Alapa - WHAT - chee?
Who names these rivers?
When I first heard of the Alapahoochee it sounded like a joke. But there it is! Locals have called it the Little River, Little Alapaha or Grand Bay Canal.
Deep in South Georgia, Mud Creek and Grand Bay Creek join to form the Alapahoochee River. Just over 14 miles long flowing between Lowndes and Echols Counties it crosses into Florida to empty into the Alapaha River just east of Jennings.
View Larger Map
Who names these rivers?
When I first heard of the Alapahoochee it sounded like a joke. But there it is! Locals have called it the Little River, Little Alapaha or Grand Bay Canal.
Deep in South Georgia, Mud Creek and Grand Bay Creek join to form the Alapahoochee River. Just over 14 miles long flowing between Lowndes and Echols Counties it crosses into Florida to empty into the Alapaha River just east of Jennings.
View Larger Map
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| CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
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| It's a long ramp. You can see my truck way up at the top. The bottom is concrete with sandy bottom areas on both sides of the concrete, at least when the river is low. |
The boat ramp will put you within about 200 yards of the Alapahoochee's convergence with the Alapaha River. The boat ramp seems to be a pretty popular place for people to bring their kids to swim and wade and fish.
Below you'll see the entrance to the Alapahoochhee on the left as it enters the Alapaha River on the right. The flow is toward you from the North.
Click to see the picture enlarged.
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| Alapahoochee on the left and Alapaha on right. |
When I arrived, before I unloaded the kayak, I tossed out a small baby shad soft bait (white with sparkles) under a tree to the right of the boat ramp and immediately hooked up with a very small bass. Hmmm, things were looking good!
Last fish I caught.
I brought my fly rod but forgot my flies . . . I hate gettin' old!
Probably a good thing, though. The Alapahoochee would be better fished with a shorter 3 wt and I would have been using a 9' 6 wt. However, my nine footer would have been fine on the Alapaha.
The above ramp east of Jennings is good for put in and take out.
The GA SR 135 bridge is another story.
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| Alapahoochee at GA SR 135 bridge |
A take out can be done but it's a steep 25 foot 45 degree slippery climb over sand covered rocks. Putting in would be less difficult but still not easy.
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| The SR 135 take out. A steep, slippery climb! |
I offered to help this gentleman and his wife get his boat up the bank. I think she was a bit put out when he declined my offer.
. . . I wasn't.
Not a bit!
OK, maybe I need a mascot with a white striped black tail. No fish pix but enjoy the scenery.
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| The famous Alapahoochee Waterfall. |
I used my Ocean Kayak Big Game for this trip but would have been better served by my OK Trident 11. The BG's a bit big to maneuver for such a small river at this water level. The Big Game is certainly doable and took little from my enjoyment of the trip.
As you can see below the bigger Alapaha would pose no difficulty for the Big Game. And I always enjoy the BG's greater stability.
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LINKS:
Current Georgia river levels: Real Time Georgia Streamflow
Solunar Tables for your zip code: HERE
FORUMS
Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing (you might need to be registered to view this one)
FLY FISHING RESOURCES
Books and DVD by George Roberts:
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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.
