The weather in NE FL this time of year is either sunny and mild or windy as hell.
Last weekend I had a chance to experience a 48 hour window of < 5 wind at ALL times and temperatures in the mid 60's.
I started the weekend waking up before 6am and heading to a launch called "Cedar Point". One of the local guides, Capt Rich Santos, frequents this area and has a fantastic youtube channel showcasing this NE corner of the Timucuan Preserve.
I launched just before sunrise and paddled up horseshoe creek at dead low tide. No wind/low tide= EASY sight fishing. I immediately saw a school of tailing redfish as well as some "lone wolves" chasing bait, which was great considering that the air temps were in the mid 40's.
Here is a quick video I made of the morning:
I caught two redfish in the low 20" range, but sight casting to them and hooking up was a thrill.
The bite slowed down and I was off the water by 10am. Fun morning!
Sunday I started the day early with by teaching buddy on his 28ft Pro Sport ProKat. We ran 18 miles offshore St Augustine to similar conditions as the day before....glassy seas!
Our first spot was in 85 ft of water, with a 30ft high school of snapper under the boat. Between the 4 of us we had to have caught over 100 snapper....too bad the season isn't until later in the year :(
Our second spot produced sea bass in the 13"-20" range and we kept 20!
Fast forward to this weekend to find temps barely in the 50's and wind well over 20kts. My best friend and I planned on fishing this weekend so out in the shitty weather we went!
Every time I bring someone out fishing on the boards I use live bait, and my clutch live bait is mud minnows on a jig head.
Despite the TERRIBLE weather we got 2 reds in the slot, which was a thrill for my friend, who doesn't fish on the regular.
I don't keep many fish these days (I am sick of it) but my friend brought these home and sent me this pick of the fish in the Big Green Egg-
I had a Disney engineer once tell me after a monorail crash that minor holes in the design's several fail safe contributed to the accident. This is what is commonly known as the "Swiss Cheese Effect".
Flip it around and you can call Tuesday's combination of weather, tides, water temperature, and the luxury of leaving work early the St Augustine's inshore fisherman's swiss-cheese-a-palooza.
I left work around 2:30p to a < 2 mpg east wind, overcast skies, and a low tide at 4:12p.
Low tide is the best time to fish because it allows you to see where the oyster beds are and it also forces the fish our of hiding.
High Tide
Low Tide
Working in St Augustine allows me to fish some areas I wouldn't normally have the chance to on the weekend. Hospital creek was the destination. This creek is not one of the most popular because it is literally in the middle of town and the guys with the boats can run up the intercostal to the more secluded creeks.
The launch is a huge pain in the ass if you don't have some type of secure foot protection. During low tide you have to carefully walk your gear down and avoid slipping in the ankle deep mud.
This trip was really about exploring. After passing under the bridge for the deaf and blind school I immediately spooked a large school of reds...oops.
After paddling around I hooked into my personal best flounder- 17.5"
After securing the flattie in my cooler I worked a quarter mile stretch of oysters and caught a few rat reds....yawn.
I kept watching the spot I spooked the school of reds and after about an hour they didn't just come back but they decided it was time to eat.
I picked this 25" Red from the school!
People ask how I fish off my board....here is a glimpse:
Also my first grouper off the board!
I am planning on trying this spot again this weekend.....more to come.
Jacksonville is a cool area if you know where to go. One of my favorite areas to go explore is the roughly 36 square miles of tidal marshes north of Heckscher drive.
This is a tricky area for boating and even more challenging for a human powered vessel. Every day there is a tidal difference of about 7 feet- meaning that a 7 foot wall of water enters and leaves our river area twice a day. This translates to strong currents (which change every few hours) eddies, and changing topography.
One I paddled 13 miles around Fort George Island in the summer- It was hot as tits.
Barge Traffic
Mayport Shrimp Boats
The floating dock at Kingsley Plantation
Portage across Huguenot Park
I caught my first slot redfish in Browns Creek the day after Christmas- It was awesome
Before
After
Here are some more pictures to highlight my other adventures in this area-
I went from 213lbs to 198ish before Oregon, which is a good thing. Luckily I maintained my weight while in Oregon because of the physical activity I did while there. I got back on Wednesday and ate UBER healthy until tonight....where I unleashed the cast iron deep dish pizza.....here are some pics.
Saugage, peppers,jalapeños, basil, chunks of asiago and mozzarella, and garlic.....woah dude.
Getting to know one another
15 minutes at 500 degrees....hell?
No stick no problem...cast iron ftw
Don't eat your computer monitor
yeeeesssssss
I don't know why it turned out so well, i.e. not sticking or bursting info flames, but I'll take it.
Liz and I just got back form a trip to Oregon....it was amazing. I could write for hours and pages but instead I am just going to post this photo album....enjoy!
The Suwannee River has always been something I have personally went after. It all started when I was in 7th grade, my dad was in a nursing home, and I purchased my first kayak. I don't know why I have always liked paddle sports, but it has just always been something I have enjoyed. Maybe it's because during hard times I can browse the internet and "escape" my situation by planning trips and picking out gear.
ANYWAYS, this weekend my lovely wife and I embarked on our first ever overnight trip on our paddle boards. The plan was to put it at the Suwannee River Rendezvous, overnight at Adams Tract River Camp, and Take out at Patrician Oaks.
This is what 2 days of non refrigerated food looks like....yum!
Arriving at our put-in spot, I was unsure how our new boards would paddle fully loaded with gear. Unlike our tandem kayak which can easily hold 650lbs of gear, these boards were a bit more tippy and could only hold a fraction of the weight.
It Floats!
The springs in this section of the river were the saving grace to the hot June sun. Our first day consisted of Convict, Royal and Mearson springs. Their 72 degree chill made this section of river!
Royal Spring.....notice the jumping platform.
Mearson was small but beautiful.
One thing about this trip that had been different from other Suwannee river trips for me is the pace we took. Because I didn't know what to expect with the performance of the boards, I only planned on doing 7 miles of paddling each day, which considering the current of the river is NOTHING. Liz and I had to WORK at going slow and not getting to our camp site too quickly..
The Florida State Parks system has set up 5 river camps along the upper Suwannee that consist of five screened-in platforms with fans/electricity, showers potable water, fire rings, boat racks, hammock hanging hooks, etc....they are luxury and spaced about a days paddle apart.
Luxury by camping standards
We had the whole camp all to ourselves....there wasn't even a camp host there (a first for me).
our first freeze dried meal...not bad!
Day 1 GPS log
Day 2 had up starting with a 2.5 paddle to Troy Springs, which is my favorite spring in Florida. At nearly 70 feet deep, it is a bit overwhelming.
Troy Springs
Day 2 GPS log
Overall I would do this section of the Suwannee again in a heartbeat. While the upper sections are more scenic and secluded, the springs in this portion of the river make this a must do for any summer paddling trip.
The school year is winding down and I have spent some time recently with my new SUP exploring the first coast. Here are a few pictures of my routes and scenery.
Today I hit up Simpsons Creek. This is one of my favorite paddling spots because you are usually the only one there. Luckily, I launched at Kayak Amelia when the tide still had an hour or so to go out. I rode the tide out and then back if, which made for a more enjoyable paddle.
The tidal difference from high to low is close to 7 feet in this area! Notice how to dock at Kayak Amelia is engineered to raise and lower with mother nature.
