Planning Florida Peace River

[FLINTandBONE]

I went to the Peace river last may and had a great time and am planning another trip now. I had stated in another thread that I was going to come down in October but am now unable to. So now back to planning.

I have discussed it with my wife and we will come down for one week and I plan to be in the river every day, weather permitting. I will begin to purchase and assemble my gear (including kayak if I can swing it) and plan my locations and am purchasing several books on Florida fossils to help me with identification, locations, and techniques. To determine when to take my time off work and to order my tickets I have been attempting to find out when the best times are to fossil hunt the peace river. I know the rainy season is bad and that begins in early June if I am not mistaken and by the sounds of it ends in October. I plan on coming down after the holidays so that leaves January through May as the months that I will be able to come down and to my understanding will be good for fossiling.

I ask what are your recommendations on which month from January to May is the best and why. Thank you all in advance.

[DinoMike]

May is probably too late, water levels might be too high, depending on rainfall. Jan-Feb-early Mar is usually better.

[megaholic]

Jan/Feb can be brutally cold water and air temps. But, water is low and usually very clear. This past year the river stayed high for much of the normal low season, so consider it a gift if it happens for you! Make sure you get a permit! They show no mercy to out of state diggers...

[Sacha]

Every year can be very different. December, January, February, March and into April you will need a wetsuit. Odds are the river will be pretty low, but this is an El Nino year which suggests a wetter than average winter. Keep your eye on the Zolfo Springs gage and fly Southwest so you can change your flights without penalty.

Late April and all of May is my favorite time. River is very warm and at it's lowest (usually). Serious rains start the 2nd week in June. This year, it wasn't until the first week in July, but that's rare.

This coming year should be good. The river has been above flood stage for a week and rains are pretty steady.

[Shellseeker]

You can learn to track the water level by constantly checking the USGA gauge at Zolfo Springs

Look at this chart with the understanding that if the gauge is above 6 feet, you can not easily hunt fossils.

1) This was a VERY unusual year in that there was deep water in February and most of March. In all the years since 2009, the depth was well below 6 feet for ALL of February and March.

2) Note that the depth stayed under 6 feet until July this year

3) From late December until early March, it can be cold standing in water with a high wind chill EVEN if the Air temps are in the 70s. I have a 7 mm wet suit for those times.

Net -- plan your trip in March thru June and you will likley have no problems. You can hunt From November thru March if you are ready to deal with colder temps and higher (but not highest) water depths.

[JustPlainPetrified]

We have similar water flow tables/figures for Alberta rivers. The ones I watch are the Smoky River and Peace River in N. Alberta. Water depth is certainly an issue as it will cover the fossil bearing formations. Winter it is all frozen no wet suit will help. We'll head out later next month to extremely low levels so using a river jet boat might even be impossible.

[Shellseeker]

Wow.. Nice charts with low water levels begging for a hunting trip. Do you have a photo of one of those river jet boats?

[FLINTandBONE]

Jan/Feb can be brutally cold water and air temps. But, water is low and usually very clear. This past year the river stayed high for much of the normal low season, so consider it a gift if it happens for you! Make sure you get a permit! They show no mercy to out of state diggers...

I had one earlier when I went this year and will definitely renew it.

Every year can be very different. December, January, February, March and into April you will need a wetsuit. Odds are the river will be pretty low, but this is an El Nino year which suggests a wetter than average winter. Keep your eye on the Zolfo Springs gage and fly Southwest so you can change your flights without penalty.

Late April and all of May is my favorite time. River is very warm and at it's lowest (usually). Serious rains start the 2nd week in June. This year, it wasn't until the first week in July, but that's rare.

This coming year should be good. The river has been above flood stage for a week and rains are pretty steady.

I am considering March to April based on what you and Shellseeker have recommended. I am likely driving rather than flying this time so I can haul my gear and stop along the way maybe at the Hiddenite mine and Aurora. Since I will need water transportation I will need to get a kayak since I plan on going out 5 or more times. If I rent a kayak I will have paid over the price of buying one. I thank you again for allowing me to borrow yours when I was there.

You can learn to track the water level by constantly checking the USGA gauge at Zolfo Springs

Zolfo2015.jpg

Look at this chart with the understanding that if the gauge is above 6 feet, you can not easily hunt fossils.

1) This was a VERY unusual year in that there was deep water in February and most of March. In all the years since 2009, the depth was well below 6 feet for ALL of February and March.

2) Note that the depth stayed under 6 feet until July this year

3) From late December until early March, it can be cold standing in water with a high wind chill EVEN if the Air temps are in the 70s. I have a 7 mm wet suit for those times.

Net -- plan your trip in March thru June and you will likley have no problems. You can hunt From November thru March if you are ready to deal with colder temps and higher (but not highest) water depths.

Since I will be driving I may have a bit more leeway with changing my plans (depending on work) and am having a hard time waiting till Maarch/April.

I will keep this thread updated as I get closer to the trip and finalize my plans to make some plans with some of you.