Post-Paddle Fishing Safari Fishing Report

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Mike Conneen picked me and my gear up, early, and we went off adventuring. We were on the 2018 west Florida paddle fishing safari. This is the post-paddle fishing safari fishing report.

We took one day off to wash clothes and re-organize our things. Other than that we paddled and fished every day for two weeks. Some days had good fishing, and all days had good paddling. This was an exceptionally enjoyable trip! The weather was brisk sometimes, but the light was so often spectacular!

We paddled and fished, in the following order, Deer Prairie Creek, the Myakka, Peace (overnighted on river), Little Manatee, and Manatee Rivers, Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, the Hillsborough, Chassahowitzka, Withlacoochee, Rainbow, and Suwannee (overnighted here) rivers. The original plan included Weedon Island (too hard to get to, through Tampa), Anclote Key (15 MPH plus winds that day), and Oklawaha River (big rainstorm, who needed that at the end of the trip?).

Special thanks need to go to George Allen and Mary Jo, who got our trip off on such a great, positive step, Nathan Whitt at Rainbow River Canoe and Kayak, who went way out of his way to make sure we had a good time there, and of course Mike Conneen. A better travel and paddling partner would be hard to imagine.

Enough text. Let’s see some photos.

paddle fishing fishing report

Sign at Chassahowitzka River ramp. We should all do this on all waters.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Lots of alligators. Everywhere.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Mayan cichlid, Deer Prairie Creek.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Mike, not thrilled with his channel cat? It took a Vudu Shrimp, Myakka River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Spinnerbait snook, Peace River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Purple asters signal winter is close.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Little Manatee River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

School of crevalle jacks, Manatee River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Hillsborough River State Park.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Hillsborough River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Waterfront property, Chassahowitzka River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Resident of the Chassahowitzka.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Anhinga, Rainbow River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Cooter turtles, Withlacoochee River.

 

paddle fishing fishing report

Paddling on the Suwannee.

That is the post-paddle fishing safari Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com

John Kumiski
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