First Time Fishing Low Tide in Winter - Learning Occurred

[PhishingNole]

I picked up my kayak in early March, just before the pandemic really started and didn't really get a chance to fish until late March. I've never really seen the Winter low tides here.

I've been focused on hunting for the last two months and haven't fished at all. I decided to fish St. Marks on Saturday (11:00 low tide) with a plan to do a little sunrise topwater and work my way into the creeks 2-3 hours before LT. Unsurprisingly, no bites and no signs of bait or activity on the flats, so I worked my way east to get into a creek. Between the Northwind and the tide, I could not float my kayak into any coves or creeks, which really surprised me. Then I decided I would drag the yak into one, and I realized that I had made a serious mistake a few seconds after stepping off my yak in about 3 inches of water when I went knee-deep into the muck. I was shocked at how deep it was and how very difficult it was to get my leg out. It was a lot of fun trying to keep one leg on the yak and getting the other leg out. I tried a few more spots but didn't find anything I was willing to risk walking through at that point. In retrospect, I probably just got really unlucky with the spot I chose to step off into.

At this point, I was pretty dejected and worried about getting stranded in a cove or creek, so I decided to look at another spot. Paddled back to the lighthouse only to see nothing but mud for about 100 yards that I had to slog through with the yak to get back to the truck. That sucked... a lot. Then I drove out to Wakulla Beach and saw what looked like 300 yards of muck to get from the parking lot to the water. I decided it would be a good day to get some chores done.

I didn't even get a hint of a bite, but I did get lots of opportunities to learn about Winter tides in Apalachee Bay. I was just starting to feel like I had a semblance of an idea of how to fish inshore around here, and now I need to start over. More opportunity for learning. LOL

I'll look for some alternative launching points in some creeks for the future or stick to high tide.

[DixieReb]

Be careful out there. Water gets skinny on low tides this time of year, esp. with a north wind like we had on Saturday. It blew a lot of the water out overnight. I almost took my boat out Sat. and decided to pier fish a deep river instead. You could try going out later in the day with the incoming tide, might get to your fishing spots better. Good luck.

[FishWithChris]

Welcome to St Marks (and really Northern Fl Gulf Coast) during winter low tides. A good hazing experience for ya.

Our tides are not as extreme as east coast with the 6' tidal swings, but between our rocks and muck, few things I'd rather not deal with compete. We got into a creek on Sunday and low tide was projected at -0.6; it was well at -1.5 with the wind. Barely snuck out an hour after incoming and it looked like a mine field out there.

Good news? Marked a lot of new rocks unintentionally

Love winter fishing

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[cotton]

During negative tides limit yourself to launching in rivers and bays.

[MudDucker]

Don't feel bad, a couple of years ago near Steinhatchee a guy in his 60's ignored the warning and got out of his small boat while duck hunting. He sank up to his waist and could not move at all without digging in deeper. No one could get to him, but the tide was rising pretty fast. They told him to just lean on his boat and be still and when the water came up some and they would come over and pull him out. It took over an hour and he was about to have a cow. Kept hollering for they guys like a little girl to come get him as the water went over the top of his waders, but it still wasn't deep enough for them to get there. They finally got him out, soaked and cold by positioning two boats on either side of him and dragging him out of his waders. As far as know, his waders are still stuck in that mud. He was the one who heard that there were thousands of ducks in this creek. I doubted it and decided not to make the trip and sure enough, they were all mergansers. I don't know why, but he quit duck hunting.

[Red Beard]

Them winter winds and tides change the game for sure. Wild story there of the man getting stuck in that mud.. I sank up to my waist last winter; just one leg too, I got out after I quit laughing.

Sunday I had a guy follow me out of a channel markers in a V hull WOT, after a hundred yards I look back to see them receiving a prop polishing. I had just started to push mud myself but floated off once I trimmed up. Got skinny quick!

..my apologies to those gentlemen for leading them astray I never claimed to know what I was doing. But I have watched a lot of YouTube.

Good Luck out there.. once you find them in winter it’s game on.


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[GaryDroze]

I was kayaking at St Marks Refuge same time you were on Saturday. Perfect conditions, with blown out low tide, and too cold & windy for most. Nonstop action on trout & reds in the (REDACTED NAME) creek holes. The trick is to handcart or bike trailer your kayak along the Deep Creek levee east off Lighthouse Rd, and launch into one of the half-dozen creeks that reach the levee. You need to bust your hump for 40-60min carting or bike hauling your kayak along the levee, but the payoff will be scores of trapped and hungry fish. Your only fishing competition will be obnoxious airboats blasting in from Apalachee Bay, but even they have trouble getting to creeks on negative tides like last Saturday's.

