RSS
Home
Need to release stress? Head to Homosassa
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Riverside Resort in Homosassa
It’s May 1984. The boat ride down the Homosassa River at daybreak provides a riot of emotions, the first a total surprise at how chilly it is despite the spring warmth of Florida. Everywhere reflects river life, with tires swinging from overhanging tree branches, old wooden docks affronting rustic stilt houses, boats of all sizes idling by, and the welling excitement at the prospect of the world’s best tarpon fishing soon to come.
Timing their arrivals based on optimum tidal and moon conditions, many of the greatest saltwater fly fishermen who ever lived assembled here each spring: Stu Apte, Billy Pate, Al Pflueger, Sandy Moret, Tom Evans, to name a few. These men and others with skill and Lady Luck on their sides rewrote the record books in the shallow waters off Homosassa, not the least of which was Pate and his 188-pound tarpon that stood for over 20 years as the largest ever taken on fly. Apte notched many world records here, often breaking marks he’d already set.
Word quickly spread that Homosassa represented the place to be if you wanted to duke it out with huge tarpon. Hotels became packed up and down the Homosassa River during this enigmatic era spanning the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, with the most popular the wonderfully charismatic Riverside Inn. Riverside sported ample dock space for skiffs and was in next-door proximity to MacRae’s Marina where the weigh-ins usually took place amid crowds of onlookers.
While these days fewer legendary record-seekers ply the waters off the Homosassa area each spring, giants still can be found – witness the new high mark set in 2001 by Jim Holland, Jr., of a 202-pound tarpon caught off nearby Chassahowitzka. And, more visitors and anglers than ever visit Homosassa due to the great angling for other species such as redfish and trout. Outstanding local guides with whom I’ve fished include Capt. Mike Locklear, Capt. Jim Long and Capt. William Toney -- go to Homosassa Guides Association. And say hello to “Gator” MacRae at his historic tackle and bait house – which now includes a hotel, marina and popular waterside bar.
My wife Kelly and I recently visited Homosassa just to unwind. We stayed at the venerable Riverside Inn site that’s been refurbished and modernized and now known more appropriately as the Riverside Resort. We lazed in the pool, sat at the Monkey Bar (yes, a bar that overlooks a small island of monkeys), dined at the Riverside Crab House, shot pool and sipped cocktails in the Yardarm Lounge, and basically relaxed for a few days in great comfort. Speaking of the Monkey Bar, you can view the live cam of Monkey Island.
We also took in the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park to enjoy manatees, black bears, Florida panthers, a pack of rare red wolves, a hippo named Lu and many other species. For more details on Homosassa and the region, check out VisitCitrus.
Family Vacations
Find more family-friendly travel ideas, tips and deals for the summer from Examiner.com's nationwide network of Travel Examiners. From budget-friendly fun to adventures of a lifetime, they have your vacation covered.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
