule is departing at 10:00am and 11:00am and returning at 2:00pm or 3:00pm. There are other companies that will take you to Egmont key but you must remain within the parks designated areas since some of the southern beaches are all Bird Sanctuaries and the interior is designated as Wildlife Sanctuaries. The southern part of the island is a Bird Sanctuary and if visited by boat you should stay in the water to respect the birds that are nesting. There are walking tours and paths on the northern end of the island. In the summer the sand can be very hot. I am not sure if you can get to the South West of the island without a private boat or charter but if you can there are large cement Structures that once housed gun emplacements that were on the island. They have sense been partially consumed by the ocean and are visible in the water a good ways off shore. At times people have snorkeled around them and in the summer you will see people jumping off some of the rocks that are still in the water. On Egmont key there are ruins of the old Fort Dade which housed soldiers during the Spanish American War. Fort Dade is also listed as a Ghost Town at http://www.ghosttowns.com/ . You can walk around the ruins of this historic fort. It you want more info you can call 727-867-6569 or visit the official Egmont Key Ferry Website. http://www.hubbardsmarina.com/um/egmont.html

Caladesi Island

If you're looking for some secluded sand, and a beach that is not overly crowded and has some beautiful clear water then Caladesi is one of the best beaches in the Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater area. Island video. As a local we typically get to the beach from the Dunedin Causeway located right off hwy 19 on hwy 580 heading West. I recommend two options of getting to the island once you're ready to go.
1. From Dunedin Causeway itself you can rent a Kayak right from the beach and paddle over and it gives you a great experience and allows you to explore other areas that are right on the beach and along the intercostal waterway. $70 for a two person Kayak for the whole day.
2. From the West side of Dunedin Causeway you can take a ferry that departs on a regular basis, takes 20 minutes and you can stay up to 4 hours based on when you go. The trip is $14.00/person and kids 5 and under are free. Both options are very good and based on your situation you should check both out. I personally have never taken the ferry but have seen it go by and can be a very relaxing and easy beach going option. If you want a more connect with nature and freedom to explore experience you should try the Kayak and experience the beach and the closeness to the water. The waterway between Dunedin and Caladesi can be busy in the summer with boats and other water vehicles. The water in the winter and on windy days can be rough due to the pass between Honeymoon island and Caladesi. Once on the island there are long stretches of open sand and areas that are restricted due to bird sanctuaries so be mindful of the environment and take trash with you when you depart. Also there are no facilities on the island unless you take the Ferry across. But packing your own food, drinks and snacks is a good way to enjoy the island in a rather affordable manner and get away to a beach that is not busy and has some unique and beautiful views.

Hit the Beaches

Beaches around Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater are abundant
There is one thing about Florida we have Beaches. Some of the best ones
are listed in all the newspapers and articles that rate beaches every
year. We who live here don't put much stock in those "ratings" because
they are market driven, advertisement, travel promotions that sometimes
exaggerate and do not take into account "what" the beach looks like
today. One year North Ft. Desoto had the #1 rating.....well just so
happened we had a horrible red tide bloom that year and that entire
beach had dead fish on it and it smelled horrible, still an amazing
beach BUT it may have been a surprise if you would have shown up just to
see it.. SO here is what is happening right now on our beaches.
A lot of rain has made the beaches a pretty place to be the cloud cover
is making for some tremendously beautiful sunsets and some of the best
places to see the sunsets in Florida is on our beaches. Obviously we are
on the west coast of Florida so the sun sets over the ocean.

The beaches are in fantastic shape and the waters are nice a clear despite the rain
we have had all summer so far. Remember our summertime patterns for
weather here can be a little crazy from Hurricanes, to Thunderstorms,
heavy electrical storms to wind and blazing heat and humidity.
Clearwater beaches can never be a bad choice. All Along Gulf Blvd you
can find public access and multiple places to get to the water. Watch
illegal parking they love to write tickets to fine people for illegal
parking.
Tampa proper doesn't have many beaches per say unless you are talking
about the bay beaches along Gandy Blvd or 275 or Courtney Campbell
causeway those are local hangouts and can be an option but they do not
offer the full "turquoise" water and white sand experience but you can
find a lot more wildlife, fishing and birds at these locations. The one
of the most popular ones on these roads is the beach on the South East
side of the Courtney Campbell causeway (hwy 60).
St. Pete beaches are another good choice and they extend from Clearwater
down to Ft. Desoto which also has its own beaches and I will talk more
about it later and in my post "Ft. Desoto, Explore a Historic Fort in
our backyard."  St. Pete has St. Pete Beach and it also has John's Pass
a famous location for shopping and fishing charters and has some good
beach and site seeing right on the water.

