Luce Bayou
March 3, 2013
by Dave Kitson
Will Blumentritt, Mike Pollard, Dave Caddy, Sharon Blifford and I set out about 10 AM on Sunday from the Ponderosa Marina for a trip upstream on Luce Bayou. We had a perfect day for it with clear blue skies, cool temperatures and little wind.
As we left the shore we saw the first of 10 or so brown pelicans we were to see on the lower end of the bayou. They were feeding frequently although on what I could not tell; we could not see very many small fish close to the surface. As we paddled upstream I saw what I thought was a hawk, whitish with splotches of red/brown on the lower surfaces, however, the tail was white with no stripes so I am not sure what it was. I also got a brief look at it on the way back so it must have been hunting most of the day.
We paddled up to the spot on the stream where the culvert and “Dam” is. The water was slightly higher than normal and it appeared that if it was 1.5’ higher we could make it over the dam and explore a little further; something to keep in mind for another day. As we headed back down the stream we decided to explore any side streams we might find. After trying a couple which did not go anywhere we found what turned out to be a side loop. It was about ½ mile in length on the west side of the stream. It was a beautiful little stream, much more narrow than Luce and well wooded.
As I paddled I saw a turtle swimming along not far ahead. I assumed it would do the usual turtle thing and dive to the bottom when it realized I was there but not this one. It continued to swim to a log and climbed out. At this point it looks over at me, slides back down off the log and begins to swim directly toward me. Could this be some new species of kayak eating turtle? It got to within a couple feet of the boat and changed its mind and swam back to the log and climbed out again; all this within 10’ of the boat. It was not bothered by the boat nearby at all. A little further downstream Will found the coolest thing of all; a river otter. It was eating a fish on the riverbank. There was pretty much only the tail of the fish left so we sat and watched it finish its meal. River otters are the busiest creatures and this one was no exception. It was out of the water, then in the water, then under the water, then on the surface and on and on. It was hard to photograph because as soon as you get the camera pointed it has moved on to something else. We were able to follow it for about ¼ mile and 15 minutes. When it went underwater it would swim quite a distance but we could follow by the trail of bubbles coming out of its coat. What a treat that was.
All in all another great day on the water finishing at 7.8 miles and 4.6 hours. Will and Mike have posted photos on the website; check them out, it is a beautiful paddle.
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| The author, Dave Kitson |