Ochlockonee Bay: A ‘Lock' On Great Fishing in North Florida

Ochlockonee Bay fishing is one of North Florida’s well-hidden gems. Travelers on U.S. Highway 98, the east-west coastal thoroughfare in the Florida Panhandle, will pass through several small towns on their trip. But, early on, they will move through Panacea and immediately cross the E.N. Walker Bridge. It’s known locally as the Panacea Bridge because no one remembers that Walker was a Florida senator in 1916 who became famous for developing Florida’s first housing development at Wakulla Beach. As drivers cross the bridge, they get a view of two things—water and trees. Neither is particularly impressive, which explains why Ochlockonee Bay is truly a “Hidden Gem.”

The view from the Panacea Bridge reveals a bay that is about a mile wide and six miles long. There are no visual references to give the bay form except a line of docks along the Wakulla County side and a faint line of trees leading out to Bald Point at the mouth. These mirage-like views hide the complex system created by the convergence of the 206-mile-long Ochlockonee River where it meets the Sopchoppy River near the small community of Panacea.

I knew about the Ochlockonee Bay long before I had a boat to fish from and I’d learned about Bald Point while still a student at FSU. Bald Point, now a State Park, is on the western tip of the bay and it offers access to a complex of oyster bars from the shore. The gradual shallows allow wading to reach channels and dropoffs where redfish, speckled trout and flounder still come. This matrix of oyster bars is almost half a mile wide and stretches a mile into the bay where it deepens.

Destination: Ochlockonee Bay

I remember my first flounder-gigging trip to Ochlockonee Bay. It involved dragging a washtub and holding a Coleman lantern and homemade gig, while we waded from the base of the bridge toward the Gulf. This trek actually involved walking under what was then Faiver’s Seafood Restaurant which overlooked the bay. I recall smirking at what I thought people were paying for a flounder dinner while I gigged the same fish for free right beneath their feet. Of course, it never occurred to me back then that it might have been a lot easier and cheaper than buying gas to just order off the menu. I still struggle with this concept today.

At nine square miles or approximately 5,790 acres, Ochlockonee Bay is relatively small. Its compact size is partly what makes the bay desirable from a fishing perspective. A variety of habitat and fishing possibilities are compressed into a small area that can be fished in one day—albeit one ambitious day! Starting in the morning on a rising tide, Bald Point is the natural starting point. Because of the turbidity, Ochlockonee Bay does not abound with the seagrasses that are usually associated with speckled trout and other gamefish. But that doesn’t mean the fish aren’t present. Oyster bars like those at Bald Point anchor part of this bay’s food chain.

Redfish, Trout, Flounder …

Oyster bars serve as structure that attracts marine life. Fishing these bars can produce redfish, trout and flounder as well as Spanish mackerel. Adjacent to Bald Point, several creeks empty into the bay and are fishable on a rising tide. Following the tide upriver, the grass above the bridge where the marsh begins is a place redfish like to feed. The tidal creeks meander up to the Ochlockonee River State Park and continue between the Park and the Sopchoppy River, on the Wakulla County side of the bay. Both the Ochlockonee and Sopchoppy rivers join the bay separately and each one has equally good fishing to offer. During the coldest months the deep holes in both rivers are great places to find speckled trout and redfish. In winter, speckled trout often group by size, so if you only catch small fish, it is better to find a different spot where larger fish gather. Fishing farther up these rivers produces more freshwater fish such as largemouth bass, striped bass, sunshine bass and a variety of panfish.

When the tide begins to fall, the fishing strategy should be to follow it out fishing toward the bay. A falling tide is often considered the best for fishing tidal areas as it flushes shrimp and baitfish out of the creeks. This provides a second chance at fishing several spots on the trip out and makes for a full day.

Ochlockonee Bay borders the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the country. Bordering the bay on the northwestern side, the Tates Hell State Forest makes up over 200,000 acres where hiking, fishing, seasonal hunting, boating, camping and wildlife viewing are offered. In addition, a good bit of the bay is in the Apalachicola National Forest.

There are numerous boat ramps in this area with three located directly on the bay at Mashes Sands, Ochlockonee Bay Bridge and Brothers Three. Holiday Campground is next to the bridge on the Wakulla County side and several others are available in the area. Each year in the fall a blue crab festival is held that in addition to a parade, offers mullet tossing, crab picking and other entertainment. The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab is in Panacea where marine research and education are conducted and a public aquarium is maintained. There is no shortage of local restaurants and most of them offer a variety of seafood.

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• This article was featured as a “Florida Gem” in the August-September issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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