These are all Beaches that offer the typical beach atmosphere. Sand,
People and long stretches slowly rolling waves and seashells. If you are
looking for a hidden secret that most people are not familiar with try a
more remote beach that just about anyone can afford to go to and is
accessible with just a short paddle of a kayak.  Caladesi Island is a
favorite island of mine and of many locals and it can be accessed rather
easily.  Check out my "Caladesi Island, A Beach by itself."

Joey's Pizza - Marco Island

Wanted to go out into town and have something different and maybe a little more affordable than the typical resort fair. So we heàded into town and foud Joeys. It was already 9:45pm so we thought it might be closed because the islands in southern Florida always seem to close early. But it was open and thankfully so. The restuàrant is decorated in an old Italian theme, The Waiters and Waitresses are all in black and they all seemed pretty attentive. I did not snap any pics but should have becuse the food was very appetizing looking. The Deep Dish stle pizza was about 3 inches think and looked huge. The hand tossed looked similar to a new york style and the Super Thin looked very crispy.
We ordered the hand tossed at the suggestion of the waitress because of the number of toppings we had the combination and she said if it was the thin crust it might not turn out as good. My Wife had a Beer and after being on the beach all day I needed just water. All in all the food came out fast, hot prepared as we wanted it and we never wanted for a drink. The bill came to under $30 for the small pizza (more like a medium, perfect for two to four people). I highly reccommend Joey's and hope to return to try some of the other items on the menu and the deserts.

Camping on Florida's Beaches - Segment 3

Setting up Camp

This is an important step and should be thought out.  If you have more than one tent going then placement will help with many things.

Arranging your tents

1. 
   
   Scout your area in advance. If you can go to the area and see whats there you may have a better chance of finding a good smooth spot to put your tents up.
2. TIDES. Make sure if you setup close to the water that you don't setup in a tidal area that will be under water when the tide is high.
3. Mangroves and No-See-Ums. If you setup near the water and there are no mangroves too close you will be much happier. HOWEVER they will still be there. Make sure your tent is zipped up about 2 hrs before sunset to seal it off from the little critters. Also if you can sleep with a pair of light long pants, and a light long sleeve shirt this will keep the critters off most of you and if you sleep with a sheet as a cover you can use that to cover all the way up while your sleeping. trust me this will make you more comfortable.
4. 
   
   Find the direction of the wind and depending on where your Camp Fire will be place your tents Up wind of the fire so they don't get smoked out.
5. 
   
   Place a Tarp on the ground towards the front of the main entrance so that you have an area in front of the tent that will have less sand on it and give you an entrance area.
6. 
   
   Setup a Clothes Line so you have a place to hang shirts or towels. Two long poles with a string in between them and then two support strings staked at 45degree angles should hold the line. Make sure your stakes are in the groud  good and hold the weight of what your placing on the line. Long Sand Stakes are better if you have them.
7. 
   
   Your tent should be free Standing and only need stakes to ensure the wind doesn't blow away your tent. Put your rain cover on so you don't have to worry about it later on. This also will help with Hunidity over night.
8. Keeping Sand out of the tent is a chore. The best bet is to have a bucket of water that you can step into and then step out onto a towel or directly into the tent without any sand on your feet. this will eliminate about 90% of the sand in your tent.
9. For your beach Fire you don't really need to dig a pit BUT it does help with containing the area. However starting the fire can be tougher if you dig it so deep that you don't have a good wind flow to it.

These are a few Camp Setup things to think about and may help you out with your comfort while camping on Floridas beaches.

See Florida Boat Beach Camping - Segment 4

Where is the Best Place to watch a Tampa Bay Rays Game

Where is the best place to watch a Rays Game? As I was getting ready to sit down and watch the Rays on TV I figured since they were out of town I would find a place to watch the Rays game and enjoy some company and a little additional fan excitement by watching the Rays game at a local bar, sports establishment or eatery. If they were at home I would be in my season ticket seats at the TROP! But since they are not home lets find a place so I looked online and found nothing that said "THIS IS THE PLACE" so I decided to make my own list. I am from Tampa so it is probably "Tampa Centric" however if you leave comments to this post I will make sure to approve them for posting.

