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It takes motivation and dedication to scout in Florida in July and August. Armed with enough water, insect repellent and snake boots, it's really not so bad...if you are accustomed to walking around dripping in sweat. The rewards are many, and the effort will provide your best opportunity for success, especially on public lands. Here in the Big Bend region of Florida, everything is growing rapidly. The gators, snakes deer, turkey and especially the insects are all doing very well this time of year. Both the animals caught on camera and their habitat seem to be doing well given the abundant food, enough rain and no man made pressures.  Our typical scouting takes place from early July right up to the start of archery season in September and included aerial, on the ground and game camera scouting. Our goals are to find deer and of course hogs, and to log GPS coordinates for promising setups. When a funnel, edge or burned / cutover area is found the next steps are to set up a game camera, identify trees to climb and routes that will get us in with the wind in our favor and in the dark.  I also recommend taking a camera preferably equipped with GPS so you photos will be tagged with the coordinates off where they were taken. Finally, take your time, look and listen with appreciation.   
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January 2020
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Repair notes:
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A marine grade filler was applied
Then sanding and multiple coats of cloth, resin and sanding
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Then a final light sanding and spay can / palmetto paint job
The first trip we put in near Cedar Key and worked our way up a couple creeks that would have been inaccessible in a larger boat. We found 15 or more Redfish and a couple nice trout.
Gear used:
- Old 1980’s Gheenoe, classic model purchased at a garage sale for $150.
- Trailer assembled from parts
- Yamaha 6 hp purchased new
- Gheenoe’s are excellent backwater boats. Their shallow draft, excellent stability and maneuvering are boats you can take just about anywhere in relatively protected waters. And you can pull, push or paddle them if needed.
- The Yamaha 6 hp 4 stroke is a good balance between weight, portability, economy and power. The engine is not yet fully broken in, so it hasn’t been run a full throttle but I’m guessing it will move the loaded Gheenoe between 10 and 15 mph. The 6 hp is not a speed demon but seems fast enough and in the rocky backwater creeks, speed is the last thing you need. Easy to tilt up, shallow draft, and easy pull start are more important to me. As far as fuel economy goes, I don’t know how many hours I can expect from the 3 gal. remote tank because after a two or three hours running time the gauge hadn’t budged from full.
- The ride of the Gheenoe is great in smooth water and fair in a chop. The boat and motor are sensitive to load distribution and the loads should be adjusted to be when heading into the wind and waves to keep the boat dry. I expected and did notice some hull cavitation when in rougher water. The hull could be strengthened in some areas but I doubt I will make many hull modifications.
Paul with a couple nice trout from the first trip