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Hot and Wet - It's summer time in NE Florida and the shrimp are flippin'. Trips this month: 11
7/1/07
After a great night of sleep I got up and headed down the river trail as dawn broke. The sky was overcast but I could see the sun trying to peek through the eastern sky as I approached Balanced Rock. I decided to extend my hike this morning to include the Lime Sink trail which begins just past the boulder that teeters precariously above the river on a bend. Last October, when we were here last, I had seen deer down in the sink and wanted to see if they would be there again. I walked the trail, once again wishing I had a tripod to take pictures with. Even at high noon on a clear day this area gets very little sunlight so it is hard to capture the incredible beauty of the limestone formations and lush, dark vegetation. I had nearly reached the end of the trail when I looked up to see something crawling through the underbrush on the trail ahead. At first, I was sure that it was a large brown dog but as it cleared the brush and crossed the trail I could see the little white tuft of a tail and then the big pointy ears as it turned to stare at me.
In a flash the doe was gone and down the steep ravine to the other side. When I saw it again it was standing on the opposite bank of the ravine staring calmly at me. As I fumbled with the settings on my camera it quietly walked away into the woods and disappeared. It was then that I looked to my left and realized that I was directly behind our cabin and that the deer had probably been just a few yards below it in the thick woods. I returned to the cabin and cooked a big breakfast for us. Since Hopey had not gotten much rest the night before we decided to scale things back a bit and head toward the new state park - Madison Blue Springs on CR-6 north of here on the Withlacoochee. We had hoped that on a Sunday morning we would find it relatively empty and quiet but after a pleasant drive through the countryside we arrived at the park to see a line of cars waiting to enter. After flashing our card we entered the parking area and found it nearly full. We drove around to the picnic area and saw that it was full of migrant, Hispanic farm workers dressed in their Sunday best who had decided to hold their church service at the park.
As we parked, we overheard one of the scuba divers remark as they were preparing their equipment - "that harp music is just plain weird!" - as the tones of a harp came wafting through the trees from the direction of the church service. We assisted another couple in breaking into their van to retrieve their lost keys and then set out to find the spring. The yelling and screaming we could hear gave us a clue and the boardwalk from the parking lot led steeply down toward the spring which was about 20 yards across in an almost perfect circle. The sides were steep except where the short spring run rushed out into the Withlacoochee River where there was a set of large shoals. This had obviously, until recently, been a county or private spring and like many such springs in Florida there were rock walls built around it and a platform that was open ended and hung out a few feet over the water about 15 feet above the surface. Although their were large signs around the spring saying not to, about 20 teenage boys were keeping a non-stop running plunge into the pool, yelling and screaming as they did. The spring was so small that it would have been impossible to swim in it without being hit by a teenage, testosterone laden missile but who could blame them? I mean - here was this icy cold pool, an open ended platform with a trail leading up a slight hill so that you could get a good running start. It looked like fun but it wasn't what we had in mind so we followed the trail down to the water to check out the river. As we did, a group of kayakers came paddling up from downstream, stopping at the shoals. I asked one of them where they had put in at and he gave me directions to find the county boat ramp which he said was about four miles downstream. He told me they had past a few shoals but they were obviously passable but that if we headed downstream from the ramp that it was usually clear until we reached the Ellaville shoals which evidently we had seen the beginning of the day before. He told me that they were about 150 yards long and pretty difficult at this water level so I guess it was a good thing we stopped where we did.