1. Fergs! (yes not Tampa But if your going to watch the game this is by far the best place to do it.)
2. Beef O'Bradys (Good because its local and pretty sports oriented.)
3. Wing House (another local place and pretty good)
4. Lee Roy Selmons (Another local place good food good prices and sports Oriented)
5. The Press Box (Dale Mabry, Never been here but they have Celebs and specials during games)
6. The Cop Shop (Oldsmar hangout that is pretty good, lots of tv's and drink specials)
7. Buffalo Wild Wings (Lots of TV's and WINGS)(They also turn the sound up for the Rays Games
8. The Long Bar (The owner Francis is a Rays Fan and he has Great Pizza, Good Wings and a Great Crowd)
9. Varsity  near Tarpon

10. Hattricks (Downtown Tampa, great sports oriented bar even better for Lightning games.)

After thoughts.

-- Any Applebees shows the game
-- City Fish (Oldsmar)
-- Rumbas (Oldsmar)
-- Bostons on Anderson Road
-- Most local bars will show it.
-- MacDintons Tampa Westchase area
-- Champps in the International Mall
-- Courtside in Oldsmar
-- Hooters (as you can tell I like wings)

So if your headed out and find a great place send a comment to here and I would love to have more choices....for now I'll just stick to what I know....GO RAYS!!!

RUMBA's Island Grill - Valentines Day

My wife had been going to Rumba's at lunch with her work friends and she finally said lets go there for Dinner on Valentines Day. We decided to go to the new one we knew of on Tampa Road in Oldsmar. I went on Urban Spoon read the reviews there and decided despite some of the bad reviews the majority were GOOD. So off we went at about 5:45pm wanting to beat the Valentines day rush. However when we got there it was already pretty packed and when we went to the front desk to ask for a table they asked if we had a reservation. NO, at a Island Grill and Bar? Anyway they said it would be 25 minutes. So we decided to wait at the bar and found two seats and sat down. Immediately the bar tender "Jessica" got us drinks. It went from being a wait to a fun time sitting at the bar watching all the people.

At $1.49 a Beer and two for one drinks it was actually a great time just waiting. At almost to the minute the front desk girl CAME to us where we were sitting and told us our table was ready. We sat down the waitress "Gabrielle" came to our table and took our order. This is where it got very good. the food was excellent. Great flavor, outstanding presentation and an excellent price. It wasn't  over the top with SUPER hot plates you can't touch or all crowded on your plate to make it look like a lot, it was just prepared well and then delivered well. I was very surprised. It was very busy in the entire restaurant, with a band outside all the tables full the bar full and the inside full but the manager I think her name was Tracy made it a point to check in on us as well .

A very good night and when we were done we made our way back to the bar had a few more drinks and met some great people that said the place is even better on a Friday Night. My recommendation is that when you try a restaurant and you have a bad experience and you want to make that your only impression of a place make sure you return and give it a fair chance, MAYBE just MAYBE you were more stressed out then you thought and part of the experience was your own creation. I couldn't find fault with anything done at this restaurant and on one of the busiest nights of the year for going out they made it a pleasant and enjoyable evening.

Square 1 Burger - gourmet burgers with a south Tampa attitude

This is a nice off the beaten path restaurant. Burgers are gonna cost about the same as most sit down places but the kicked back service and the choices are what set this place apart. 20+ burgers and the choices of kobe, turkey and buffalo give them all a uniqueness of thier own. The Red wine and bleu is a good choice.

Florida Boat Beach Camping - Segment 4

SAND GRILL

This is probably something you may never need but if you run out of gass for your portable OR you just want an Open fire taste you can use this simple Beach Grill Technique.  One thing you need to know is that you DO need some sort of grate to cook on.

Here are the items you will need.

1. Wood for the fire. No need to chop it into small pieces.
2. A metal Grate to Grill on.

How to build the fire

1. Dig a trench about 2 ft wide and about 3 feet long and about 1.5 ft deep.
2. Lay the wood in it in a pile lengthwise. I the pieces are long it;s ok thats why we made a trench so that the wood can stick out the ends as needed.
3. Start the fire and let it burn real well for about an hour. Adding more wood to it as the wood burns to create a nice coal bed.
4. If you have two long pieces of Wood that are about 6-8 inches in diameter this will work good once the fire is going and the coals are hot.
5. Lay the large pieces on the outside edge of the coals the coals should ave burnt down and the large wood should be high enough off the fire that you can rest your grate across it.
6. Slide smaller sticks and wood in from the ends of the trench to either increase heat or keep the coals going.

Camping on Florida's Beaches - Segment 2

SEGMENT 2 - Prepare for the elementsPreparing for the worst case scenario will mean you are ready for anything.Thunderstorms pop up quickly in Florida and having a Phone or A radar on your boat or listening to the Weather on your UHF radio will give you that heads up to know when your going to get hit by rain or a storm.

 Taking care of your boat. Sense your on the shore you should take some precautions that will help your boat ride out the storm safely.

