itiming wrote:
Pollo de muerte wrote:
Thanks for the reply.
Hopefully we can meet up in CK. My wife and I actually live in Orlando and CK is our weekend getaway. Unfortunately, she had foot surgery last week and our place on CK has lots of stairs. There's a chance we'll be there during your stay and if so, I'd love to meet up.
Is this your first in there? If so and you want some pointers/suggestions, let me know and I'd be happy to share.
We are in CK now for at least 7 days, perhaps a few longer.
As you see in other posts there is a definate 'advantage' to adding power, while under sail. In the shallow gulf waters--esp, in tight channels with wind/current against one's headway; power from the mirage drive(s), or motor makes it doable to make progress close to the wind. I've not sailed an outback; but we do sail both our Pro Anglers. The Tandem Is sails much faster/closer to the wind than the solo hull. As others have already noted, the motor adds a lot to our range -- which is a main reason, we use the TI the most.
Always interested in learning from someone more experienced with CK. We are at Shell Mound now and will be fishing in that area for the next few days.
Best wishes for a quick recovery and hope you two can make it to CK. My wife and I alway make sure to stop here when we get to FL.
Sounds like you have some experience in CK, but here's my basic mirage drive kayak info dump:
First and foremost, tides matter in CK. We get more tidal variation than many places in Fla and the oyster beds and general shallowness can ruin your day in the areas around town and even out around the barrier islands. Check the local weather station (
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stati ... id=8727520) and try to head out when the tide is coming in and up to 1.5 feet above mean low tide. You can still get to the main city boat ramp at a low tide, but if shore launching (across from Faraway for example), then this advice will really matter. Also, this advice is critical for taking a mirage drive yak in the backwater.
The Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges website indicates that there is an open house on Seahorse Key on March 13. I'd call the local NWR office if you are interested (352/493-0238) because it is unusual for them to allow anyone to approach Seahorse this time of year, but it may be an indication that the nesting birds have completely abandoned Seahorse and moved to nearby Snake Key so they are loosening the restrictions on Seahorse. In any event, there's a really nice beach on the far gulf side of Seahorse and it's a nice little kayak trip (about 10 miles).
The other reason to call the local NWR office is to see if they have increased the protection zone around Snake Key. My favorite trip (based on the number of times I've done it) is to poke around Atsena Otie and head out to Snake and then hang out in the lagoon:
As I mentioned above, the rookery may have moved from Seahorse to Snake, so they may have moved the extra protections (i.e., can't approach within 100 yards) to Snake. The NWR website has not been updated in years, so I'd call to verify before approaching either Snake or Seahorse.
North Key has no special protections (just don't go inland) and also has a really nice beach in a semi-protected cove:
You'd be looking to hang out in the southern part of the cove. A couple of pointers: (1) there is a small island called Deadman's Key in between Seahorse and North that is not on the image that is mostly surrounded by oyster beds and not worth approaching (2) stick near the marked channel as there are a number of sneaky oyster beds out there (after going around the northern part of the island, I felt my way around one of those halfway between North and CK because I wanted to get a better look at the local flock of white pelicans).
Let me know if you have any specific questions. CK is a paddler's paradise. Enjoy your time there and I'll PM you if I can get out there next weekend.
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