As of this week, stone crab traps can be in the water around Homosassa. Florida lets traps go in up to 10 days before the season opens. That window started Oct. 5, but nobody can tend a trap until opening day, Oct. 15. So for about ten days the traps sit on the bottom with their buoys showing and nobody can touch them.
Once they can be pulled, the claws mostly go to fish houses and family boats, which sell them directly. Dining rooms play a smaller part. Around Homosassa, a stone crab dinner usually starts at a seafood counter or a commercial fisherman's front step, and the area's biggest fall seafood weekend began with fishing captains cooking for a crowd.
The Rules Behind the Buoys
Florida's stone crab rules are unusual, and they explain why the season works the way it does. Only the claws can be taken, the crab goes back in the water, and egg-bearing crabs are off limits. Some of these rules are newer than many residents think. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission raised the minimum claw size to 2 7/8 inches and moved the season's end date in a change that took effect Oct. 1, 2020.
Here's how the recreational side works for anyone with a dock and some patience:
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Season | Oct. 15 through May 1, closed May 2 |
| Minimum claw size | 2 7/8 inches |
| Daily limit | 1 gallon of claws per person or 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less |
| Trap limit | Up to five registered traps per person |
| Registration | Free and annual, required for anyone 16 or older |
| Who pulls | Each person may fish only their own five traps |
| Placement | Traps may go in 10 days early but can't be tended before opening day |
The traps also have their own requirements. Starting with the 2023-24 season, plastic and wood traps needed a 2 3/16-inch escape ring. From 2024-25 on, that ring has to be in a vertical exterior wall of the trap. FWC also has rules for trap construction and marking, and traps can be pulled only during daylight. A trap built for an older season may need changes before it goes back in the water.
Most people don't set traps at all. A gallon of claws per person is a fine Saturday, but it's a long way from steady supply. The steady supply comes from boats that fish all season.
The Counters Where the Boats Unload
Shelly's Seafood Market at 5380 S. Boulevard Drive in Homosassa calls itself a family-owned operation that has fished commercially for more than 37 years and that harvests, processes, and sells locally caught fish and crabs. Its posted hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shelly's own site says prices, quantities, and selection change with seasons, quotas, weather, and conditions, and it asks customers to call in their orders. The market also sells stone crab wholesale. A 2023 NatureCoaster feature on Homosassa's riverfront listed stone crab claws among the things to find at Shelly's.
A&J Stone Crab & Seafood in Homosassa Springs is smaller and less formal. Its site says the family's own boats bring in the catch, and it lists medium, large, and jumbo claws as its biggest draw from October to May. The seller usually works from home between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. and asks customers to text before coming by. Its posted price list is one of the few public reference points for local claw prices:
- Medium claws, $14 per pound
- Large claws, $18 per pound
- Jumbo claws, $22 per pound
Those prices are labeled "current as of September 16, 2026," about a month before the season opens, and the seller says the market can move and asks customers to text before big orders. Treat them as a starting point. The difference between sizes matters more than the exact figures. At those prices, jumbo costs $8 a pound more than medium, or about 57 percent more. For a crowd, medium claws go further. For two people, jumbo makes more of an occasion.
The Crab Plant at 201 NW Fifth Street in Crystal River is the nearest place that does both. It runs its own boats and sells fresh stone crab through a seafood market and a restaurant. Its site lists a reopening date of Oct. 6 after a late-September vacation closure, though the notice doesn't say what year, so check the hours before you drive over. The Crab Plant also shows how closely these businesses depend on the water. After Hurricane Helene's surge in 2024, NatureCoaster found it closed while staff cleared out wet interiors and damaged materials.
Homosassa has had this kind of fishing economy for a long time. When the 2020 rule changes took effect, the Citrus County Chronicle's season-opening story named several local crabbing and seafood businesses, including Just Be Claws and Salty Bones Fisheries in Old Homosassa, along with Shelly's, The Crab Plant, and Wild Fish Company. That list is six years old, so it isn't a current guide. It does show that local claws have long moved through a network of small operators.
What the Riverfront Tables Serve
The Old Homosassa restaurants on the river offer a different kind of seafood meal. MacRae's of Homosassa promotes a riverfront tiki bar, and its menu lists smoked fish dip, shrimp, fish, crab cakes, scallops, and a seafood combo. Stone crab claws aren't on it. Crumps' Landing presents itself as a riverfront dining spot and features crab cakes.
The two kinds of places work together. Pick up a bag of chilled claws at a fish house, take them home with a mustard sauce, and save the river seats for an afternoon of smoked fish dip and a view of the water. People who want claws served at a table in Crystal River can go to The Crab Plant's restaurant. Menus change, so any riverfront kitchen is worth asking once the season is underway.
Two November Weekends That Started on the Docks
The season's first month leads into two festivals, one week apart.
Stone Crab Jam, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. The street festival returns to 610 N. Citrus Ave. in downtown Crystal River, with beer, wine, and five live bands in an open-air, open-container setting. The festival's own site lists the hours as noon to 9 p.m. The City of Crystal River's event page shows the same date but lists noon to 10 p.m. Plan around the festival's 9 p.m. close. Last year's Jam was on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, so this year's date is a week later than many people expect.
The 51st Homosassa Arts, Crafts & Seafood Festival, Nov. 14–15, 2026. It takes place on the grounds of the Homosassa Civic Center in Old Homosassa, with a juried art show, handmade crafts and jewelry, seafood, beer, raffles, a Kids Zone, and live music by the bandstand.
The Homosassa festival grew out of the same fishing community as the fish houses. According to the Homosassa Civic Club, club president and artist Eppie Boatwright suggested an annual art show as a fundraiser in 1975. After the first show went well, local fishing captains started cooking local seafood at it, and that partnership became the festival. It is held on the second weekend of November. Last year was the 50th, and it added a Homosassa History and Heritage Center for visitors to tour.
The club requests a $5 donation and asks that pets stay home. Proceeds fund scholarships for adult learners and graduating seniors, support other local organizations, and pay for holiday events for children and seniors, along with emergency services.
A First Month That Follows the Catch
Put together, the dates make a simple fall plan.
- Now through Oct. 14: If you're setting your own traps, finish your free FWC registration and check that each trap's escape ring meets the current rule. Traps are allowed in the water, but they can't be pulled yet.
- Oct. 15 and the days after: Call Shelly's during its Wednesday-through-Sunday hours or text A&J to ask what came in. The first days of the season test how fast word gets around town.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Spend the afternoon and evening on Citrus Avenue at Stone Crab Jam.
- Nov. 14–15: Go to the Civic Center grounds in Old Homosassa
For buying claws, one habit carries through all season. Shelly's says prices and selection change with seasons, quotas, weather, and conditions, and A&J notes that its market can move, so check in before you head over.
Dawn and Diane at The Finley-Terrell Team live and work along this water, and we're happy to tell you which canals and river stretches suit a few backyard traps or point you to a favorite fish counter this season. If you're thinking about a Homosassa home with a dock of its own, reach out and Contact Us. We'll talk through the waterfront details with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
