Rainbow Springs SP (Feb 19-Mar 4)

Thursday - It was a good trip here, despite some very windy conditions on the way. We got in and set up on site 22 then went to the Front Porch Restsurant for dinner. We both had fried chicken which was excellent. We then stopped by Mike and Christina's to visit them and also met friends of theirs Susan and Charlie. They also enjoy fishing, so we had fun talking about our experiences with them. We are bracing for temperatures that are expected to get down into the 20s tonight. We are hoping there will not be anything frozen in the morning. We haven't seen temperatures that low for a very long time.

Friday - We have wanted to check out Crystal River Archaeologica State Park and Wildlife Refuge for a long time but just never got around to it. What a great area. There are places to launch kayaks, hike, and fish from shore.on the way back we stopped at Swampy's restaurant for dinner.

Saturday - We attended an open house at Three Sisters Springs for the new Boardwalk, and were treated to hundreds of manatees. We got there very early to avoid crowds.

Sunday - It was a nice service at Dunnellon UMC, with an outstanding message. 

Monday - We drove to Crystal River and launched at Hunter Park. Fishing started slow, and all we were able to get into were ladyfish and small mangrove snapper. It was beautiful out on the water and we saw a lot of birds, including osprey and brown pelican. On the way back we stopped for dinner at Swampys.

Tuesday - It rained off and on all day, so we made a Walmart run and got some things done here.

Wednesday - It rained some more off and on today, but we went out to Yankeetown anyway and fished a little from the bank. There were only a few people there and no one was catching anything. We quit after several minutes with no hits. We then checked out below the spillway and John used a flyrod then a Tenkara from the bank with no success. Next, we went over to the bypass park and again John tried the Tenkara, but this time caught several bream and tilapia. Finally, we stopped at Lombardo's for pizza, which was very good. 

Thursday - We drove to Crystal River and visited new friends Ed and Priscilla at their vacation home on a channel that feeds into the river. We had wanted to do a fishing trip, but the weather wouldn't cooperate. Instead, they drove us around to some of their favorite places to fish and then took us out for dinner at Charlie's Seafood. We had a great time with them and got to know them better. 

Friday - We met several of our northern kayak friends at Inglis Spillway and after setting up a shuttle to the Isaac Walton Lodge where we would end up for lunch, we put in and paddled down river. It was quite cool, but comfortable, and a very beautiful paddle. John saw many tilapia splashing on the way, but he was not fishing today. We had a very nice lunch at the lodge. 

Saturday - Today was the annual reunion in the Villages with folks from the area in Vermont where Joan grew up. We have been going to this for the last ten years. It is always great to see everyone. This year we met at Golden Corral in a private room. There were also several there who graduated H.S. With Joan. Afterwards, we went over to Julie's and Barry's home along with Judy and Laurel and visited in the afternoon. John usually fishes their pond but got rained out today. In the evening Mike and Christina brought his mother and her sister over to see the campground and our motorhome. We had a nice visit. 

Sunday - After attending another really nice service at Dunnellon UMC, we drove over to Rockcrusher Canyon RV park in Crystal River. We have always wanted to check that one out. The place is huge with over 900 campsites, but is well shaded, with a lot of trees around, and the sites are not on top of one another like so many RV parks we see. We drove together in Joe's truck to The Freezer Tiki Bar on the water in Homassasa. The place was really packed, and we had to wait in long line, but the food was great and you got a lot for the price. It was great to visit with Joe and Debbie, a fun, very active couple, we met at Trackrock several years ago.

Monday - We (mostly Joan) got some laundry done, then put in on the Rainbow River at the park by the 484 bridge. We paddled up river, then into a back area and fished with Tenkara and cane pole. The Tenkara had a chartreuse nymph and a small chunk of Gulp worm and the cane pole had a watermelon colored small plastic worm. The Tenkara proved to be the most effective, catching three small bream and stumpknockers (spotted sunfish). The cane pole struck out. We had a beautiful paddle and followed it with the fish we didn't catch sandwiches at Swampy's. It got into the low 80s, which felt great. 

Tuesday - We had great plans to head out early and put in at Ft. Island Trail Park, but when we got up it was very foggy. We waited to see if the fog would lift, but it looked like we would be socked in for awhile. We decided to inact plan B and put the wheels under our kayaks and walk them down to the launch here. We only got to fish a short while here before the fog lifted and the sun came out. We have come to the conclusion that we need to fish the first and last hours on this super clear river in order to be successful. We managed to catch a few stumpknockers (spotted sunfish) and one small bass.  

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