Peace River, Zolfo Springs on a Cool Morning

[Bone Daddy]

My wife Tina and I hit the Peace River yesterday for some fossil-hunting. The weather was mild with the temps hanging around the mid-70’s for most of the day. The forecast had called for a partly-cloudy day, but the sun was rarely seen. It was mostly overcast, so the sun wasn’t going to help us much with water visibility. One thing the forecast had mentioned was gusty winds coming out of the north. We both made note of that, but didn’t expect it to be an issue. We were wrong. More on that later.

 

We made good time on the way out. We left the house just prior to 7am, and we managed to beat the majority of the morning rush-hour traffic out of Tampa. If you don’t leave before 7am, you run of the risk of getting caught in the death-grip of Tampa/Brandon traffic. Trust me, stay away from I-275 and I-4 during rush-hour. You can easily lose an extra 45-60 minutes of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to go the first 20 miles out of the Tampa/Brandon metro area.

 

We arrived at the ramp shortly before 9am and began unloading the tandem kayak and our gear. While we were getting our yak ready, a Canoe Outpost bus pulls up and dumps off it’s load of 8 canoes and a gaggle of surburbanites. They proceeded to monopolize the entire ramp, leaving no room for anyone else to launch. Poor ramp etiquette for sure, but surely it wouldn’t take them long to get out of the way, right? Well, these folks looked like they were packing for a 10-week overseas safari. I had never seen so much junk loaded into canoes for an overnight or weekend camping trip. These folks just kept unloading more and more boxes, containers, coolers, and bags from the bus, that it started becoming comical. Those canoes looked so overloaded that I doubted they would float and they left little room for the paddlers. There was literally almost no room to sit in these canoes.

 

Time ticked away and they made no sign that they were aware that at least two other boats were waiting on them to launch. “We didn’t make good time on the way out here to sit and waste it all at the ramp while clueless people piddle around with their excess of gear.” - is what we thought to ourselves. Finally, we decided to carry the yak across the ramp and down the hill-slope and just launch from the muddy bank. We were already a 1/2 mile down the river before the first of the canoes started to launch.

 

So, after putting the crowd of rookie canoeists in our rearview mirror, we started the paddle to the search area. The wind was at our backs and the river was running harder than we had anticipated. I had hunch our work would be cut out for us on the paddle back upstream. The paddle downstream was nice. We saw a lot of birds of every possible type, but only a single small gator and no turtles. I guess the cool overcast day was not good for reptiles looking to soak up the sun. We made it to the search spot about 45 minutes later and unloaded our gear.

 

This particular spot has been good to us in the past, but the last couple of trips made it apparent that this spot is hunted out and cleaned out. The haul from each trip was becoming a game of diminishing returns. On this trip, we decided to hunt the snarge out of this site one more time before crossing it off the list for the remainder of the season. My hunch was right. We didn’t make any major finds on this trip, but we did find a lot of interesting small stuff – some of which I will need help identifying. The spot is still productive, but it’s 90% tiny teeth, turtle scutes, and other very common pieces. The amount of highlight specimens coming out of this spot has definitely decreased and I think it’s time for this spot to “recharge” until next season.

 

The highlights from the sifter this time included : a small but very complete fossil vert, a piece of tiny fossil jaw with a tooth in it, another vert, an unknown odd tooth, and some geological oddities including a nice piece of botryoidal chalcedony. Tina found a turtle leg bone, some nice (but small) teeth, and some oddballs that will need a closer look. The pieces are drying now and I will post some better photos later after they dry.

 

All in all, we spent about 4 hours searching at the site. This includes a thorough walk-around to look for low-hanging fruit and obvious surface finds. Then the digging began. The last flood season had exposed a gravel bar in a new place that wasn’t there in previous years. In this season alone, we have spent a combined 30-ish hours searching this one spot. This represents hundreds of full sifters worth of gravel that has been searched. I sampled the entire length of the deposit working from one end to the other. The gravel layer is relatively thin – less than 12 inches in most places. Digging much deeper rarely yields anything other than fine sand, organic muck, and clay that is not very fossiliferous. So, we mostly worked the exposed surface layer, although I did dig numerous sample pits that were substantially deeper – all of those yielded nothing of note.

