I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

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BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

Has anybody ever done this? Or the old barrow pits landing just before I-10 to 7 Bridges? I hate to put this on blast now for different reasons but I’m in the middle of my complete upper Aucilla trip and it’s been great, and today was great, but it was almost fatal lol!

I was doing this portion of the trip today and I started at the old barrow pits landing. I made it to I-10 fine then all kinds of h€\\ broke lose that you’d think I was making up. More on that if anybody has any clue what I’m talking about I guess. If anybody has ever made this run please share, even if it was years and years ago. Or even went some and turned around.
ropeman
Posts: 399
Joined: July 23rd, 2007, 1:24 am

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by ropeman »

I have been to the river on 7 Bridges Rd and when the water is low it seems like several small holes connected by swamp. I wonder how much water is there now.
BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere on this subject and I’ve been pestering people for days. Anybody who remembers anything I’ve ever posted knows how seriously I take these bucket list paddle trips, and my temporary frustration has shown here before lol but it was always temporary and I got it done.

This time I might have to let it go because I can’t get a single solid dependable answer on whether or not this can be done. I can’t get anybody to verify that it doesn’t turn back into undoable swamp, and I’ve proved local information based on 100 year old memories wrong before, for my worst lol!

Just get in the boat and try like you’ve done everything else right...lol! Well I did that yesterday and almost had the worst accident. I don’t mean dragging over a log, lightning, saw a snake because I’ve never seen a snake before, etc. What happened to me yesterday would make the great Gary Droze call 100% BS in a butcher bag. But it happened lol!

Vague nonsense it sounds like I know, but it’s in the interest of keeping something special alive and safe not just some secret fishing spot voo doo. O and me. I want to stay alive and safe lol!
doomtrpr_z71
Posts: 790
Joined: March 3rd, 2015, 1:09 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by doomtrpr_z71 »

Going off Google earth it looks doable there's one section that looks narrow but the rest looks kayakable

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BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

The fishing has been epic btw. I’ve caught everything but Redbreast and Shellcrackers on the lure, and I’m doing more paddling than fishing. I just give the lure a shot at the best looking spots. I even caught a big Butter Catfish.
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kenfly
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Joined: January 28th, 2011, 10:20 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by kenfly »

Need to GoPro some of your trips, sounds like would be interesting for sure


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ropeman
Posts: 399
Joined: July 23rd, 2007, 1:24 am

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by ropeman »

BloodyChamp wrote: June 8th, 2021, 5:44 pm What happened to me yesterday would make the great Gary Droze call 100% BS in a butcher bag. But it happened lol!
Sounds interesting after hearing about some of your previous adventures. :pop_1
BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

For real if all that other nonsense happened and I told about it, imagine what happened for me to not tell anybody about it lol! I haven’t even told my family and I’m not going to because it crossed the line from single fishing accident to near fatal turn of events. I said near fatal...near fatal...lol so now we can relax and I’m going to try this 1 more time Thursday if the rains holds off.

Here’s 1 you won’t believe since you don’t get the actual Monday story - I’m thinking about leaving the fishing stuff home and going with nothing but a paddle, chainsaw and water lol! Then I’ll chainsaw every dang log that’s in the way. If I do that I will have spent less time doing that than I would have fishing and will get on through. Then if I can’t get through all I have to do is turn around and paddle back, not march and sled back lol! Then I can’t tell myself that I have to keep going even though it’s all but hopeless since that would be easier than turning around. That foolish thinking is kind of what started Monday’s disaster.
BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

I made it through yesterday. That was some tuff stuff boys.
PhishingNole
Posts: 121
Joined: March 4th, 2020, 12:07 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by PhishingNole »

Wrong thread.


BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

Next is 7 Bridges all the way down to the a landing that I’ve posted about before, that is owned by the SRWMD but closed to vehicles for most of my life. This is the same 1 I’ve talked about Speck fishing at in the winter. I’m trying to find somewhere else to take out at in between but that’s not going very well lol!

