St Johns River & Blue Creek 3.9.13

Somebody messed up….and I know who it was…I forgot to pack the coffee. Bummer…no hot coffee this morning on the rear deck…so we started early. There was a light fog so we had to use running lights.

The dingy tows great with the battery and trolling motor aboard.

Several fishing boats on the river, but not a lot of pleasure boats this early in the morning.

We anchored across from the boat launch in Astor, FL. Jim took the dingy ashore and hiked to the BP gas station and picked up a can of coffee.

So nice to just haul the dingy alongside and jump in…no fuss no back pain…but he did have to take a half hour hike ..each way.

Coffee was late..but better late than never.

Continued down the river to Blue Creek. This is a beautiful little side creek that brings you back to the St Johns just before the S entrance to Lake George. Always a nice ride but what a surprise today.

Jim spotted a gator but it was down before I could get the camera.  Then this one. Look at the size of the “scoots” behind its head in the middle, then see how worn down the ones on it’s back are. Maybe this is a female…not sure.

I counted 18 turtles on this one log.

Then I spotted these two…now we are tied. We considered anchoring here and dinking around for awhile…but when you see two gators together it’s a good bet you’re close to breeding season, and they aren’t very friendly…decided to move on.

Glad we did….look at this fellow..we saw it at the same time but I called it first so claimed it. Jim’s not too happy about that.

A beautiful ride.

There is a nice little island on a bend just before you leave the creek and we saw a gator there the last trip. We’ll anchor there for the night. Here’s the island.

and look what is on it…… Bubba…according to the locals. Another big one….but probably the biggest we’ve seen today.

another angle…and you still don’t see all of it’s tail. Looks like 4 turtles sunning with him.

A closer look at his claws.

There must have been a dozen boats go by and he just kept on sunning. Must be used to being the local tourist attraction.

We saw a total of 6 gators on Blue Creek. We knew they’d be in here just never saw any until the one on the last trip.

Jim is working on the outboard. Thinks the bulb on the hose is weak so changing it out.

Bubba is in the water….sure hope he’s not hungry for inflatable dingy.

We took a short ride around the island.

Not sure if this is Bubba or his girlfriend lying on a submerged palm tree.

Jim had seen several people pointing at an area …..we cruised over to see what the attraction was….didn’t see anything, so we decided to see how many turtles we could sneak up on with our quiet little motor. Managed to get close to several.

There was a flock of these little birds. Must have been getting insects on the water and plants.

 

Then back to the boat for a hot shower and supper.

St Johns River, FL 3.8.13

Launched mid morning. Not a lot of people at the ramp.

Headed North, and took a pass thru one of our anchorages. Here’s “Cruiser”. Affectionately nicknamed because he always cruises around us when we anchor there.

We are testing the new to us, Honda 50, 4 stroke…..the dingy with the trolling motor and the new Yamaha 2000 generator. Our Honda 1000 runs great and was all we needed on the Albin 27, Slow Motion. But we now only have a house battery bank of 2 instead of 4 and the outboard doesn’t have a big alternator like the Albin. It also heated water when cruising and the water heater aboard Meander uses 1500 watts.

The Honda runs great. Forgot just how quiet a 4 stroke is compared to a 2 stroke. Jim redid the gas can and generator area. We may not need the extended run on the Yamaha, it has a 1.1 gal tank. Should be enough to run a heater on low overnight if needed, but that shouldn’t be a problem this time of year.

So much easier to put the trolling motor on the dingy. Jim made a battery box out of a small cooler and we can tie it in place on the floor of the dingy. Everything stays in the dingy while underway…so much easier when you want to stop, anchor and do a bit of dinking around.

Our anchorage for the night is by marker R 36, just off the St Johns River.

 

Had a nice cruise, hot supper and enjoyed the evening. Took Raisin ashore in the dingy….ohhhhh …it works so nice and quiet.

Jim’s been busy….as usual 2.28.13

Our last trip on the St Johns River we decided we needed a 4 stroke. The Johnson runs well, but not designed to cruise as slow as we do. It likes to be on the move.

Jim found a small fishing boat with a Honda 50, 4 stroke, a 947C chartplotter with 3D bottom sonar and a trolling motor. We bought it and Jim had the motors switched out the next day, but has been working on connecting the controls and wiring since then.

We took the fishing boat out for a test run and everything worked great with the 55 hp Johnson. Makes me want to take up Bass fishing and enter a contest or two….not sure Jim likes the idea of sitting out there all day in a little boat with no shade…..

The chart plotter worked as did the trolling motor.

We’ve been carrying a 2.5 hp Mercury for the dingy but don’t tow with it on. Each time we anchor Jim has to lift it off the back of the boat and put it on the dingy. We  decided to try a trolling motor. Should be able to tow with it in place. The main thing we use the dingy for is getting closer to wildlife and the trolling motor is so quiet it is even better than rowing.

So….now Meander has a 50 hp Honda 4 stroke. We weighed them during the switch. I think the Honda was a few pounds lighter.  Honda all aluminum and Johnson cast iron. I was concerned the 4 stroke would be a lot heavier.

