The winds are calm and the lake glass-smooth, a great day to head to the far bank and up Salt Spring Run in search of manatees.  Spring water is 74F year-round making it a favorite spot for manatees when Lake George waters cool in the winter.  We have seen them in large numbers on previous visits but an unusually warm December might be delaying their movement to the spring.  We shall see.

After a smooth sprint across the lake, we make the 4.5 mile trip up the spring at an idle with lots of time for wildlife watching.  At the spring basin we float in silence peering into the crystal-clear water and listening for the sneeze-like outburst of a manatee surfacing to breathe. Nothing.  It is a bit disappointing but just means we will have to come this way again after winter actually arrives in Florida.

We turn to leave but are brought to a stop by a wild flurry of beeps from the fish finder.  We drop a line at the edge of the basin and before long are pulling out long, slender silver and black fish.  Turns out we found a school of the same fish we have been watching since we first got out on the lake as they swirl at the surface and often leap clear out of the water.  (Google says they are mullet.)  We catch and release for a bit then head home.  The sky is darkening and there is rain in the forecast.