 

We always fill our holes and re-distribute spoil gravel in a natural pattern. If you come across one of our search sites, you will never know anyone was there, except perhaps for the total lack of trash in comparison to the rest of the river. Well, this time around, one of the first things I noticed was fresh shovel marks in the bank near the gravel bar. There were no obvious spoil piles, but there were definite signs of someone digging the banks well above the water line. This tells me that “my spot” is no longer off the beaten path. Other hunters have also noticed the new gravel bar – and some of these hunters are illegally digging the banks and being obvious about it. Having said all of this, I now feel comfortable giving a bone to the reader – this spot is just downstream from the town of Zolfo Springs. Feel free to go look for it. It’s a healthy paddle downstream and you’ll have your work cut out for you on the paddle back upstream against the current. But feel free to go look. You might get lucky and find something I missed. I likely won’t be returning to this particular spot this season unless it’s for a group hunt. This is probably still a good spot for a beginner hunt, but I personally feel like I have tapped out this spot for the year. Plus, this specific spot has never been a good source of megalodons, so I don’t feel too bad about leaving a few hints about the location. While I am not just interested in megs, I’ve always been disappointed with the lack of them in this general vicinity. You will find everything except megalodons around there. And it’s not just me, the handful of other people I have brought to this specific area have never found any megs either. Weirdly, there are lots of small teeth from other shark species, but no megalodons – not even fragments.

 

About mid-afternoon we decided to head back to the ramp. The wind was really whipping up and gusting strongly. When the wind picked up the water would get choppy and really start to run hard. The wind was coming out of the north and blowing directly in our faces while going back upstream against the current. The USGS Zolfo gauge said the discharge flow rate was approx. 321 cfs. Usually, that is not a difficult paddle for your average able-bodied or slightly-aged-bodied (like myself) person. But, trying to paddle it with a 16-20mph gusting headwind in your face is a different matter entirely. We had to take several extra breaks on the side of the river to catch our breath and wait for lulls in the wind. When the wind would calm down, we would set out again and paddle a couple hundred yards before pulling over and waiting again. We finally made it back to the ramp a little later than usual and we were both tired as heck – I’d use a more choice word to describe it, but I want to keep this family friendly. My arms, shoulders, and back were shot. My neck and shoulders are still sore as I type this – the old grey mare, she aint what she used to be. LOL.

 

My next trip out will be to revisit some old honey holes that are in remote areas that are difficult to reach and will require an overnight trip. These spots near public ramps are just too hunted out and I am curious about what some of my old spots look like now. Some of my favorite honey holes have not been visited since about 2017. I am confident that few (if any) other people hunt those same stretches, so I am keen to see what Mother Nature has “recharged” for me at those spots. Those spots are next on this list for this season.

 

 

 

 

[grandpa]

1 hour ago, Bone Daddy said:

Usually, that is not a difficult paddle for your average able-bodied or slightly-aged-bodied (like myself) person. But, trying to paddle it with a 16-20mph gusting headwind in your face is a different matter entirely. We had to take several extra breaks on the side of the river to catch our breath and wait for lulls in the wind.

I'm just wondering; I never hear of anyone using a small (10 - 12 ft long) flat-bottomed boat with a 5 - 10 HP motor on any of these trips.  Would that not be workable or not allowed on the river?

[Bone Daddy]

7 minutes ago, grandpa said:

I'm just wondering; I never hear of anyone using a small (10 - 12 ft long) flat-bottomed boat with a 5 - 10 HP motor on any of these trips.  Would that not be workable or not allowed on the river?

 

It's totally doable, especially when the water is higher. A small bass-boat with an outboard went past us yesterday. He wouldn't get away with that when the water drops another foot or foot and a half. I've seen people run this stretch with trolling motors and small motors on long boom mounts. I've been meaning to get a trolling motor for myself, but I can't justify the expense yet. Figure about $100 to $125 for cheap but decent motor, another $50 for the battery, another $50 for materials to build a mount, maybe another $25-$40 for cables and battery box. And then the registration fee. Not exactly an astronomical sum, but hard to justify within my current budget.
 

[digit]

Love the detailed trip report. Sorry that site seems to have tapped out for the moment. Looking forward to hearing about your revisits to your other honey holes.

 

A couple of years back Tammy and I were paddling into the wind but DOWNSTREAM though the water was low and current slight. Darned difficult to paddle a canoe into the wind. If you are not going straight into the wind, the broad side of the canoe catches the breeze and pushes you off to the side. It was a constant struggle to keep the canoe pointed the right way in order to make any progress at all. It was the only time I ever saw white caps on the Peace River. Well tired and sore after that trip even though I ate a fistful of ibuprofen before even starting the long drive home. I was never happier to (finally) see the Canoe Outpost dock on that long slog down the river.

