St. John's River Fla. Question

Hello:

I am considering a trip to fish in north central Fla in the early
spring. With the draw down in the Kissimmee system, I thought I'd try
the St. John's. Two areas that I've found that would meet my (and my
wife's) accommodation needs are Palatka and DeLand. I have fishing maps
for the river in the Palatka area, and it appears that there would be no
end of good water to fish up there. The river down at DeLand is much
smaller. How is the fishing down near DeLand, below Lake George? I'm
somewhat attracted to the smaller water because my wife and I flyfish!

Thanks for your help.

Bill Lupatkin
PS I'd appreciate a reply to my email: in case
I miss your reply on the newsgroup.

Hi Bill,

My grandkids are south of there near Melbourne on the coast. I am very
interested in the St. Johns but don't know much about it yet. Maybe you
could give us a report some day on your trip? What city do you live in?

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA
www.kiene.com

"William Lupatkin" wrote in message
...

Hello:

I am considering a trip to fish in north central Fla in the early
spring. With the draw down in the Kissimmee system, I thought I'd try
the St. John's. Two areas that I've found that would meet my (and my
wife's) accommodation needs are Palatka and DeLand. I have fishing maps
for the river in the Palatka area, and it appears that there would be no
end of good water to fish up there. The river down at DeLand is much
smaller. How is the fishing down near DeLand, below Lake George? I'm
somewhat attracted to the smaller water because my wife and I flyfish!

Thanks for your help.

Bill Lupatkin
PS I'd appreciate a reply to my email: in case
I miss your reply on the newsgroup.

Hi Bill:

Actually, I chickened out of that destination. I wanted to get some
"objective" info on the area, and after posting this message decided to
call the Big Toho Marina on Lake Toho to get their take (since they'd
previously told me to avoid Toho because of the draw down). They said
that fishing the river was really tough, and that their guides hated to
fish there in tournaments because the catch rate was so poor, even
though there are plenty of fish. Tidal waters are often tough (I've
tried the Hudson River not too far from home, and have minimal
success). Added to that, I flyfish (I see you have a flyshop!) and the
inability to make lots of noise with the usual bass hardware is a real
handicap. The people at Toho convinced me to go down to Kissimmee, and
to fish any of a number of lakes in their area even if I can't
comfortably get my boat on to Toho. Fishing on Toho should be amazing
with the draw down if you have a boat that can safely get onto the water
when all the ramps are dry. I think that making a very shallow lake
shallower should really help flyfishing, but just concentrating all
those fish should be amazing. I may try it with a guide and save my
bottom and prop.

Regards. Bill

Bill Kiene wrote:

Hi Bill,

My grandkids are south of there near Melbourne on the coast. I am very
interested in the St. Johns but don't know much about it yet. Maybe you
could give us a report some day on your trip? What city do you live in?