After talking it over we decided to try and find the boat ramp he told us about and in spite of the somewhat complicated directions and lack of signs we came right to it. We took a look at the river but Hopey was feeling tired so we decided to head back and do some shopping in Live Oak. First, we decided to check out the town of Madison, which was surprisingly big and even had a junior college. We returned to route 90 and headed back toward the park but we took a few detours near Ellaville and found ourselves across the 141 bridge we had passed under the day before. Apparently CR-141 is also called Ellaville Central Avenue. We also tried to locate the ruins of the Drew Mansion near the bridges and thought we had located it inside some very thick and impenetrable woods. There is an old restaurant where the old 90 bridge comes across the Suwannee and adjacent to that is a place that is called "Retreads Retreat". We had seen it before, last October, but today as we peered down the drive we could evidently see one of the "retreads" - a tall, skinny, shirtless man with a long gray beard who was staring at us down the road as we stared at him. After reading the historical marker and passing his driveway again we saw that he had moved up to the end to stare at us as we drove by. We thought that the ruins of the mansion were located adjacent to the retreat so we didn't think we would do much exploring to try and find it. After we finished our shopping in Live Oak we came back and ate our picnic lunch at the cabin. We had passed by the power plant I had seen on the maps in our explorations earlier in the day so we decided to head downstream to see if we could find it. As we were putting in at the ramp a large group of paddlers were unloading who had obviously been camping. They told us that they had spent the night at the Holton Creek river camp after putting in at the Music Park. They told us that it was as wonderful as we thought and that this was their second time to do it. They said that they had called ahead to reserve but that they were the only ones there. We headed downstream, amazed at how empty the water was. It was still and hot and there was very little shade. We paused at the place just past the railroad trestle where a spring comes rushing out. One of the people at the ramp had told us that this was Falmouth Spring which seems odd since the spring itself is located a couple of miles east along route 90 and seems to disappear into the ground instead of free flowing out to the river but in Florida - anything is possible. Once we passed the route 90 bridge, we found ourselves in a long straight section of the river. Although it was also lined with limestone and cypress it was wider and less interesting than the section above the park. We found the canal leading up to the power plant but it was blocked and looked stagnant and smelled horrible. As we continued downstream we began to hear the sound of roaring water and soon could tell that we approaching a large shoal across the river. We pulled off and walked around it and we could see that it would be fairly easy to negotiate going downstream although upstream it would require a pull through or portage. We could see water rushing out from the bank on the side of the river where the power plant was located and realized that this was their discharge. I know from experience that power plants have to monitor their discharge very carefully but it is still disturbing to see that going into the Suwannee. We headed back and decided to go above the ramp and take a swim where the Lime Sink Spring comes out. Almost as soon as we got out of our boats we began to hear the rumble of thunder and see dark clouds inch our way over the tree line but we stayed put until finally a blast of cold wind came roaring down the river valley and we knew hard rain and lightning would be close behind so we departed. See the pictures from this trip
7/2-3/07
We spent the last couple of days of our stay at Suwannee River State Park exploring the area. On Monday, the 2nd, we decided to head back up to Madison Blue Springs State Park in the hopes that it would be relatively empty and we could actually swim in the spring without being bombarded. We arrived around 11 am to find the parking lot mostly empty and no one diving from the platform into the spring below. We set up on the shore of the Withlacoochee where the spring run enters and I grabbed my mask and snorkel and headed into the pool. I explored around a bit but soon the local fat chicks began leaping from the platform so fearing for my life I floated down the rapids to the river and snorkeled around in there. It was incredible how hot the water of the Withlacoochee felt in comparison to the water flowing out from the spring. We've experienced a similar thing at other springs but not nearly as dramatic as we felt here. It was almost like jumping from a hot tub into a swimming pool in the middle of winter. We hung around the spring for about four hours before we headed back over to Madison to buy some produce and attempt to buy some wine which we later found to be impossible due to the dryness of the county. We headed back to the cabin and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and listening to music. After dinner we took a walk across the Old 90 bridge to old Ellaville before retiring for the night.
The next day we packed up to leave and decided to meander our way home and explore some more areas of interest. As we checked out at the park office we met Doug's wife, Myra who works there and chatted some more about how great the river camps are. We drove down to Anderson Springs which is located south of the park along the River Road. The spring actually boils up out in the river itself and the park is located along a beautiful stretch of the river although it is only a mile south of Interstate 10 and therefore quite noisy. As we were exploring one of the trails we kept seeing something quite large leaping out of the river but could never tell what it was. When I had my back turned to the water I heard another huge splash and Hope called out "THAT was HUGE!" She said she was pretty sure that it was one of the infamous Gulf Sturgeons we have been hearing about and that the signs at the boat ramps warn about. Apparently, they have caused some very serious injuries to power boaters because they leap out of the water and are so big they can really hurt you if you hit them at a high rate of speed. We headed back toward the park and with a trail map in hand we finally tracked down the exact location of Drew Mansion and saw the markings for the trail leading to it. The trail looks very overgrown so the next time we come here we will wear long pants and good shoes to hike it. From there we headed up 90 and took Old Blue Springs Road to route 6. We found a sign pointing to a boat ramp and wound our way through a maze of dirt roads down to an old county boat ramp on the Suwannee River about 4 miles above the State Park.
We continued on route 6 to Jasper and took 129 south back to Suwannee Springs. On the way down we crossed the Alapaha River and once again saw that it was a bed of sand. We entered Suwannee Springs and parked at the old Springs park. We were again surprised at how few people were there and we found a spot around the bend from the spring where we ate our picnic lunch. We spent about an hour swimming from the beach and talking about plans to paddle at least a few days on the Suwannee River before heading on back home. See the pictures from this trip
7/6/07
After returning home from our vacation on the Suwannee River we spent the next couple of days doing a long overdue painting project. Today, I was ready to take a break from the paint and head back to my home waters. With low tide at around 9 am on Pumpkin Hill, I headed that way and got in the water about 15 minutes after sunrise as some patchy fog was lifting.
