The Fisheating Creek "Swamp" Trip | SouthernPaddler.com

The Fisheating Creek "Swamp" Trip

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Well .. The Fisheating Creek "Swamp" Trip is one for the record books.

Day #1..............
To make the boring part short , Mac and I got there with the canoes and checked in , even with all of the Love Bugs we collected on his truck while driving down to the creek.
While checking in and getting the cabin the Gal looked at us and said ..." Ya All Camping " ? Yes Mam on the river but we want the cabin to relax in before the trip and after we get back on Friday.

Her... You know there are no linens on the beds , No Pillows , No Towels or no Nothing .... Just the beds and the cabin. I asked if there was air conditioning since it was about 119 degrees outside , yes there is a AC Unit. OK , We are camping and have all the stuff for sleeping , even some toilet paper. Which was in short supply in the cabin. :lol:

The front area /bedroom
fcreek%20001.jpg


The family / entertainment center , Picture , courtesy of Swamp Rat. Lazyriverguy as the male model. :lol:
0_0_66e73e77f264ce57ed508b69ca08fbf5_1


The dinning area ( minus the chandelier ) Picture , courtesy of Swamp Rat. Mac in the cowboy hat , me just being myself , even with the shinny dome.
0_0_54a789c8d3ce074fe2521d4dd95dd446_1


The back bedroom , bath room , kitchen. ( open shower , open toilet , frig , microwave and sink.)
fcreek%20002.jpg


We got to the cabin ( the large Deluxe one ) , turned on the AC and settled in. Next thing we know it is pouring down rain outside and washing all the bugs off Mac's truck. ( Rain)

A little later Joe ( lazyriverguy) arrives and claims the other bed for himself. He tells us he drove threw a real bad rain most of the way down ... There is one clue we missed. ( Rain)

Well sitting inside and enjoying the cool air , we started talking about the river and I went to get the map , open the door and there is Swamp Rat ( He is just as krazy as the rest of us) , so I said , come on in.
Well we had a good gab session , checked the map out and got hints about good spots to fish an camp. A little later he went out to his vehicle and returned with a crock pot full of some good smelling chow , some really Delicious wild Hog , rice and veges mix he had cooking in the Crock Pot...
I think all of us had between two or three helpings of that.... DAM GOOD CHOW , Really some fine eating. Plus the company was very enjoyable with all of us sitting back enjoying life.

Swamp Rat ( Brad) told me the seasoning in the mix was some of the Everglades (Heat) mix. It had a good punch to it , not to hot but just darn good. If you are interested. http://www.evergladesseasoning.com/products.htm
Eventually swamprat left , we did our best trying to talk him into skipping work and making the creek run with us. He did say he would honk his horn when going to work in the morning at 5:30 AM as a wake up call as he passed the river. What a Nice Guy.

( We were like Goldie locks and the three bears with the beds , mine was like sleeping on a wood floor , Mac said his was just right and Joe said his was like sleeping in the hammock. What the heck we had some cool air that night. ) :lol:

Day # 2.........
Off to bed and up in the morning around 7am. Goofed off till 9 and then went to load the boats and gear on the shuttle. The outfitter was nice he pointed out where to park , which vehicle he was going to use and we loaded everything , he did help to strap down a couple of the boats.

In the van and off we go........ While driving there the outfitter tells us , I might have enough gas in this van to get there .... "O" Great.... We are in the middle of NOWHERE..... Well we made it to the gate into the road to get to the river , Joe unlocks the gate , we drive threw it into a jungle road fit for 4 wheelers... Then locks the gate...On down this path to a gate... Unlock it and leave it open. I enjoy drives threw the wilderness , pastures and swamps and this is one wild area but I would of felt a lot safer in the my Jeep , especially since it has a full tank of gas.