1. PLAN AHEAD FOR WEATHER. If you know there is a 75% or more chance of Heavy Thunderstorms and Strong winds you should not be camping.
2. Secure everything on your boat and lower your antennas and fishing poles.
3. If you have the ability to place your boat outside of the waves that are hitting the shore do that. If not then try to loosen your aft anchor enough to allow your boat to float freely on the foward anchor.
4. In essence leaving enough scope on your forward Anchor and then letting your aft anchor go slack should give the boat free reign to be in deeper water and the aft anchor will be your connection to your boat.
5. Since you are camping you should be in rather calm water BUT if you are facing open waters and your boat is near the beach ensure you have enough scope on your forward anchor to stay far enough from shore. If your worried about the boat riding the thunderstorm out attempt to move it to a leeward area.
6. If you have to power your boat up and ride out the storm then you should seriously think about NOT STAYING for camping if it is going to be that type of storm.

Next think about your own comfort.

RAIN

1. Your Clothes should stay on the boat in a dry area until it is time to go to bed OR when you know there is no weather threatening. This ensures that your clothes do not get soaked and you have dry clothes to wear.
2. Stay inshore enough to be out of any potential Lightning and if you think there is lightning around and you could be threatened by it try not to be the tallest thing on the beach.
3. Try to stay out of the water take shelter in your tent if possible.
4. One important thing about packing is to pack in a Plastic Storage Container with a lid that way your equipment and other items are in a secured place and they should stay dry as well. You can then leave them in the rain and they should stay dry. Make sure the lid seals well and if possible place one of your tarps over all your gear in the containers to further protect it.

WIND

1. Wind can pick your tent up and throw it down and make a mess of things. IF you think that there will be Strong winds during the day try to not setup your tent until later in the evening when the wind will surley die down.
2. Long Tent Stakes will help if you want to setup in the wind but there is only so much you can do.
3. Secure all your items in their containers as if for rain and you can keep things under control.

SUN and HEAT

1. Drink Plenty of water (Stay Hydrated) 
2. Wear a hat to help with the heat from the sun.
3. Swim and have fun.
4. Wear your sunblock at least to block the harmful UV rays. 

See Florida Boat Beach Camping - Segment 3

Florida Boat Beach Camping - Segment 1

This may be a long post so I am going to break it into segments.

SEGMENT 1 - Planning the Trip

This is the most important part, primarily because if you forget something it could mean a long trip back to the ramp to get other supplies which is not cool. SO think things through and have a plan.

First The Boat make lists for each piece of your operation and you will be better off. I know it may sound a little anal BUT forgeting the regulator to the grill will make for an emergency sand grill that you will have to be your McGuyver back up plan.

 Boat List.

1. 
   
   Gas, Oil and Safety Equipment (required)
2. 
   
   Chem lights for marking your boat so you don't have to leave your power on all night.
3. 
   
   Forward and Aft Anchor. Aft anchor should have long enough line to reach way up on shore. (don't want your boat dragging off in the middle of the night)
4. 
   
   Coolers (as many as needed but less is better) One for Drinking one for Storage and ICE
1. 
   
   The Storage one should not be opened very much to conserve ICE.
5. 
   
   5 Gallon Bucket.
6. 
   
   Water in your fresh water tank if you have one. (Showers at night on the boat to get the salt water off will be refreshing).

Second make your camping list. (this list is for comfort so it can be trimmed for bare necessities.)

Campground List

1. Tents. (3 people per is good unless you want privacy then 2 per)
2. String and long poles. (You need a clothesline to hang wet things it is inevitable that you will want to hang things up. Whether it is clothes towels or trash and lanterns)
3. Wood for fire and fire starter (If there is none on the island you are on enough to burn for about 3 hours OR more depending on your night activities.)
4. Grill, Gas and Regulator (if your grill is small and the regulator detaches make sure you bring it) (If you forget it don't worry I will post a SAND GRILL design later on.)
5. Lantern gas preferably.
6. Toilet Paper.
7. Shovel, Hammer and Knife (you always need a knife)
8. Large bucket or storage container. (can be used to bring your blankets, pillows and air matress in) but will be empty for use later on. See the section on SETTING UP CAMP).
9. Pillows, Sleeping bags, or blankets (sometimes a light sheet is all you need in the summer. (you may think you don't need a cover BUT you do. See the section on KEEPING THE BUGS OFF.)
10. Chem Light for Camp, Head or Hand Flashlight. (for that middle of the night bathroom break)
11. Small Battery Operated Fan (if you have one again this is just for comfort) Walmart $20bucks Light fan combo.
12. Tarp place under the front of your tent to help with Sand (See the section on SETTING UP CAMP).
13. Tent Candle, (Helps with Humidty)

Third Make your List of personal items you need.

