St. Marks River at Newport

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Fishbster12
Posts: 24
Joined: July 6th, 2020, 8:39 am

St. Marks River at Newport

Post by Fishbster12 »

Thanks for all the responses to my inquires. I have one more. I am wanting to explore the St. Marks River this week after work. weather permitting. I am going to launch at the Newport landing. Is is safe to run up the river,? are there any hidden obstacles? Google maps shows it is open for a while, then it appears there is a rocky area up the river and it gets shallow. Hard to tell. Any advice running up is appreciated. I will look out closely for the Manatees.
Thanks, Fishbster.
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FishWithChris
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Joined: March 6th, 2009, 3:38 pm
Location: Inshore

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by FishWithChris »

That ramp drops off fast so be cautious on a low tide. Many trailers get stuck

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Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn. ~Chuck Clark

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ropeman
Posts: 399
Joined: July 23rd, 2007, 1:24 am

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by ropeman »

The ramp does have a big washout at low tide so don't fall off the edge. If the dock is 1-2' above the water you have plenty of water to launch. Also when the water is low the ramp is very slick so hold onto something! You can run all the up to the rocky area, but watch out for logs near the bank. There is one that sticks out pretty far and has several skeg scars on it. If the tide is high the rocky area has enough water to pass over but the river does get narrow further up that way. I like stopping there after a day at the lighthouse to wash the salt off the boat and myself.
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Red Beard
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Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by Red Beard »

Be cautious for logs as well.


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STMU
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Joined: October 4th, 2017, 5:56 am

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by STMU »

I've never had a problem with that ramp at anything other than low tide. Even then, it's fine, but you have to watch your trailer tires. Unless we've had a lot of rain (which is nearly every day this summer), it is usually clear enough to see the end of the ramp during low. I guess if you have a big boat and a long trailer it could be a bigger problem, but you really wouldn't want to be running a big boat upriver from there IMO.

The rocky area is St. Marks Rise, a rocky shoal complex where the river comes up from a 1st magnitude spring. Very cool spot if you can make it to the top but hard to navigate. There is a small channel that follows the western shoreline of the shoal for a while, but it eventually diverges. Once you get a track laid it is easy, but if you go slow the first time you should be fine. A jonboat should make it up without an issue, but I'd be a bit more careful with something that is bigger.
Fishbster12
Posts: 24
Joined: July 6th, 2020, 8:39 am

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by Fishbster12 »

I appreciate the comments. I am running a 16 ft. Sundance Skiff, with a 25 Yamaha. I am going to try the landing, on an incoming tide.
Thanks again,
ropeman
Posts: 399
Joined: July 23rd, 2007, 1:24 am

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by ropeman »

STMU wrote: August 16th, 2021, 1:39 pmThe rocky area is St. Marks Rise, a rocky shoal complex where the river comes up from a 1st magnitude spring.
There is another rocky spot before you get to the houses. On a high tide it's not a problem, but low tide you will bump some rocks.
squiffynole
Posts: 59
Joined: April 6th, 2021, 4:54 pm

Re: St. Marks River at Newport

Post by squiffynole »

What they say about the ramp times two, I would use the ramp at the old fort and enjoy more of the river.
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