Not far from the put-in I saw a shape ahead of me in the water that looked an awful lot like a Gator. It was pointed toward me in the glare of the water and so I couldn't really see a good profile before it disappeared beneath the water without a ripple but the shape was unmistakable. If I am correct in what I saw it makes the second time in a month that I have seen Alligators in Pumpkin Hill. As I headed away from the trails, a medium sized Heron flushed that I saw again later and realized was a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. Apparently, he had only just lost his long breeding plume feather on the top of his head as there was just a stub of it sticking out from his crown. I spotted a Clapper Rail out for his morning groom and stretch so I spent some time playing hide and seek with him. I left the Rail and headed toward the point flushing the Night Heron on several occasions as I did. I was shooting him again when suddenly a Roseate Spoonbill dropped in on him and scared him away.
As I rounded the bend opposite the point there were three more Spoonbills feeding in the shallows and they were soon joined by a couple of others who dropped in. I paddled past the point and found the trees there empty so I headed back to Pumpkin Hill and headed toward the bay that lies east of the Edwards Flats. I pulled over and ate my breakfast near the oyster beds there and then got ready to head back. I spotted another Spoonbill feeding nearby whose breeding plumage was still present although quite faded. As I paddled over to him I began to be boarded by some good sized shrimp but there was no place to get out and cast my net so I headed back on the incoming tide. I crossed paths with the Night Heron again and then decided to try my luck casting at my shrimping spot. I didn't really bring anything to keep the shrimp in so I didn't try very hard and gave up after a couple of empty casts and headed home. See the pictures from this trip
7/8/07
I decided to head back to Pumpkin Hill again and bring along the proper gear to do some shrimping if the conditions proved acceptable. I got a late start and was surprised to find the put-in empty as I set out at 7:30 am on the outgoing tide. I didn't see too much as I headed toward the trails. There was an Osprey flying from perch to perch above the trails and when he chose the branch directly above a Great Blue Heron I could see the Heron giving him a look of annoyance.
I ate my breakfast at the point while sitting in my boat and then headed on around the bend to the bay. As I was leaving, I heard something fluttering on the deck of my boat behind me. I turned, expecting to see a small fish but was stunned to see a huge shrimp laying there that was longer than my boat was wide. I hadn't seen many shrimp up to that point and was beginning to think that my attempts to catch dinner would be unsuccessful but the sight of an enormous shrimp flopping on my boat gave me hope. Once in the bay I found a couple of more Spoonies feeding there once again and as I shot them I was bombarded by the shrimp who kept landing in my lap. I left the Spoonies to gorge themselves on the shrimp and headed across the creek where I saw a gathering of four Great Blues which was odd to see. They all appeared to be youngsters so perhaps they are not yet aware that they aren't supposed to be hanging out together. Eventually they all went their separate ways.
I headed up to my shrimping spot as the tide got low and as I approached the area I noticed a pair of Wood Storks and a pair of Spoonies feeding in the stream that enters near there. Wood Storks are normally very calm and stoic feeders but these two were feeding excitedly - running from one side of the stream to the other with wings flapping while thrusting their beaks into the muddy waters. As I sat there shooting them I was attacked once again by suicidal shrimp so I decided to defend myself. The only way to defend yourself against kamikaze shrimp is to eat them so I paddled over to the clay shelf nearby and began casting. My success was varied, but at times my net was full of medium to large shrimp flipping angrily. After about an hour I figured that I had about four or five dozen and decided to cast one more time and leave. On that cast my net came up with at least 15 large shrimp and the following cast brought a similar number. A couple of more empty nets and I was ready to head back with a small cooler full of shrimp. When we cleaned them later that night I was shocked to find that I had caught 226 shrimp and I went to bed satisfied that I had done my part to make the waters safer for other kayakers. Either that - or I was just plain stuffed with a belly full of shrimp. See the pictures from this trip
7/12/07
I had a tough week at work and so, looking at the tide chart, I decided to take a couple of hours off and head to my shrimpin' hole to try my luck again at low tide. Unfortunately, I timed my leaving work to coincide with a strong thunderstorm that rolled through the area dumping several inches of rain. I was soaked to the bone walking out to my truck but as soon as I turned north from the entrance to the plant the rain eased up. It caught up with me about the time I reached the put-in and since it was accompanied by plenty of lightning I decided to wait it out in my truck. I was just about to give up and leave when the rain began easing up and by the time I had walked down to the water and back up to my truck it had completely stopped.