 

I had to chuckle about your experience with the gaggle of over-provisioned camper/canoers. We're usually riding up on the bus with these sorts of groups but try to grab one of the first canoes and scurry down the river to get out of the ensuing circus at the boat ramp. One of the funniest incidents I remember during a large group put in at Brownville Park was a rather beefy couple who each looked to be more than the carrying capacity of the canoe (no size shaming intended--just noting a fact intrinsic to the story). They loaded two large beer coolers in the middle of the canoe and pushed off from the ramp. Paddling was apparently not near the top of their skills list and neither, it seemed, was communication. As they proceeded to travel perpendicular to the river instead of the more traditional downstream direction, there was a lot of back-paddling, splashing and shouting. There seemed to be a bit of concern from the guy in the back of the canoe that the woman up front kept shifting her not inconsequential weight from one side to the other which was making the canoe rock precariously from side to side. She turned around quickly to shout at him for yelling at her and it was all over. They had made it to the far bank--albeit not inside their canoe. As they continued to shout at each other about lost lighters and soggy cigarettes while tossing their dripping gear back into their righted canoe, we quietly made our way downstream and away from the chaos at the boat ramp. For several hours that morning we spotted (and recovered) multiple beer cans floating by. Apparently, the small amount of air space in each can allows them to float just at the surface. We had a laugh each time we spotted another one bobbing its way down the river.

 

Looking forward to seeing close-up photos of the interesting finds from this trip.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[FossilNerd]

Sorry to hear that your spot is tapped out, and has been found by others, but it looks like you got a decent final haul. Thanks for the detailed report and for sharing!   

[Bone Daddy]

1 hour ago, digit said:

Love the detailed trip report. Sorry that site seems to have tapped out for the moment. Looking forward to hearing about your revisits to your other honey holes.

 

A couple of years back Tammy and I were paddling into the wind but DOWNSTREAM though the water was low and current slight. Darned difficult to paddle a canoe into the wind. If you are not going straight into the wind, the broad side of the canoe catches the breeze and pushes you off to the side. It was a constant struggle to keep the canoe pointed the right way in order to make any progress at all. It was the only time I ever saw white caps on the Peace River. Well tired and sore after that trip even though I ate a fistful of ibuprofen before even starting the long drive home. I was never happier to (finally) see the Canoe Outpost dock on that long slog down the river.

 

I had to chuckle about your experience with the gaggle of over-provisioned camper/canoers. We're usually riding up on the bus with these sorts of groups but try to grab one of the first canoes and scurry down the river to get out of the ensuing circus at the boat ramp. One of the funniest incidents I remember during a large group put in at Brownville Park was a rather beefy couple who each looked to be more than the carrying capacity of the canoe (no size shaming intended--just noting a fact intrinsic to the story). They loaded two large beer coolers in the middle of the canoe and pushed off from the ramp. Paddling was apparently not near the top of their skills list and neither, it seemed, was communication. As they proceeded to travel perpendicular to the river instead of the more traditional downstream direction, there was a lot of back-paddling, splashing and shouting. There seemed to be a bit of concern from the guy in the back of the canoe that the woman up front kept shifting her not inconsequential weight from one side to the other which was making the canoe rock precariously from side to side. She turned around quickly to shout at him for yelling at her and it was all over. They had made it to the far bank--albeit not inside their canoe. As they continued to shout at each other about lost lighters and soggy cigarettes while tossing their dripping gear back into their righted canoe, we quietly made our way downstream and away from the chaos at the boat ramp. For several hours that morning we spotted (and recovered) multiple beer cans floating by. Apparently, the small amount of air space in each can allows them to float just at the surface. We had a laugh each time we spotted another one bobbing its way down the river.

 

Looking forward to seeing close-up photos of the interesting finds from this trip.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken L

 

Our tandem kayak is quite wide and it handles like a barge under the best of conditions. We also found it a challenge to keep it straight into the wind. As we approached one shallow area where the water was running harder, we got swung sideways and only quick paddle work kept us from being pushed into the tangle of trees on the shoreline.

I had a good laugh with your story about the Brownville couple in the canoe. I wonder how many other downstream people enjoyed a free beer that day?  I think some people just don't put much thought into canoeing. Assumptions are made and people go into it "half-baked" - and in this case, probably half sauced. LOL.

 

I just snapped some photos of my finds to get ID'ed. About to post them in the ID forum. 

 

[Bone Daddy]

47 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

Sorry to hear that your spot is tapped out, and has been found by others, but it looks like you got a decent final haul. Thanks for the detailed report and for sharing!   

 

It was bound to happen eventually. I've hunted this spot to death off and on over the last few seasons. It's been on my rotation of regular spots that are decently easy to access. Now I am going to start working on my list of sites that are more difficult to access.

 

[Shellseeker]

7 hours ago, Bone Daddy said:

 

We always fill our holes and re-distribute spoil gravel in a natural pattern. If you come across one of our search sites, you will never know anyone was there, except perhaps for the total lack of trash in comparison to the rest of the river. Well, this time around, one of the first things I noticed was fresh shovel marks in the bank near the gravel bar. There were no obvious spoil piles, but there were definite signs of someone digging the banks well above the water line. This tells me that “my spot” is no longer off the beaten path. Other hunters have also noticed the new gravel bar – and some of these hunters are illegally digging the banks and being obvious about it.

