A Whiting for Whitey

Brother Don and I drove up to Jefferson county last Friday to the little town of Wacissa. One of Florida's most beautiful and unspoiled rivers starts one mile from the town's center. This was one river we had never explored.
The Wacissa River is spring fed and runs about 10 miles, where it flows into the Aucilla River. The Aucilla runs all the way down to the Gulf. There are literally hundreds of small springs that run into the Wacissa from just beyond its banks on either side and add to the downriver flow.
Don and I put our 14-foot boat in at the headwaters boat ramp and motored down approximately one mile where a small opening on the east bank allowed us to enter a spring run. We putted in 1/4 mile, where the forest opened up to reveal a beautiful spring pool about 60 feet across the top and easily 50 feet deep. Absolutely crystal clear.
The springs in Levy county are 70° -72° F year round. A few degrees latitude north in Jefferson County the water temperature is a little cooler. Bracing is a better description. It was so inviting I just had to jump right in. No wetsuit. Mask, fins, and snorkel only. Oh yes, I had a little bathing suit on as well.
It looked prehistoric back up in there. You could just sense the Native Americans there a few hundred years before. Plenty of animals and fish to eat and fresh water to drink.

We flipped and flopped for a couple of hours and then headed back up river to the headwaters boat ramp. I had to get back to Cedar Key for a fishing trip the next day.
I shoved off Saturday at 9 a.m. with 5 fishing guests aboard. You could feel the stiff breeze at the protected dock. As soon as we left the marina the full force of the wind hit us. There were white caps as far as you could see.
I thought we might anchor on the lee side of some of the keys and not suffer too much wind. We could manage alright behind Seahorse Key and started fishing one favorite spot. Grass and oysters and sand. 3 to 4 feet of water.
The youngest member of the group, Bubba, caught one whiting. I was hoping for a redfish or some trout. We headed for deeper water. Traveling across the flats was not too bad.
As soon as we entered the shipping channel the waves got bigger and harder and the pontoon started rockin`. We took a wave over the bow and everyone's feet got wet. I was hoping that would be the worst of it when a swell smacked the Port bow quarter and threw a spray over the whole boat.
We were all wet but anchored up off the east side of the channel. Water was deeper on the edge of the ledge and we caught one whiting after another. We rocked around there for a while then moved over to Snake Key and rocked and rolled there too. More whiting and two plump silver trout. We bumped around to a few more spots and caught more whiting. Ended up with 20 of em`.

The best thing about this trip is we fought the elements and won. A lot of fresh fish to eat and one for Whitey (my cat).
Next trip I hope the weather cooperates a little better for us. I`ll go so long as it's not a hurricane. Questions? E-mail me....shanadan50@hotmail.com.Get out and enjoy some of the real Florida...............Capt. Dan

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