As I started to load up a State Park ranger came driving up and looked at me like I was nuts as he asked if I was heading out. When I told him that I was he said there were storm warnings out and that was why he driven down to the water - to see if anyone was needing help. When I made it plain that I was still going out he said that he had heard on the radio that the system was moving south so I assured him that I would be careful and head back if it got bad. The scene I found at the water's edge was one I had never witnessed before. It was dead low tide but the huge deluge that had just passed dumped so much water in the area that the feeder streams across the way were pouring out water like a waterfall and directly in front of the put-in the water was roaring by like a white water rapid. The small fish in the are a were leaping up against the current like miniature salmon spawning upstream in Alaska while shrimp were flipping in all directions. I looked across the way at a Spoonbill feeding on the other side of the sandbar while a huge Red Fish threw himself up on the sand as he chased his meal. He calmly wiggled his way back into the water and I let the current carry me toward my destination. I have overused the words "incredible" and "unbelievable" when trying to describe what I have seen out here in the marsh but today those words didn't come close to describing what I saw. The water was swarming with small fish while the air was constantly filled with flying shrimp. The sound of fish hitting the sides of my boat was nearly constant and occasionally a fish would come flying out, hit the deck and flop over the side. Every time I put my paddle blade in the water it would cause about a half dozen shrimp to fly out and many of them would hit me in the hand or arm and occasionally my chest. I started to put the "keepers" in my cooler which I kept in front of me and by the time I reached my shrimping spot I had four or five who had "volunteered".
I passed a few Spoonbills and a Yellow Crowned Night Heron that I shot as I headed out but I decided to not do much photography on the way down so that I could be sure that I got to my spot while it was still shallow. I reached it in about 30 minutes and found that the water was almost completely out with only inches of water at the edge of the grass. I got out and began tossing and I could immediately see that my success rate was going to be very high. Over the next hour I never hauled in an empty net and often would have at least 20 to empty into my cooler. The biggest problem I had was that there were so many fish in the area that on several occasions my net would contain four or five large mullet along with a dozen shrimp. On a few occasions I actually emptied my entire catch so as not to have to deal with the fish.
On the whole, I was a little disappointed in the size of the shrimp compared to the previous day of shrimping and it was some time before I went back to the method I used last year when I dumped the catch in my seat and sorted from there. As a result, I took home way too many small ones that I normally would have tossed back but I took home plenty of big ones as well and all were big enough to eat. I didn't count them but I think I had at least 400 in my cooler by the time I left. As the tide came in and the water got deeper I started to be attacked by the shrimp in the water as they poked me with their spikes. On a few occasions they actually swam up the legs of my shorts - shrimp in the shorts - NOT FUN! All in all though, it was another fun day catching dinner at Pumpkin Hill and I don't think I diminished their numbers by much. See the pictures from this trip
7/15/07
After three consecutive trips on Pumpkin Hill I wanted to do something a little different on this Sunday morning so I headed to a put-in close to home - Cedar Point. I was in the water well after sunrise at about mid-tide incoming on a still, hot day. Although the weather said that there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms all day there was not a cloud in the sky as I set out around the first bend. I spotted a lone Dolphin surfacing ahead of me but never saw him again. I saw a Yellow Crowned Night Heron on the bank and several Roseate Spoonbills flew overhead toward the south as I made my way toward the confluence point. I took my breakfast break there before heading north but I decided to explore some of the side streams on the way up before returning to the main channel and continuing up to the point where I hiked around a bit. I headed back as the tide turned and explored around a bit more in the side streams on the way home. Not much of a trip but a nice change of pace. See the pictures from this trip
7/16/07
Hope had an early start to her day so I was up by 5 and tried to decide where I was going to spend my day on the water. I wanted to do something a bit out of the ordinary and as I was checking the tides and weather on the internet I stumbled across the Okefenokee site. I saw that the east entrance had recently re-opened after the wildfires of this spring so I loaded up and hit the road as the sun started peeking over the marsh.
I took I-95 up to SR-40 and headed west into a thick ground fog that I hoped would still be present when I reached the swamp. Unfortunately, by the time I pulled into the parking lot the sun was well over the trees and the fog was long gone. I noticed, as I signed in, that I was the first one on the water that morning and with the summer heat and bugs in full swing I was fairly certain that the tourist traffic was going to be pretty small. I pulled my truck down to the beach where the rental canoes and kayak launch and walked down to see how low the water was. I was stopped short by the sight of a large gator sunning himself on the exact spot where I normally launch and there were three or four more gators sitting just offshore. I thought about using the boat ramp but there were a couple of gators sitting just a few feet from the end of it out in the water. The large gator on the beach quickly flopped into the water so I decided to go ahead and carry my boat down and start loading up. The other two who were in the water never moved an inch and simply stared at me with their big brown eyes unblinking. It was a bit un-nerving and I could almost hear them say "Hey Bob - I can't remember - is it kayakers who taste like chicken or us?" "I dunno George, but I hear they are crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside."
