Mullet Lake Area-Javier's Wife | SouthernPaddler.com

Mullet Lake Area-Javier's Wife

Eichhornia

Active Member
Sep 22, 2006
32
0
Florida
If you look at a map of Mullet Lake, you'll see that there's a LOT of exploring to do all around there.
http://www.google.com/maphp?hl=en&tab=w ... FL%2032732
We toured the lake, ate some granola bars (I just made some lemon bars that I think are my best so far. Ya'll got granola bar recipes close enough to mine, just add the juice and grated rind of a lemon and I found some orange flavored dried cranberries at Publix to toss in) and I took some pictures. Then we hit the actual river and eventually saw some houses. I guess we were probably up to Lemon Bluff Road when we turned around.
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Now who would have guessed there'd be a cow on a canoe trip? I think the water was higher than normal. Some of the grass was underwater and there were some fence posts in the water. Maybe it's boggy normally?

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It looks really still, and in some places it is, but there's a current a bit faster than the Wekiva in there. When we stop paddling we start going backwards pretty quickly.

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Oddly, the whole trip, only saw 1 gator. The water is so tea-colored though that we could have been surrounded by hundreds. This close to Lake Jessup, I expected more. Also saw 1 water snake, brown and black. Probably a banded water snake. It was asleep near the shore and we didn't disturb it. Lots of birds, lots of frogs. And on the shore, the love bugs were ferocious! It was like working in a cloud of them! Almost none in the water though.

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There's a dock and a little beach so we didn't even have to get our feet wet. I just walked the canoe over to the dock and we got in it from there. Good to know in the winter when it's too cold to be wet. ALSO good to know for the winter are all the signs around there!
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I can't wait to canoe with manatees! I wonder if they'll be scared of us? I wonder if we can get close enough to see them? These are thoughts that my mind must have been thinking all along and never told me when I watched the manatees from shore at Blue Springs.

Javier wanted me to be sure to take 2 particular pictures for ya'll.
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See how dark that water is?

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He's still horribly concerned that the canoe is going to fly right off the car. I think it's clever that we don't even need a boat ramp. We're in and out of there without having to wait for anyone.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Lyn,

My best regards to you. As Hairy Mick will say, "Good on ya." (Mick is our house-broken and potty trained Aussie. We have several.)

Your grazing cow reminds me of moose in the moose pastures up here. Course, moose won't get attacked by gators like that walking beef steak might.

Moose do, however, get attacked by so many black flies that sting and bite so much they go crazy. And by mosquitoes that suck so much blood the moose dies from weakness.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Your 2nd picture is where Snake Creek cuts off from the St.Johns River, there is usually a decent current through there as you found out. It catches up and goes back into the St.Johns at a place we call the Brick Yard. It is just bend in the river down at the end of the straight stretch where SR 46 crosses over.

If you ever get down there it is easier to get back to your vehicle by going up the St.Johns . Just paddle up to the bridge, take a left thru (Government Cut, where the little fish camp is across from the county boat ramp on the right) and follow the river back.

( Or if you just want a fun trip then let me know and I can shuttle, the driver, back to your vehicle, Javier has my phone number, or just Email me to work it out. Same offer holds true if you want to do the Econ River sometime , 419 to Snow hill (4 to 5 hour trip) or all the way to the St.Johns , a good 12 hours from 419)

My guess from looking at the water level at the dock, that the river is about 3 feet above normal.

Chuck.
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
I love that sign fer the Sunshine Boys...."End of Ramp". :mrgreen:
Nice pichurs.

regards
bearridge

So put me on a highway and show me a sign and take it to the limit one more time. Randy Meisner, Don Henley & Glenn Frey
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Kayak Jack said:
OK, Chuck, would you take me to the grocery store tomorrow morning? I need a jug of milk.

I would be more then happy to take you to the store in the morning so you can get your SOY Milk. :D Do you want to leave before of after you have your TOFU Eggs and Bacon , or hold off till you get home. :?:

Chuck.
 

Eichhornia

Active Member
Sep 22, 2006
32
0
Florida
That's a hugely generous offer. Careful, Javier might take you up on it. He wants to do some canoeing that doesn't include going upstream.

3 feet above normal? Where is all the water coming from? Wekiva was the same way last week and there hasn't been any rain in a couple of weeks.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Rains as far south of us as Melbourne , FL will make the river go up because the St. Johns River flows north.

The St. Johns ( River ) Marsh is in Indian River County almost to the Okeechobee County line which is the head waters for the St.Johns River then it picks up more water as it travels north. The river is about 310 miles long which lets it pick up a lot of water along it's way to Jaxsonville and the ocean.

The St. Johns River is commonly divided into three drainage basins. Basins, also called watersheds, are land areas that drain into a water body. Because the St. Johns River flows north, the upper basin is the area to the south. The middle basin is the area in east-central Florida where the river widens. The lower basin is the area in northeast Florida from Putnam County to the river’s mouth in Duval County, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Chuck
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
jcubero said:
I probably *will* take you up on your kind offer -- but you still can't have the canoe for $20! :p

Give me a holler when you want to do that..... See, I am sneaky , a sly ole fox or so I was told.. :p .. I get to see your boat up close and personal this way without paying that $5.00 admission fee to look at it or just pictures of it. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jack.. When I send them down the river (One Way) I will let you know if that is a real canoe or if it just some photo shop work he has been doing and is really paddling a plastic boat.

The TRUTH will Come Out......... :D

Chuck.