04/01/2006 – Little Catfish Bayou

Launch: Steele Creek Park, just north of Satsuma. Launch Cost: Free. Route: Kayak a short distance south and then east along Steele Creek into Gunnison Creek, then southeast a little over a mile to Bayou Sara. Then go east less than a mile along Bayou Sara to the entrance of Little Catfish Bayou. I also kayaked to the end of Steel Creek and back. Distance: 12.4 miles. Average Speed: 2.2 mph. Time: Approx 6 hrs. Pace: Slow. Weather: Overcast till about 10:00 am, then mostly sunny. Temp was 68 to 78 degrees, occasional breeze, humid and warm, almost no current. Type Kayak: I chose a paddle kayak today because there are many submerged tree stumps along the sides of the streams in this area.

(1) Above left. Satsuma’s Steele Creek Lodge and Park is a nice place for kayakers to have a picnic. (2) Above right. There is more to Satsuma than meets the eye. This is the new Cypress Landing Waterfront Townhome Community on the south side of Steele Creek.

(3) Above left. A few areas on the south side of Steele Creek are lined with impressive tall stands of Mountain Laurel. (4) Above right. Iris, aka Blue Flag is starting to show up in the swamps.

(5) Above left. Many of the small tributaries of Little Catfish Bayou had beautiful displays of Butterweed, aka Ragwort, aka Groundsel, aka Senecio glabellus. (6) Above right. This is a closer view of the Butterweed flower. Today it felt like I was paddling in a beautiful garden.

(7) Above left. A yellow crowned night heron keeping a watchful eye out on his nest. (8) Above right. A six-spotted fishing spider likes to eat small fish; however, bigger fish like to eat fishing spiders.

(9) Above left. A green anole helps keep the insect population down. (10) Above right. A green tree frog also helps the insect population balanced.

I had planned on a short kayak trip today, but Little Catfish Bayou had at least 8 small tributaries to explore. Every kayak trip is an adventure, especially when exploring new creeks. If you are tired of kayaking up and down the same stream, I highly recommend Little Catfish Bayou which is less than 2 miles away from the Steele Creek Park boat launch. If you want a shorter paddle that has no boat traffic, you can paddle west on Steele Creek for almost a mile before it ends. Its high banks will neutralize the wind. This was a very enjoyable trip.