Turtlepete
Well-Known Member
My knee and I are having an argument as to my activity level for the day, so the optimal thing to do seems to be to sit inside and post pictures.
I went to Rainbow River in central FL a few weeks ago. By far my favorite river I've been too. I've done Weeki Wachee and the current is too strong, and Chassahowitzka has poor visibility and just really isn't optimal for turtles. Rainbow River however is perfect. I've never seen more turtles on a river or more perfect conditions to catch them.
In the first 15 minutes on the river, me and my kayak buddy got super excited over a huge female cooter cruising by, and a little bit of miscommunication resulted in the both of us rolling off the kayak after her at the same time. Turtle got away, kayak flipped, all belongings went down the river, including my underwater camera into two feet of thick reeds (I was too thick-headed to strap the
thing in). So, 45 minutes of snorkeling against the current later, we managed to retrieve it, to realize the battery was about to die and there was no point in having brought it. Therefore, the absence of cool underwater footage….Next time...
So….Some turtles! The amount of Pseudemys on this river is staggering. We came up on close to 30 basking on various logs in close proximity once. Catching them is pretty easy, if you like chasing turtles. I caught a lot simply by jumping off the kayak 10 yards out, staying underwater the whole way in and masking my approach by staying behind logs. The turtles aren't quite so aware as you might imagine and if they don't see you coming are fairly easy to snatch off of a log from behind.
Fairly big turtles!
I have to say, these guys are by far my favorite sight. We found two 4-5 footers basking on the floating mats of vegetation. I was unfortunately unsuccessful in getting any in the water to have a swim with. They just high-tailed it toward the shore, and even I'm not stupid enough to approach one when its cornered and angry. The cool thing about the floating mats like this in the photo is they are held together by underwater logs and sunken trees, and you can swim right under them. It is quite dark under them however, and the gators give you something to think about...
Tons of pseudemys was a pretty easy prediction, and I was overjoyed to find gators but not particularly surprised. What I was surprised to find is these guys….
This big male loggerhead musk. Gorgeous turtle, and the first one I've ever found. They have the perfect habitat in some areas on the river. Sandy shore with plenty of roots to cling to that drops off sharply into the rocky and reedy areas they seem to prefer. We found this one and another smaller male within the same 50 feet of shoreline.
This guy was the cause of our kayak flipping, yet again, and the loss of my dear friends beloved hat. (RIP gopher tortoise baseball cap, you will be missed). Bit smaller juvenile but gorgeous none-the-less. Somehow my kayak buddy managed to spot him 7-8 feet under picking amongst the reeds when we were paddling back against the current. Lost him twice in a row before he popped up in front of me again. Somehow he was still sticking around after we managed to collect all of our belongings that were heading downstream.
I really think the springs in central FL are the gems of our state. I've been to the keys, air boating in the glades, Universal studios and all the tourist traps up there, but I don't think there is a single greater joy to be had or natural beauty to be seen than taking a kayak out onto the springs. Anyone who makes a visit to Florida should make a trip out there. You won't regret it.
I went to Rainbow River in central FL a few weeks ago. By far my favorite river I've been too. I've done Weeki Wachee and the current is too strong, and Chassahowitzka has poor visibility and just really isn't optimal for turtles. Rainbow River however is perfect. I've never seen more turtles on a river or more perfect conditions to catch them.
In the first 15 minutes on the river, me and my kayak buddy got super excited over a huge female cooter cruising by, and a little bit of miscommunication resulted in the both of us rolling off the kayak after her at the same time. Turtle got away, kayak flipped, all belongings went down the river, including my underwater camera into two feet of thick reeds (I was too thick-headed to strap the
So….Some turtles! The amount of Pseudemys on this river is staggering. We came up on close to 30 basking on various logs in close proximity once. Catching them is pretty easy, if you like chasing turtles. I caught a lot simply by jumping off the kayak 10 yards out, staying underwater the whole way in and masking my approach by staying behind logs. The turtles aren't quite so aware as you might imagine and if they don't see you coming are fairly easy to snatch off of a log from behind.
Fairly big turtles!
I have to say, these guys are by far my favorite sight. We found two 4-5 footers basking on the floating mats of vegetation. I was unfortunately unsuccessful in getting any in the water to have a swim with. They just high-tailed it toward the shore, and even I'm not stupid enough to approach one when its cornered and angry. The cool thing about the floating mats like this in the photo is they are held together by underwater logs and sunken trees, and you can swim right under them. It is quite dark under them however, and the gators give you something to think about...
Tons of pseudemys was a pretty easy prediction, and I was overjoyed to find gators but not particularly surprised. What I was surprised to find is these guys….
This big male loggerhead musk. Gorgeous turtle, and the first one I've ever found. They have the perfect habitat in some areas on the river. Sandy shore with plenty of roots to cling to that drops off sharply into the rocky and reedy areas they seem to prefer. We found this one and another smaller male within the same 50 feet of shoreline.
This guy was the cause of our kayak flipping, yet again, and the loss of my dear friends beloved hat. (RIP gopher tortoise baseball cap, you will be missed). Bit smaller juvenile but gorgeous none-the-less. Somehow my kayak buddy managed to spot him 7-8 feet under picking amongst the reeds when we were paddling back against the current. Lost him twice in a row before he popped up in front of me again. Somehow he was still sticking around after we managed to collect all of our belongings that were heading downstream.
I really think the springs in central FL are the gems of our state. I've been to the keys, air boating in the glades, Universal studios and all the tourist traps up there, but I don't think there is a single greater joy to be had or natural beauty to be seen than taking a kayak out onto the springs. Anyone who makes a visit to Florida should make a trip out there. You won't regret it.
