St. John’s River Fishing

I’m on my annual shad fishing trip. This year it’s only me and my friend Darrell.
We rent a cabin in Blue Springs State Park as our base and then fish different sections of the River. Yesterday they counted 408 Manatee in the spring run.

Yesterday we drove up and had lunch at the Jolly Gator Fishing Camp. They have Swamp Cabage that is worth killing for.

Last night we could see an Atlas V leaving earth to the east of us.

Today we fished the Lemon Bluff area of the river. Only caught one shad but it was pretty big for this river. Doesn’t matter, just love being on the river.

Tomorrow we’ll fish my favorite part of the river, Puzzle Lake and the Econ River that feeds the St. John. This is real old Florida. Lunch at Jolly Gator again. More swamp cabage!

Monday we’ll leave the St John’s and fish Mosquito Lagoon with a guide. Should catch some fish then.

What's bag limit on manatees this year? If you catch one, do you filet it like a flounder or chunk it like a tuna?

Ted

Ask Big Fish Irv.... he remembers back when he was a kid and people ate them.

Behind Islamorada there is an anchorage named Cowpens.... supposedly a pen area when they used to eat them.....

Sorry Parks..... back to the regularly scheduled fishing show...

O C Diver said:

What's bag limit on manatees this year? If you catch one, do you filet it like a flounder or chunk it like a tuna?

Ted

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No bag limit on manatee.
You know how Texans roast whole cows on a rotisserie? That’s how you cook manatee.

Fished the stretch between lake Harvey and Puzzle Lakes yesterday. Caught one poor little thing and threw it back.
We went way the heck up the Econlockhatchee River. It is truly beautiful up there. You start out winding through a flat prairie that is only about a foot higher than the river. As you get further in you pass more and more Sable Palm. Further along you run into oak scrub forest.
The birds are everywhere. In addition to the usual herons and egrets we saw eagles, spoonbill, storks, Sandhill cranes, and tricolor heron.

There were signs that the water had recently been three or four feet higher than the banks. I’m guessing that was hurricane related flooding. Note the water mark on the sign.

We’re headed for Mosquito Lagoon on the east coast today. Back in salt water where I belong.

If you guys are ever in central Florida you’ve got to try the swamp cabage at Jolly Gator.
Heart of Palm, bacon, sausage, celery, onions, vinegar and spices I can’t identify. Outrageous. Route 46 and the St John’s river.

HopCar said:

If you guys are ever in central Florida you’ve got to try the swamp cabage at Jolly Gator.
Heart of Palm, bacon, sausage, celery, onions, vinegar and spices I can’t identify. Outrageous. Route 46 and the St John’s river.

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Wifey B: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

BandB said:

Wifey B: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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In the words of the late philosopher George Carlin, Fussy Eater

Ted

You don’t eat bacon? What wrong with you? Is it the sausage?

HopCar said:

You don’t eat bacon? What wrong with you? Is it the sausage?

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Wifey B: I don't eat anything named swamp anything. I don't eat swamp food.I don't eat cabbage or cabage. I don't want onions, vinegar and spices I can't identify. I do eat bacon and sausage but not all scrambled up into some swamp dish. Lost me at the name. Lost me further with the ingredients.

And....

I don't like this band either....

BandB said:

Wifey B: I don't eat anything named swamp anything. I don't eat swamp food.I don't eat cabbage or cabage. I don't want onions, vinegar and spices I can't identify. I do eat bacon and sausage but not all scrambled up into some swamp dish. Lost me at the name. Lost me further with the ingredients.

And....

I don't like this band either....

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Would it help if we called it Hearts of Sable Palm?
Oh well, more for me.

Thanks for the tip on the band, I kind of like them. Who knows, I may be related to the lead singer, Michael Parks.

Don’t worry, we can disagree on this. As long as you wear your high heel Topsiders, I’ll still love you.

We left Blue Springs State Park at six this morning and headed to the Mosquito Lagoon in the Cape Canaveral National Seashore. It was closed today but since no government workers were there to prevent us, we went anyway.

This time we got smart and hired a guide. In a half day charter we caught so many big Black Drum that we got tired of it, so we went somewhere else and caught sea trout.

All this catching was done with Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background. I was hoping SpaceX would have tested the big rockets engines. Didn’t happen. The government was closed.

Staying tonight in Melbourne and headed home tomorrow.
I’m going to have Poutine with dinner tonight. Never tasted cheese curds but how bad can they be? More gravy please.

We use guides and charter captains when visiting different areas. Not avid fishermen. At home on the lake, I knew my way around, but not most places. Now we have close friends who are pros, ran charter fishing boats themselves. However, we want to be sure we catch fish so take no chances.

I live in that general area . ST JOHNS and frequent the same places
When you see it thru eyes of others its really a cool place . Old FL
Few years ago I purchased a 30 ft cruiser with trailer so wife & I can enjoy boating/ fishing together . Towing a 30 ft boat not fun and leave boat at a marina Cape Canaveral .
I live 15 minutes from Lake Monroe ,. Having a big boat is OK but sure miss a smaller easy too trailer boat . Used too zip boat into river in minutes , make like we know what were doing fishing , have a few cold ones at Swap Fox . .
Years ago when grandkids were small we went for lunch at Swap Fox. Sat in bar area.
Sports on TV. Before long the patrons at the bar had Sesame Street on the screen for the kids.

I pass Jolly Gator driving too Cape Canaveral thru back roads too miss traffic & tolls. .
Cape Canaveral is interesting , lots of stuff going on , military bases, cruise lines, even had a sub submerge as close as gun runner boats would allow me too be ,
Space X launches ,
Few weeks ago in the port , the Space X barge was tied up at the military base.
On the barge it had the booster that came back and landed on barge .
Red tide is up in this area , Just saw on news dead fish along shore line. SO SAD
Both places totally different , both interesting . ST JOHNS is peaceful ,
THE LURE OF WATER .

If you like BIG black drum Parks...try the Delaware Bay in May.

More accurately, when the dogwoods bloom and the gnats start biting, so will the drum.

60 to 80 pounders ars not uncommon.

https://www.onthewater.com/delaware-bay-black-drum

We’ve got our cabin at Blue Springs reserved for February this time. We’ll have our private fish scientist, Dr William Loftus, with us this year. He is a world renowned ichytheologist(sp?) at least in his own mind. Loftus is a fun guy, his mind is loaded with useless fish facts. He will eat any fish he catches including American Shad. He cooks the Shad so long the bones dissolve and he turns them into fish paste. It looks and smells awful.

Years ago we lived in Longwood, FL and fished the St. Johns frequently. We could put in at Weikiva Landing and slow-roll to the St. Johns. Had a bass boat, shallow draft. That was a beautiful piece of America for sure.

Damn, all I ever catch is brim and catfish.

Hjorgan, where is Wekiva Landing? I found Longwood. I think we need to fish a different stretch of the river. What kind of fish did you catch?

We fish for American Shad on super light tackle. Like fighting a tiny tarpon.