Withlacoochee - Madison Hwy/GA 31 to Bellville Shoals - 4 1/2 miles

Here are the landings if you decide to float the Withlacoochee from the Florida/Georgia line at the Valdosta /Madison Hwy (31 in GA and 145 in FL) to the Bellville shoals above the Bellville Bridge on CR 150. Using Google Maps it looks to be just over 4 1/2 miles.

I'll be fishing this float later so check back after about a month for an update.

To get to the boat ramp you'll need to get off the west side of the road on the Georgia side. I could not find a Florida side access so if you know of one leave a comment.

Click any picture to enlarge.













You'll end up under the bridge where there is plenty of parking.














The long boat ramp is on the east side of the bridge.















You'll find sand at the bottom making it easier on your kayak's bottom.















Here's looking downstream on the Withlacoochee from the ramp.















You'll not find a good take out point at the Bellville bridge. To find a decent spot take the entrance to Twin Rivers State Forest just west of the bridge.















Going north keep straight (don't take the immediate fork to the right) until the jeep trail finally veers right and takes you to the river (probably a good half mile). You'll find a sandy area where people fish. It's kayak friendly.















You'll see a parking area and some picnic tables. It had gotten dark by the time I took this picture.















While I was standing here I heard water and looked up stream to see some limestone shoals.





























Part of it looks man made. It appeared to be chipped up limestone arranged in an S-shaped curve.















I've been told that it resembles a fish weir. But one of the features of a weir (an opening to funnel fish to another pool) seems to be missing. I have, also, been informed that there are other similar sites in our area. They appear to be in relatively good shape so they may be recent (not related to Native Americans). If you have any idea about the man made looking shoal leave a comment. I'd like to know more.

Got out the fly rod and tried my black foam spider with no luck. Switched to a black woolly bugger and got two red breasts and a blue gill. All pretty small.















As you can see I had to use flash for this picture. It was getting dark but it was hard to leave those shoals.

Oh, and I swear I saw some mullet jump! Didn't expect to see them this far upstream.

Interactive Map



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LINKS
Current Georgia river levels: Real Time Georgia Streamflow
Solunar Tables for your zip code: HERE
Rigging your kayak: Captain Dick
Interactive map by Angling Technologies: HERE

FORUMS
Georgia Kayak Fishing
Georgia River Fishing
Jax Kayak Fishing
Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing (you might need to be registered to view this one)

FLY FISHING RESOURCES
Fly Fishing West Georgia
Books and DVD by George Roberts:
Master the Cast
Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Naturals and Their Imitation
Saltwater Casting - 10 Steps to Distance and Power (DVD)

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If you are a resident of Georgia and like to fish from a kayak I recommend becoming a supporting member of the Georgia Kayak Fishing Association located at GeorgiaKayakFishing.com.