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While there, you will feel
like you are really deep in the wild. With good polarized amber lens
sunglasses you will see scads of fish. There are some 5'+ deep holes
back in these mangroves that might be a good place to fish. "Just
because you see a fish, does not mean it's hungry!"
If you decide to
circumnavigate Rattlesnake Key from
the Southeast, near Bird Key You will most likely go through Flounder Pass. Directly North of
Bird Key along the shore
there is a a large speed limit sign for boaters that will mark Flounder
Pass. Speed boats zip through here sometimes, so pay attention and stay
close to shore while in the pass.
There is a creek parallel to Flounder Pass (see
photo) with nice mangrove tunnels connecting Terra Ceia Bay to Miguel
Bay. You will
find it just East of Flounder Pass. There is an opening in the mangroves
just to the left (NW) as soon as you enter the small opening. there is a
small bayou on the right that seems to hold some fish. There are quite a
few miles creeks and canals with mangroves around Terra Ceia Island and
Rattlesnake Key. It would be nice to make it a a big paddling
preserve here someday. This area is ripe for planting Gumbo Limbo and
Seagrape Trees, among other Native Plants. There is such an incredible
network of mangrove tunnels, it would be a shame not to share it with
eco minded paddlers. Most of those canals nice and deep so a lot
of water runs through when the tide is moving. There are many mounds
along most of the canals, some over 10 feet high. (see the little white
dots along the canals in the photo) These mounds were left by the steam
shovel that was digging here 40-50 years ago.
Continuing North, you enter
Miguel Bay ahead to the
right. Now, Just past the Sister Keys, Little Miguel pass will bring you
into Tampa Bay.
More options are in Critical Bayou. If you go left
once you exit
Flounder Pass, you will see a small beach, then a tiny
island with some mangrove tunnels just beyond. There are several
channels along this northern shore of Rattlesnake Key that are
interesting.
Once crossing Critical bayou, it gets a little
tricky to find your way to Tampa Bay via Critical Creek. The meandering
Critical Creek seems to almost circle as it leads to a cone shaped lake.
Across the lake, a little to the left, another part of the creek winds
around to Tampa Bay.
One Trick I've learned while exploring these tidal
creeks is to pay attention to the water flow when
the
tides are moving, paddling perpendicular to shore you will
find the flowing water that follows the creek. When you can't see the
opening to paddle through the mangrove from a bayou, the water flow will
show you the way.
If you are fortunate enough to make it through
Critical Creek to Tampa Bay (it would be a miracle at night), you will
find a wide sandy beach. This would be a great place to rest the kayak
to have a picnic or just stretch your legs. At this point, Tampa Bay is
very shallow and you may have to walk the kayak though the shallows
about a hundred yards or so to deeper water.
This is where you turn the corner South back home. The water near the shoreline is very shallow here, so
you will want to keep 150 yards or so into the Tampa Bay as you paddle
towards Terra Ceia Point. If you watch very carefully, you might notice
the creek just before Terra Ceia Point. (see photo) This creek will take you
though to Terra Ceia Bay via a couple of small lakes another connecting
creek. Hopefully by the time you get here the westerly breeze will help
push you across Terra Ceia Bay towards Snead Island. It is a long paddle
and it would be nice to coast back to the
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