Gilchrist Blue Springs and Jonathan Springs Near High Falls Florida

 

Location -  Gilchrist Blue Springs and Run, & Jonathan Springs

Date - January 26th and 27th 2023

This trip was a bucket list trip for me as it really accomplished 2 things(or hoped to) which was to catch a Suwannee Bass and the other was to see several Springs in this area.   Both were accomplished. 

This is the area where I fished on the second day but one side adventure of this Trip was canoeing up Gilchrist Blue Springs Run to the Spring which was magnificiant. This spring is located in Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park and I  was the only person there.  The Spring and run are off limits to fishing.

What an awesome spring but the run(creek) to the river was maybe 1/4 to 1/3 mile long and it was awesome as well.   You can see a Suwannee Bass Swimming with 2 Largemouths if you pay attention.   

I Launched at Rum Island Springs County Park which is a very nice county Park which has Rum Island Spring as a swimming hole. It can be seen right on the river.

We Put in at the ramp  (Blue Circle) paddled down past Rum Spring and entered Gilchrist Blue Springs Run (Red Circle) and then paddled up to Gilchrist Blue Springs.(Green Circle)

Click on the Picture to see all of it

Here is the Video of that short but awesome paddle adventure.

I then went upstream to Jonathan Spring and this little Spring was pretty awesome to be a small one.

Even though Google Maps shows Jonathan Spring as a Blue Balloon that is not where it is at. The red arrow marks the outlet of it and the spring is only like 20 yards up .   The Yellow Circle is where a very small spring bubbles up into the river. 

Click on the Picture to see all of it.

Video on Jonathan Spring 

Video of the 2 days fishing on the Sante Fe River. The 1st day we put in at the High Falls Ramp and the second day we put in at the  Rum Island ramp.  Both fishing days are on this video. 

#suwanneebass

#gilchristbluesprings

#genniesprings

#jonathonspring

Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park 

#floridasprings

    Quest for the Bartram's Bass

My first quest for one of the redeye species would be the Bartram's Bass found in the Savannaha Drainage and also in the upper Saluda(probably stocked) drainage near Ware Shoals. 

The best place for me to catch a Bartrams would be  the Chatooga river, The Chauga River or The South Fork of the Broad River.
I chose the Chauga River for my first attempt at them.

This video is from 4 years ago but is  on my quest for the first of the seven Redeye Bass subspecies.  

 Now this fish(Bartrams) is found in North Carolina but where it is found in NC is Very very hard to reach in the Gorges State Park.  The Closest and easiest place for me to get one would be on the Chauga River in South Carolina.   

I gave my wife an ultralite rod and a green beetle spin to catch bream , Bartram's etc on and she showed me up with it catching the biggest one.   I got most of mine of the F7 Rapala. 

Here are some pictures of the Bartram's Bass my wife and I caught. I caught several Like this one.

And of course my Wife caught the biggest....uggh. 

Here is My YouTube video of the Bartram's bass and then the range map. 

A Great Read on Redeye Bass Fishing - https://amzn.to/3KBdMXF

Thanks for watching and reading. Mack

#bartramsbass

#coosabass

#redeyebass

#bassfishing

I Caught my 1st Coosa Bass !!! AKA Redeye Bass

My First Coosa Bass AKA Redeye Bass !!!

041122 Polk County Georgia

***see video at the bottom***

I will admit that I have somewhat of an Obsession with oddball fish.   Roanoke Bass, Shoal bass etc.  One of my goals or "bucket list" things I would like to accomplish is to catch the Bass Slam.   Now there are several variations of this as Georgia has its own Bass Slam but mine would be to catch all the subspecies of Bass.    Now, I know that I will probably never accomplish this because of time, money, family,work  etc but it is something to strive for. 

Here is what I have caught so far .

Northern largemouth-  Easy for me they are all over here

Florida largemouth- Fairy easy, I go to Florida some and there are a few lakes north of me with them.

Smallmouthbass- Easy for me, I just have to go North or west 1 hr plus of where I live.

Alabama Spotted Bass-  fairly easy for me as they are in a few rivers near me. 

Kentucky Spotted Bass -  Easy for me as they are in the Cape Fear drainage just south of me. 

Shoal bass-  Fairly hard as it is a 6 plus hour ride min for me to get to them

Bartrams bass-  Moderate as I can get to them in just under 4 hours.

Now there are 7 variations/subspecies of the "Redeye bass" and I hope to get all of them as well.

