Sunday, August 31, 2014

Jacksonville's very own Salt Marsh

Did you know that the Timucuan(Timucua:early American Indian)preserve is the only natural preserve that exsists within the boundaries of a city limit in the whole county? You bet! Well I must say that it's certainly a nice back yard to have indeed and only a few minutes drive away! While I once lived some long time ago in south Florida we always had a minimum 2 hour drive to get ourselves into the wilds of saltwater fishing. Now life is easier! 20 minutes away nestled in the northeast corner of Jacksonville just inside off the Atlantic Ocean and up into the St. Johns River is this huge back water estuary that's loaded with a wide variety of fish, birds, mammals and some reptiles that will make you feel like your deep into the wilderness. When I first saw the waters of the Timucuan  preserve I asked myself which way do I go and how do I not get lost?

    It  is approx. 65 square miles of salt marsh measuring approx. 7 x 9 miles big! That equals
   46,000-acre area of tidal creeks, mud flats and spartina grass and wide variety of wildlife.

Fishing the backwater maze of creeks in the saltwater tidal marshes Timucuan Preserve. This photo was taken at low tide in NE Jacksonville. The area happens to have to biggest tides in the whole state of Florida averaging approx. 5-6 ft. of water, moving in the 6-hour tide swing which really concentrates the fish for better fish catching.