Had our coffee then headed down the river to the St Johns River
About 11am we found a nice spot…dropped the hook and fixed lunch…not in a hurry…so enjoying the nice day.
This tour boat full of kids came by..
Good looking gator…
It wasn’t long and we were back on the St Johns.
Normally when a gator sees a boat …it dives…this is the attitude that keeps us from using our dingy very often during breeding season. They may not bother you but it’s not worth taking a chance in an inflatable.
Even with all the boat traffic we were able to spot a few gators.
There is a deep spot by Drigger Island….there were several fishing boats there so we didn’t get to cross the really deep spot….but 50’ is pretty deep for Florida. You can see where we are …little red boat shape.
Here is a cute little baby gator.
Female Anhinga…you can see why they are sometimes call the “snake” bird. They swim with their body completely underwater with just the neck and head above. See her webbed feet?
More side creeks…
Nesting Herons put up quite a ruckus…
Jim thought there were 3 babies in the nest …all competing for food from the parent.
This nest was in the same tree….could be 3 babies and a parent or 2 and both parents.
It can get pretty loud when they all get vocal.
back out to the St Johns and on to Butcher’s Bend. We are anchoring there for the night and hauling out early Sunday morning.
This guy caught a big fish just as we passed by and held it up for a picture….then tossed it back in the river.
Two nice gators cruising Butcher’s Bend but no good photos. Also had Manatees just as we anchored but none of them either.
5.10.15
This is our morning view with coffee. We had already taken the screens down.
Everything stowed for travel …bimini folded and covered…trolling motor and battery aboard. We try to get as much done as we can so we don’t take extra time at the dock.
We had a good time and the weather was great. We spotted several lakes (Mud Lake) and tributaries that we’ve not been up so next time we’ll bring poles and leave the dingy at home. Since we have to tow it …backing up can be a problem.
Look forward to the next trip.
Jim is checking batteries to see if one is bad…didn’t seem to be holding a charge as well as they should and we need to replace the rear deck floor.
Next trip…..this weekend with the ‘49 Hudson and our Scamp…Going to Tavares for a Hudson meet.
