Trout Creek

Nov. 26 The Hillsborough River revisited and a trip down Trout Creek

 This was my first river repeat because when I go paddling with someone the first time, the Hillsborough is my favorite. If you don't get hooked on kayaking when you visit the Hillsborough, there is no hope for you. As I was putting photos on Facebook from my Ocala trip, Ken Floyd, a friend from church asked me if I was going to kayak on Saturday. And just like that, we planned a trip. It's close, it's wild, so let's do it!
 We got to the kayak launch at Trout Creek Park around 8am or so. It was a little chilly but the weather would be perfect. I now consider the Trout Creek to Morris Bridge Park paddle to be the most scenic I have paddled on this river, especially the remote narrow winding part from Nature's classroom to Morris Bridge. If you look at this route on Google maps, you don't even see the river. Just green. Starting out from Trout Creek Park, the river is wide and covered with a thin layer of green pollen or fine duckweed. We passed the wooded entrance into Trout Creek, but I would save that for later as I wanted to give the alligators a chance to sleep in and visit it later when the sun was higher and the chances to see more gaors was greater. There is an alligator of legend that lives in Trout Creek: some say that a 13 foot behemoth resides there and is very elusive. My goal is to photograph or video this monster.

 We passed Nature's classroom which is part of Hillsborough county's school system: it educates grade school kids about wildlife on the river. It is known by a beach occupied by many vultures. Across from the beach are hundreds of these large, gangly scavengers in the trees. After passing by the beach, we enter the thick canopy of the "dark forest" as I like to call it. It is a beautiful and primal area. The water was low on this day and very clear and light amber colored. I immediately spotted a very large bass sliding under some hyacinth cover in the shallows. Up ahead, I spotted what appeared tobe a very large fish moving slowly towards the bank of the river. It was a 3 foot alligator skittering away from me on the sandy bottom. Up further ahead, I spotted what looked to be a huge log bobbing up and down near the center of the river, until I saw it moving towards the far bank, disappearing in the dark water.

Nature's classroom

 We stopped for a few minutes for a break, and marvelled at the beauty around us. It never ceases to amaze me how remote this place looks when, just minutes before, we were battling Tampa traffic.

We continued on, fighting a mild current upstream and going at a very slow and relaxed pace. After a couple of hours, we neared the park and I spotted our first decent sized alligator of the day, sunning itself on a high bank above the river, opposite us. I took a couple of photos and missed a video op as it exploded off the bank and crashed into the water below, seemingly towards us.

We stopped and had a small lunch break at Morris Bridge Park which had a few paddlers leaving towards Sargeant Park.
 After resuming, I continued just past the bridge to see if I could spot my old friend, Tyrone, an enormous 12 foot alligator that used to live in that vicinity. I haven't seen him in a couple of years and I am afraid he's gone for good. I remarked to Ken, that I haven't seen a really big alligator on this stretch of the river for a couple of years. I believe these big bulls have been taken, as visitors to the river increase. 4 or 5 years ago, I used to see some real beasts on this river. Circle of life.
 Not too far down river, I spotted a large banded water snake sunning itself on a logjam in the middle of the river, so I paddled up close to it for a few photos and he obliged. Many times, these big non venomous snakes are mistaken for the potentially lethal water moccasins, the venomous pit vipers with the huge blocky heads. I have seen only one of these vipers this year, on the weeki wachee river.

Banded water snake

 Cruising with the current we relaxed even more and took in the peaceful scenery around us. The number of reptiles dramatically increased as the sun was now higher in the sky; the alligators appear on the banks to warm their scutes. I really enjoy this section of the river for its many obstacles to maneuver around. It hones your paddling skills and really teaches you how to read the water ahead to avoid hang ups. We passed "Samantha's point", where my daughter Sam threatened to tip the canoe at the sight of one of the biggest alligators I've seen on the Hillsborough. Today, it appears to be a gator nursery as we passed 4 babies on a log. I've seen both parents, so we give them a wide berth.

 As we got closer to Nature's classroom, which signals our departure from the "dark forest", I spied several large bass in the shallow, clear water. This would be a great place to return and bass fish. As Ken returned to the kayak launch to stretch, I slipped down dark and mysterious Trout Creek, in hopes of catching Godzilla basking on a sunny bank. Once entering the creek, the scenery changes and the banks get a lot higher. The water was covered in that same fine green pollen. The water was dark and swirls appeared in front of me. I have read many accounts of VERY large alligators inhabiting this place and sliding down the steep banks in front of innocent kayakers. As I rounded a turn, I headed down a long straight passageway and came face to face with the Trout Creek monster. Only, the monster was about 200 yards ahead of me on a sunny bank and had begun to move into the water; I would not get close enough to get a photo. I picked up my pace as the beast slowly slid into the dark water. By the time I got to camera range, there were no more ripples. I turned around and went down another channel. I looked ahead and spied a large, what looked like a large boulder in the water. It suddenly moved and dipped underneath the water. The giants were here, they just weren't camera friendly.

Trout Creek monster site

 Another fine trip down the Hillsborough and foray into the mysterious Trout Creek, which always makes my heart beat faster. Perhaps, one day, I will meet the monsters that elude me on this part of the great river.