hurricane Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Anyone ever run this river to go scalloping, or just have any knowledge of it? In particular, from Chassahowitzka River Campground. Be nice to stay a few nights and avoid the Homosassa crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler1 Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Have fished out of there many times but never scalloped. My Buddy has a tin Sea Ark that we fish out of. Personally I would never even consider taking my fiberglass boat to the Chaz. There are way to many hazards not only in the river but also when you get outside. Big rocks and Big oyster shoals once you get out of channel. Great place to fish and I imagine for scallops to but a lot of local experience is needed to navigate that place. Don't know much about the campground (never stayed) But the ramp is ok and a freshwater spring is right there. Another place to consider to avoid the masses of Homosassa would be Bayport just north of Chaz. Was there 2 weeks ago and got our limit in about 2hrs. Any ramp you go to in that NW region is going to be packed. I was at Homosassa this past Saturday and it was a frickin zoo. Hundreds (literally) of boats and novice weekend warriors galore. Some people should not be allowed to have boats. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Exactly what gambler said. I've run that river several times in my 16.5' duck boat. I ran aground numerous times and that's with a surface drive mud motor. It gets very shallow and has a rocky bottom. One time we had to walk our boats up the river because it got so shallow but we managed to snag 272 little neck clams that we picked up with our feet while walking up. The campground is nice Go out of the Bayport ramp and just run the boat 2 miles north once out of the channel. No no wake zones except just next to the pier. We've pulled our scallop limit there twice this year so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted July 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thanks, guys. The family likes to go to the spring at the end of the day thats why I was looking at Chazz, don't think thats possible outta Bayport, is it? Like Homosassa for that reason, but really dislike the crowds. Might just have to stick with Homosassa and try to go during the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 I believe there are springs up the Bayport Mud River. However there is a big sign that says no alcohol so I've never been able to find out for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler1 Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 2 hours ago, hurricane said: Thanks, guys. The family likes to go to the spring at the end of the day thats why I was looking at Chazz, don't think thats possible outta Bayport, is it? Like Homosassa for that reason, but really dislike the crowds. Might just have to stick with Homosassa and try to go during the week. If you can go midweek you should be good out of Homosassa, friends are there today and said smooth sailing not crowded at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 Mud river springs aren't nice, and visibility ***. That being said you can go up into the weekie wachee river which is nice. We went out of Bayport this past Sunday and while there were a lot of scallops it was 10-11 feet deep so we ended up running up to homosassa/crystal river to get the bulk of our scallops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 14 hours ago, FunFlatsFishing said: I believe there are springs up the Bayport Mud River. However there is a big sign that says no alcohol so I've never been able to find out for myself. Funny. 9 hours ago, linesider 159 said: Mud river springs aren't nice, and visibility ***. That being said you can go up into the weekie wachee river which is nice. We went out of Bayport this past Sunday and while there were a lot of scallops it was 10-11 feet deep so we ended up running up to homosassa/crystal river to get the bulk of our scallops 10-11 feet thats too deep. To much effort takes the fun out of it..... So looks like I'll just take a day off, which is no biggie just looking for options and new scenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted July 20, 2016 Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 If the tide is low you would have no problem. We were there during the full moon on an incoming tide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted July 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 Guessing low tide shows the channel better? Maybe one day Ill try it alone, don't want to try it for the first time with the family. For now Ill just stick with Homosassa since its familiar. Prolly go next week, weather and tides permitting. I like to try hit the days with the least tide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted July 20, 2016 Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 The channel is very well marked. Very easy to get out of Bayport. Easiest way out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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