Right now I have caught 2 of them,  the Bartrams and the Redeye

There is a a least one Blog post here on all the above sub species.  look on the side bar of my main page to see the subtitles. 

The last subspecies that I have caught is the Coosa Bass found in the Coosa/Etowah Drainage in Alabama and Georgia, This is/was a 7hr ride for me.   April the 11th 2022 I made it happen and here is the video and some pictures.

I caught 3 on this day but my goal was to catch 1 so I succeeded. 

Here is the area I fished 

My first Coosa Bass

My second one which had better colors.

Then My third Coosa Bass which by all accounts is a true Monster for the species. 

You can see how fat she is 

A cool little  dam on Euharlee Creek

These Coosa Bass will hit anything a Largemouth/Smallmouth will hit but it is best to downsize for them as they are rarely over 12 inches.  I spoke to well known Bioligist that has studied them and every one of the seven subspecies of Redeye they have found over 13-14 inches is a Hybid and not a pure fish.  I had my best luck using the F7 Rapala Original Floating Minnow. 

Get the Rapala F7 Minnow here - https://amzn.to/3iy7oED

Be sure to watch my Youtube Adventure catching some Coosa Bass

My next quest is either the Chatahoochee Bass or the Suwannee Bass.

I hope everyone who read this learned something and please leave comments here and on Youtube and please dont forget to subscribe to this blog and my YT channel to get notifications.

***also is you have access to catch one of the odd ball species I would luv to join you on a trip one day. 

A great read on Redeye Bass Fishing.  Geared for the flyfisherman it is still a great read for the Spin fisherman.

Fly Fishing For Redeye Bass  - https://amzn.to/3KBdMXF

#coosabass

#redeyebass

#bassfishing

#monsterbass

#eurharleecreek

Got a Call from the Wildlife Commission !!! The NCWRC Called me about the Spotted / Alabama Bass Invasion.

                                    The Spotted Bass Invasion

*****see bottom of this article for my Youtube videos on Spotted Bass *******

 I have caught Spotted bass in  Several NC rivers for years.   Mainly the Cape  Fear river  system where the NCWRC stocked  Kentucky Spotted bass from 1977 to 1981.   They stocked 310,000~ in Advents Creek, Parkers Creek, and the Upper and lower Little Rivers.    These stockings were made due to some creel surveys made in the late 60's where they found that these streams lacked a high level sportfish.   

These fish stocked in these 4 tributaries of the Cape Fear river eventually made their way to the Cape fear and populated it.  I started fishing the Cape fear around 1990 or so and my catch of Black bass was 90 percent Largemouth and 10 percent spots.    10 years later and this had reversed!!!   90 percent spotted bass to 10 percent Spotted Bass.   They had taken over!!!

Cape Fear Kentucky Spotted Bass

The Yadkin River / Kerr Scott Reservoir was also stocked sometime later probably in the 80's ad I have caught them there as well.   Some say Kentucky's were stocked first but now Alabama Bass are in there as well.  I have caught several every time I have Smallmouth fished the Yadkin. 

Yadkin Spotted Bass

Then the Catawba System got Alabama Spotted Bass(now known as the Alabama Bass) and they have taken over there as well.

I think the next system to get then was the Roanoke river system as Belews Lake has them and the Dan and Staunton Rivers have a few.    Where they have really taken off is downstream on Lake Gaston .     Now, I don't fish Lakes much as I am a river fisherman and maybe 3 or 4 years ago I caught my first Spotted Bass in the Roanoke  near Weldon .  This was a slight shock to me but I guess it was expected sometime. 

This is the first Spotted Bass I caught in the Roanoke a few years Back  2020 or so.

Fast forward to this year(2021) and I caught a 4 lb Alabama Bass in the Tar river.  A river I fish a lot and had never caught one there before.   Then on a later trip caught several in the 3 lb range and mentioned this on the Face Book page called the THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY BLACK BASS CONVERSATION COMMITTEE   seen here at The American Fisheries Society Black Bass Conversation Committee    This page is run by some Biologists and Fisheries Scientist and I know one of them named Steve Sammons.  They are dedicated to trying to preserve genetic stocks of  bass as spotted bass are being relocated to waters where they are taking over and hybridizing with Shoal Bass in the Flint/Chattahoochee drainage and Smallmouth bass in others wiping them out and outcompeting and hybridizing with Largemouths.   They are also hybridizing with others.   When he saw my post about Spotted bass in a new water he contacted me as he had already contacted the NCWRC  and they wanted to find out where this new water was. Steve gave them my contact info and Kurt Rundle a Biologist with the NCWRC called me and asked where I caught them.  I informed him on the location and he confirmed that these were the first reported from that area.  The NCWRC has done shocking every year including this year in this area and these are/were the first.

