Tad and Toby Jackson
New member
Hi to all the Brats,
Especially all those who are locked in by the cold weather all over the country. We have not checked in for awhile as we have had a busy holiday season, but I wanted to make a small report on the trip we just returned from last Saturday.
We needed to rest and rejuvenate after all the holiday festivities. Toby put on Thanksgiving Dinner for 22 family and friends and then a Christmas Eve party for about 50 people. Our familial duties being done, we launched the Comfy Dory the day after Christmas in Lake Harney on the St. John's River, west of Mims, FL in the afternoon. We would have launched further south, preferrably west of Cocoa, FL, but the water levels have really dropped since the highwater time from Tropical Storm Fay and it would have been difficult if not impossible to travel the upper section of the river to Lake Harney.
We caught 3 nice Speckled Perch (Crappie for the Northerners) the next morning as we drifted down the lake. We then traveled down river to Blue Springs but did not stop to see the Manatees because of the large weekend crowd at the Springs. We stopped early in the afternoon on Lake Beresford where I caught about a 2 lb. Spec that we ate for supper.
The next morning we traveled up to the mouth of Cross Creek just to the south of Lake George. Cross Creek was made famous by Marjorie Kennan Rawlings and is a beautiful creek. I caught 3 Channel Catfish of about 3-4 lbs., but threw 2 of them back as we do not have a freezer on the boat. Spent a beautiful night under the stars and awoke to the sound of hawks, Blue Heron's and a pair of Sandhill Cranes with their honking sound echoing through the cove.
Traveled to Silver Glen Springs in the SW corner of Lake George for a walk and to check out the springs. Only about a half dozen boats in the Springs (compared to about 75 boats when we were here for Memorial Day). Very nice, quite and peaceful. Rested for awhile and then traveled north on the Lake to stay in a cove that we like on the north end. Another night under the stars.
The next morning we went north to the intersection of the Cross FL. Barge Canal and the St. John's and then went throught the Buckman Lock (17' up to the Lake Level) and into Lake Ocklawaha which was created by the Rodman Dam built in the early 60;s. Also called the Rodman Reservoir. Our first impression was of a tree graveyard. It was almost depressing, but there were a couple of dozen boats out fishing for Specs. and Bass. We decided to stay in the middle of the lake for the night. Showered and then cooked supper, but just as I was finishing cooking, it was just after sunset, the Blind Mosquitos came! Before I could even finish eating and closing up the back screens, they swarmed. We were confined to the cabin for the night and could hear them hitting the windows. Fortunately, it was in the high 30's that night so we didn't swelter in the cabin. Woke in the morning to a nightmare. There was about 1 1/2 5 gallon buckets full of the buggers on the boat. You couldn't see the grill on the fish cleaning table and the entire engine well was full of about 2" thick. We ended up taking the boat to the nearby Rodman Recreation area which had ramps, water and restrooms. A nice young Kid named James was there fishing and offered to help. We had to take everything out of the cockpit, put it on shore and scrub everything with a boat brush. It took me about 2 hours of throwing 5 gallon buckets of water in the cockpit and then bailing out the bug filled water. What a mess. Toby was able to wash all the towels and other bug filled clothes and we both showered and left after tipping James $10 for his help. We headed back into the canal and pulled to within sight of the lock which would not open until the next morning. Needless to say, we had the screens in place well before sunset and all the little gaps plugged with paper towels. Well, absolutely no bugs in the canal that night. We were the first and only boat there when the lock opened at 7:30. Glad to be back in the St. John's, we headed back south to spend another night at Cross Creek and try and catch another Catfish as we had exhausted our fish supply. After 2 1/2 hours, I finally brought one to the boat, but it pulled off just as I was about to pull it into the boat. My horror at seeing that my knot had pulled apart...bad tie job. Ended up having collard greens, black eyed peas and rice with a can of smoked oysters for New Year's day dinner. Actually pretty good!
The next morning, we headed down to Blue Springs for Toby to see her Manatees without all the crowds and then further south for the night in a cove off the main river.
Sadly, the next morning, Saturday, we cruised the last 35 miles south to Lake Harney to end our trip. 276 miles of birds, beauty and peaceful rest. We decided that we will make this an annual trip as it does just what we need at that time of year...re-stoke the fires for the new year to come.
