A Visit To The Alexander Springs Run
By: John Kumiski
Any visitor to Florida's Ocala National Forest needs to include the Alexander Springs Run on their list of things to see. This first-magnitude spring discharges over 60 million gallons of spring water daily, with a boil strong enough to be easily observed from the shoreline. Adventurous types snorkel and even scuba dive into the boil. Personally, I prefer using a paddle vessel to explore the run.
That run extends about ten miles, from the spring to the St. Johns River. At the start, the water is nearly perfectly clear. The further downstream you travel, the more tannin-stained the water becomes. It's still clear, just more tea-colored. The creek runs through a national forest. All those fallen leaves stain the water!
Additionally, adjacent to the north side of the run between the spring and County Road 445 lies the Billie Bay Wilderness, a largely inaccessible swamp. Legend has it that the Seminole warrior Billie Bowlegs hid out in the swamp, from which the headwaters of Alexander Springs arises.
Old-timers refer to swamps as "bays" and this one is a prime example of a pristine Florida swamp. In the interior of this 3,092-acre swamp, red maple, loblolly bay, sweetgum, cabbage palms, and loblolly pine filter the sunlight, and on the drier perimeter are longleaf pine and slash pine. A dense understory of palmetto and gallberry hides the swampy interior and discourages any attempts at bushwhacking.
Lush aquatic growth in the spring run.
Wildlife is abundant in Billie Bay Wilderness, because the swamp is simply so inaccessible. No trails lead into it, so wildlife viewing is only possible from either the Alexander Run or the Florida National Scenic Trail along the edge of the wilderness area.
The plentiful submerged aquatic vegetation in the run includes tapegrass (Vallisneria), pondweed (Potamogeton), and southern naiad (Najas). Emergent species may include arrowheads (Sagittaria) and wild rice (Zizania). Both white and yellow water lilies are extremely common. These plants provide habitat for all kind of small animals.
Spring-run streams are among the most productive of aquatic habitats. This one supports a variety of mollusks, stoneflies, mayflies, caddisflies, and many fishes. Reptiles include alligators, various watersnakes, and turtles. The Alexander Springs Run is one of the healthiest waterways in Florida, and I can assure anyone thinking of visiting that you're going to see an amazing habitat!
Dragonflies of all sizes and colors zoom through the air here!
One can swim at the spring boil, of course, and there are hiking trails through the Alexander Spring Recreation Area, including the Florida National Scenic Trail. Birding is fabulous along Alexander Spring Run. A concessioner at the Recreation Area offers canoes and kayaks for rent. You'll have to do an out-and-back unless you can arrange your own shuttle. The current is not hard to paddle against, though.
If you have your own paddle craft, you can launch at the County Road 455 bridge. You can do an out-and-back, or arrange a shuttle. The last take-out before the St. Johns River is off Forest Road 439, a trip of about seven miles. You can also launch at the Recreation Area, but you'll have to pay a fee to do so.
A large cooter turtle sunning on a fallen tree.
The Recreation Area has a developed campground with 67 sites that can handle vehicles up to 35 feet in length. Hot water showers and flush toilets make this place appealing for a large segment of the camping population! There are pavilions and picnic tables for day-use people, too.
The main draw for me initially was the fishing opportunities here. I wanted to fly fish the creek for largemouth bass. I launched my kayak at the County Road 455 bridge. In ten minutes I had caught three bass with a floating bass bug. The largest fish was over three pounds. In addition to the many bass I caught, bluegills, redbellies, and stumpknockers made up part of the catch. It turned out to be quite a nice day!
The reporter with a spring run bass.
I carried a nine-foot, five-weight fly rod with a floating line, and a light six-foot spinning rod and reel loaded with 15-pound test Power Pro. When I tired of casting the fly rod, I'd pick up the spin rod and toss a plastic worm. The approach was pretty unsophisticated, but sophistication for these fish was hardly necessary. If it looked like food, they checked it out!
Because the vegetation in the stream is so lush, whatever type of lure you use must be weedless or nearly so. I can assure you that even "weedless" baits collect weeds and get hung up on the weeds. Without a weedless bait or fly, it would be nearly impossible to fish here. Even with a weedguard on my fly, I hung up a lot, especially on the lily pads.
An aggressive little fish, this stumpknocker hit my bass bug. Note the weedguard.
Even if I didn't fish, though, a paddle trip down this creek would be worthwhile. The plant growth, both in the water and along the banks, is profuse. Frogs and songbirds serenade you the entire time. Dragonflies and damselflies in a wide array of color combinations zoom around you, hither and yon. Limpkins search through the vegetation, looking for apple snails. Lots of cooter turtles, and a few softshells too, can be seen at and below the surface of the clear water. You'll see an alligator or three. Birds of all kinds use the run- the already-mentioned limpkins, herons and egrets, kingfishers, anhingas, red-winged blackbirds, you might even see a wild turkey along the bank. The sensuous odor of a healthy aquatic ecosystem caresses your nostrils. Warm sunshine and a warm breeze caresses your skin. The Alexander Spring Run is a total sensory experience, one you ought to have!
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