John Kumiski, Econlockhatchee River

Econlockhatchee River Exploration Report

Thank you for reading this Econlockhatcheee River Exploration report. I hope you are maintaining your health and your sanity through this pandemic thing.

Since I have more time available than normal, I have been reading more, both on-line and in print. Today I read a fascinating article. Here is an excerpt-

“…our institutions are still profoundly anthropocentric. We deny even the most basic rights to other parts of nature, including our close animal relatives, some of which share more than 97 percent of our DNA. We pollute our environment with close to zero regard for the well-being of its ecosystems—and we fight pollution only if and when it inconveniences us. Scientific experiments on human beings are not only illegal, but are considered barbarous even when they could provide some useful information. This is in sharp contrast to our practice of experimenting on lab animals…  Even in the purely abstract realms of knowledge, one often hears the complaint that physical sciences are “cold” and “inhuman” exactly because they are less permeated by anthropocentrism than, say, philosophy or the humanities or arts. Almost 500 years after the onset of the Copernican revolution, we have a relic belief in the exalted nature of the human mind.”

Read the entire piece here- https://getpocket.com/explore/item/our-attitude-toward-aliens-proves-we-still-think-we-re-special?utm_source=pocket-newtab

If you are in central Florida, and have been paying attention, you know it’s been breezy to the tune of 20 mph every day this week. Boating was out. But, if you fish in the woods, the wind is not an issue. So I fished in the woods.

Tuesday Tammy and I went to Tosahatchee, hoping to stroll through an almost-dry St. Johns River bed and catch some fish. The river is not low enough yet. We left and did some upper Econ work. We did more walking than fishing but managed to catch a few bass, using the RipTide Sardine. I got a stumpknocker, on a 3/0 hook! That river is very low.

Wednesday I parked at 419 and the Econ and walked upstream. There were pools with water, separated by riffles that are almost dry. I did not see much in the river, and only hit two dinkers. I found a retention pond that was an ugly shade of green but got two more dinkers there. Lovely morning, though.

In the afternoon I stopped at Hidden River RV Park, on the Econ at SR 50. At one time you could pay to launch a paddle vessel here. They got out of that business due to concerns about liability, very sad.

I went to Old Cheney Highway to see if I could access the river there. On both sides of the river there’s a six-foot chain-link fence with a sign, “No Trespassing per order Orange County Commission.” That piece of river is hard to get to.

Thursday I used my bicycle to try to access the river. I rode a way, then hid the bike in the woods, then bushwacked about a mile to the river bed. It was mostly dry. I found one shallow hole that had some fish, small ones. I got a few and then they stopped biting. Other than that I could not find enough water for anything more than guppies.

I did find some pitcher plants, though. And my face found several spider webs.

Friday I again used my bicycle to access the river. Again I hid the bike in the woods and worked a stretch of river. This piece had some water between the riffles. I only saw a single bass. I only had a single strike, a dinker.

Around noon I figured if I were going to hit fish it would have already happened. I went back to get my bike. I hid it so well even I couldn’t find it. It took me about 30 minutes to locate it. Silly John!

This week I rode my bike about 15 miles and walked about five more, enjoying the entire episode. But the catching part of the equation could certainly have been better.

“Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish.” – Sparse Grey Hackle

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/