Peace River

[BradB]

You are gonna have to wait until the river comes way down if you want to do this. The river is at 8' in Arcadia right now. Last time I dove the Peace it was at 4' and it was basically undoable then. Vis was about 1.5 ' and you could barely hang on to the bottom of the river.If you lost a handhold you did a tumbleweed imitation until you found something else to hold onto. When the stage hits 2-3' then it will be time to go.

 

[CBulla]

I've been at Arcadia Campground in the winter months and its usually calmed by then. Jan-April it really gets down, you can wade across it in 2-3' water then and the sides of the river are clearly visible. Supposedly that is the best times to do fossil hunts since so much of the river is exposed to the open and the water itself is moving at a lazy roll downstream.

 

[CBulla]

A search yeilded a page with more links than I care to post. Further thought on this: Weekend Dive/Camp fossiling? I'll find a dive shop that could accomodate refill needs for such an event if anyone is interested.

Here are 2 links that I found of interest, the first is for best times to fossil hunt, the other has lots of links for identification, etc.:

http://www.seashellsrus.com/sharkteeth/info/fossiling/2when.htm

http://www.canoeoutpost.com/prlinks.htm

 

[Harvo]

http://www.paleoflorida.com

Cbulla -
I live over in the Cape.

This site they talk about Peace River, I also think it is listed above.

Im ready to give Shell Creek a try.

Also, Manasota Key is were Englewood Beach is. You could find a ton of shark teeth there before the added sand.

I was told the back bay "LEMON BAY" is a good spot for finding fossils. Last week I went to Stump Pass Beach and there is a state park you can get to the Bay easy from there. The water is clear, but alot of boat traffic.

 

[Jonnyreb]

My buddy Dave and I have been talking a lot about trying the Peace Meg. teeth as soon as it is doable.. When y'all go let us know! (out of Bonita Springs)
Justin

 

[CBulla]

Its a shame I can't hit a mid week dive... the boat traffic usually a lot lower then and would be least likely to end up with manatee scar backs.

 

[Harvo]

I was in that area last week and all the creeks are flooded. We need to wait a couple more months and then I will be living in the water up there.

I cant wait...

If the creeks get back to normal sooner, I am planning to hit SHELL CREEK. I will post when and where if anyone is interested.

 

[CBulla]

Here's good reference for the Peace River. I've been to the Peace River Campground before and it has a great location for a lot of stuff. Canoe outpost has great information as well.

Canoe Outpost -

http://www.canoeoutpost.com/peace.html

River views and current height - it just topped over flood stage and back down again:

http://www.peacerivercampground.com/river_views.htm

Harvo, you've really got my mind working on this one! Like the Ginny dive, I am thinking this would be a great weekend adventure due to the availability for camping and the complete accessability of the river.