St. John's River Trip

[Tad and Toby Jackson]

Hi to all the Brats,
Especially all those who are locked in by the cold weather all over the country. We have not checked in for awhile as we have had a busy holiday season, but I wanted to make a small report on the trip we just returned from last Saturday.
We needed to rest and rejuvenate after all the holiday festivities. Toby put on Thanksgiving Dinner for 22 family and friends and then a Christmas Eve party for about 50 people. Our familial duties being done, we launched the Comfy Dory the day after Christmas in Lake Harney on the St. John's River, west of Mims, FL in the afternoon. We would have launched further south, preferrably west of Cocoa, FL, but the water levels have really dropped since the highwater time from Tropical Storm Fay and it would have been difficult if not impossible to travel the upper section of the river to Lake Harney.
We caught 3 nice Speckled Perch (Crappie for the Northerners) the next morning as we drifted down the lake. We then traveled down river to Blue Springs but did not stop to see the Manatees because of the large weekend crowd at the Springs. We stopped early in the afternoon on Lake Beresford where I caught about a 2 lb. Spec that we ate for supper.
The next morning we traveled up to the mouth of Cross Creek just to the south of Lake George. Cross Creek was made famous by Marjorie Kennan Rawlings and is a beautiful creek. I caught 3 Channel Catfish of about 3-4 lbs., but threw 2 of them back as we do not have a freezer on the boat. Spent a beautiful night under the stars and awoke to the sound of hawks, Blue Heron's and a pair of Sandhill Cranes with their honking sound echoing through the cove.
Traveled to Silver Glen Springs in the SW corner of Lake George for a walk and to check out the springs. Only about a half dozen boats in the Springs (compared to about 75 boats when we were here for Memorial Day). Very nice, quite and peaceful. Rested for awhile and then traveled north on the Lake to stay in a cove that we like on the north end. Another night under the stars.
The next morning we went north to the intersection of the Cross FL. Barge Canal and the St. John's and then went throught the Buckman Lock (17' up to the Lake Level) and into Lake Ocklawaha which was created by the Rodman Dam built in the early 60;s. Also called the Rodman Reservoir. Our first impression was of a tree graveyard. It was almost depressing, but there were a couple of dozen boats out fishing for Specs. and Bass. We decided to stay in the middle of the lake for the night. Showered and then cooked supper, but just as I was finishing cooking, it was just after sunset, the Blind Mosquitos came! Before I could even finish eating and closing up the back screens, they swarmed. We were confined to the cabin for the night and could hear them hitting the windows. Fortunately, it was in the high 30's that night so we didn't swelter in the cabin. Woke in the morning to a nightmare. There was about 1 1/2 5 gallon buckets full of the buggers on the boat. You couldn't see the grill on the fish cleaning table and the entire engine well was full of about 2" thick. We ended up taking the boat to the nearby Rodman Recreation area which had ramps, water and restrooms. A nice young Kid named James was there fishing and offered to help. We had to take everything out of the cockpit, put it on shore and scrub everything with a boat brush. It took me about 2 hours of throwing 5 gallon buckets of water in the cockpit and then bailing out the bug filled water. What a mess. Toby was able to wash all the towels and other bug filled clothes and we both showered and left after tipping James $10 for his help. We headed back into the canal and pulled to within sight of the lock which would not open until the next morning. Needless to say, we had the screens in place well before sunset and all the little gaps plugged with paper towels. Well, absolutely no bugs in the canal that night. We were the first and only boat there when the lock opened at 7:30. Glad to be back in the St. John's, we headed back south to spend another night at Cross Creek and try and catch another Catfish as we had exhausted our fish supply. After 2 1/2 hours, I finally brought one to the boat, but it pulled off just as I was about to pull it into the boat. My horror at seeing that my knot had pulled apart...bad tie job. Ended up having collard greens, black eyed peas and rice with a can of smoked oysters for New Year's day dinner. Actually pretty good!
The next morning, we headed down to Blue Springs for Toby to see her Manatees without all the crowds and then further south for the night in a cove off the main river.
Sadly, the next morning, Saturday, we cruised the last 35 miles south to Lake Harney to end our trip. 276 miles of birds, beauty and peaceful rest. We decided that we will make this an annual trip as it does just what we need at that time of year...re-stoke the fires for the new year to come.

Happy New Year to All. We hope for a better year than the last and wish the best to all the Brats...Tad and Toby

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I had never heard of blind mosquitoes until you mentioned them in your post. Years ago I was stationed in the Jacksonville area, and other than the biting kind of mosquitoes, the roaches, water bugs and love bugs were the pests that I recalled.

Here's a bit on the Blind Mosquitoes from google...

"Blind Mosquitoes (Aquatic Midges)1
P. G. Koehler2
Blind mosquitoes are mosquito-like insects in the family Chironomidae. They are often referred to as aquatic midges since their immatures (larvae and pupae) live in water. Blind mosquito is a layman's term which may refer to several species of these midges. Blind mosquitoes do not bite, suck blood, or carry disease. Their occurrence and survival in certain polluted waters often indicates pollution of aquatic habitats. They are important to man only when they emerge in such large numbers that they are a nuisance."

[Cheers]

People who have lived in FL sure know what Blind Mosquitos are. Especially around the Cape Canaveral/Merritt Island area.

[smittypaddler]

I'll be on the St Johns in February and March. What bait did you use for the crappies? I was there last winter, but didn't catch anything except a stingray on a frozen shrimp.

[Tad and Toby Jackson]

smittypaddler,
I am sure you will find the St. John's a welcome break from the cold weather up in Wisconsin. We really have been spared so far this year from very much cold and our cold is not very!
The preferred bait for Specs. down here is Minnows. You can buy them at most any bait store for around $1 per dozen. They are very hearty and will last for quite awhile. I bought 5 dozen before we launched and threw about 1 1/2 dozen back over a week later when we returned. We use a feathered jig, usually white or chartreuse floated about 3'-4' under a bobber. Depth can vary and you will just have to keep adjusting until you find the depth they are biting at. I usually just drift across the lakes with 2-3 lines out at varying depths. A lot of fishing type boats use their trolling motors to troll at about 1-1/2 mph. I have seen others that do not use a bobber, but just free troll a jig. Some guys like to use a non-colored jig head the color of the lead. Last year, I caught a 3 lb. Bass one morning on a loop of the main river channel where we had spent the night. Just put a minnow on a float rig and let it drift along in front of a bed of Hyacinths. I also caught the Channel Catfish this year with minnows on a float set to a depth so that the minnow was just down above the muddy bottom. I hope that helps! Good Luck.

Tad