Lines of boats stretched down the Homosassa River for miles late Saturday morning. That means one thing in Citrus County, it's scallop season.

  • Scallop season has begun
  • Start of the season brings business to Citrus
  • Also means more traffic

"They're fun to catch, you can catch them by hand, and they're awesome to eat," said Diana Edge, who's been working at Riverhaven Marina for 18 years.

The process for catching scallops is simple, with a mask and snorkel, and a net to collect the mollusks, they're easy to find up and down the river.

"It's actually really easy, you just dive down and you see the little scallop shells with their little blue eyes and just grab them, and if you're not quick enough then they'll swim away from you, but they don't hurt or anything," said long-time scalloper Alina Davis.

The excitement expands beyond golf coast residents, with local hotels packed all the weekend as well. But, that also means more traffic on the small. one-lane roads.

Riverhaven Village sits adjacent to the marina, and residents say they're often blocked from getting to and from their homes when traffic is at its worst.

On Saturday, Riverhaven Village resident Terri Bird tried to hold a yard sale, but didn't have too much luck due to the long lines of traffic out in front of the Marina.

"It's aggravating but people want to scallop and people want to live, it's one road," she said.

Riverhaven Marina expects to be packed every weekend until the end of the season in mid-September.