Suggestions? Peace River Florida fossil hunting south of Zolfo springs

[Jasons_fossils]

I want to go back to Peace River but I don't want to do the normal canoe outpost thing this time. I want to take a kayak south of Zolfo springs were the river gets bendy, shallow, and remote. I don't have a kayak so I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for where I can rent one or if they want a hunting buddy for the second week of May.

[Shellseeker]

1 hour ago, Jasons_fossils said:

I want to go back to Peace River but I don't want to do the normal canoe outpost thing this time. I want to take a kayak south of Zolfo springs were the river gets bendy, shallow, and remote. I don't have a kayak so I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for where I can rent one or if they want a hunting buddy for the second week of May.

Jason,

I wrote an article for my Fossil Club Newsletter in November of 2012,  about a kayak trip I took from Zolfo Springs to Gardner the previous month.  You can read the article here starting on page #5.

http://www.fcolc.com/newsletters/news1112.pdf

 

I went in November when the Peace River is much deeper than it is now.  You may have problems with low water spots where you have to walk your Kayak across sand bars.  Because it is remote, there were lots of alligators and some of them were very large, longer than my Kayak.

It is 25 miles by River from Zolfo Springs to the Gardner boat ramp. My friend and I had to paddle as hard as we could going downstream to reach Gardner by Sundown.

 

I would not recommend this as a day trip this time of year to anyone.

[Jasons_fossils]

3 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Jason,

I wrote an article for my Fossil Club Newsletter in November of 2012,  about a kayak trip I took from Zolfo Springs to Gardner the previous month.  You can read the article here starting on page #5.

http://www.fcolc.com/newsletters/news1112.pdf

 

I went in November when the Peace River is much deeper than it is now.  You may have problems with low water spots where you have to walk your Kayak across sand bars.  Because it is remote, there were lots of alligators and some of them were very large, longer than my Kayak.

It is 25 miles by River from Zolfo Springs to the Gardner boat ramp. My friend and I had to paddle as hard as we could going downstream to reach Gardner by Sundown.

 

I would not recommend this as a day trip this time of year to anyone.

Thank you for the advice! My plan was to kayak maybe a mile or two down, just to where the river starts to get windy, where I hope the fossils are good, and then paddle back up stream to Zolfo. Definitely not a fan of massive gators though!

[Harry Pristis]

1 hour ago, Jasons_fossils said:

Thank you for the advice! My plan was to kayak maybe a mile or two down, just to where the river starts to get windy, where I hope the fossils are good, and then paddle back up stream to Zolfo. Definitely not a fan of massive gators though!

 

Do be cautious!  Many old time collectors, like me, never carried a sharp knife to fend off 'gators.  We carried a 'gator stick' -- a baton about 18" long tethered to a wrist with a thin cord lanyard.  I personally used an old police baton made of hardwood.

 

The idea was when a 'gator bit your upper arm or shoulder (they like to go for your head), you just stick the baton down the 'gator's throat to make it let go.  The baton breaks the watertight seal of the glottis, and the 'gator has to interrupt his business in order to cough up the leaked riverwater.  Works every time!

 

 If the 'gator has hold of your baton arm, you have to be able to break the lanyard to employ the baton with your other hand.  I have always favored keeping my baton arm on the away-side of any aggressive 'gator I can see.  I have always come out on top in every 'gator encounter.

 

If the 'gator has hold of your head and begins a death-roll, keep your arms and legs tight to your body to go with the roll.  Then, working by feel, you can get the baton into the 'gator's throat.  This head-hold is a best case scenario for the 'gator, but a worst case scenario for the collector who may wind up with tooth punctures on the head.  That's why I always wore a miner's hard hat when I used mask and snorkel to survey the bottom.  No scars on my visage!

 

Old time collectors applied Vaseline to the end of their batons to ease the way through the 'gator gums and past the 'gator glottis.  Every old timer had his own jar of Vaseline because the baton had to be re-treated from time to time after contact with trousers or with the sand of the riverbottom.

 

Now, if you think I made up this story, look around you at the next fossil show in Florida.  Do you see any old time collectors who are missing limbs or who have puncture scars on their heads?  No!  You know that I wouldn't kid you.

[Bone Daddy]

I've never felt threatened by a gator, but I also don't dive. Most of them are leery of humans and the threat they represent is overrated. Exercising common sense and good situational awareness is sufficient in the vast majority of scenarios. Just my two cents, actual worth may vary.

 

FWIW, we just had a major rain event that is ongoing. The river has jumped almost two feet and is still rising. In all likelihood, the rest of fossil season is a wash. The river will probably too high and too fast for safe or meaningful hunting by the middle of this week. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Bone Daddy

[Chaska Aumakuac]

Hey Jason. Did you ever end up exploring that stretch of the river? I’m considering paddling that same area