Florida’s 2017 Stone Crab Season Now Open–At Full Steam!

Florida’s 2017 stone crab season opened on October 15 and runs until May 15, 2018.  This year’s crop is excellent and there should be no shortages of these delicious crab claws throughout the winter months. Stone crabs are the perfect appetizer or main course.  You’ll find them served cold or hot, with any number of …

Roy’s Restaurant–A Hurricane Hermine Survival Story

Roy’s Restaurant is located on CR361 (1st Street) in Steinhatchee, Florida Florida’s Big Bend was damaged by Hurricane Hermine, which wasn’t so much a wind event as a tidal surge event.  Most of the damage to our coastal towns happened over the Labor Day weekend in early September, and Roy’s Restaurant in Steinhatchee is one …

35th Annual Yankeetown Seafood Festival, November 19 & 20, 2016

Fall is here and Yankeetown’s famous “no-see-ums”* have succumbed to the cool weather, making a walk through the annual Seafood Festival lots of fun for the entire family.  Yankeetown is a historic town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and is the southernmost town in our Natural North Florida region. It’s located on SR40, just west of …

2016 Cedar Key Seafood Festival, October 15 and 16

The town of Cedar Key, located in western Levy County, juts into the Gulf of Mexico and has been a long-standing source of excellent seafood.  And, since the 1990’s, it’s been the epicenter of commercial clam aquaculture, recognized nation-wide.  This year, Hurricane Hermine pushed as much as 9 feet of storm surge water onto shore, …

Florida’s 2016/2017 Stone Crab Season Opens October 15th–Great Eating Ahead

The result of stone crabbers’ hard work–a plate of mighty fine eatin’ There’s nothing more tasty than a Florida stone crab.  And some of the best come from the ports of Natural North Florida. Florida’s stone crab population is highly regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).  Not only do regulations apply …

Florida’s Big Bend 2016 Recreational Scallop Season Ends–With A Bang!

Five of the seven counties that make up the official Florida bay scallop harvest are in Natural North Florida–Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Jefferson and Wakulla.  And what a year 2016 has been!  The harvest started in June, and quick boat limits (see www.myfwc.com/fishing for regulations) were taken.  And even after Hurricane Hermine slammed the coast over …

Get Your Seafood Dinner “Fresh From The Shrimp Boat Restaurant” in Horseshoe Beach

As one of the locals told me, “It don’t get no fresher”.  And despite the grammar, when you know your seafood was recently swimming in local waters, that’s all that counts. The Shrimp Boat isn’t hard to find.  It’s on Main Street (the MAIN street!!) just across from the boat ramp.  There’s plenty of parking …

Pit Stop: Kathi’s Krab Shack, Steinhatchee

It started with a successful commercial fishing venture in Jena, then morphed into a great retail seafood market (Kathi’s Krabs) in Steinhatchee, and now is succeeding as a wonderful seafood restaurant, Kathi’s Krab Shack!  The Willets family is going full-steam with their recent rehab and takeover of the venerable Lynn-Rich Restaurant, and they’re making every …

Be Sure to Skip Lunch Before Heading to Fiddler’s Restaurant in Steinhatchee For The Weekend Evening Buffet

What’s the best $24.95 you can spend on a Friday or Saturday night after a hard day of fishing, boating, or just chillin’ at Steinhatchee, in Taylor County, Florida?  I’ll put my money on the seafood and prime rib buffet at Fiddler’s Restaurant.          

Steinhatchee Seafood Festival, April 8th and 9th, 2016

Don’t miss this year’s Steinhatchee Seafood Festival!  The events, including a live auction, arts & crafts, food, music and a flea market, begins at 6PM on Friday, April 8 at Good Times Motel & Marina.  Good Times is located on the south side of the Steinhatchee River, in Jena, at 7022 SW Hwy 358.  Parking …