Hot Dam we are almost there..... "O"ooop's , the road is underwater , "O"Well the driver tells us van might make it so we go paddling in the van , all the gear and the boats in tow threw and down a flooded road for a good quarter mile to the put in. The van is pushing a wake of water in front of it and off to the sides. The driver tells us we are close to the put in.
ONE .. Problem , the put in is a good 80 feet on down the road from where we stopped in two feet of water. OK.. Sooooooo we Back up to a small area of dry ground about 60 feet behind us to unload everything.

We unload the gear and boats on a very small area of some almost dry ground with a large supply of Fire Ants as the very unhappy , disgruntled residence of the dry land. They did not like to have visitors and let us know that.

One boat and the gear down the road it at a time to the river and some deeper water....... all three are loaded so we push them into the deeper water and hop in ..... The trip is a go we are on the water..

fcreek%20007.jpg


We are paddling , there is water everywhere , no matter where you look there is water , under the boats , in the trees , as far back as you can see , everything is FLOODED. Well we paddle along thinking for the best.... Only to be delivered the worse.

Joe........
fcreek%20003.jpg


Mac.........
fcreek%20008.jpg


Keep in mind this is a 4 night trip so we have everything for those 4 days , water , chow and all the rest. Planned on paddling 6 miles , camping , two days later 6 more miles , camp for two days and then on down stream and back to that Hilton Inn they call a Cabin.

Well .. Sir and Mam.... We paddled 9 miles and finally found a small piece of dry ground to camp on , it was across from the Burnt Bridge put in for the 4 day trip back to the outfitter. Burnt Bridge is the half way mark on the river.

What a nice place to camp , wrangle the boat ( one at a time ) threw the Cypress Knees , unload it and move it so the next boat and paddle can get in .. repeat the process for the last boat.
There was a small are without any Cypress Knees so Mac could set up his tent ... Joe and I hung the hammocks. His was the Hennessey and my Clark Hammock this time.

( Joe has a way to keep the skeeters from biting him threw the bottom of his hammock , he sprays it with some bug dope to chase them off) I'm in my hammock and I hear this sisssssss ,sissssssss , sisssssss, then the aroma of bug dope drifts past me. )

Hennessey Hammock of Joes in the foreground , My Clark in the background.
fcreek%20004.jpg


We were suspended over the Cypress Knees so we made sure the hammocks were tied off nice and solid. Sure did not want a knot coming loose during the night and having one of us impaled on a Cypress Knee.

If you do not know what a Cypress Knee is , it is a very solid , cylindrical , piece of wood sticking up in the air like a very fat ice pick.

I borrowed this picture from the web.
bo_cypress_knees.jpg


Gathered some fire wood , had a fire , cooked up supper on Joe's tripod grill and got the potty set up , a nice deep hole under it. Stayed up to around 11 and then hit the sack... Hotter then the gates of Hell but with your back on the hammock it felt like an AC blowing on you. Bless hammocks for hot weather camping they are nice and cool.

Day #3.
Cooled down during the night but the skeeters sure came out right around sun rise. I had a zillion of them trying to join me in my hammock and they never managed to get me. Most of them left at full day light.
Later I made a visit to the potty with that nice deep hole ...... The dam thing was full of water.
The up side is while having breakfast we had a flock of wild turkeys back of the camp feeding and during the night while sleeping and in camp the Owls were having a Congress and Senate meeting... Man they were sounding off all night long right above us.

Got the boats loaded and back on the water. Paddling on down river looking for another campsite....... Which was never located , anyway one for a tent , two hammocks , several spots that were almost dry but about 6 feet wide and 20 feet long but loaded with Cypress Knees and/or Fire Ant Mounds... Neither for good camping.

fcreek%20006.jpg


So another 9 miles in the blazing Sun , Oppressive Heat and finally back to the campground....... The blessed Cabin and some air conditioning , dry sleeping beds , a showery and a supper of some steaks with baked potatoes cooked over a fire. The cabin was sure looking good after this trip.

fcreek%20010.jpg


SUMMERY........