Fortunately, just as I set out they lazily swam away letting me pass and I began heading down the canal. There was a young Great Blue Heron standing on the foot bridge over the canal staring into the water and I paused to shoot him as I passed underneath. Part of the reason I had come here was to see if I could detect any evidence of the fires which according to one source had burned over 75% of the park but all I could see, wherever I looked, was lush green vegetation which was illuminated in the morning sun, contrasting against the dark water of the Suwannee Canal. I expected the bugs to be bad and had brought repellant along but as I set out the yellow flies merely kept me company as they buzzed in a circle around my head but never lit or bit. I saw several Pileated Woodpeckers fly across the canal and as I approached the split I began to hear the call of the Sandhill Cranes coming from the prairies on both sides of the canal. The water level was the lowest that I had seen it in my limited experience here - a good 8 inches lower than the last time I was here in March. The sight of Alligators was so constant that I gave up on counting them. They were almost all in the water and as I looked ahead of me I would often see three or four swimming across the canal in different spots. They mostly seem to be juveniles - the biggest may have been six feet long.
I reached the Cedar Hammock run and turned up it but was only able to travel a few yards before the silt stopped me and forced me to return to the canal. I reached the split and took the southern branch to where the path to Grand Prairie broke off to the SW. I took it, hoping to see some Cranes, but I knew that I would not be able to travel down it too far. I passed some Ibis feeding along the shoreline as well as some Kill Deer and the occasional Gator. The channel here is clogged with Lily Pads which were in full bloom. Their beautiful flowers contrasted nicely with the dark water which mirrored the sky. The bees were busy fighting over each blossom and I got some good shots of their activities along with some of the many dragon flies that were filling the air.
Off to the east, about 1000 yards away from the channel, I saw the only evidence of the wildfire. In stark contrast to the lush green vegetation that surrounded me was a large stand of Cypress which was blackened by fire. It didn't look that much different than the way the rest of the Cypress had looked in the winter but now it stood out since everything else was in full bloom and green. I reached the intersection where the various paths break off and it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to travel much further without a lot of effort so I turned around. On the way back I spotted a furry shape walking through the grass a few feet from where I was. I could tell that it was a Raccoon and when it stopped to dig for something in the ground I barked at it which caused it to stand up on it's hind legs and give me a quizzical look before heading into the stand of Cypress.
As I headed back toward the entrance to the prairies a pair of young gators blocked my path and only grudgingly moved out of my way as I approached. I have found this to be true of young Gators in the swamp. They don't act aggressive by any stretch but they certainly don't act afraid and often will swim lazily ahead of you with their heads cocked to one side and only drop beneath the surface at the last moment. Its almost as if they are saying - "make me!"
I re-entered the canal and head further west, re-entering the place where the path to the prairies comes back out. I traveled down it but I wasn't able to go very far and continued my circumnavigation back to the intersection. It was here that I noticed a change in the behavior of the yellow flies. Now that I was at the furthest point away from the put-in they began zeroing in on me and biting. It didn't matter how many times I re-applied the bug spray either - in fact, they seemed to like it more. I thought I overheard one of them remark "Look Maude - its a 1998 Repel - our favorite! And it goes so well with red meat too!" I'm guessing that these boogers don't get a lot of juicy red meat this time of the year so they figured they had a good two hours to feast on me as I headed back to civilization and they very patiently began feasting away. Actually - that's the good thing about living on the edge of a salt marsh for the last 20 years. It was no worse than the average day out mowing the lawn in late May on Hecksher Drive. The only bad part about it was that they wouldn't really light on me until I stopped to get a drink of water or take pictures and they loved to get up under my deck and bite my legs.
I reached the intersection and took the cut back to the main channel. This section is usually pretty low and stagnant compared to the main canal and with the water levels down it was even more so. There was plenty of water, however, and except for a couple of trees that had fallen part way across the channel since my last visit it was an easy paddle. Just as I was approaching the split I saw my first boat of the day which appeared to be a ranger racing down the channel. I was about a mile away from the boat basin when suddenly a large furry shape ambled out of the woods to my left and stopped at the water's edge. Standing a few feet from me was one of the largest Otters I have ever seen. He looked at me for a few seconds and then dove in the water, re-emerging a few feet down the shoreline. He scrambled up and over the fallen trees and went back in the water and I waited to see if he would re-appear again. I began to notice that each time he submerged he would leave a very distinct trail of bubbles on the dark, glassy water that I was able to easily follow. Each time he would surface I had my boat and camera pointed at him and he would spend a few seconds looking around for me. He would see me, submerge and cross to the other side of the canal - leaving a bubble trail each time. He crossed back and forth across the canal three or four times and seemed to be getting pretty annoyed that I was always there waiting for him although he never huffed at me like Otters have done in the past. Finally, it was if he realized what he was doing and he went under the water without leaving a trail. I guessed where he was headed and, sure enough, I saw a swirl of water near the shore but never saw his head. I waited around for a few seconds and caught a glimpse of his tail disappearing into the woods about 10 yards away.