The first one which is a BIG Spot probably going 4 lbs.  . 

So, what's the Big deal with Spotted bass in a New location?   As mentioned,   they are invasive and hybridize with other Black Basses and can wipe them out in some instances.  Most rivers where they are non native they have outcompeted the other Native Basses  and taken over.   Lake Chatuge is one example in NC where they have wiped out the Smallmouth bass.

Maps courtesy of USGS.GOV showing the spread on Alabama Bass.

 

They have started to have and impact on the Flint River Shoal Bass in Georgia where  I met Steve at.

Here are some Flint River Spots .  I have a  blog post on this trip where I caught my first Shoal Bass which can be seen here Shoal Bass Blog Post 

Here is an Alabama bass I caught on 082022 in Downtown Columbus Ga.   These are not native to the Chatahoochee River .

Here is my YouTube video explaining the the Spotted Bass Invasion. 

Another you tube video where I catch the 4 lb spot and an 8lb Largmouth !!

So, what can we do?   Well probably nothing where there already are but the one thing we can do is to not transport them to other lakes/rivers and let our fellow fishermen know this as that is how they are spreading. 

#invasivespottedbass

#spottedbass

#spottedbassnorthcarolina

                   #northcarolinaspottedbass 

#creekfishing

#riverfishing

#fishing

#bassfishing

#northcarolina

#jonb

#1rod1reel

#googansquad

 

Bass Slam Quest - My Quest for the Bass Slam featuring Bartrams, Coosa, Suwannee and Shoal bass

Bass Slam Quest  

The above Chart was evidently done before the Cahaba, and Warrior were declared seperate.

I have had a long desire to catch all of the Black Bass subspecies.  The species are Northern Largemouth, Florida Bass,  Smallmouth, Northern Spotted, Alabama bass, Suwanee, Guadalupe,  Shoal Bass, Choctaw  and the 7 Redeye species which are   The Coosa Redeye, The Bartram's, Chattahoochee,  Altamahaw, Warrior, Cahaba,  and Tallapoosa Bass .   

So far (Feb 2023) I have caught Northern Largemouth, Florida Largemouth, Smallmouth,  Northern Spotted, Alabama Spot, Suwannee, Shoal bass, Coosa and the Bartrams. 

This article will be updated peridiocally as I catch more or add to it. 

Bartram's Bass

 May 2017  I made a trip to South Carolina to get the Bartram's Bass off of this bucket list.   I would of been happy with any size and the first 2 I caught were only 5-6 inches and the next two were 11-12 inches.   I have included my You Tube video of this and just to let you know my wife caught the Biggest. OUCH! it may have been 13 inches but a 13 inch Bartram's is a good one.   It was a nice day on a wonderful river.   The redbreast has some of the strangest color markings I have seen with the red/yellow breast going all the way to the tail.   It was a wonderful trip.

Bartram's Bass from the Chauga River in South Carolina

I caught this one and several like it

My Wife of Course caught the biggest. 

Watch My Bartram's Video here

Shoal Bass

I caught My Shoalie ( Shoal bass ) in May of 2012.  this was a fun trip made with some good friends.

We camped on the Flint River near Thomaston Ga and I caught several Shoalies.   

You can view my blog post here on that camping trip and my Quest for a Shoal Bass here  

Blog Post on My Shoal Bass Trip

Coosa Bass  

April of 2022 I decided to try and get the Coosa bass off of my bucket list.

This Brought me to Rockmart Ga where I fished Eurhalee Creek ( A Tributary of the Etowah River) and while the fishing was tough I did manage 3 with 1 being a very nice one..  This is as big as they get.

Check out the Colors on this one
                                                       

See my Blog Post on the Coosa Adventure Quest https://mackinncblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/i-caught-my-1st-coosa-bass-aka-redeye.html

See my You Tube video on Catching the coosa Bass

Suwannee Bass

January of 2023 I decided to go after the Suwanne Bass.  The Sante Fe River near High Springs would be the area I was going to fish.   I camped at Ginnie Springs and fished upriver day 1 and down river day 2 .  I only caught 1 Suwannee Bass but thats all I needed.    This was and awesome trip.  

