01/20/2007 – Fly Creek - Fairhope Pier

Launch: Fairhope Yacht Club.
Launch Cost: Free.
Route: Northeast into Fly Creek, aka Devils Hole to a log jam and back. Then out into Mobile Bay, south to Fairhope Pier and back.
Distance: Approx 6.2 miles round trip.
Average Speed: 2.4 mph.
Time: Approx 3 hrs.
Pace: Slow.
Weather: Cloudy, 55 degrees, winds from the east 10 mph to calm, incoming tide, very little current.

Statistics indicate that only 7 percent of the viewers of this blog are using 800 x 600 resolution screens, the majority being 1024 x 768 or higher resolution. Therefore, I'll be uploading photos in the 1024 x 768 size from now on. As always, you can click on a thumbnail photo to see the higher resolution photo.

1) There were quite a few lazy pelicans on the rock jetties at Fly Creek.

2) A little ways up Fly Creek, it looked like this Duck was waving at me as I paddled by. Then again, it also looked like it was about to pass the gas. Those webbed feet are so thin that you can see the blood vessels in them.

3) A confused Cormorant cannot decide what to do with kayaks coming at it from both directions.

4) Kayaking is becoming more popular.

5) This log jam, about a mile up Fly Creek, is the turn around point.

6) Out in Mobile Bay, near the Fairhope Pier park, seagulls fight over a piece of bread which one of them just dropped.

7) The sun was shining 5 miles to the south. Over by the Fairhope Pier I met David who was fishing from his green Prowler ocean kayak. Interest in kayak fishing is picking up. If you are interested in fishing from a kayak, here are two links to check out – Mobile Bay Kayak Fishing Association and Forgotten Coast Kayak Anglers (Tallahassee area). There are some good photos on those sites.

8) Even though the sunset was hidden by the clouds, as the waters laid down the hues of blue and gray were beautiful as the reflections slowly swayed in the waters.

9) The new Fairhope Pier is sturdy enough for a pickup truck. A new roof was being put on the Yardarm Restaurant. Note that the old July 4th gathering point now has a row of rocks between the water and the yacht club pier.

10) Dusk at the Fairhope Pier. Why wasn't anyone fishing off the pier? Oh, that's right - the smart ones are fishing from their kayak.

"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
- Henry David Thoreau