A Pleasent Saturday Paddle on the Econ........ I hope.

[oldsparkey]

Guy's

Ya might want to wish Pirogue a good trip. He and I will be doing a day trip on the Econ tomorrow and just getting the e-mail from him and me thinking about it, I got 2 inches of rain last night.

This morning it was really nice and around noon I put the rack on the truck and it got dark, black clouds rolling in, wind bending the trees, rain (like a cow relieving it self on a flat rock) then I put the boat on the top of the truck and it is sunny, gentle breeze and nice in fact just darn pleasant outside ..... the temp has dropped and it is to nice to be true.

Something is wrong with this picture, blue skies, a gentle wind, cooler just a picture perfect for any of the tourist ads from Fla.
What the heck ...... In the AM (Saturday) when Pirogue gets over here I am sure the weather will change while we are on the Econ ......
Fla ... ya have to love it cause if you don't like the weather then just hold off for 10 minutes and it will change.

Will keep you posted on the trip. With any luck it will be just a pleasant Saturday paddle on a nice river with the boats we make.
Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

You guys have a nice time of it. Be sure to eat lots of gritz for breakfast. Take along some extras for the trip - saves buying lead for anchors.

 

[andrewp]

Pirogue, make sure to pack the rain-gear ....... :wink:

Pack a rod and reel -- maybe the flyrod. Chuck, can you take him back to that spot off the main channel where you took me -- where it opens up and we saw all those fish popping the surface of the water? A perfect place for the flyrod ........

I have to get some more time in on my new kayak/canoe I'm building, because the Econ is one of the places I want to take it down for a test paddle/camp trip ......

Have fun!!!!!!!!

 

[oldsparkey]

Andrew

We will be at the 419 bride around 8:30 ....... If you want to get over there with your pirogue. You are more then welcome and I am sure Pirogue would like to have someone to talk to ...... anyway someone with some intelligence.

NO ... I have not asked him , for the simple reason I am sure he would like to have you along , providing you would like to go. Ya Call.
Chuck.

 

[Pirogue]

C'mon out n play Andrew.

The more the merrier.. Only one problem. I picked up 2 nice Ybor City cigars and don't know if I will have time to pick up another.

But I can compromise and offer you a beer instead.

And remember Andrew, it didn't rain when the two of us went paddling.

Now Chuck on the otherhand... :?

 

[andrewp]

Maybe -- have to get the "kitchen pass" from the missus ...... if you see me there, we're paddlin' -- if not, head on without me ......

 

[oldsparkey]

Darn

For just a day trip this is getting complicated ......... I always thought it was really simple just drop your boat in and go down river and don't forget to get off the river so ya can go home, if you want to or feel like it , if not then just keep going and enjoying life till the wife catches ya....... :roll:

Chuck

 

[oldsparkey]

TRIP UPDATE......

Andrew, Pirogue and I made the river run and we got off to a grand start.

Upon arriving at the river the sun was shinning and the weather was just really nice.
Got out of the trucks to get the canoes down and as soon as I touched the front tie down strap on the canoe ...............it RAINED............. and the sun was still shinning just as bright as ever. :? Rain coats & sunglasses.

I will stop at this point because I am sure Andrew or Pirogue can tell it a lot better, besides I have to go and dry off. :roll:
Chuck.

 

[andrewp]

I got the kitchen-pass from the missus, so I was off to join Ol' Sparkey and Pirogue for a day-trip down the Econ .....

Tom was meeting Chuck at his place, so I headed right over to the put-in stop under the bridge. It was sunshing when I got there and got everything unloaded. Then, a big, dark cloud starts heading towards me, and sure enough it started to rain. I said to myself "Ol' Sparkey is close by, I recon" 5 minutes later sure enough he and Tom pull up. We unload their canoes and gear from the trucks, (I'm in my priogue) make the shuttle run with my truck (left it at the take-out spot) and we're on our way about 9:30 or so ...

Amazingly, the rain stopped for a while, as we enjoyed the trip down the Econ. Temps were cool, had a fair amount of cloud cover, and the scenery was beautiful as ever. Came across a pair of Bald Eagles, full-plummaged with white heads and tails, sitting out on a dead tree overlooking the river. Got a couple of pictures of them before they took off, and we would end up seeing them several times on the trip. At one sharp corner we came up on a 8' or so gator sunning itself right next to where we needed to go. Tom was in the lead, but didn't want to get too close .... thankfully the big guy dove into the stream when he saw it was three of us and only one of him .....

About a third of the way down, we take a side-tour through some heavy brush (at one point going under a log that was just high enough to slip the boats under) on a small waterway that then opens up into what must be a sinkhole of some sort that is maybe 60-70 yards in circumference. The bream are popping all over the surface, and we come prepared -- Tom has his flyrod, and I my spin gear. But, I guess we couldn't match the hatch -- Tom did get one, and I got a bite, that that was it. Very frustrating when you see all that activity, but nothing hits. Next time, I'll come prepared with some crickets or worms ......

While taking a break from the fishing, the rains returned with a passion for about 15-20 minutes. So we struggle on with our raingear, and then take it off, then have to put it back on ..... this was how it was for the rest of the trip -- brief, hard rains followed up by absolute stillness.

After about another hour or so, we stopped off at a favorite bank campsite of Chuck's to enjoy a cold adult beverage. We were about 45 minutes from the take-out, and when we started the last portion of the paddle, it was very special. I think we had pretty much said everything that we wanted to say, and so hardly a word was spoken during the last portion of the trip. Dead quiet. We just all sat back and breathed in the experience. Truely wonderful.

I marvelled at how quietly Chuck is able to paddle his canoe, keeping it straight, turning when he needs to; just looking effortless. I, meantime, when not "in the trees" was splashing and working much harder. There's a lot you can learn just by watching someone who knows what they are doing out there. I'm taking notes ....

Took some pictures inbetween the rain with the digital camera -- I'll send them to Chuck and Tom and see if they can maybe post them.

If anyone gets a chance, I highly recommend a paddle with Chuck down the Econ. You won't be disappointed.