Paddling the Creek in high water is the same as paddling the Okefenokee Swamp without anyplace to camp... It is a twisty , turning back on itself creek , 160 degree turns are the normal and paddling threw trees 4 or 3 feet apart is considered normal. All while doing it in a current that wants to push you where you do not want to go. All the rain to day before up to the north sure pushed the river level up for the trip. The folks at the camp told me the water came up 1 1/2 feet while we were on the trip.

( This area is a good one for two or three folks but not a large group since the campsites are few and far in between , especially with high water. If the state would have a Chickee at each Lake , like in the Okefenokee Swamp , then there would not be any problems. It is all State Land and access is controlled by the outfitter/concessionaire. No open public roads or access to it. )

There are a lot of good size lakes in there , this one was right across from our camping spot at Burnt Bridge. Looking down river ......
fcreek%20005.jpg


It is one wild and beautiful area , some real swamp paddling and you better know what you are doing , we are three experienced swamp paddlers and I DO NOT recommend any beginner ( Non Swamp Paddler) or what we call a open water paddler to do what we did.
There are stretches where you paddle along and would think that the open area is where you go , WRONG , you cut between these two trees and take the 4 foot wide path threw the forest.

This is one wild area , we saw , Wild Hogs ( in water up to the bellies ) Deer , Wild Turkeys , Tons of Gators ( they were everywhere ) the birds are there in all sorts , sizes , shapes , colors. It is a wilderness experience. If you want civilization go about 20 miles any direction and it is there.

I am very happy with the Clark Hammock , It is skeeter proof as the claim , not one bit threw it to me and I had a gazillion of them around me that one morning , at sunrise. This is one Hammock that will be with me on a lot more trips , that you can beat on and have some money in the bank.

The Thermacell does what it say's it will do , no skeeters around us after I lite it , might of been one or two but nothing like what was out there looking for a meal as us being the Blue Plate Special for that night. This is anouther item that will be on trips in the future , no second thoughts about that.

Chuck.
PS. The weather changed when a front moved threw , really comfortable at fisheating creek when we left it was 50 in Ocala at Joes home and 58 at Mac's and over at my place. This morning here at the house it was 60. :roll:
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
OK... As some of you might notice things have been added to the trip report as the day progressed. I have to juggle about 5 things on the computer at one time to get the pictures on here and then back to get them right and in sequence with the thought.

The reason for that is the pictures are part of southernpaddler but there for everyone. The rest is my old brain trying to get things the way I like them .... Some time and thought makes me think , dummy you forgot this , so back on/in and adding it.

As far as I can see this is the final report , the rest of the guys can or will add theirs to it.

Chuck.
PS. I would rater be paddling the screwing around then on this infernal mochine. Enjoy the trip with us , if you can. :lol:
 

gatormac

Member
Mar 21, 2004
6
0
mims fla
There were 2 high-lights on this trip. The first was when River Rat showed up Sunday night with that pork supper. That stuff was something special. The second was when it was all over and Sparkey threw some porterhouse steaks on us. Just about everything else was crapola. Except, of course, the good company and laughs that we had in the face of adversity.We will write this off as an educational trip.

Gatormac
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
tx river rat said:
How did the T-V perform>
Ron

Joe moved it around in good fashion as I watched him paddle.

He will or should post more when he finally gets home. He had a few more places and friends to visit and to do some side trips ( recon runs) for future paddling before returning to his home fount. :D

Chuck.
 

Paddlin'Gator

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2008
148
0
Tequesta, FL
Chuck,

Thanks for the report. It looks like when you were there the level at the Palmdale gage was from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet higher than than 2' +/- gage level that Brad said is pretty nice. In fact, it looks like it peaked while you were on the creek. I guess it is one of those places where you have be flexible enough on your schedule to only go when the conditions are good.

