# Fishing Out of St. Marks



## T Bone

I used to pole up there all the time. Careful running out there though, lots of hazards. Just east of St. Marks River is what they call the "rock garden", you can only imagine what it entails. Go at low tide and take your time


----------



## J-Dad

There's plenty of opportunity for a poling skiff around St. Marks. There are a ton of oyster bars along with the rocks T Bone mentions, but also redfish and large trout, and the hazards limit the number the of other boats in close. Get a good chart, put in some time exploring, and you can do well.


----------



## CDL

My backyard !! You don't just go at low tide and see....way too much rock, what kinda skiff you running ?


----------



## hunter4626

CDL said:


> My backyard !! You don't just go at low tide and see....way too much rock, what kinda skiff you running ?


My backyard also-1st trip you should use the marked channel, go past the light house turn left you will see a creek mouth/small bay opening go in there and start fishing the edges-low tide you should work out and head for the grass in 4 to 8 ft,I use all artificials-best luck on swimmer tail type jig heads-good luck -oh the farther east of the light house the more rocks-be cautious.


----------



## Guest

St marks/shell point and further east are good, but I'd suggest driving a little further west 

Out of Lanark village/carrabelle and fishing that area. Turkey point shoals, lanark reef are spots everyone bows but productive. Back side of dog island/st George/st Vincent are great sight fishing areas esp on fly 

If you want to stick around st marks try the pass just west of the light house and work west through shell point/mashes sands. Look out though it is oyster country


----------



## GatorFan321

CDL said:


> My backyard !! You don't just go at low tide and see....way too much rock, what kinda skiff you running ?


An Ankona ShadowCast. Why do you say to not go out at low tide? I would think that would be the best time to learn it. That's when the danger is the highest correct? I have never fished or navigated waters that have any tide fluctuation though so I could be wrong.

Thanks for all the replies. Im gonna go this weekend and give it a shot. Probably just try to figure out navigation more so than fish but Ill get some fishing in too.


----------



## CDL

If I were going to be in town this w/e I'd show you around but I have an appointment in NOLA.... I'll PM you when I get back. I'm between Tally and St. Marks


----------



## flysalt060

Second going west. Nice ramp at mashes sands. Go straight out the canal west to bald point. Or the sand ramp on hwy 98 in alligator bay and you have turkey pt and world famous mud cove. Doa shrimp under cork,gold spoon around the docks. Lots of poling skiffs you will not be stared at.


----------



## Icroc

I fish ankona shadowcast 18 out of Aucilla. It is super rocky with lots of oysters. I would not suggest going out of there at low tide. The water is really stained, so you can't see the rocks or oysters. You are more likely to hit them at low tide. 

I would suggest fishing out of St. Marks or Lanark.
There are no rocks and very little oyster bars out of Lanark. You can fish out of St. Marks to the East, but make sure you have a good GPS or cell phone app. (Navionics)with a bases map. You should be able to pick out the oyster bars and rock to ovoid hitting them. 

As far as fishing out of St. Marks this time of year. Fish a live pinfish or gulp under a popping cork. If you find the rock grass, you will find the trout...


----------



## GatorFan321

Well, went yesterday morning and fished the incoming tide through late morning into the afternoon. Picked up one trout and one red. We fished the shoreline east of the lighthouse for a couple miles and then ventured out to about 2 miles out then back in to a couple creeks when the water was really flowing in them. I have never seen such beautiful clear water with luscious grass and loaded with small pinfish and mullet. We only saw 3 reds all day though. I couldn't believe it. I must be doing something wrong. To see such a perfect environment for them and to not see fish was very disappointing.


----------



## PLANKTON7

u r redfish will flood out of creeks there, if u find them......


----------



## GatorFan321

The tide Sunday is going to be high at 7ish AM. Im planning on giving it another shot. What should I do to catch them? Should I just be on the pole in shallow water looking for them along the shore or should I be fishing the mouths of creeks with water flowing out or should 
i be 2 miles off the coast in deeper water blind casting? Or something completely different? Im used to poling around looking for tails flagging me down. I did not see one redfish tail yesterday.


----------



## J-Dad

At that higher tide I'd concentrate on the points, small creek mouths, bars, and other irregularities you find along the shorelines. You'll look for signs of fish (wakes, bait or mullet moving) more than tails.


----------



## Guest

I fished this area a lot while I was in school at FSU. We fished the creeks and creek mouths a lot, but was mostly blind casting. Find big pass on a map which is just west of the light house.

I can't remember the name of it, but there is a bay west of shell point that goes back to spring creek that is really oystery (real word?) if you hit the tide right, you can get into some shallower areas where the fish can't get way back into the tiny creeks and grass. You will see them pushing/waking 

There is a bay just east of that little clump of houses east of shell point(can't remember the name) that does have clear water and grass where sight fishing is possible but 
Like I said above, if you want to really be sight casting/fly fishing, you need to be west of alligator point. Turkey point shoals, lanark reef, backside of st George, dog island, st Vincent. It's not that much more of a haul to the ramps in alligator pt or lanark village


----------



## GatorFan321

Thanks for the replies. If I head further west, west of alligator point over to st george, the navionics chart says its shallow right up against the bank but drops off very quickly. Will they be up against the bank in the shallow water?


----------

