St. Johns River

Anyone ride out on the St. Johns river?

Rode there a few weeks back, glass for days, watch out for gators.

ive been riding there for the past 6 years. during the summer i go a few times a week, during the school year i go once a week

Place is redic... rode there w/ Jmuthafnp a few weeks ago...place is super rad.. but watch the gators......saw a ten footer on the way there

I grew up on that river riding every day. you can always find glass, matter what day of the week it is. I am moving back in a few months and I am so pumped about having warm water all year round.

Yah we ride there usually twice a week just looking for some people to ride with actually we havent seen many gators lately its been kinda weird

So if you are riding with gators, do you get back to the boat as quick as you can if you fall, or just don't fall? Do they not bother you if your out in the middle?

Haha nah they dont bother u everyone freaks about gators im pretty sure theres never been a gator attack on a wakeboarder or skier in Florida correct me if im wrong

I guess I have never heard of one. It seems that all the attacks have been on people by the shore.

Yah usually involving someone thats trying to catch them i looked it up awhile back cause the girls that come with us always flip out about that

the gators are really bad. you shouldn't ride here, cause they'll bite you for sure

I'd watch out for the tan sessions boat... I heard their riders tend to ride with their pants at their ankles

Haha yah ive seen that boat out there before

yeah the river is full of gators. If people saw what was out there at night they would never get in the river again.... But I lived on the river for 22 years and never had a problem..... oh I mean I had gators chancing me all the time... haha

Eric,
Were looking to come down this winter and do a little riding were from IL. Were is a good place on the river to put in? I am also looking to buy some property in FL that is on a river so we can do some boarding, we board on a river up here and its nice that you can find some good water even when the lakes are blown out.
Thanks Paul

Theres plenty of places to put in but the river runs from jax all the way down to south of sanford where r u trying to put in at?

yeah I live in Fruit Cove, well my folks do now. I am in Mississippi but I am moving back in a few months. like Matt said there are lots of places to put in and ride. where do you wan to stay? umm also as far a property goes what are you looking for? I mean are you looking for a place that is away from everything or do you want something near a big city? Are you looking to buy for an investment or just a place to have as a get away?

There are lots of places south of me that are still not to bad of a buy and on the West side of the river things seem to be even cheaper but the resale will not be as good.

Hey Paul,

I have a weekend home on the Saint Johns in a small town called Astor and I've lived and worked extensively throughout Florida so I have a good handle on "what is where". I also grew up in your area, Adlai E Stevenson Grad, so I can relate to your expectations.

I did a lot of research before purchasing where I did and would be happy to share that information with you.

If you email me I can get you going in the right direction.

The Saint Johns river will blow you away in comparison to the Fox. Clean water and endless butter south of Lake George.

(Message edited by srock on November 05, 2007)

(Message edited by srock on November 05, 2007)

Thanks guys for the info on the river, were looking to come down to do some boarding on the way to the Keys this year. Don't want to put the new boat in the salt, so were looking for a spot to stop for a week or so. We like the river up here, so when I saw the post on the St. Johns is sounded good.

We have a large motorhome that I bring the boat with. Were trying to find a spot on the river that has a campground, if the campground has a launch and or docks all the better. Were around 70' total with the boat so we need a little room to move around, so let me know if you know of any place down by you.

Not sure on what I am looking for yet in the real-estate market. We would like to pick up a smaller house or a condo on the water to use for a couple of months out of the year to get out of the cold and snow. It's hard to have a boat and be into the wakeboarding sport just to put it away for 6 months at a time. Don't have huge money so trying to stay of the rich areas. I think it might be for an investment for some time and would want to rent it out to pay for the mortgage. When we come down in December we would like to check out a few places to see what its like.

Paul, dont forget to stop by Lake Weir!

I was thinking about renting my Saint Johns riverfront home out for weekly or three day rentals but you always wonder about the down side. Maybe I need to start a new thread to solicit other's experiences.

PAUL there is a place just down from me that is a great spot to ride and has a camp ground and a boat launch. I don't remember the name but I will find out and let ya no

Paul,

I bet you could leave the boat at one of the campgrounds in Astor and pick it up on the way back North. You can rent a more appropriate boat in the keys for a day or two and save some fuel to boot.

Hey Ted, we are from the marine patrol and are here to help you.

I sure you had a situation that rendered immediate help.

Yeah, too many girls on the boat...

I noticed the female public servant had a pen in her hand. Thank god she was there to help, your heart could have given out at any time.

did taylor and matt say something about a rider with pants around their ankles? how does that work? funny though...

Thanks for the info guys; I like the leaving of the boat in Astor. I wanted to rent out a fishing boat this year in the Keys. How's the weather up North in December to early Jan. We always go to the Keys to get the warmest weather, is it cold that time of year?
Ted big problem with all those girls, do you need any help? I might stop by your lake, are you going to the Keys in December? We should be down in the Keys at MM70 the Koa around 20 to the 27th

(Message edited by PaulW on November 06, 2007)

The temperature will not affect you as much as us locals but bring a wet suit. Warm and cool weather rotates through the area and the water temps do drop off.

My family is down there - be sure to stop at www.keylargocoffeehouse.com - its my Dad's place in Key Largo. Im sure ill be around during that time for the holidays.
That profile pic is at Silver Glen Springs (St Johns area) - pic does the cop lady MUCH justice.

Ted,
Are you bringing your boat to the Keys, if so I'll go boarding with you if need people to go with.

Dunno, usually do not plan until the week or day before. I will let you know. If not, I have another boat down there more geared towards diving though and thats usually what Ill be doing if Im there...