When in sanibel, stop in at larry stranges on fitzhugh st, you won't be
sorry ......Mark & Peta  Bethke
Hollywood, Florida
-----Original Message-----
From: Sarah R. Watson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 1998 9:09 PM
Subject: Re: Specifically, where to shell in Sanibel/Captiva?
 
 
>    My Favorite guides for shells of that region are: "The Peterson Field
>Guide to Shells of the East Coast, Gulf Coast and the West Indies"
>Collectable Florida Seashells by Abbott ( a simple but good one)  and
>Florida's Fabulous Seashells by Pete Carmichael. The latter one  has
fantastic
>pictures of shells and other invertabrates ( and few fish) in it.  The one
I
>use the most  is the peterson guide.
>
>My favorite place to shell in that region is the state park on North
Captiva
>Island. This island is inhabited on the north side.  Another good place
around
>Pine Island Sound  is Caya Costa which is uninhabited and rarely visited.
>Many shelling trips take you there or North Captiva.
>
>On Sanibel the  best place  that I know of ( I can't believe I am sharing
this
>info) is
>on the Bowman Beach stretch about a mile past the Snook motel. Its smack in
>the middle of the island and everytime I have gone there  I have come back
>with  incredible shells.  The Beach is pretty narrow in there ( at least it
is
>in December I don't know what the beach migration patterns for the rest of
the
>year)  Pretty much anywhere in the middle of the island is a great shelling
>place. You just have to walk and search. You can walk down there from the
>Bowman public beach but its about 2 miles. Some rare shells that can be
found
>on Sanibel is the Famous Junonia ( Scaphella junonia) other Scaphella
volutes,
>Lion paws (Lyropecten nodosus )  and Golden Olives ( Oliva citrine)   Last
>year I found one half to the Lyropecten  in the masses of rubble on the
>stretch of Bowman. The best time is at the crack of dawn, low tide after a
>good storm from the northwest ( the usual shelling conditions)
>Another good place is Blind pass on the Captiva side. That is where the
>islands seperate. There are tons and tons of huge piles of shells, most are
in
>good condition you just have to sift through it. My favorite time to go
there
>is sunset. You could probably dock just off shore where the water is about
3
>ft deep.  By the way  you will find wearing  shoes on the beach on Sanibel
>very helpful
> I hope this helps you out. I wish I were going, but my plane ticket is on
>Christmas Day. Have a blast.
>
>Sarah
>
>http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Tidepool/8845
>