BigBendFishing.Net

Hey y'all,

My girlfriend and I both got new kayaks for Christmas. I'm more interested in using mine for fishing than anything, and I have some ideas as to where to go for that. She is more looking forward to taking them to springs, or something like that where we can just have a nice paddle with good scenery.

My initial thought was the Wakulla or Wacissa Rivers. Both clear, good places to launch... Anyone have any cool places to check out?

When water clears up make a trip to spring creek in south west ga.
Go to youtube and you can see what it looks like. Bring you a spinning reel when you come.
make sure you keep some fish to eat. They taste sweet coming out of that spring water.

Check out Ochlockonee River State Park in the Sopchoppy area, about one hour south of Tallahassee. It is brackish water, you can catch redfish, striped bass, sunshine bass and freshwater catfish. Check with the park ranger on duty for advice on kayaking the local creeks off of the main river.

Check out the "Kayak Launches" page on http://www.fcka.net

Rainbow River, west of Ocala, is a favorite of ours. We usually go to Crystal River and find the Manatees and then over to Rainbow. Even with a wetsuit it takes courage to take the plunge. Just something about winter. This week would not be a good time but we have been several times in Jan. in the past. Rainbow Springs State Park is a good place to camp.

Wacissa River from head spring to goose pasture is about a 6 hour trip with great wild scenery.

MudDucker wrote:Wacissa River from head spring to goose pasture is about a 6 hour trip with great wild scenery.

I love kayaking the Wacissa. I've also done most of the Wakulla River, and although it is beautiful, there are a lot more boats to contend with, and the scenery is better on the Wacissa.
Another excellent paddle, although a tad more remote and a lot more work, is to put in at Goose Pasture, and go down either to the Aucilla River at Half-Mile Rise, or take the Slave Canal down to the lower Aucilla at Nutall Rise. Of course, you could extend the trip by just continuing downstream to Mandalay, or by putting in further up the Wacissa. I'd recommend putting some pre-loaded coordinates into you GPS for this trip if you are unfamiliar. You wouldn't want to turn down the wrong stream.
Last time I went, I took at Zebco 33 with a beetle-spin and filled my little cooler up with bream.

This is a pretty handy publication put out by DEP.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/de ... _guide.pdf

red_yakker wrote:

MudDucker wrote:Wacissa River from head spring to goose pasture is about a 6 hour trip with great wild scenery.

I love kayaking the Wacissa. I've also done most of the Wakulla River, and although it is beautiful, there are a lot more boats to contend with, and the scenery is better on the Wacissa.
Another excellent paddle, although a tad more remote and a lot more work, is to put in at Goose Pasture, and go down either to the Aucilla River at Half-Mile Rise, or take the Slave Canal down to the lower Aucilla at Nutall Rise. Of course, you could extend the trip by just continuing downstream to Mandalay, or by putting in further up the Wacissa. I'd recommend putting some pre-loaded coordinates into you GPS for this trip if you are unfamiliar. You wouldn't want to turn down the wrong stream.
Last time I went, I took at Zebco 33 with a beetle-spin and filled my little cooler up with bream.

This is a pretty handy publication put out by DEP.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/de ... _guide.pdf

I think this is what we will end up doing. Something about the Wacissa seems captivating. Thanks for all of the input.

Post a report and pics. I may try this trip later this year

Aucilla/Pinhook river...
The Pin seems pre-historic until you see all the midden.
Must have been quite the place way back.

woopty wrote:Aucilla/Pinhook river...
The Pin seems pre-historic until you see all the midden.
Must have been quite the place way back.

Woop:

Where would you put a kayak in to paddle the pinhook?

EJ

You may want to give the Upper Aucilla river a try when you get some Experiance it has Rapids and depending on the time of year and water level can be a nice paddle or a Thrill Ride . you can put in at hwy 27 or at the walker springs bridge for a shorter trip and take out where the river goes under ground , the pin hook can be accessed by putting in at the lower aucilla ramp below hwy 98 then take the first open trail to the west and follow the shore line to the opening of the pin hook watch the Tides in the winter. there is also an upper pin hook that goes north of hwy 98 go west of the aucilla on hwy 98 to the Management area entrance north
and take the first road left { west} to the end of the road and put in there and go north up the river very primitive . Take a compass and a GPS so you can find your way back out .

Try some one way trips on the Chipola or Dry Creek to Chipola in Jackson County. You may not see another person all day, and that sometimes applies even on weekends.

Lol wow we got everybody mentioned but the St Marks, which is understandable because while very beautiful the only way to paddle is up if you put in legally anywhere beyond the swampy part. Even the Pinhook...refuge vehicles used to go in through the Flint Rock gate and clean the garbage up up until a few years ago. I bet the bridge condition has something to do with it which I also understand. It's not like kayakers to litter so I wonder where all the garbage came from.