My First Suwannee

You can see my Suwannee bass video on You Tube here 

A Great Read of Redeye Bass Fishing - https://amzn.to/3KBdMXF

Thanks and stayed turned for more post on Spotted Bass and Smallmouth

#bassslam

#georgiabassslam

Flint River: My Quest for a Shoal Bass Micropterus cataractae

1981.  What does it mean to me? Well, Its the year I graduated from High School, but when I think of 1981 I think more about how long I have wanted to catch a Shoal Bass ( Micropterus cataractae ). June 1981 to narrow it down as Outdoor Life had an article(which I still Have) tittled  "River Of The Redeyes". The Shoal Bass was not recognized as a Separate species until 2000 so up till then Shoal Bass and redeye bass(coosa bass) were lumped together as 1 species.  Anglers on a few Georgia rivers knew there was a difference as the "redeyes" in one drainage always topped out heavier than the others. These monster "redeyes" were sometimes called "Flint River Smallmouth" and are naturally found in the Flint / Chatahoochee drainage in Georgia and the Apalachicola / Chipola in Florida.  They have since been introduced to the Ocmulgee in Georgia.

1995.  April of 1995,  Southern Living Magazine did an article on the Lilies found in the Cahaba River Titled "Lily of The Stream". I also still have that article.  That is how long I have been wanting to see some Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies .

2005.  That's the year I joined GeorgiaRiverfishing.com.  Since then my eagerness for a Shoalie has increased because members of that forum are always posting pictures of Shoal Bass they have caught.

So, when would I go?...Work and family duties always kept getting in the way but this winter I said to myself this was going to be the year. I have had several offers in the past to go fish for Shoalies but couldn't work it out. Members of  GRF  had a get together planned for  the month of May so I decided this would be a great time for me to go meet up with a bunch of guys I have known for years through the Internet and get the Shoal Bass off my bucket list. Sam (Creekstalker) the Owner of Georgiariverfishing.com showed up which was nice as he has been up to North Carolina twice to fish with me. I have also met Several other members at tournaments in North Carolina but this was going to be a treat to go down there and fish with them.

2012.  May 18th 2012 to be exact. That is the day I caught my first Shoal Bass. Nothing huge but my goal fish wise was to catch just 1. I didn't care how little or big I just wanted 1. Here she is.

Another one- most I caught hit a spinnerbait

I caught a handful that size the evening of the 18th plus a few Redbreast and Bream.

The campsite was awesome and the river was amazing. Thanks to Mike for being a great host.

I went to bed that night very tired after a long hard drive from North Carolina and an evening of paddling and fishing but was a very happy camper as I had caught my Shoalie. The next day I awoke and hit the river this time going downstream and was rewarded with a nice Shoalie, a few small shoalies , a few decent Spotted bass and some more Redbreast and Bream. Here are a few pics of my am float.

 I came back to camp at lunch very hungry but happy I had caught a Shoalie above 2 lbs. I was so happy in fact (and Tired) that I told Phillip that I was going to stay in camp and enjoy the evening. He talked me in to paddling upstream farther than I had been and I am sure glad he did as that evening I ran into these on the river.

The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily

Wow! 

Seeing these Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies was almost better than catching a Shoalie. What an awesome site.

These are found from the Catawba River in South Carolina through Georgia and into Alabama. The North Carolina population's of this Lily are gone now due to the dams on the Catawba and now there are only 50 known colonies known in the 3 states. I had first heard of these from  Southern Living Magazine which did and article on the Spider Lilies found in the Cahaba River in Alabama. This was an unexpected surprise!

Here are a few random pictures of some of the fishermen, the campsite, and the River.

                                                         Trent and "Pamlico"

Phillip "Pip"

The "Boathouse"

Mike and Trent

Pip

Blackwaterbill, Doublehaul, Pip, Pamlico, Me, Shoalieman and ?

Goshawk on the River 

So what was the best part?
1st was seeing and meeting the Brother River fishermen, 2nd, was seeing those Spider Lilies, and 3rd was catching a Shoalie. Hopefully I will make it back next year. Now , I have a big desire to see the Spider Lilies on the Catawba River!  A big Thanks to Mike and everyone else. Mack

#flintriver

#shoalbass

#Micropteruscataractae

Micropterus cataractae