Joe
 

catfish

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2007
996
3
jesup, ga.
hey chuck glad the whole trip wasn,t a bummer. like i say a bad day on the water is better than a good day @ work. o i forget some geezers don,t go to work. :wink: :lol: nice pics thanks for report.
 

swamprat

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2003
374
0
Venus Fl.
members.findmoore.net
I went back and checked my pictures and notes and Erica and I paddled the creek 6 months ago at about 5.5 feet at the palmdale guage. Where mac is standing in the first picture, there was enough water to float a boat then.

We camped on river right just below sand lake on that trip. Wasn't much but it was dry. The place ya'll camped at burnt bridge was underwater that trip and we spent the second night on the island downstream from lemon lake.Think we spent two nights there.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Looking at your picture at Burnt Bridge we camped up the river on the right side at what I was told is the spot where Scouts camp at times. Across to the wood line from the landing and up to the left on the right side.
Someone had been there that was hog hunting , they left a couple of the ropes there to hang and dress them with. They did not leave a mess but some buzzards sure were in the trees eye balling the spot , guess that had a banquet there earlier. :lol:

We watched the bank ... I should say the tree line as we came down river and never located that sandy area in the picture of your camp you posted in your trip report.
Did find one small , open grassy area and a little sand about an hour up from the campground. Could of put up a tent but that was about all since the trees were in the water. We took a stretch break on it and had a Gator come down stream , eyeballing us but he went under and vanished. My guess is he wanted up there to do some sun bathing. :D

Not sure what the water flow was but you did not have to paddle that much to go forward , we moved along quite well just drifting and taking a stroke now and then , the paddling came when running threw the trees , the water was really moving in those narrow areas. That creek twists and turns more then a drunk snake which for me is fun to paddle. Sort of like playing dodge ball with cypress trees. :lol: It definitely is not open water , except for the lakes and a small part of the creek.

It was what I thought it would be , some swamp paddling in a primitive wilderness. We keep discussing if anything had changed since the Indians lived there and used the creek. The only thing we noticed was that someone had cut the trees that would of been across the creek causing obstruction to canoeing. Otherwise we could of been in the Florida of a couple thousand years ago or longer back in time.

Chuck.
When we were there it was 650 cubic feet per second water flow and at a height of 5 1/2 feet.
 

oldyaker

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
1,949
31
Nice pix.....I could do without the heat and bugs however. Bet the bugs didn't bug that crusty :mrgreen: 0ld Mac though!
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
oldyaker said:
Nice pix.....I could do without the heat and bugs however. Bet the bugs didn't bug that crusty :mrgreen: 0ld Mac though!

Bugs don't bother Mac , he just ignores them and they go to someone they can bother. Heck , he even doesn't care if a few are doing a back stroke in his glass of adult beverage. Sketters with rum and coke , there is a new drink just for camping. :lol:

It was surprising the bugs were not as bad as we thought they would be , chased the ones away that did show up with the thermacell while having supper and sitting by the fire. Morning was when they really showed up in squadrons of flights but vanished at full daylight.

All the time I was paddling along I was telling Mac and Joe that you would love this trip. They asked if you had a mental condition and I told them , about the same as ours for liking the out of the way places. :lol:

Then I explained that you have been wanting to paddle a swamp and it does not get any more swampier then down there or the Okefenokee Swamp.

Fisheating Creek is a good substitute for the Okefenokee , the only thing the Okefenokee has over it is the wide marshes along the canoe route where the Creek is all woods , cypress trees. It's more of what I would call a swamp jungle , not a swamp prairie with islands of trees like in the Okefenokee.

Chuck
 

swamprat

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2003
374
0
Venus Fl.
members.findmoore.net
you had it right Chuck, the little beach and grassy area is about an hour upstream from the take out. except it was no doubt under water at 5.5.
Heres what it looks like at really low water. Like 1.5 or so.
0_0_8e97722f6db0ec5bb4057d1948b647d4_1


Perfect level to fail at making ice cream in one of those useless ice cream making balls :)

If I follow you right, standing at the burnt bridge put in , you camped upstream on the other side of the lake? Piece of old table there? or some such trash?

