The shelling at Tarpon Bay Road beach access is awesome at low tide now!
Most of the FIGHTING CONCHS are alive but there are lots of other empty shells to be found as well.
These shells were found by Anna, Grave and Sarah visiting Sanibel from Ohio…
I saw Matt, Landon, Loulie and Berkeley (I met them last month on the iLoveShelling cruise!) collecting all kinds of goodies…
Here are their awesome best finds…
Wanna see what else they had in their shell bags? Here ya go…
My fave find was this orange BROAD PAPER COCKLE. This photo really doesn’t do it justice but it’s not often I find them without a chip on the edge. I love it!
That’s what has been happening on Tarpon Bay Beach (Parking is plentiful at Trost Parking lot) this week, and this is what I saw at Blind Pass Captiva today. The wind has calmed so the water is back to beautiful aqua…AND… the Sit ‘N Sift shell pile back. I didn’t stay long but I did see TURBANS, OLIVES and small WHELKS just to name a few.
It looks like the shells are showing up on most of the beaches (Lighthouse Beach is still great for minis!)…. so I CAN NOT wait until this Saturday April 13 for our iLoveShelling morning cruise to Cayo Costa from 9 to noon! Join Clark and me on this shelling adventure so we can share the anticipation together for our treasure hunt! CLICK HERE for more info.
Let’s do the Sanibel Stoop!
Oh please please Shell Gods, let there be low tide great shelling in 23 days….
All the lows are afternoon & early morning (1-4am) the first week of May.
I will be there too. Hoping we have great shell finds.
Awesome shells! I just wish they had shown up last Friday, our last day to shell! Oh well, that’s why I’m happy to check your blog everyday! We did find minis while there and some other interesting “beach bling”. And we did so enjoy the sunshine, sea breeze and sand. All-in-all a wonderful trip to Sanibel paradise! Keep up the good reporting, Pam. Thanks for all you do!
I’ve never gone to the Tarpon Bay Beach so might have to check it out on my next Sanibel trip…their finds are great!
Started the day at Ft. Myers Beach and it was hot. Lots of minis, Augers and jewelboxes. Around 5 pm went to Bowmans again. I found a few olives, beautifil calicos, Fighting Conch and so many whelks. Oh and my husband is into shelling almost as much as I am. He would have stayed later at Bowans if the bugs weren’t out infull force. We’re exhausted tonight and may need to take the day off tomorrow. :)
Ok, where is Trost Parking lot and can anyone park there?? Is it free??
Kim, Trost parking lot is on Tarpon Bay Road just on the other side of West Gulf Drive at the Tarpon Bay Beach Access. If you click on the “parking” tab at the top of Pam’s page you will see a map that shows everything. The parking is not free. I believe it is $2.00 per hour the same as the other lots by the beach accesses. I hope this helps.
Hi Kim, If you click on the highlighted and bolded words in the post, it will take you to a link giving more info on those subjects. I’m on my cell phone but otherwise I’d give the links again to my parking and maps page, but just click on ” trost parking lot” and/or “Tarpon Bay Beach” in the post to see where it is. ;)
Thank you both!
I am planning a trip to sanibels island while we are down at fort myers beach the week of the 13th of may… been trying to do some research on the beaches on sanibel island…. read alot about the beaches.. but … not sure which beach to go to…. i understand that lighthouse beach is usually busy.. so i was thinking bowmans but then i read this post about tarpon bay… we have never been to florida and want to make it a great trip if anyone can give advice…we may end up having to hit several…haha
I always plan on going to several beaches. If one doesn’t have what you are looking for, then move on to the next. Lighthouse beach can be busy but if you are looking for mini shells, that is where you want to go. As Pam says, it is always a treasure hunt. Have fun!!
Crissina,
This is my first trip to sanibel…but not my last!
I purchased a sand sifter and its a big help. My husband uses it and scoops the shells onto the sand for me to sort through. I also purchased zippered mesh bags from the Dollar Store (3 in a pack) and they work perfectly. Make sure you use sunscreen and bring a bottle of water too.
I think its important to go with the expectation of you are happy with whatever you find. This may sound silly but when I look in the water at the shells, I see such beautiful treasures. Honestly, I’m giddy, almost tingly with excitement! Even the broken, worn down and sea battered shells are gorgeous. I don’t look for only the perfect shells, I look for what I like and will enjoy looking at when I get home to Boston that reminds me of Sanibel.
We are leaving on Friday and won’t be able to make the shelling cruise with Pam on Saturday but we are going on it Thursday instead.
If anyone is going on the cruise Thursday please say hi to me. I’ll be the one talking to the shells and apologizing for not being able to take them all home.
I did purchase the sand sifter.. only problem is that it wont fit in my suitcase so my husband is try to alter it so we can take it with us… i also bought a pooper scooper…lol looks like it would work the same…. lol i m really excited about out trip and yes i dont care what i find i kjust wanna find some… i will check out the mess bags at the dollar store… do you know which dollar store… dollar tree, stc.. we have i think three different ones…
Hi Crissina, I had the same problem, my sifter was too big for my luggage, so I mailed my sifter gear to my hotel ahead of time! I definitely recommend it. Then i mailed it home (along with some extra goodies, souvenirs, etc) from the sanibel post office on the last day of my trip. Have a great trip!!
This is one of your more spectacular posts!
Dohhhh, we went to check out Tarpon Bay beach today thinking we knew were it was. we pulled in to Ding’s Tarpon Bay area, where you can take out kayaks, and there’s a little building with an aquarium. Hmmm, one wouldn’t think the shelling would be so hot here…. And where’s the beach…. aha, it’s on the GULF side silly! We’ll check out tomorrow.
Trying to identify a lettered (W’s )clamshell with no luck. I’ll post to FB later.
Sanibelle, I hope you found the map in the bolded and highlighted link too to find the maps and parking? I’m sorry, I just assume everybody knows that I always do that. anyhow, I think ur shell maybe a juvie quahog. I have a post on them if u look under the “categories” quahog to see if its the same.
Totally my mistake. I didn’t pay attention to map and parking info. we just decided on the spur of the moment to check it out.
Oh, you are good with the shell ID, considering my meager description. The size is right, the shape is right, and the ridges are right. But the pattern is different. Maybe mine was a young adult. :) it has V’s and I’s across the upper third area. The pattern faintly repeats down to the bottom. I’ll have to have Charlie take a photo with his serious camera to pick up the faint pattern.
Thank you, my friend, you are a great help in identification and education!
What fabulous images. Sanibel really is heaven in Pam’s photos.
Thanks so much for all the info. We have been here almost a week and have found the shells just moving all around. We are staying just north of Tarpon Road, so when you posted the fighting conchs, we headed that direction. Didn’t pick up any…they were all alive, so spent some time sending them back to the water. Thought there would be some empty shells this morning, but we spent more time putting shells back in the water. I know they aren’t the most attractive critter, but when you pick up those shells and they stick their little eyes out, how can you not want to put them back in the water for a chance of survival?
We went to Lighthouse beach and Blind Pass but have had the most luck just on the beach outside our condo. We are at Sand Pointe. Thanks again for all your help!!
Kim, You are most welcome! Good for you for realizing that you have to keep moving around sometimes to find the shells …And for being so sweet to those live fighting conchs. :) Glad you are having a good time and thanks for letting me know the blog info helped!