I wondered why he seemed to be so willing to get in the water since at this time of the year the Gators are active and feeding therefore the Otters are less likely to be seen. He was a very large Otter and quite broad around the shoulders and since most of the gators I had been seeing were not much bigger than he I am guessing that unless they were really hungry they probably wouldn't want to mess with him. He had an unusually light, blonde fur that I have only seen on occasions around here.
I made my way back to the basin, passing the only tour boat I saw on the day with three passengers in it. As I got back to the basin, I noticed a medium sized bird perching on a tree branch above the water. It was constantly zooming down to the surface where it appeared to be plucking one of the insects that were hovering there and then returning to it's perch. I later identified him as an Eastern Kingbird. When I got back to the beach I was relieved to see that it was clear of Gators. The young Great Blue had moved from his perch on the bridge and was hunting along the beach near the ramp. I loaded up and decided to stop on the way home at Traders Hill to check the water levels in the St. Mary's. I was shocked to find the normally empty campground full of RV's - some of whom look like they are permanent residents. At $10.00 a night, I guess you can't beat the rent and they must not have a restriction on how long you can stay. The beach where I normally launch from has been turned into a swimming area with a floating platform and roped off area so I guess on my next visit here I will have to use the ramp. I tried to stop and visit another potential put-in at Camp Pinkney but there was some tree work being done near the ramp so I gave up on that plan and headed home. See the pictures from this trip
7/17/07
Three days in a row is not something I would normally do but in our weekend menu planning I volunteered to "catch dinner" at least one day this week. Looking at the tide chart I thought I saw that it was going to be low at Pumpkin Hill at around 6:30 pm so I headed that way after work. As soon as I arrived at the put-in I suspected that I had mis-read the chart because the water was a lot closer to mid-tide than low. The sky was dark to the south but it had been that way all afternoon and I couldn't see any lightning strikes so I headed out. I shot a few Spoonies and a Night Heron on the way down but the water was downright calm compared to my last visit here when I had to fight my way through flying fish and shrimp.
I reached my shrimpin' spot by 5:15 and it was shallow enough for me to get out and start casting. My first few casts were disappointing but soon I was catching five or six on at least some of my casts. I did a much better job tossing back the ones that were too small and a few of the shrimp I caught were true "monsters". One of them I had to put back in the cooler on three different occasions after he flipped his way out. I wasn't going to try to catch several hundred shrimp like I did the last couple of trips since I was only wanting to get enough for dinner but I had hoped that I could catch three of four dozen "keepers" in a short period of time. It was obvious that I had mis-judged the tides and well after 6:30 the current was still strong heading out. To make matters worse, the wind was constantly blowing my boat in my way so that I would often get tangled up in the bow line that I tie off to my pants.
After a little more than an hour I checked my cooler and determined I had enough for tomorrow night's meal so after coming up empty on several casts in a row I headed home. The water was still rushing out and the activity in the water was starting to stir up so I know that if I had timed it better I would have been more successful. As I reached the trails I noticed a couple of Ospreys perching in the trees about 100 yard apart. As I passed, one of them flew off and as he passed the other he suddenly dove and flushed the second one from its perch. For the next several minutes the two of them engaged in what appeared to be a very friendly, non aggressive game of tag over the tree tops. I wondered of these were the fledges from the nest near the point or else the parents of those birds. Now that the kids are kicked out of the nest the Osprey adults, who nest for life, don't usually have much to do with each other but these two may have been just saying "hi - see ya next spring, babe". As I made my way up toward the final turn I spotted a young Wood Stork feeding in the shallows in the company of a Spoonbill and a Snowy Egret. As they approached the grass I noticed a Clapper Rail peering out from the edge off the grass. He reminded of me some old Jewish guy standing on his stoop yelling at the kids playing in the street. "Hey youse kids - whadda ya doing?! Stay out of my yard you damn kids and quit making so much noise - damn kids!" I turned the corner and finished up my run as the rest of the neighborhood started gathering for the feast. See the pictures from this trip
7/22/07
Back to Pumpkin Hill to catch dinner! Everything else takes a back seat when the shrimp are running so with the tide low at 10:46 I was in the water at 7:45. I did a quick check of the radar before I left the house and saw a relatively clear sky so I figured that I would have about three hours to mess around and shoot birds before I needed to be at my shrimpin' hole. There was a fairly stiff sea breeze coming across Black Hammock and there were some small clouds sitting off the coast but not enough to be concerned with - or so I thought. There was not much to shoot on the way out - just an immature Night Heron and some Spoonies - so I cruised down the creek on the outgoing tide. As I approached my shrimpin' hole there was a guy in a small skiff there trying his luck with a cast net. I have seen him here before during shrimp season but I felt sure that he would be gone by the time I was ready to try my luck so I headed down toward the point. I was admiring the beautiful sky as the sun tried to break through the darkening clouds over the coastline. I could see some squalls approaching but I was certain that if rain came my way it would pass by quickly as they usually do this time of year. As I reached the point, however, I could see that the sky to the east had become a solid wall of dark gray and soon I could see the lines of rain coming my way.
