There’s blackwater in Central Florida that flows North in a small river named Econlockhatchee. It flows while you’re there and it flows while you’re not. If you jump in sometime and flow with it, I promise a most memorable time.

Econlockhatchee means “River of mounds”.

I’m pretty sure I have surpassed the number of trips I took as a kid with my family by the times I’ve taken this trip with my Econ sister, Tammy Wilson. There are people who understand the Econ and then there are people who REALLY understand the Econ. I believe Tammy and I are the latter (toot toot). This trip had some significant meaning but when it all boils down, it’s just another trip up the river.

Tammy

The goal for the day, other than having fun, was having a fish fry. For the skeptical readers, yes I do kill fish from time to time. So this trip was intended to be a fish kill of sorts, far different from the ones we are witnessing in the surrounding coastal waters of Florida at this time. They would be put in a skillet and enjoyed with potato salad, chips, fresh fruit, cupcakes and cookies. But there is no Econ trip for me unless cold friend chicken is involved so that acted as an additional item as well as backup if we didn’t catch fish.

It was a very overcast day and I’m not sure I saw much of the sun except for some mild flashes in the morning. As a rule of thumb, if you paddle this section between Snow Hill Road and 46, you should make it to the campground by noon-ish in order to be finished by dark. Rain slowed us down and so did all the fishing. The cooler was full enough to feed us all by the time we arrived at the camp. We indulged in the fruits of our angling skills while the rain steadily fell on the metal roof of the shelter. I’m pretty sure we all may have got home a lot later if there were hammocks to sit in there.

Part of our party needed to be home a bit early so Austin brought his Gheenoe and motored them to the ramp. The rest of us took on the second leg of the trip in the small drips that were left over from the storm. As the Econ gets closer to the St. John’s River, the land opens up and wind can make or break your last two miles. High water levels can do the same but water levels were low so it made the paddle a bit longer. However, there was zero wind and just enough flowing water to move us along in the most Lazy River way.

This is a shorter blog of this trip because I have written and videoed it many times before. I can’t fully put this place into words and will never be able to do so. I can only invite you to come along and experience it for yourself. If you don’t own a kayak, just let me know and we will take a trip up the Econlockhatchee River.

See you soon, Econ.