Getting the boat ready for some river trips. It’s been a while, and the Redfisher needs some fixing up first.
It has been a very long time since I went out on our boat. I’m at the mercy of my son, as he is the one who takes the boat out. We’ve had to fix a few things on the boat, and my son has been busy doing other things. I’ve been waiting – mostly patiently – but it is one of the only good things about living in Florida- the saltwater rivers.
Friends of ours have been going shrimping and have brought in big hauls. Shrimping is done late at night, so I do not go. But we have the nets, lights and pails and we love shrimp. The processing is time consuming but worth it to have lots of free shrimp in the freezer.
Mainly I want to simply be out there on the river. I enjoy visiting our favorite beaches and going beach-combing. With the water warming up, the manatees should be coming back. We are always careful and watchful for them. Boats are a big issue for these animals who tend to be near the surface, but often undetectable.
My son has always been good about taking care of the boat, but a few things needed fixing. After sitting covered for months, the Redfisher needed a good cleaning too. The humidity really messes things up.
Springtime is like Fall in Florida. All the leaves fall off the trees as the new growth comes out. It all happens at once around February and March, and makes a mess on vehicles.
It is hard to believe we have had this boat for nearly 10 years! We used it a lot for years, but then we just didn’t. We bought a camper and focused on camping. I miss being out on the water. It’s a great feeling to be out in the watery wilderness, exploring. I never know what I’ll find.
It was too windy and we should not have taken a long trip down to Mosquito Lagoon. Unfortunately the weather in Florida is unpredictable and once you are out on the water, anything is possible.
The wind creates waves which make the water choppy and gives us a bumpy ride. A little bit of that is okay, but riding a long way is not comfortable. Our boat is a fishing boat and is not made to cut through waves. It does quite well when we encounter the wakes of boats we pass, but chop is too much bouncing.
Mosquito Lagoon, east side
Mosquito Lagoon is a large body of water that is mostly shallow, and especially so on the East side. The lagoon is divided by a narrow strip of land that is part of Merritt Island, and boats cross from one side to the other, following the ICW, through Haulover Canal. It’s what we had planned to do, go down to Haulover and fish the area.
Our ride down from New Smyrna took about 20 minutes but once we hit the open water area it got rough. So we putted in behind one of the islands to sit for a bit and decide what to do.
Not only is the water in this entire area quite shallow, it is brown and murky. I don’t know if it’s always this way, but this day it was. Some parts of the ML are so shallow that only push-poles can be used – no motors, except (I think) trolling motors.
Also, there can be alligators in this water! A year or so ago we went into the West lagoon area and my son dropped me off in the shallow, clear water to wade. I came across a skull… turned out to be an alligator skull. Supposedly gators are more common toward the southern end of the lagoon, nearer the Space Center, but who knows for sure what is under that murky water?
Lovely brown swampy water
It was a hot day, and I was not going in that water, so we left the area and headed back up north to fish. As we headed back out to the main channel area we saw two yachts speeding along the ICW, which is the only deep area.
Yachts on the main channel
The Little Drama Part of my Story
The large boats had gone by when we reached the channel, but their wakes got us. Between the two of them they had created large rolling waves that came right up over the bow of our boat! I was sitting up front so I grabbed our boat bag, which holds our hats, towels, and other things, as the waterfall from a swell cascaded into our boat!
That is a first for us. We’ve never had waved come up and over our Redfisher. Yachts we meet along the ICW can be gigantic and they always slow down if they see a smaller boat nearby. But we were not near them and I doubt they even saw us anyway. We never expected to encounter waves that size, but the water drained out the back, and on we went.
One of the interesting things about being out on our tiny fishing boat in this area is the array of boats we see. We can get into the very shallow backwater areas, but we also follow the ICW at times, such as when we go north to Disappearing Island near Ponce Inlet. Large yachts and sailboats travel this waterway and its a good place to view some really gorgeous boats. Some are docked, and some pass us on their way to wherever. The ICW goes all the way up to the northeastern US.
The Big Boats
Must be nice!View from Outriggers Restaurant View from the deck at Outriggers
We also see beautiful sailboats, and I’m not always that good to get photos, but if you are interested, Sailing Britican is a website about people who sail along the ICW.
Three of us in one tiny boat isn’t ideal, but it gets us out on the water. We go boating in the Florida backwater where my son Nick tries his best to catch a nice Redfish.
My younger son caught some catfish (picture) and I didn’t fish this particular day. I took the photos, because my goal was to find some awesome seashells.
Since I’ve moved back to Florida, it’s been mostly work and not much play. Summer in the sunshine state is for tourists, in my opinion. The rest of the year, when the weather is not as stifling, is for locals to enjoy. But tourists are here all the time, and the only way to get away from the crowds is to go boating – during the week.
Below: Yes, that’s our little Gheenoe, and it does hold three people! It can’t move very fast when it’s loaded down, but it’s fun to go out and explore. We have to keep an eye on those building cumulus clouds. Storms can build and move in fast. It’s not fun to try to outrun a Florida thunderstorm! (We’ve done it.)
Low Tide Treasure Hunt
The day I took these photos it was terribly hot, over 100 degrees, but there was a breeze. Even the water was hot, and I mean very hot. I half expected that if we caught a fish it would be partially cooked already! The tide was out which made maneuvering the shallow channels a bit tricky, but my son fishes this area frequently and was pretty good at not hitting the sand bars.
Finally we stopped at Three Sisters, which is a set of three islands, one of which has a long sand bar on the northern side when the tide is low or out.
Atlantic Giant Cockle Shell
I found this giant Atlantic cockle shell (it’s name is “Giant”, it’s not really all that big) while walking in the hot shallow water on Three Sisters. Both sides of this bivalve were connected and it was upside down and filled with mud. Since then, I have found a few more of these beauties, in exactly the same state – upside down in shallow water. In my experience, shells that are attached eventually dry out and come apart, but it’s fun to find joined bivalves.
I also found my prized big horse conch on Three Sisters.
