St Johns River 2.8.13

We checked the depth at Lake Jessup and decided we shouldn’t try launching there until we’ve had a bit of rain, so we headed to Lake Monroe.

Once the boat was in the water, I got things stashed while Jim visited with a gentleman who was interested in our 1928 Buick.

Decided to carry the dingy aboard, and inflate it later. That is it in the bow.

The docks here are a popular spot for fishing.

There is a low railroad bridge near the launch ramp. A small houseboat was waiting for an opening but we are low enough (since Jim removed the tall railing), that we  could get under.  A few minutes later it was passing us. It looked small, but is actually a 26 ft boat.

A beautiful day!!!! and a great day for spotting gators. This one only let me get one shot…and was gone. Guess it’s been hunted a lot.

This kayaker has a great little set up….

Hontoon Island was popular for the weekend.

Look at this beauty…..what a nice boat. Low profile, compared to it’s neighbor and a couple of kayaks on top.

A Stork rookery….I can see at least 3 nests. They are very small and look flimsy for such big birds.

You see a lot of turtles sunning near gators….guess no one has told them they can crunch turtle shells.

Look at the size of this one…and I didn’t even get all of it’s tail.

This one didn’t look very big…but has a thick tail.

Lots of meat here…same gator above

We traveled 34 miles today. Don’t usually run this far when we launch but we have to be at Salt River Springs on Sunday to meet friends.

Our anchorage for this night is G3 Lungun Island.

Guess we’re goin’ fishin’

Jim made us a fishing rod holder. He had a piece of cedar and used it for the handles. You slide the rod part thru it’s slot…then back the handles into the holes. The weight of the reels keep them in place. They are under the rear of the hardtop…over the motor well and out of the way.

So I’ve been watching videos on YouTube about catching, cleaning and fileting bass.

Now all we have to do is catch one.

This is the setup for the generator and extended run tank.

On the opposite side of the boat are  the battery chargers. They have their own heavy duty extension cord. Now we can start the generator, plug them in and they are out of the weather and out of the way.  The plastic is rolled up when in use.

Latest plans have us launching on Friday for some time on the St Johns River. Hope the Manatees are still at Salt River Run Springs. The weather is warming up and when the water warms they leave.

We stopped at the Black Hammock Fish Camp & Restaurant on Lake Jessup  this morning. The lake is way down, but we saw at least 6 gators cruising the waters. One had been on the bank and splashed in when we walked up. They have a 12’ gator in a penned area and 4 or 5 smaller ones in another area……..I’d much rather see them in the wild, but not everyone has a boat.

See you on the water!!!

Dora Canal….. Harris Chain of Lakes, FL

The Dora Canal connects Lake Eustis and Lake Dora.

Let’s take a short ride thru part of the Dora Canal.

If you go on a weekday, you may only meet a few boats……and when you are there by yourself….you get a feeling of the old Florida. It’s very slow travel and shallow in places. Lots of overhead trees so sailboats and those with a deep draft should forget the trip.

There are tour boats that take you thru the canal.

Enjoy the ride…..

1.26.13 Hauling out today

The sun going down made for a pretty picture last night.

We had our morning coffee on the rear deck and watched at least 30 fishing boats go past us before the sun was up.

Jim had plans to meet his brother, Carl, at the Buzzard Beach launch ramp, to go to  breakfast and then pick up our truck and trailer, so we got an early start.

We stopped to top off our tanks on the Dead River. It’s just a small gas stop and restaurant but kind of unique since it was built around the existing Cyprus trees.

These guys were hanging out on the dock.

This is a Snowy Egret…..                                                                                      and this a White Heron

at first glance the look the same….but note the yellow feet on the Egret , while the Heron has black feet. The beaks are also different colors.

 

We met Carl and they headed off. I walked Raisin and watched boats coming and going. I asked one man if he had already caught the big one, as he nosed up to the dock, but he said they couldn’t get their trolling motor working, so came back in.

When Jim and Carl got back I mentioned it to Jim. They needed more extension cord to get to the electric so they could charge the battery so he loaned them ours. They were planning on being back for the weigh in at 3pm, we’d meet them at the dock.

This is the weigh in trailer with all it’s sponsors.

Carl hadn’t been thru the Dora Canal in some time so we took him for a ride. It is probably the best spot on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

I couldn’t resist a picture of this Heron…such a funny pose.

