BigBendFishing.Net

I have been fishing the St.Marks area for years. Most of that time was either with a guide or rental boat. My point being I am not an expert at navigating the area either. I put in at the fort ramp in November and there were no issues at all. Got in the channel and headed towards the lighthouse. The channel does wind around and is pretty well marked with the exception of the area near the light house. This was probably my fault loosing sight of my markers.The sun was directly in my eyes and I lost the starboard marker and nearly got out of the channel near a bar. It was very windy the first day so it was hard to read surface signs. Ran east only after clearing the number 1 channel marker. I stayed well off the beach except when starting my drifts. I would ease towards the beach trimmed up some until about two and a half/three feet of water and then drift out. I ran to the west flats and drifted also. The only time I ran heavy throttle was in the channel and well off the beach. I guess what I am saying is the same thing the others said. Watch markers, watch speed and watch depth until you are comfortable. Have fun any day on the water is good.

Hire a guide/captain to go out with you in your boat to show you the basics. Always good to have someone knowledgeable show you first hand. Save your tracks on those trips on your chart plotter or Navionics app for future reference.


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Thanks for the folks that have suggested the Navionics app. Just perused the Wakulla River with it and this is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Being able to gauge depth in a location really helps to navigate areas.

Just know that upriver from the fish camp the deeper water shifts from one side of the river to the other multiple times on the Wakulla. Until you get comfortable with where those shifts take place, the river can go from eight feet deep to two in real short order. Take it slow until you get comfortable with this pattern.


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I would not use the navonics app as a replacement for an actual depth finder, a helix 5 would be worth the money to get decent maps and a decent screen.

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Anything to watch out for on the Apalachicola river? Figure I can launch at Estiffanulga and then travel upstream from there.

I rode by that place once, about 2 years ago. As i recall, the water was moving pretty swiftly at the ramp. It might make loading up a challenge for a novice boater. Can't help with the river though as I've never been on it.