1. Clothes in a Back Pack. (Back Pack works the best, easy to carry and they can hold alot.) To keep Dry Clothes (put them on the boat in a dry compartment in the event of Rain. See the section on PREPARE FOR THE ELEMENTS).
2. Towels (2, one for swimming one for showering)
3. Any kind of Medications, Female products or Contact solutions etc....
4. Sunscreen
5. Hat
6. Sunglasses
7. Flip Flops (shoes) (Water Shoes can be very comfortable)
8. These should be the items you should think about when planning your trip. Remember the less you carry, The less you have to carry. Pack simple and try to be comfortable. Nothing Beats Camping on the Beaches in Florida especially the ones that you can only get to by boat. If you plan ahead to camp on the beach in Florida you truly can make an excellent overnight trip.

See Florida Boat Beach Camping - Segment 2



Daycations in Florida

When I am travelling I wish there was a Web Site that wasn't full of Ads and Hype that basically said this is what the Locals DO. No the Bullcrap canned restuarant reviews and list of attractions because I can fidn that everywhere BUT I mean a real no kidding list of things to do in local areas that are what the Locals Do. The people may not be able to do them if they are just visiting BUT at least it woudl give them a good feel for what is happening our towns.

Here is a Perfect item along this topic.

What the Florida Locals that visit Venice, Florida do. Sharktooth hunting. I know this sounds like a load of HooHa but they still do look for them if they go to the beach and you have to get to a beach that is not picked over and hasn't been resurfaced in a while and the best place to do that is near Casperson Beach.  Find it by heading to Venice and then once in town turn towards the water anywhere and find the road called HARBOR DRIVE. head south on this until you go past the airport and you will be on a dirt road and it ends at Casperson Beach.  Find a little place on the sand and right where the waves are crashing you sift through the sand and you will find Sharks Teeth.

This is a Two Hour haul of Teeth. Not too bad. One thing you may need is a Sifter of some sort. I've seen all kinds from Homemade square framed with Screen sifters to Kids toys sifters to Kitchen Collanders. And they all work. You can also snorkel here and see them just laying on the bottom in the sand. Some of the more experienced people actually dive about 100ft of the beach in about 15ft of water and they are the ones that find the large teeth. This is an Excellent free thing to do and it is fun for people of every age.

Local Hangout

Notice many of these places are local to the Tampa Bay Area since that is where we live but we do go to other parts of the State and I will post as we find those place too.



Jack Willies: This is a Tiki Bar type restaurant and it does have an inside area also but the outside has a large Outdoor Tiki Bar and a lot of seating. It gets rather crowded on the weekends but other then that is it a great place to hangout and listen to the live bands and enjoy some great outdoor Florida Weather. It is also located right on a channel leading into upper Tampa Bay and there are sometimes Alligators hanging around in the water nearby.



Typical Entree's cost around $8-$15 and Beers are around $2.50 - $3.50 depending on the day and what specials are going on.



MAP to Jack Willies

Florida Bay Scallops

This is a rather fun thing to do and it is relatively easy. However it does require Snorkles, Fins a boat and a Florida Fishing License. The concept is to snorkle in shallow grassy water and find the bay scallop. Pick him up and bring him home. The typical Scallop is about the size of the end of your thumb but they are very plentiful and there is a limit of 2.5 Gallons per person or 10 gallons per boat per day. The season runs from July 1st through September 10th. This is an excellent family fun event that every one can enjoy. Boat rentals can be found in many of the marina's (it may be hard to find one spur of the moment). And young and old can enjoy the sport.

• Florida Fishing License: $17 (3 day non-resident or year resident)


• Fins mask snorkle ($29.99 local Walmart)


• Boat ($$$$ or rentals for about $175/day, or find a friend that lives in Florida)


• Within Season only (July 1st - Sept 10th) and in designated areas; for more regulation info go here.

Wanna Do what the Florida Locals Do?

This is a Local Blog based in Tampa, Florida and we are just normal Florida Locals and we know the places to go and the things to see. We also come accross deals and do things at places the normal tourists are not normally found. Check back here frequently to follow our trips, Adventures and things to do that US Locals do. We vacation year round in our back yard so why not take advantage of the things to do and the secrets that most of us locals know. The Sun, The Beach, The Florida Lifestyle this is what FLORIDA is all about and it is why most of us moved here to begin with. I'm not a vacation advertiser but hey, Come to Florida and have a great time doing things that you can't do in many of the other states year round.

I no particular order I will list things that are just plain fun around Florida to See and do.