Meander also has a new chart plotter. Look at all the fish in my back yard. (simulation)

GPS is working…..this is where Meander sits. The red circle marks the spot. You can see we are not far from Lake Jessup. A lake with a large gator population. It is also very shallow. We are hoping the wet season will bring it up so we can launch there instead of traveling to Lake Monroe. They are connected by the St Johns River which runs to Jacksonville, FL, passing thru several lakes.

Cold spell coming this weekend….and then Jim has to go to his brother’s for a few days….then we get to take her out and see how we like the 4 stroke on Meander and the trolling motor on the dingy.

Now we have a small fishing boat with a Johnson 50 hp 2 stroke with tilt n trim and a Humminbird fish finder for sale.

Wanna go fishin’?

Wednesday 2.13.13

While having our morning coffee the flock of Wild Turkeys came by.  We did see a nice big Tom strutting his stuff but he was too far in the trees to get a picture. He had a beautiful tail all fanned out trying to attract the hens.

Once we were sure there were no other animals coming for water, we decided to haul in the anchor and head to Lake Monroe and pull out. Weather is predicting a night or two in the low 40’s and even 30’s. All my milkweed plants are outside and I don’t want to lose them to a frost. I usually end up buying plants to feed the caterpillars.    Check my wildlife blog:  www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com    I have Monarch caterpillars pupating and emerging from their chrysalis.  Put pupating in “search this blog” and it brings up a page that has links to both. Of course, the blog is full of other critters and bugs that live here.

While traveling Jim spotted this Bald Eagle.

I tried for a second shot just as he took off….it’s probably the closest to an “in flight” shot as I’ll get with the camera I have.

It’s been windy all day and the side guides Jim added to the trailer made loading the boat much easier.

We walked the boat on with a couple of long lines and it centered perfectly….once between the forward guides the wind couldn’t turn it sideways.

Jim has a few more projects in mind….too bad he doesn’t get paid by the hour…..we’d be rich.

Tuesday 2.12.13

Before dark last night we untied the lines, hauled in the stern anchor and backed out to anchor for the night. Much nicer floating, especially if a few fishing boats go by.

Just as it was getting daylight I heard what I thought was a bird’s distress call. It was, in fact, a call from a Limpkin to it’s mate. They are beautiful birds but don’t have what I  would consider a pretty call.

I sure wish I had my best boating buddy, Diane, with me. She enjoys all the wildlife along the river, but her favorite is the Limpkin. These two spent almost an hour on the beach where we had been tied up. I took several pictures and videos, then got in the dingy, rowed closer and drifted by and got more….

Once the sun topped the trees it gave everything a golden hue….

One would find a shell, I’m assuming it was the male, and bring it to the other.

It was a lot of fun watching them interact….after receiving several choice morsels…the female signaled that she was ready to mate.

I had been taking pictures and then video and back to pictures….unfortunately my camera was set for photos during this ritual.

I still don’t know how to tell one from the other.

There is a Limpkin in this picture….they blend in so well. Guess that is why they are called “Elusive”. Actually that term came from the Boating and Cruising Guide to the St Johns River,  by Tom Krantz. I think I found it on EBay.  It’s an older guide but we still find it pretty accurate. If you are planning to spend any time on the St Johns River, FL., be sure to get one. There are a lot of places that are pretty shallow and you wouldn’t know it without one. He even has some good anchorages marked.

Those of you in the snowy, cold North will enjoy the video.

Once I finished with the pictures, I went back to the boat and got Raisin for her morning walk. This is a view from the island.

In this picture you can see the ripples of sunlight that were reflecting off the water.

Captain Jim of “Sailbad the Sinner” came in and dropped his anchor. We always enjoy seeing him and Lungun Island is one of his favorite anchorages.

After our visit, we headed south. ….and it was another great day for gators…several very big ones.

big……but doesn’t have the “rolls of fat”  the one below it has.

Possibly the biggest and oldest of the trip….note how rounded from wear that front tooth is…and how big it is…good sign of age. Also, the skoots (bumps on it’s back) show a lot of wear.

This younger one has sharper teeth. Looks like he’s trying to show them off.

This one is pretty big also. Notice how wide it’s back is, and you cant see any tail at all.

Kind of a weird look on this one’s face. Looks more like a giant lizard than a gator.

This is a little guy…….probably only 7 or 8 feet long,  but notice how long the tail is compared to the body. Gives you an idea how big some of these really are when all you can see is the body.

We decided to anchor just past Blue Springs. While we were sitting there a canoe came along side and asked where they were. They had left Blue Springs 4 hours earlier and were lost. When I asked how the trip was on the Snake River, one said “scary”.

It was a nice day and even nicer evening. We saw a flock of Wild Turkeys come down near the water. I was hoping for Deer or Bear…but no such luck.

A beautiful sunset….

Sorry for such a long post….but I love my gators  ( I even left out a few )and Limpkins.