Come on back down this winter with low water. Promise I'll bring another crock pot full of some critter. :mrgreen:
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Standing at the burnt bridge put in , looking straight across the lake to the opposite shore. Then follow the far shore line to the left and where the channel is , go up it a short distance and on the right side (going up stream) is where it is. We could move to one area where we camped and see the put in.
No table and no trash , just hundreds of cypress knees. :lol:

I can see where it would be to a persons advantage to put in at the camp ground and paddle up stream in low water. The water flow we had it would ( not) be a lot of fun paddling upstream. :roll:

The low water would make for some good fishing , they would not be hiding in the trees then.

Chuck.
 

Lazyriverguy

Well-Known Member
Nov 9, 2006
180
0
Eureka,Florida
Good Day Folks
I made it back home and will post some of my pics of the trip later. Right now I am tryin to get back in the swing of things. It was to say the lest a very interesting trip. One that I won't forget for a long time.
Ron: my TV worked great even in the tight confines of the stump swamp. It carried all my gear good,floated great. The only thing I can tell that I would need if I were going to do tight creeks alot is I would need or like to have a rudder to make the tight turns. Other than that it performed very well.
More later
Joe
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Lazyriverguy said:
Chuck & Mac
Thanks for inviting me on the trip. I needed the break.
Joe

Joe , It is always a pleasure to have you along , it sure makes the trip a lot more fun since you are so good with outdoing Mac on the Boat Science. YEP... Joe even had Mac stumped a few times with replies and explanations about matters. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Chuck.
Laughter is good medicine and we overdosed on it.
 

caddepa

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2003
63
0
New Jersey
Hey Chuck, thanks for the trip report. Sorry Fisheating Creek did not meet expectations, but that's the way it goes: Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. I have a few claw marks myself from trips that were less than ideal; but it's better to explore new territory than to paddle the same "home grounds" over & over.
As for the state building some chickies (like in the big swamps), be careful what you ask for. Once they make "improvements" they will naturally institute a list of paperwork requirements (registration, camping permit, permit fee, fire permit, etc.) and regulations to be strictly enforced by newly hired Jellystone Rangers. Who knows, some despicable reprobates might actually drink a can of beer, or have a dog sitting in camp without a leash, or pick up laying deadwood for a campfire. You think such flagrant atrocities don't happen?!? I heard of one instance where a group of so-called paddlers committed all 3 of the above mentioned violations at Rock Springs. Fortunately, there were 2 of "Florida's finest" on the scene to put a quick stop to such Neanderthal behavior.

Since you did not mention frying any fish fillets, I will assume that Mac got skunked, yet again. When will the man learn that fishing is an art form that he will never master? Mention his name and I pack 2 extra cans of tuna.

Next trip will be a dream come true: But bring your foul weather gear just in case.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
caddepa said:
Since you did not mention frying any fish fillets, I will assume that Mac got skunked, yet again. When will the man learn that fishing is an art form that he will never master? Mention his name and I pack 2 extra cans of tuna.

Next trip will be a dream come true: But bring your foul weather gear just in case.

I had tuna and sardines along with me , I knew Mac would forget the hand grenades and remember his fishing rod and tackle box to fish with. :lol: :lol: :lol: John , if any fish were around they were about a mile back in the trees and shrubs , not in any of the open water.

The trip was not a gold metal one as far as the water went but any trip is better then not being on one. Yes , there are times when a person can have to much water to paddle in , almost the same as not having enough but not enough water does create a lot of campsites to enjoy. It was a good thing Joe and I were using hammocks , they were life savers for us in that cypress knee island. Joe had a little dry ground under him and I was splitting the difference between dry and wet. :lol:

Chuck.