I hadn't seen any lightning or heard any thunder but I decided to play it safe and stowed my camera and paddled to the marsh opposite the point so that I would be away from any trees and made myself as small a target as possible. I was exposed to the wind, however, so after about 15 minutes I decided to head across the channel to the east side of Pumpkin Hill so that I would be shielded from the wind. I was still sure that the rain would pass quickly but after another 30 minutes of laying in my boat I wasn't so sure. A few ground strikes hit but none very close and on the whole I didn't feel too threatened by the lightning. I finally decided to head toward my shrimping spot but as I did the rain got heavier and I started to notice that my boat was filling up with water. As I started to head toward the bend in the creek the lighting started to pop fairly close so when I pulled up to the bank I hunkered down and waited it out. I was about to give up when I noticed a slight let-up so I decided to go ahead and try my luck. I exited my boat about 15 minutes before low tide but it was obvious to me that with all of the water the storm had dumped in the marsh that low tide wasn't really going to happen.
I tossed my net for the first time and when I pulled it in I was shocked to see six or seven huge shrimp. My next couple of tosses produced similar results and for the next hour or so I was pleasantly surprised by both the size and quantity of my catch. I finally had to stop simply because the tide had turned and the water level was getting so high that I knew it would be difficult to get back in my boat. As it was I had to spend about five minutes bailing my boat out before I got back in due to the rain. I headed back uneventfully and when I counted up my catch I had 128 mostly large shrimp - enough for a couple of more yummy meals in the McCharen household! So far I haven't heard the complaint of "Oh, no! Not shrimp again!" See the pictures from this trip
7/26/07
This was just another shrimpin' trip to my spot. Looking at the tides I realized that the only good time to get out there this week was going to be in the early afternoon so I took off from work a few hours early and was launching my boat by 1:15 - about 45 minutes before low tide. The weather was near perfect with some clouds gathering to the north but not a hint of the usual thunder and lightning we can expect at this time of the year. I decided to not stop and shoot anything on the way down unless it was something really spectacular - like a Bald Eagle sipping tea with an Otter. I reached my shrimping spot about 30 minutes after launching and although I hadn't seen a great deal of activity on the way down I did have two "volunteers" in my cooler by the time I reached my spot. My first toss hauled in five or six "keepers" and I had brought along a dish pan to help me sort out the ones I wanted to keep. Over the next hour or so I brought in several nets bulging with shrimp - often more than 20 although I rarely kept all of them. I finally ended my trip - not so much because I was not longer catching shrimp but because I was getting tired and my cooler was brimming with the little buggers. I headed back, pausing to shoot some Spoonbills along the way and I took some videos to attempt to show the shrimp that would flip out of the water as I passed by. In some places the large shrimp actually threw themselves up on the bank as I came floating by and then they would flip themselves back in the water. I didn't see too much on the way back but when I was unloading my stuff from my boat I found eight more shrimp that had either jumped into my boat unseen or else escaped either from my cooler or the pan I was using to sort from. When I arrived home I counted them up and found that I had brought home 271 which I promptly grilled. See the pictures from this trip
7/29/07
After three consecutive trips on Pumpkin Hill I was ready for a change of scenery and so I headed up the road to put-in at my old standby - Hannah Mills. A nice thing about being on this side of the summer solstice is that I can now reasonably expect to see the sunrise over the marsh and it was just making it's appearance over Mayport as I set out.
I paddled by the grove of trees to the east of the put-in and scared up the usual Night Herons who love to hide here at dawn and dusk and then set out toward the north. As I approached the sea daisy island just beyond the large pool next to the road I could see that it was full of birds and I saw the silhouettes of at least two Great Blues. A fishermen came roaring up the creek and stopped near the island causing most of the birds to flush before I got in range and it was then that I realized that most of the birds hanging out there were Roseate Spoonbills - at least two dozen - who flew off to the southwest. One of the Great Blues and one of the Spoonies didn't get the memo and I was able to float in very close before the Spoonbill flew off. The Great Blue stayed put and I could see his head over the top of the old oyster bed. As I watched, he began stalking a fish and soon appeared with a large fish that he had speared with his beak. He hung around for only a few seconds and then flew off to eat his meal in private.
I continued up to the old cedar which was full of Herons and Egrets but after I drifted in on them I was left to enjoy my own breakfast in peace before heading on to the north. I took the usual feeder streams that parallel the ICW as far as I could and then made my way up the waterway to the Pelican Pool. As I got close to the location of the pool I could already see that the mud flat behind and between the islands contained a variety of birds and when I exited my boat I saw Wood Storks, Spoonbills, Egrets, Herons and a large number of shorebirds scattered in pockets around the area.
