Looking for access points

[Piratelife]

Hey everyone, I’m new to the forum and to Florida and was looking for some ideas as to where I can go fossil hunting. I have an inflatable raft with a trolling motor and was really wanting to go off the beaten path. I’ve been to the peace river campground and the boat ramp just around the corner from there but would really like to explore other areas like Joshua creek but don’t know where is a good place to park

pic is from a few years ago when I went diving in Venice beach

 

[digit]

You can use Google Maps to look for places where roads cross over the Peace River. There are often access points with a small space where you can pull off the road to launch a boat. Several members here have their favorite sections of the river but spend a lot of time prospecting different areas as the water level rises and falls. I'd suggest making yourself a gravel probe. I described the one that I use which is made of a fiberglass rod and a handle made of PVC tubing parts:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/42992-end-of-year-peace-river-trip/&tab=comments#comment-467550

 

Nobody is going to give up the locations of their currently producing honey holes but access points are no closely guarded secret. Besides the boat ramp at Brownville Park there is the Zolfo Springs Boat Ramp and two other places the Peace heads under roads nearby. The river crosses under Main St east of Wauchula and again under Heard Bridge Rd. You'd do best to avoid the area around Paynes Creek Historic State Park as fossil hunting in state parks is not legal. Further south on the river you have a Nocatee boat ramp. I'd avoid going much further downriver as the Peace widens into Gasparilla Sound/Charlotte Harbor. The water is wider, deeper and more frequented by airboats which are not your friend when you are in a kayak/canoe/raft.

 

Pick an access point and travel up or down the river. Stop in any areas that don't look too deep and get out to probe around for the crunchy sound of gravel buried in the sand. There are many lag deposits where gravel accumulates and these are good spots to hunt for fossils. General rule of thumb is to try to get as far away from access points as possible. If you've got a little electric trolling motor that can be useful to put more distance between your hunting areas and the access points. If you probe around and get nothing but sand then continue on to other areas for prospecting. If you get gravel but it is not producing anything noteworthy consider digging a bit deeper to see if you can go beyond where others might have dug. If you come up empty (not even tiny shark teeth) keep moving. You'll find some nice spots with a bit of time and effort. Don't forget to bring a GPS or use a GPS tracking app on your smart phone so you can make notes of the places you've checked (and the spots you want to return to later).

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[digit]

And keep in mind that most of Joshua Creek (while tempting) is not really a navigable waterway and so it is not covered by your Florida Vertebrate Fossil Permit (which you should have).

 

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/amateur-collector/fossil-permit/

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[freerangetraveler]

In addition to Google Earth, I also use an app called OnX Hunt…  It’s really geared toward hunting (hence the name) but it will tell you if the land/access point you are interested in is public or privately owned.  
 

If you pay for the premium app it will also give you the individual’s name or business that owns the property (which is helpful if you are seeking permission to access waterways on private land).

 

Works great for me down here in Texas!  Hope this helps!