Econfina River - first time advice

[Reddogwood]

I’ve got a couple nights towards the end of July at Econfina resort and looking forward to exploring the area on the boat (Carolina skiff 198 dlv). I grew up shallow water fishing/boating in SW FL, just never here.

Any advice would be welcome. I’ve read a lot of posts on here from years back…. Stay to the right of the tripod….. stay to the left of the tripod…. 180 deg track after you pass it. Just looking for the latest feedback and any current input. Decent fishing this time of year? Tides are generally good, lows down to 0.41… just exactly how harry will that be??

I was thinking one day head north towards the Aucilla (not going up it!) and one day heading south towards Fenholloway.
Stay offshore enough to be comfortable and creep nice and slow in and out.

We’ll have our kayaks too and planning to hit the springs on the Wacissa on our way to Alligator Point when we leave Econfina. Any feedback on that? Other good paddling options? Like hickory mound…. Is that good to drop in and paddle/fish some of the small creeks?

Appreciate any feedback/advice/warnings.

Thanks!

[doomtrpr_z71]

The old timers on here say stay left, my coworkers that have places down there stay right, I've stayed right every time I've went but I also have navonics and run both the map and aerial overlay when I run down there. There is a deeper cut to the left of the tripod but there's also an oyster bar. You'll probably have an easier time anyway, first time I ran it was in the winter and the tin boats trolling the river are annoying for someone on plane. But when I say to the right I mean right at the tripod, there is a 5 ft mark on navonics out from the tripod and I shoot for that mark to run out to deeper water cause there are a ton of rocks to the right out from possum gap. Also make sure you note the pole that marks a deep hole in the river to drop off plane into before the no wake zone. And there is a large rock at that sign, I still managed to hit it last trip at idle even though I knew where it was. Here is the old map posted on here.

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[cleanlivin]

Just be cautious leaving the ramp on the lower tide and be careful of rock pile right across river when backing boat out of ramp. Once you get out past the tripod as you mentioned just stay out from shore a mile or two and if t you go in towards land there are lots of rocks in some places. Fishing in July can be hit or miss due to the hot water temperature so id fish deeper. Good luck on your trip

[ropeman]

I guess I've had dumb luck running Econfina because I fished it twice with my old aluminum boat and 4 or 5 times with my new fiberglass boat and never hit anything (knocking on wood as I type this). I even ran through Possum Gap in the old boat to get to Oyster Creek those two times. There are some good spots around Oyster Creek, and if you go south take a look around Rock Island. I use Navionics a lot for scouting an area, but it's hard to use on the phone while running the boat.
https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@13&key=_vivDxwe_O

Your plan sounds pretty good! If you have time to paddle at Econfina a trip up river is pretty cool. If you're going to the Wacissa from Econfina I imagine you plan on going by Goose Pasture instead of the head spring end. That area is most likely less crowded than the top end. Check out Wakulla Beach and Skipper Bay if you have time on the drive.

[Reddogwood]

Appreciate the input! Nice and slow it is.

I was planning on the head end springs. A little easier to coerce a wife on the short paddle and deal with boat in tow (and possibly drop the Carolina skiff in as a plan B?? The ramp looks adequate from what I can tell.)

Skipper Bay/Wakulla beach…. I saw those. Look pretty cool but don’t think I’d risk access with boat in tow.

Any experience paddling Econfina river above 98? I read about put-in at Whiddon Rd. but can you put in at Cabbage Grove Salt Rd.?

[Reddogwood]

Also curious about Navionics. Looks pretty user friendly? Can you download for areas with no signal and still track your location?

Would you recommend this (or anything else) for someone who gets to Florida once or twice a year?

[ropeman]

Also curious about Navionics. Looks pretty user friendly? Can you download for areas with no signal and still track your location?

I got the Navionics mobile Boating App back in 2019 and I think the subscription was $15/year. Now I got a new phone and the map doesn't show any detail so I tried to subscribe and it's $49 per year. I really liked using it on the boat, but I'm not sure if it's worth $49. I plan trips using the website all the time.

[Redbelly]

I fish out of Ecofina a lot. Get the map "Top Spot" and that should help. Go early out to 5' and put a pinfish under a cork. Rocks are marked at the mouth with buoys. There are a couple going out not marked so stay in the middle mostly. Try to go out in no less than a 1' low tide. Catch'em!

[doomtrpr_z71]

In my opinion the navonics app is pointless as the expired cards are almost the same price as a year subscription. Plus it's a pain to do anything on your phone while driving the boat. The best thing to do is to download sasplanet and mark anything you want from navonics and put the points in your GPS.

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[big bend gyrene]

To Redbelly's comment, I've been fishing out of Ecky for 20+ years and as much as possible I prefer running in and out with between 1' to 1.5' positive tide. Worth noting summer tides tend to be a tad on the higher side of forecast / a bit more forgiving, whereas in the winter tides often will run lower than forecast and especially so when winds are strong and coming out of the north.

As others have shared, BIG rock close to the no wake zone sign just past the shacks going out. I never try getting on plane just past the sign... always tilt my motor up a bit, run at putt-putt speed, shift a bit right just past the sign when heading out, while watching my depth finder and waiting to get on plane once the bottom numbers show I've gone well past the rock and reached safely deep waters for getting on plane.

Finally, with anything less than 1' to 1.5' + tide you want to be really careful if you're east or west of the mouth and are thinking about running into the shallow grassline area as there are LOTS of rocks and oyster bars around out miles from the shoreline. I tend to fish east of the mouth and have 3 precise different paths I'll use when going from deeper waters to fish the shoreline, and don't vary much off of them to avoid issues.

Finally, and say this tongue in cheek... I prefer when the water is really stained than when it's crystal clear, as when it's clear you get to see JUST HOW MANY ROCKS you're motoring over and it really ups the pucker factor!

Oh, forgot to add I'm one of the OG that goes left of the tripod when headed out... I hug it fairly close and right as I get close to it take the 180 bearing when headed out. When headed back in, as long as I've got a 1.5+ tide I don't come off plane until I reach the big rock in the river near the shacks. Will also add that the oyster bar that runs right along the east edge of the mouth / has the stake pole to mark the end of it is a good visual indicator of what the real tide is actually running. If the bar isn't visible / is submerged you're in relatively good shape running the center of the river (while dodging marked/staked rocks)... you see small waves forming as current hits the bar or see the actual oyster bed exposed, best go in more carefully / slowly.