After our canal trip we headed back to the dock. It was around 1:30 and we wanted to get a spot before everyone came in to weigh their fish. It’s a good thing we got there early….

Boats tied up, or they just nosed in and dropped off a person to go for the truck and trailer then backed out and waited. It all went pretty smoothly for so many boats in such a small place. We had fun watching  them weigh. They are allowed to have 5 live fish. Total weight and biggest fish is what they look for…..then all are released back into the lake.

The guys returned our cord. They  hadn’t gotten the trolling motor working so didn’t go back out. They had already caught 3 large ones before 0830 so they just hung around for the weigh in……… but they should have gotten 2 more.  Their 3 placed them in 7th place…just 2 spots out of the money. Can’t imagine why you couldn’t fish without a trolling motor…..oh well….I guess when you are used to having all the bells and whistles…and something goes wrong…you forget how to “make do”. Jim and I were raised by “make do” parents and have spent most of our lives doing just that……and you can bet ….that if we had one of those high dollar bass boats and paid $60 to enter……we’d be out there fishing if the motor didn’t run and we had to paddle.

We waited until all the fishing boats had loaded up and the ramp was free, then loaded Meander. It takes us a few more minutes than the fishing boats and we try not to tie up the ramp for those on a schedule. We are retired and don’t have to be in a hurry.

Jim has a few more modifications he wants to do on the trailer….needs to fix the spot for the bow running lights and I want a couple of solar spot lights on the rear corners of the hardtop for watching the water at night.

We’ll head for the St Johns River in a week or two. See you then….

Dora Canal and Lake Dora 1.25.13

We thought we had the sun rise figured right…but we were wrong…moved the boat to a spot with less trees.

While having coffee the boat started turning …  Jim decided to paddle us back into the sunshine.

We watched the Heron in their tree top nests, the Gallineaus on the lily pads and the Anhingas sunning to dry their wings.

We are traveling the Dora Canal today. It is a bit of “old” Florida, the way it may have looked in the past.

On the way, we stopped at Buzzard Beach launch ramp, walked the dog, got rid of trash and had breakfast.

Dora Canal…..

 

 

 

Lake Dora seemed quite commercial after traveling thru the canal.

How about having your own plane ramp.

We watched this plane take off….I have a video but will have to post it on youtube.com later. No editing on this computer.

Kind of unique houseboat….

 

A Blue Heron with his own solar array….

another Heron

We decided to head back to the Dead River and anchor where we did last night. I believe this is a Struery Houseboat.

A beautiful Anhinga…

A few minutes after I took this it dropped back into the water and disappeared.

They can swim a long distance underwater because their feathers don’t trap the air. When they are swimming all you see is the head and neck. So they spend a lot of time drying themselves.

And of course, a “flying” turtle. I love these Painted Turtles.

Sun is down, late supper tonight….and a few hours on deck listening to the birds settle in and the frogs. Another great day on the water.

Lake Harris….1.24.13

We seem to be able to find the best fishing spots. We’ve had company at most of our anchorages. This pontoon boat was here all afternoon, then put out a big light for night fishing.

We sat on the rear deck, had our wine and watched the boats coming and going.

This morning the sun was over the trees around 0730 and started warming the boat.

Coffee on the rear deck …. a couple of Purple Gallineaus swam by.

We decided to cruise for a few hours then drop anchor and have breakfast. Our trip for the day is around the edge of Lake Harris.  Beautiful day, warm, sunny and only a slight breeze.

We are anchored in the Dead River, it runs between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis. We picked a nice shallow spot…and it turned out to be a popular short cut so we had company all afternoon……fishing boats, pontoons,kayaks and even a pair of paddle boarders…

We spotted several Herons nesting in the Cyprus.

Another Limpkin…

A pair of Wood Ducks….the colors on the male are beautiful….

The anchor locker box, Jim built, works great. Even makes for a good seat to watch wildlife. We brought the dingy with us but havn’t needed it so it’s stored on the bench seat next to the locker.

We have no cleat in the center and have to tie off on either side cleat, so Jim added some nice smooth corners to keep the anchor rode from chaffing….unfortunately…he forgot to allow for the bow running lights so will have to modify them when we get home.

 

Suns going down…we’re going to sit on the rear deck and watch everyone heading home. Great day.