BigBendFishing.Net

You guys know that I am new to boating and fishing.....my boat manual says that 3' is required to run. I am a little nervous about putting in and running out of Econfina after reading some of the posts. Please give me some feed back. Do you think I am gonna have a problem?

I will try to help you as much as I can, however, Econfina can be tricky, depending on tides and wind.

I will also tell you that even out of the mouth of the river, there are rocks and oyster bars that you need to be careful of. (Although not nearly as bad as the rock garden above aucilla)

That being said, first, get a good tide program like WXtide32 (Free) and install it on your PC. I use the 1.5 foot mark as a deciding factor as to when to go out or not. In normal wind conditions, if you put in or come in at 1.5 or above, you will be fine, BUT there are a few spots you need to be careful. One is right past the no wake zone going out. There is a big rock to the center left of the river in the left hand bend there. NOT a place to dig in the rear of your boat to get on plane. As a newbie, I would just use the end of the trees as a guide as to where to get up on plane.

You are lucky in a sense that they just put up new markers at Icky at the mouth, so you can stay between them going out at the tripod.

Now, here is where you will get conflicting stories.

I always go to the LEFT of the tripod. You will also see a PVC pipe sticking up to the left of the tripod. Go to the LEFT of that also. It marks a little oyster bar. Once past that, keep a due south heading until you are in deeper water.

If you go to the right of the tripod, be warned there is a sand bar and a little more to the right there are some rocks that can tear up your foot. I see people go that way all the time, and have no idea what percentage get out without hitting something.

I am also attaching a map I made that will tell you where some of the stuff to watch out for is.

The BEST thing to do is have someone familiar with the river go out with you the first time.

I know I covered a lot here, but do not be scared, heck, Aucilla has even MORE rocks....


NOTE: This map does not have the new markers on it.



Dubble

QB,What boat do you have?

I have a Bayliner 175 Bow Rider with an inboard/outboard motor. I ran aground the frist weekend I had the boat and now I am paranoid! We usually go out of St Marks and then in toward the light house and have not had any problem in that area. I ran aground in Ocklocknee Bay at the mouth of the river on a day when there was a strong north wind. Like I said just extra cautious...I don't want to do anything too stupid.

All the Bayliners sit low in the water. I/O is not a plus for fishing where the fish are in our area.
You can get in and out of Econfina,but you should do it at WOT until you hit your safe run depth.
Otherwise you would need to idle until the tide level comes up.
You have 3 weeks to trade for a good flats boat.

If you will be there Friday to prefish any of our members could give you some pointers relative to Econfina area.

QB-

Although I've yet to fish that area, I've also read horror stories and seen some nasty pictures of the after effects. If I were you, I'd pass on this area for now. A bad experience with your new boat could really sour your enthusiasm for the whole sport at this point in time.

However- If you are dying to go for it, you really need to go down there the day before the tournament and just poke around and get a clean set of GPS tracks to follow so you'll get a solid footing (no pun intended) on tournament day... (It wont hurt to pre-fish the area)

I'd hate to see you end up with reef-balls.

just my .02

MJ

Just have someone take you out in a go devil on a 0.0 tide or lower and your desire to take your boat there will be gone forever.

St Marks is a better area to launch from in that boat, IMO.

I will have to agree with the last 2 posts. When I was typing the earlier post, I did not know you had an I/O bayliner. Unless you would be willing to only be out in a 2 ft or higher tide, I would forego Econfina with that boat.

Not saying it WON'T go out there, you would just have to be a lot more careful...

Even in my boat, I always go out knowing there are things out there that may cause me to use my Seatow membership....

A few weeks back, I was 3 miles off the mouth and luckily ran up on an old birdrack about 4 inches out of the water. My path was only about 20 feet from it. If I had hit it at speed, not only would I have lost a motor foot, I probably would have also had a hole in my hull. I marked it on my GPS, and now know where IT is. But I always wonder about the other stuff that lurks out there.......

Just have to accept the risk and be careful, cuz I love fishing that area.

Dubble

Pack a lunch, water, and drinks because you WILL get stranded if you fish it enough. I have a jack plate and still get scared if the tide is low. Hang around the boat ramp and watch the boats coming in on a low tide. With that said I know guys that launch off shore boats from there.

DT, Please share the sunken rack numbers with the citizenry as a public service.

Thanks

I/O at Anky is marginal. If you go out and come in at 1.5+
you'll probably be OK with the river if you stay on plane around the
mouth. Be especially careful if N-NE wind is blowing as tide charts don't mean anything then and water can leave the area. Most folks who have fished Anky have been caught out and had to hunker down and wait until water decides to return. I always carry extra clothes and rations as I've been caught out several times. Once out you can fish a lot of water but need to stay away from bars and known shallow areas.

If anyone ever doubts we all live charmed lives down there...I agree with the post about viewing the area on a 0 or negative tide. Frightening!

All that said...it's still a GREAT PLACE!

RodBow wrote:DT, Please share the sunken rack numbers with the citizenry as a public service.

Thanks

Here is my original post about it.

http://www.bigbendfishing.net/phpbb/vie ... hp?t=12927

DT

Don't do it, QB! Your I/O spells trouble at the landing and, especially, at the mouth of the river during any low tide. Sorry - Ya'all may need to go with someone else if you want to fish this tournament! Presently, I'm trying to find out from the Mangler if he is using his boat to fish the tournament. If so, you can get in my boat...when I say "the Roddenberry Wrecking Crew", that usually means both our boats will be in the mix! me or pm and we'll discuss it!

QueenB...git u a metal bote...

I don't think I would run an I/O out of anything in that area (Spring Warrier, Finholoway, Econfina or Aucilla). Getting a clean track in your GPS is an excellent idea if you get it at low tide. It doesn't take much of a drop in tide to screw up a good track at Ecky.

Just my two cents and I'm sure its worth a plug nickel at least