Yes, Over the years, I find it absolutely amazing that many (most ?) people leave neon signs to "mark" their favorite hunting spots. After 10 plus years, I can "read" discard piles, on the bank or in the water,  tell the approx age of the discard, and find amazing fossils left behind!!! I am pleased that they choose to help me.

I also attempt to leave as little behind as possible...

[PODIGGER]

I was on the river yesterday myself.  I made the choice to go upstream in the morning to have an easier return trip.  It was a hard pull, but at least I hadn't been digging and sifting for several hours first! When reading the start of your post about your arrival at the river and launch I thought I might have seen the same crew.  About two hours into my day of sifting I suddenly heard the approach of some rather loud and, I will say, obnoxious fellow human beings.   The first yell was an exclamation I won't repeat followed by "Did you see my beer????"  "Grab it, Grab it!"   Over the next several minutes three canoes from Canoe Outpost floated by with the gunwales barely above the water line.  They were loaded down with multiple coolers, what could have been fishing gear, and two very large males in each canoe.  The two guys in the last canoe were shirtless, and trust me they should have kept their clothes on!  This was well north of where you started out so I guess it was just one more vacation club crew!   I also had a relatively slow day with the sifter.  Best find of the day was another nicely colored bison M-3.  I really liked the near perfect vert you posted in the ID thread!

[Bone Daddy]

14 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Yes, Over the years, I find it absolutely amazing that many (most ?) people leave neon signs to "mark" their favorite hunting spots. After 10 plus years, I can "read" discard piles, on the bank or in the water,  tell the approx age of the discard, and find amazing fossils left behind!!! I am pleased that they choose to help me.

I also attempt to leave as little behind as possible...

 

I always do the same thing. I will look through a discard pile, just to make sure the previous hunter didn't miss something. Some hunters are pickier than others and some have a better eye than others. I find that many hunters (apparently) are only interested in BIG specimens or obvious stuff like meg teeth. I've found some interesting stuff in spoil piles that was overlooked or rejected.

I have mixed feelings when I see those piles. First thought is - oh crud, other hunters have been here. Second thought is - well, let's see if they missed anything.

 

 

[Bone Daddy]

12 hours ago, PODIGGER said:

I was on the river yesterday myself.  I made the choice to go upstream in the morning to have an easier return trip.  It was a hard pull, but at least I hadn't been digging and sifting for several hours first! When reading the start of your post about your arrival at the river and launch I thought I might have seen the same crew.  About two hours into my day of sifting I suddenly heard the approach of some rather loud and, I will say, obnoxious fellow human beings.   The first yell was an exclamation I won't repeat followed by "Did you see my beer????"  "Grab it, Grab it!"   Over the next several minutes three canoes from Canoe Outpost floated by with the gunwales barely above the water line.  They were loaded down with multiple coolers, what could have been fishing gear, and two very large males in each canoe.  The two guys in the last canoe were shirtless, and trust me they should have kept their clothes on!  This was well north of where you started out so I guess it was just one more vacation club crew!   I also had a relatively slow day with the sifter.  Best find of the day was another nicely colored bison M-3.  I really liked the near perfect vert you posted in the ID thread!

 

The folks I saw looked "preppy" and "churchy" - well dressed (too well dressed for the river), and seemingly well-behaved, other than their lack of ramp etiquette. It was a few older men, two or three younger couples, and two kids who looked to be teenagers and not exactly thrilled with the idea of being on the river. While waiting at the ramp and watching their parade of gear being loaded up, I didn't notice any shovels or sifters. To be fair, they seemed nice. They came floating past us a while later and we exchanged pleasantries. Other than them, we only saw one other person on the river - a lone fisherman in his small bassboat with an outboard.

 

[digit]

I recall one Saturday on the river which turned out to be some regional scouting event. Canoe Outpost said they had nearly all their 450 canoes in the water that day!!

 

Many of the kids (boys and girls) seemed to be experiencing their first ever time in canoes. You could hear them screaming (generally a combination of laughter and terror with lots of rapid switching between the two states) from around the bend in the river so you heard them long before you saw them. They would come in waves--like bomber squadrons. We'd often move off to the river bank or take a break for a drink and a snack when a huge swarm descended upon us but often we'd hold our ground where we were sifting but keep a steady eye on their approach. The errant canoes without a hope of steering in the desired direction would often approach us with embarrassed voices pleading, "Sorry, sorry--really sorry."  We'd tell them not to worry and we'd fend off the canoes with the ease of a matador (sans the cape). The kamikaze canoes that got close enough to us were usually "rewarded" with dugong rib bones or broken meg teeth for all occupants. Not the quietest day on the river we've ever experienced but a good day to give away lots of fossils and maybe pique a latent interest.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken