Post by liveoak on Jun 26, 2023 11:45:46 GMT -5
Tom Caught a Rock !
So I was a little hesitant about posting a trip report, as down here in FL we don't find many rocks - just fossils, & agatized rocks & coral- but no wholesale rocks,
BUT then Tom actually caught a rock with his fishing pole.... .
But I'm getting ahead of myself .
It's a really cool, and beautiful place, as it has a wide mix of natural areas to explore.
You have the main river exiting into the estuary (big mouth) of Ochlockonee Bay in the Gulf of Mexico,
So we spent the first day fishing in the bay, and were lucky enough to bring back a nice Redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) for dinner , which I caught !
Fortunately we did find some beauties- but somewhat depressingly, the amount of them was less than I imagined.
To top it all off, Rommy (talking GPS on phone) didn't seem to understand what forest roads actually mean on the ground,
So next up was exploring the upper river & cypress swamp.
He was probably 4" long, & after photos, got to go live a long & hopefully interesting life.
I think many years ago, Tom caught a big flounder, but this little one up close & personal, was fun to examine.
I never knew that Flounders have 2 eyes on one side of their body - OK, it makes sense when you think about it, but I never saw that before.
It was then that Tom somehow caught a rock on his lure !
Exciting - And he said it put up a good fight !
Thanks for looking,
Patty
So I was a little hesitant about posting a trip report, as down here in FL we don't find many rocks - just fossils, & agatized rocks & coral- but no wholesale rocks,
BUT then Tom actually caught a rock with his fishing pole.... .
But I'm getting ahead of myself .
We took last week off & went camping at Ochlockonee River State Park.
It's in Apalachicola National Forest, and only a couple of hours from our house.
It's a really cool, and beautiful place, as it has a wide mix of natural areas to explore.
You have the main river exiting into the estuary (big mouth) of Ochlockonee Bay in the Gulf of Mexico,
and then the further you go up river you have cypress swamps, and forest.
River Behind the Campsite:
Headed out into the Bay :
So we spent the first day fishing in the bay, and were lucky enough to bring back a nice Redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) for dinner , which I caught !
Dinner :
But next morning brought a heavy rain storm & the thought of going out in our little 14' skiff in the rain, didn't exactly excite us,
so we went exploring by car into the Forest.
We've newly discovered this year, that Pitcher Plants and many other carnivorous plants grow wild in and around the area we live in -
So we went looking.
I had read about some old lady type bird club members who reported a field full of the wild pitcher plants, & we thought that would be cool to see.Fortunately we did find some beauties- but somewhat depressingly, the amount of them was less than I imagined.
To top it all off, Rommy (talking GPS on phone) didn't seem to understand what forest roads actually mean on the ground,
so after she got us deep, and deeper into the "Tate's Hell State Forest", we had to take over, and improvise with a map.
But even with no 4wd on board, we still made it out alive !
So next up was exploring the upper river & cypress swamp.
We packed up our fishing gear & lunch & headed up stream, and found a State forest campsite/clearing on the river to relax & have lunch & fish.
Honestly, it seemed a little bit too civilized, as usually we just tuck under a tree in the boat - but it was nice & heck, we were on vacation !
Honestly, it seemed a little bit too civilized, as usually we just tuck under a tree in the boat - but it was nice & heck, we were on vacation !
Swallow Tail Kite (Elanoides forficatus), a resident of the rivers and swamps here :
If you've never seen one of these birds, it's hard to imagine something so beautiful in flight. They swoop and dive and, look like they are floating on the air with no effort.
The fishing wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but we have this philosophy that it's better to be in a nice place, and catch nothing,
than be in an ugly place, just to catch a lot of fish (like at the nuke power plant out flow!). BUT low and behold, I caught a cutie pie
He has been ID'd as a Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma).He was probably 4" long, & after photos, got to go live a long & hopefully interesting life.
I think many years ago, Tom caught a big flounder, but this little one up close & personal, was fun to examine.
I never knew that Flounders have 2 eyes on one side of their body - OK, it makes sense when you think about it, but I never saw that before.
It was then that Tom somehow caught a rock on his lure !
Exciting - And he said it put up a good fight !
All and all we had a fun time & even found some fossil rocks on the river, from some long ago "improvement" in the state forest river launch.
I had to show some rocks here ......
Thanks for looking,
Patty