Wild Fish Vacation Locations?
- Thread starter micstarz
- Start date
micstarz;2531688; said:
A very interesting trip would be the springs attached to the St John's river in Florida. You can catch Atlantic Stingrays in freshwater. You could visit Sumatra and catch some Clown Loaches. Don't ever go to Des Moines. If hell had an anus, it would be Des Moines.
I was going to quote an unnatural vacation destination that is very worthy, but now that you mentioned the springs on the St. John's River...ewurm;2531702; said:
I never thought of local stuff being vacation worthy since I'm already here, but right now Blue Springs State Park is the place to see. The manatees are up in the springs for the winter and their numbers are at a record high. Recently they had over 150 manatees in the spring run. There are also a bazillion different species of fish that take refuge there during the winter.
Gemini Springs State Park is also on the St. John's. It isn't known for being a manatee refuge but the fish are abundant right now. I have never been there however I have driven past it a million times.
Wekiwa Springs State Park is where we typically hold our Central Florida MFK meets. The springs are at the head of the Wekiva River, which is a tributary of the St. John's River. It doesn't recieve the numbers of fish during the winter as the other springs and is void of manatees. Our fishing hole is the lake at the rivers head. During the year it is teaming with gar, bowfin, plecos, armored cats (brown holopos), grass carp, blue talapia, and pan fish. Right now the large mouth bass have moved in and are huge.
I assume you mean snorkeling/diving to see fish in their natural habitat. In that case the Amazon really wouldn't be much fun for most people. Dark stain (tannins) and/or turbidity makes visibility near zero in the Amazon and most of its tributaries. This is unfortunately the case in many freshwater locations.
Lake Malawi and Tanganyika, on the other hand, are very clear with great visibility (just watch out for crocs
).
I've never been to Florida, but I've heard it's great!
One of my favorite places to see freshwater fish is the Southeastern Yucatan Peninsula. The cenotes (sinkholes) are full of interesting fish. Some have underground connections to the Caribbean which make for an interesting combo of fresh and saltwater fish. The Yucatan also has the advantage of being very accessible from the U.S.A. (often the cheapest flights to anywhere in Mexico).
What all these locations have in common is limestone. Limestone topography (sometimes called Karst topography) tends to have some of the clearest water anywhere, due to a filtration effect of the fractured limestone, relatively nutrient poor soils, and high pH. You can find clear freshwater in non-Karst areas, but it is always (in my experience) very cold.
This is a cool thread, I would love to see other people's experiences swimming with fish!
I attached a few photos from our last trip to Mexico. This is a place called "el Borbollon" in the mountains of the state of Guerrero. Several thousand gallons per minute of crystal-clear water flows out of the ground at this spot. Unfortunately the only "Monsters" were these tiny Guppy-like (?) fish...
Lake Malawi and Tanganyika, on the other hand, are very clear with great visibility (just watch out for crocs
). I've never been to Florida, but I've heard it's great!
One of my favorite places to see freshwater fish is the Southeastern Yucatan Peninsula. The cenotes (sinkholes) are full of interesting fish. Some have underground connections to the Caribbean which make for an interesting combo of fresh and saltwater fish. The Yucatan also has the advantage of being very accessible from the U.S.A. (often the cheapest flights to anywhere in Mexico).
What all these locations have in common is limestone. Limestone topography (sometimes called Karst topography) tends to have some of the clearest water anywhere, due to a filtration effect of the fractured limestone, relatively nutrient poor soils, and high pH. You can find clear freshwater in non-Karst areas, but it is always (in my experience) very cold.
This is a cool thread, I would love to see other people's experiences swimming with fish!
I attached a few photos from our last trip to Mexico. This is a place called "el Borbollon" in the mountains of the state of Guerrero. Several thousand gallons per minute of crystal-clear water flows out of the ground at this spot. Unfortunately the only "Monsters" were these tiny Guppy-like (?) fish...
Watching the salmon spawn in Alaska. The biomass and stench will amaze you, as will the other wildlife that are drawn to the salmon: bears, eagles, tourists, etc...
Southeastern Yucatan Peninsula
Alaska
El Borbollon
Tanganyika
St John's River (Wewika River, tributary)
Malawi
Amazon
Blue Springs State Park
Gemini States Park
Thailand (Anabantids)
Dan, the fish in your picture might be Poecillia Wingei? Their body markings are very interesting...as in, "Can I have a bunch for thirty bucks?" interesting
Alaska
El Borbollon
Tanganyika
St John's River (Wewika River, tributary)
Malawi
Amazon
Blue Springs State Park
Gemini States Park
Thailand (Anabantids)
Dan, the fish in your picture might be Poecillia Wingei? Their body markings are very interesting...as in, "Can I have a bunch for thirty bucks?" interesting
a place like in Florida is a good one if you want something safe and accessible....not sure of the political situation, but there are places near Lake Malawi where at times it is not the safest place to be