The Pelican Pool itself was relatively empty but the shallow pool nearest the island was packed full of Spoonbills who then flew off to the larger pool once I got too close. There was a large group of Wood Storks standing off to one side who seemed to be nervously watching me as I walked around. As I walked closer to the main pool the Spoonbills flushed and returned a couple of times before finally leaving for good. Most of them joined their bigger cousins - the Storks - and hung with them for a while until the Storks decided they had had enough of their pink relatives company and flew off. I eventually returned to my boat and decided that since the traffic wasn't too bad on the waterway that I would stay in it until I reached the Kingfish Park. I headed in against the outgoing tide and shot a few Herons along the way. When I reached the sea daisy island again it was full of Dowitchers, Willets and Yellowlegs along with one lone Duck which was either a Florida Mottled or else a female Mallard. From there I had an easy trip back across the pool to my truck and loaded up. See the pictures from this trip
7/30/07
I really wanted to do something different this morning but I couldn't make up my mind as to where my destination should be. The river levels were still low and the tides weren't quite right for my first choices but finally I decided to take a trip on the FGR so that I could combine some exploration with some swimming and "vegging out".
I intended to put-in behind the Ribault Club but I forgot that they don't open the gate until 8 am so I turned around and headed for Alimacani. The current was swiftly flowing past the ramp and I barely had to paddle as it carried me toward the yacht basin at the Ribault ramp. There was an Osprey sitting on a dead palm just inside the entrance to the basin and I wound up chasing him around a bit before heading back out into the channel. I cruised past the houses and entered the creek the cuts around "our sandbar" where the river makes its sharp turn to the west. I was surprised to find that several trees had fallen into the stream - probably from the long period of strong easterly breezes we experienced this past spring and early summer. It kind of opened up the normally thick vegetation that lines this stream another Osprey was perching in one of the trees. There was also a pair of Green Herons that I played hide and seek with before moving on.
On the sandbar across from the trees I could see three Reddish Egrets separated by some distance. Apparently, the space wasn't enough for one of the trio as he soon chased off one and then several minutes later the other until he had the whole place to himself. Apparently, these goofy birds are tolerant of each other's presence if they aren't dancing but once their performance begins they don't want any partners. As much ground as they cover in their wild, crazed pursuit of food I guess I can see why. As I watched the Egrets I noticed that there were several Ospreys diving into the water nearby. One of them emerged from the water and then flew over to a shallow pool in the sandbar near me and began bathing. I thought this odd since he had just gotten wet a few seconds earlier and Ospreys spend so much of their day diving in the water but he spent the next 15 minutes very meticulously splashing in the pool as if it were a backyard bird bath.
I left the Egrets and Osprey and paddled toward point Isabella where I shot another Osprey at the entrance to the basin there before heading in. I paddled about two thirds of the way around the channel that runs behind the wharf and then headed back out and continued toward the Plantation. I paddled on the far side of the grass island that lays directly in front of the Kingsley House and then turned up the Mud River that runs along the SW point of Big Talbot Island. I paddled up it to the northern branch that heads out into the waterway. There is a large nesting platform there that someone has placed in the stream that looked as if it had been recently occupied by an Osprey family so I will have to remember that next spring. It's close enough to the water that some good photos and observations should be possible. As I headed toward the waterway, I could see a mass of birds behind the two small islands that lay just north of the entrance to Mud River. I could see with my binoculars that it was a large group of Wood Storks and I could also see some pink mixed in which told me that their little cousins were there as well.
I paddled out to the ICW and beached my boat on the shoreline there and began walking slowly along the large mud flat which surrounds the islands. I got a few good shots of the group before they flew off and then did some investigation of the islands which looked to be ideal for camping. They are off the waterway by about 75 yards with a bare, sandy mud flat between the woods and the shoreline which would mean that the boat traffic would not be right in your face. Both islands had at least a couple of nice clearings in their interiors and because of their location off the main channel would afford a camper some privacy. The mudflat around the island would be a great spot for star gazing and it is far enough away from Mayport, Heckscher Drive, Atlantic Marine and Blount Island that it would probably be very quiet. I have wanted to do a circumnavigation of Big Talbot and this would be a nice stop over point if I wanted to do it over two days.
I left the island and headed south to the entrance to the FGR. A pair of Dolphins were feeding at the entrance to the river and a group of Storks were gathering on the banks there. The tide had turned by now so I cruised past the Plantation on my way back to the sandbar where the Osprey had taken his bath. I decided to take my lunch/swim break there and had it not been for the fact that I was in charge of dinner I may had spent the rest of the afternoon there sleeping and swimming. I realized that - for whatever reason - I haven't spent as much time on the FGR this summer and I as I headed back to Alimacani I vowed to correct that. There is still a lot of summer left. See the pictures from this trip
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