TREASURE COAST BOATING
SMALL BOATS
JERRY MCBRIDE
63
You’ll hear many sounds when
you’re paddling the winding
waterways of the Treasure Coast,
but beyond the subtle splash
your paddle makes as it slices the
surface of the water, the sounds are likely to
be a wading bird calling, a turtle sliding from
its perch on a mossy log or the sputtering of a
grazing manatee. It would be natural to think
you’d drifted into an earlier time, a more tranquil
place when you finally realize that what
you aren’t hearing is the sound of traffic.
That’s not to say paddling a kayak on and
around the Indian River Lagoon can’t be
exciting. Far from it. Beyond catching sight of
manatees and dolphins close enough to touch,
there’s the possibility of catching your next
meal. For dinner, for a brag-and-release photo
or a prize in an anglers competition, there’s a
whole lot of wildlife under your kayak.
Jerry McBride, a Jensen Beach-based outdoor
writer, has been teaching kayak fishing
for 10 years, privately and in seminars around
the state. In a good week, he spends at least
30 hours on the water. He says, “The vast
majority of my friends who kayak fish are like
me, keeping an occasional fish for dinner but
releasing 99 percent of our catch.” He teaches
students not only how to catch fish but how to
release them uninjured.
Sometimes it’s more fun just to observe.
Getting up close to a manatee is exciting but
paddlers should not be fooled by the gentle
sea cow’s lumbering pace, McBride says. “My
230-pound buddy and his 15-foot kayak were
both 4 feet in the air when he paddled over
one ... Actually happened to him twice in one
month. On the other hand, I have merely been
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An alligator suns itself on the riverbank.