There are only 2 places near civilization that I’ve found and they’re private property. As bad as the last trip was terrain wise, it wasn’t the longest trip. It was less than 2 miles. This next 1 would be between 7 and 8. The river shouldn’t disappear anymore because this is getting pretty far on down it but it sure looks like it does on the satellite map view. That might also explain why there are no landings or riding trails. An old timer I know says it disappears twice. He also said I couldn’t do what I did Thursday in my paddle boat because of how rough it gets but while was wrong, he wasn’t wrong by alot lol!

If I went from 7 Bridges the first thing I’d have to do is drag over that blasted dam, then drag through the remnants of the old construction that’s what’s left of “7 Bridges.” To go miles down river, struggle to the point that I’d decide to turn around, then turn around just to have go back up the dam again could be dangerous.
doomtrpr_z71
Posts: 790
Joined: March 3rd, 2015, 1:09 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by doomtrpr_z71 »

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... wqIRQD0tvS


Pretty interesting reading, might help you decide on your next adventure.

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BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

I’ve seen that cool article before. It’s what I’m dealing with in a nutshell...the virtually unknown lol! The upper Aucilla is referenced on exactly 1 page in that whole thing.

I did a little classic rule bending today and got away with it. I’m going to try and do a little more tomorrow and if that goes as planned I’ll be on to something towards finding a stopping point somewhere between 7 Bridges and the next landing which is almost 8 miles down.
BloodyChamp
Posts: 418
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Re: I-10 to 7 Bridges on the upper Aucilla

Post by BloodyChamp »

Fish tale time...

I went to do this backwards from a landing downriver from the old landing that I would have tried to get to from 7 Bridges. I made it that far and left the boat and was just going to paddle up which would have been just as easy as paddling down in the low water. Then if I ran into trouble all I would have had to do was turn around the way I came, having not gone through something rough that I would have planned not to go back through if I were going down river. Then we got all this rain and I had to make the sad decision to call this off for now. So today my pal shuttled me and my boat is back home.

I paddle up a little just to see what the log that was blocking the way before looked like with the rain and all before I started downriver. Before I got there I saw 1 of the biggest gators I’ve ever seen, and he didn’t casually go under like most gentle giants so I turned right around lol! By the time I did that I heard something that sounded like a bomb going off followed by an earthquake lol! Obviously a tree fell somewhere and I never seen it so it must have been nearby in the swamp. Between those 2 things I got the heck down the river and got done with it lol!

Almost...once I made up some time I couldn’t resist. I grabbed the only pole I brought which had the biggest, noisiest bass lure I own on it just so that I could scratch the itch yet not catch anything so’s not to end up fishing in the jungle til dark :-D :-D :-D And what else happened but that rod bending over...then he jumped and didn’t get away, and he was a Bass not a Black Attack! He ran around some more and got right to the boat and then :smt010 :smt010 :smt010 :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: got away. He went straight down and I don’t know how the rod didn’t break really. He was 10+. It might have been my fault pulling him to the boat to fast instead of wearing him out but when you’re fishing with a lure and not a single big bass hook, I still say that’s the thing to do. If they run around with that lure long enough they’ll shake it a lose no matter how good he’s hooked.

That hurt but it’s been the funnest few weeks doing this. I did catch another normal bass before I got to the truck. If I were going to lie I would just lie that I never hung another one and brag that I’m the only person who can catch a bass on the Aucilla after it rises lol!

I also caught a fat Stumpknocker and got a few other bream strikes. This has been they year of the Stumpknocker. Fishing down that river throughout this trip with the bream lure I’ve caught more fat Stunpknockers than I’m worth. And I mean fat. Like fattest of all time fat lol!

Somewhere in the middle of all this an old man I’d been promising to take fishing asked when they heck we were going. I’d been sidestepping him a little just because of how much work it’d be with him being old and all and the Aucilla being the Aucilla. I said if you can walk a mile to where my boat is I’ll put you on some fish like you never seen. He said ok and I did just what I said. We caught a whole bucket full of giant Stumpknockers until we ran out of worms. I tied on a lure and kept catching them lol! We barely had to paddle any. So we got back to the slide in spot and had so many that we released the ones that were still healthy back and took the others. He was so happy and I was happy that he was happy.

So anyway the paddling trip is on hold but if I don’t get to do anymore this summer I will have done plenty. The Aucilla really is a treat. I’ve already seen a heap of things in the portion I’ve covered, and caught a ton of fish.
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