I hope you enjoyed the first post and pics for Fort George Inlet, it’s a pretty magical and quintessential Florida spot and I could go on and on about how to enjoy your day out there.
But this post is not only about how to enjoy your day, but also a cautionary tale as to how your awesome day can quickly turn, well…not awesome.
First, I wanted to mention the trip out to Fort George. It’s beautiful. There are tons of creeks and fishing holes, unspoiled land and islands, winding streams you can run up and down on, great for kayaking and even better for getting some yummo redfish to catch (and eat). Sisters Creek is one such creek, especially early in the morning before it gets too hot, or once our Florida winter hits (for 3 weeks). It’s a great place to cruise around. In the winter, bring your jackets and hoodies.
The water is usually pretty calm and you can do some watersports in these areas as well, just look out for boats and don’t try putting toys or tubes in the water if there are a ton of boats heading out, mainly during holiday weekends. It’s not safe. Don’t do it. Tubing, wakeboarding, knee boarding and wake skating are all things we regularly enjoy on these creeks while heading toward Fort George Inlet. And fishing. Don’t forget the fishing.
Okay now to get down and dirty about your day trip expedition to this sand bar wonderland…the tides suck. I mean Mother Nature is awesome, but the tide differences out here are insane. At low tide you’ll find it extremely difficult to navigate from Sisters Creek to Fort George Inlet and you’ll most likely get stuck at dead low tide. Just last weekend we found ourselves in a herd of beautiful center console salt water boats…all stuck in the 1foot low tide. Most people just kept popping their cans, without a care, waiting on the tide to roll back in, while others (like us) got out and pushed their rig slowly through the shallows.
You’ll also most likely see a few boats on the sand bars tipped over sideways on shore and completely beached. Some boaters do this on purpose and wait for the tide to roll back in before heading out, but mostly this happens accidentally, when errr…”indulging” a bit too much and not paying attention to the changing of the tides. You must always watch the tides people. Always. Watch. Them. Because they sneak up on you and then if you’re stuck, well…you’re going to be sitting there for a few hours. So pack extra snacks…and drinks, just in case.
*hint-hint-winky-face*
Thankfully we narrowly escaped an incident like this ourselves (knock on wood) and haven’t found ourselves stranded and desolate (yet). However, another big warning when heading out here is to be sure you have a buddy boat, sea tow, or spare parts to fix a broken down boat. And yes, sadly…this has happened to us. Before we bought our awesome new Key West boat (side note: Key West, I am totally open to a sponsorship if you’re feeling me), we had an older boat and as you fellow boat owners know, boats break. Often. Especially older ones.
Long story short, (trust me the original version would take hours to read), our not-so-trusty old boat broke down after 8 hours of drinking and being extremely merry with a boat entirely filled with friends. Our ramp was a half hour boat ride away, and we had no sea tow service and even when we called they said they couldn’t get to us because of…take a guess? *ding-ding-ding*…low tide.
Sooooooo in order to get home we had to hike over cactus fields, just the women and children, and let the men try and float on our broken down boat to the nearby not-for-boats jet ski ramp (that I mentioned in the first blog) and meet us on a highway. We impaled ourselves on countless sharp, prickly cacti and made the agonizing journey to the road, where the men eventually were able to get to us and scoop us up. It wasn’t pretty. But somehow it’s one of our kids’ fondest memories, funny how that works. It was a day we’ll never forget, nor shall repeat. We are now prepared for all of the things. Mostly. I think. Dang now I am reliving that experience and second guessing everything. Don’t mind me. Still go out there and have yourself a day! Just don’t get stuck. You’ve been warned.
Trust me, it’s still worth it.
10 things to pack for your fishing day or creek cruising:
1. Fishing poles.
2. Bait.
3. Extra hooks and your tackle box.
4. Shoes (in case you find yourself hiking across oysters or cactus fields).
5. Drinks, food, water & ice.
6. For winter trips, hoodies and jackets. Layers are a Florida winter must.
7. Sunscreen.
8. Your Sublime Rides hat and UPF shirts.
9. Water-ride-toys (wakeboards, tubes, whatever your riding pleasure).
10. Trolling motor/anchors.
11. First Aid kit.
Stay tuned for more adventures, secret spots and of course lots and lots of riding awesome things and feeling that sublime vibe.