[PhishingNole]

I was kayaking at St Marks Refuge same time you were on Saturday. Perfect conditions, with blown out low tide, and too cold & windy for most. Nonstop action on trout & reds in the (REDACTED NAME) creek holes. The trick is to handcart or bike trailer your kayak along the Deep Creek levee east off Lighthouse Rd, and launch into one of the half-dozen creeks that reach the levee. You need to bust your hump for 40-60min carting or bike hauling your kayak along the levee, but the payoff will be scores of trapped and hungry fish. Your only fishing competition will be obnoxious airboats blasting in from Apalachee Bay, but even they have trouble getting to creeks on negative tides like last Saturday's.

Man, if I tried lugging a Lure 13.5 for 60 minutes I would keep over and die. Might need to look into a lighter rig or one of those bike carts you mention.



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[Salty Gator]

I was kayaking at St Marks Refuge same time you were on Saturday. Perfect conditions, with blown out low tide, and too cold & windy for most. Nonstop action on trout & reds in the (REDACTED NAME) creek holes. The trick is to handcart or bike trailer your kayak along the Deep Creek levee east off Lighthouse Rd, and launch into one of the half-dozen creeks that reach the levee. You need to bust your hump for 40-60min carting or bike hauling your kayak along the levee, but the payoff will be scores of trapped and hungry fish. Your only fishing competition will be obnoxious airboats blasting in from Apalachee Bay, but even they have trouble getting to creeks on negative tides like last Saturday's.

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

[ropeman]

I figured out recently that the direction of wind has a lot to do with the tide as well. I tried launching from the Lighthouse ramp a few weeks ago and couldn't push the boat off the trailer. Luckily there was another boat unloading next to me with the same problem and we joined forces to get both our boats off the trailers. From now on I will make sure the tide is not all the way out when unloading or loading up.

It is nice to get out on the low tide to see where all the shallow spots are, just make sure you don't get too shallow when the tide is going out.

[FishWithChris]

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

Droze and I have passed each other many times. An aluminum boat, stainless prop, and Porter's rock/skeg guard are confidence boosters.

On Sunday I saw rocks I've had marked and run WOT over even at a 1' tide, and these things were skyscrapers out of the water. Humbling.

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[Salty Gator]

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

Droze and I have passed each other many times. An aluminum boat, stainless prop, and Porter's rock/skeg guard are confidence boosters.

On Sunday I saw rocks I've had marked and run WOT over even at a 1' tide, and these things were skyscrapers out of the water. Humbling.

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We see him back there all the time also. I don’t know why he acts like no one but him fishes those creeks at low tide.

Also, I don’t know why he’s telling the op to drag a kayak like we do when we want to go. Droze has “creek name redacted” junked up with stashed boats, why not just do that?

[ropeman]

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

What type of boat are you using to get up in there?

[tailwaters]

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

What type of boat are you using to get up in there?

He fishes with me out of a 15' G3. Yes the boat helps but having an intimate knowledge of the area is also key. I've been fishing those creeks on low tide since a teenager and am 46 now. Some of the channels are only as wide as the boat, there are humps you can ground out on, there are rocks that don't stick up above the grass making them almost invisible. Over the years I have broken 2 or 3 drive shafts along with several skegs and props. It's just the cost of learning which I was happy to pay.

Understanding the tides is also a big part of it. If the tide chart for the SM Lighthouse says low tide is at noon, it can be 2, 3 or even 4 hours later depending what creek you are at. Hell, it can be hour difference between the mouth of a creek and the back of it.

Yes, people in boats fish these locations on low tide. The ones that do normally have the right setup and a good knowledge of the area. I'm not trying to encourage or discourage anyone from fishing them, just wanting to give you a realistic idea of what it takes to do so.

[Salty Gator]

There are several forum members that can, and do access those creeks at low tide that aren’t in airboats

What type of boat are you using to get up in there?

As tw mentioned, he/ we use a g3. There are a few that fish similar boats. One forum member fishes there out of a gheenue, there are a couple that fish out of tp skiffs and some kayak anglers. Finding those channels tw was speaking of is the key.