Throughout the gorgeous cities of Pinellas County in Florida you will find tranquil parks that are nature preserves and a place to gather and relax at the end of the day. Many feature fun children’s playgrounds, boat ramps or lakefront settings, and have picnic pavilions for hosting a party or family gathering. Here’s a sampling of our favorites:

Seminole Park in the city of Seminole sits on a gorgeous lake that people enjoy water skiing, or just sitting by the water and having a picnic. It’s a great location for a party and has many trails throughout the park to observe wildlife, walk or rollerblade in a peaceful setting. Also, in the city of Seminole you will find a playground at the Seminole Recreation Center that is covered so you can have shade year round. With equipment that will suit children of many ages, this is a great place to beat the heat in the summer!

Just around the corner in Largo is the Largo Central Park. This Park has a large open space that is perfect for flying a kite, letting a toddler run around, and is often used for hosting city events such as movies, art and food festivals and touch-a-truck events. There is a fenced in playground that has three separate climbing structures, and is handicap accessible. Lastly, they have a train that goes throughout the park and is available the first of every month to the public. You can also reserve it for a private party which is fun for a child’s birthday or company event.

In northern Pinellas County you will find great parks in Dunedin, Clearwater and Palm Harbor. Edgewater Park located at the end of Main Street in Dunedin is set next to the marina and can be a fun place to see the sailboats go out for the day. There is a gazebo and large area where festivals and city events are often held. The playground here is shaped like a pirate ship and is fun for kids to slide, swing or run and play.

Philippe Park in Safety Harbor is shaded with large oak trees and is set right on the water. You can host a gathering in one of their pavilions with a waterfront setting, let the children play in the playground and still stay cool in the summer because of the breeze off the water and the shade overhead. In Florida this park is top notch!

Lastly, Anderson Park off US Highway 19 and John Chesnut Sr. Park off East Lake Road in Palm Harbor are both set off of Lake Tarpon and have boat ramps to access this water. You can boat, fish or canoe here year round. The parks have picnic pavilions as well and great children’s playgrounds, baseball fields, and trails for walking your dogs, a quiet bike ride or a morning stroll. John Chesnut Sr. Park also has a large dog park for letting your favorite pet run and play with other animals as well! Make it a day for your entire family!

On the southern end of the county you will find St. Petersburg. A great park in this area is the Bay Pines Veterans Park. Located on the water it is a great location and has everything you could want to make a children’s birthday party, baby shower or company event perfect. There are large running areas for playing games, children’s playgrounds and covered sitting areas to eat and visit with friends.

The parks of Pinellas County are numerous, well cared for, and some of the best places to visit. Take your family on a cool day and hunt for bugs, see animals in their natural surroundings, or just take the family dog out for a stroll. You won’t be disappointed!

Yellowtail snappers are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all the oceans.

One of the most popular and best eating of the snapper species, the yellowtail snapper ranges as far north as the Treasure Coast but are in their greatest abundance in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys. During days around the full moon, you will probably have excellent catches of the mutton snappers.

Yellowtail snapper is one of the best eating fish in the entire tropical roster of fish only eclipsed by the pricey yellowfin tuna steaks. The small size of the fish adds only to its succulent taste.

Typical catches of yellowtail range from the 10-12 lb size. This fish is so versatile that it can be cooked in any number of ways with any number of sauces & still come out superbly delicious.

Yellowtails are characterized by its yellow mid body stripe that extends into its yellow tail, the sleek and abundant yellowtail snapper swims in loose groups well off the bottom. There is a 12-inch minimum size limit and 10 snapper aggregate bag limit. June will be a good time, weather permitting, for night offshore fishing for mangrove, lane and yellowtail snapper.

Bait for Yellowtail Snappers – Weighted live bait will produce grouper & mutton snapper sometimes following in the chum slick. Depending on the time of year you might also catch Kingfish and Cero Mackerel. Use Live Ballyhoo whenever possible.

When yellowtails pull drag on 20 pound spin tackle, you know you have a good yellowtail on. Cut pieces of squid, small pilchards and even live shrimp are productive baits for yellowtail snapper. Sardines, silverside and glass minnows will also work well.

You’ll also need frozen chum to put in bags to chum up the water behind the boat. Chum up the water heavy at first. When you start to get a good bite of yellowtail, ease off on the chum so that they will feed on the bait of your hook.

Sandball for Yellowtails & Flat Lining – Filet your ballyhoo & squid & then cut them into strips. Then mix your chum & sand for sandballs – 60% sand & 40% chum. Make sure your chum is oily. Always add the chum to the sand. Mix chum until there are no dry areas. Mixing some oats into the sand/chum will help you catch more yellowtail.

Put the hooked ballyhoo bait into the middle of a sandball. Wrap your line around the sandball & then throw your bait out into the chum slick. Let the line feed out as the current goes until you feel the fish strike the line & pull on your bait.

Fishing Tackle – Use the smallest hooks, 1/0 or smaller, you can find & small conventional reels. Shimano 10 lb spinners for fighting those yellowtail, so everyone gets to enjoy the challenge. We also recommend bright colored jigs to attract the fish.

12- 15 lb test is the best for these fish. Use a pink line so that the fish cannot see the line in the water. A #4 hook up to a 1/0 and a 1/8 oz weight will be best on your rig for flat lining or sandballing.

Finding Yellowtail – Look for a sharp drop off on the edge of the reef. This is where you will find small stacks of fish & plenty of bottom life to support the bait fish. Your Loran or GPS will tell you where the best drop offs are.