Happy New Year to All. We hope for a better year than the last and wish the best to all the Brats...Tad and Toby
Especially all those who are locked in by the cold weather all over the country. We have not checked in for awhile as we have had a busy holiday season, but I wanted to make a small report on the trip we just returned from last Saturday.
We needed to rest and rejuvenate after all the holiday festivities. Toby put on Thanksgiving Dinner for 22 family and friends and then a Christmas Eve party for about 50 people. Our familial duties being done, we launched the Comfy Dory the day after Christmas in Lake Harney on the St. John's River, west of Mims, FL in the afternoon. We would have launched further south, preferrably west of Cocoa, FL, but the water levels have really dropped since the highwater time from Tropical Storm Fay and it would have been difficult if not impossible to travel the upper section of the river to Lake Harney.
We caught 3 nice Speckled Perch (Crappie for the Northerners) the next morning as we drifted down the lake. We then traveled down river to Blue Springs but did not stop to see the Manatees because of the large weekend crowd at the Springs. We stopped early in the afternoon on Lake Beresford where I caught about a 2 lb. Spec that we ate for supper.
The next morning we traveled up to the mouth of Cross Creek just to the south of Lake George. Cross Creek was made famous by Marjorie Kennan Rawlings and is a beautiful creek. I caught 3 Channel Catfish of about 3-4 lbs., but threw 2 of them back as we do not have a freezer on the boat. Spent a beautiful night under the stars and awoke to the sound of hawks, Blue Heron's and a pair of Sandhill Cranes with their honking sound echoing through the cove.
Traveled to Silver Glen Springs in the SW corner of Lake George for a walk and to check out the springs. Only about a half dozen boats in the Springs (compared to about 75 boats when we were here for Memorial Day). Very nice, quite and peaceful. Rested for awhile and then traveled north on the Lake to stay in a cove that we like on the north end. Another night under the stars.
The next morning we went north to the intersection of the Cross FL. Barge Canal and the St. John's and then went throught the Buckman Lock (17' up to the Lake Level) and into Lake Ocklawaha which was created by the Rodman Dam built in the early 60;s. Also called the Rodman Reservoir. Our first impression was of a tree graveyard. It was almost depressing, but there were a couple of dozen boats out fishing for Specs. and Bass. We decided to stay in the middle of the lake for the night. Showered and then cooked supper, but just as I was finishing cooking, it was just after sunset, the Blind Mosquitos came! Before I could even finish eating and closing up the back screens, they swarmed. We were confined to the cabin for the night and could hear them hitting the windows. Fortunately, it was in the high 30's that night so we didn't swelter in the cabin. Woke in the morning to a nightmare. There was about 1 1/2 5 gallon buckets full of the buggers on the boat. You couldn't see the grill on the fish cleaning table and the entire engine well was full of about 2" thick. We ended up taking the boat to the nearby Rodman Recreation area which had ramps, water and restrooms. A nice young Kid named James was there fishing and offered to help. We had to take everything out of the cockpit, put it on shore and scrub everything with a boat brush. It took me about 2 hours of throwing 5 gallon buckets of water in the cockpit and then bailing out the bug filled water. What a mess. Toby was able to wash all the towels and other bug filled clothes and we both showered and left after tipping James $10 for his help. We headed back into the canal and pulled to within sight of the lock which would not open until the next morning. Needless to say, we had the screens in place well before sunset and all the little gaps plugged with paper towels. Well, absolutely no bugs in the canal that night. We were the first and only boat there when the lock opened at 7:30. Glad to be back in the St. John's, we headed back south to spend another night at Cross Creek and try and catch another Catfish as we had exhausted our fish supply. After 2 1/2 hours, I finally brought one to the boat, but it pulled off just as I was about to pull it into the boat. My horror at seeing that my knot had pulled apart...bad tie job. Ended up having collard greens, black eyed peas and rice with a can of smoked oysters for New Year's day dinner. Actually pretty good!
The next morning, we headed down to Blue Springs for Toby to see her Manatees without all the crowds and then further south for the night in a cove off the main river.
Sadly, the next morning, Saturday, we cruised the last 35 miles south to Lake Harney to end our trip. 276 miles of birds, beauty and peaceful rest. We decided that we will make this an annual trip as it does just what we need at that time of year...re-stoke the fires for the new year to come.
Happy New Year to All. We hope for a better year than the last and wish the best to all the Brats...Tad and Toby
