Beware Of…..The Fish?
One of the things that I absolutely love about travel is that you’re constantly learning something new. As we’ve crossed the US we’ve come across our share of interesting and dangerous animals -> bear, moose, rattlesnakes etc. It’s rare that you’re not near something of the sort when you’re romping around in the wilderness as we are. I was rather surprised therefore upon our arrival here at Suwanee River Park that there were no gator signs and all this despite a nearby park named….wait for it….”Alligator Lake Public Recreation Area“. Now, casting aside the seemingly mad combination of “Alligator” and “Public Recreation Area” in the same sentence, it appears we are gator-free and footloose over here by the river.
But, appearances can be deceiving.
Having walked for several days in complete serenity around the area, I was brought crashing back to my senses by a sign on the boat ramp. All this time it was not gators, nor snakes, nor even spiders that I should have been watching for…..it was…..the fish! Yes, we are in an area of Sturgeon attacks, where people have been injured by blood-thirsty and deadly fish. This is a completely new and unexpected danger that I had not anticipated nor prepared myself for, and I must admit I got a rather painful ache in my side by the time I had stopped laughing.
OK, OK, I suppose I should be more serious about the whole matter. I’m sure there are folks out there who consider the sturgeon no comical matter, and I must apologize profusely to those people while I attempt to contain myself. With a spot of Google research I discover these monsters can grow up to 18-feet (5.5m) long and weigh up to 2,200 lbs (1000kg), so I suppose a jumping visit would put a bit of a damper on your day. And there have been actual recorded attacks on the Suwanee (2006 was apparently a very bad year). The fact remains, nonetheless, that I’ve learnt something new and that’s what makes this whole journey so much fun.
Well, the sun is out for the first time in several days, colors are bursting and the fish are no doubt jumping. I think I’ll go for a walk by the river and see what washes my way….
Ecks..Midwestern at heart that the south scares me of all the unknown wildlife. Now I have learn of one creations to watch out for. Did u catch highway 30a on your way..our fav landing every year?
Hey CJ, I know what you mean…I’ve lived most of the past 15 years in the West. Rattlesnakes don’t scare me, but gators sure do 🙂 Haven’t checked out Hwy 30A…just checked it out and it looks amazing!! We’ll definitely have to catch it on our way West. Thanks so much for the tip! Nina
We watch the show “river monsters” and know all about Sturgeon! However, I had no idea they were so close to us here…I would be more afraid of those fish than gators.
River Monsters, eh? Well now I’ve GOT to go find that show!! Nina
If I were you, I would remain cautious, I hear that Scandinavians are a Sturgeon delicacy…
I think you may be onto something. If Scandinavians had immigrated to the South rather than the Midwest (as many originally did) we might well have been hunted to extinction, and I would now be on the endangered species list. It brings a whole new meaning to the term “wildlife” 🙂
Hazardous fish! Who knew? We enjoy your writing style and your sense of humor. THanks for a chuckle this day.
Happy to make you happy 🙂 Nina
Greetings from the Suwannee! I wandered upon your site. The sturgeon are very dangerous. If you are riding in a boat and one jumps up and hits you, well it killed a few over the years. A young local girl was killed last year, may have been year before. Her Mom was seriously injured. They will kick you out of the boat and uncontious. Heck a friend of mines husband went fishing and going back to the boat ramp, he was hauling buggy, a regular sized fish jumped and hit him in the face, bloodied his nose, he was lucky it didn’t knock him out or worse. Now you add 20-30 lbs or more. I have sat on the dock and watched 15 or so within about an hour jumping. They like to jump. I would just like to know the secret to getting a picture of them in the air.
I know your article was from several years ago, but I had to throw my 2 cents in, even late.
Happy New Year!