Little Tybee - March 23-26, 2006

Tides, tides, tides. It seems no matter how many times you read something it never really connects until it is too late. I had an old friend, whom of which was an Alabama football fan, who once said to me to never underestimate the "Tide". It wasn't until this Tybee trip that I realized that he apparently was referring to the ocean "tide" and not the team. (Makes better sense now.) First things first, though. We (Me (Brian), Chris, Barry and Robert) decided in order to make the trip as fulfilling as possible we would drive to Savannah late Thursday evening once everyone finished up with work. While Robert had coaching responsibilities while in Gulf Shores, he chose to drive from there to meet up with us in Savannah. Chris and I met up with Barry in Atlanta and started from there. Although it was tiresome for us all, it proved to be beneficial as we briefly toured the city of Savannah Friday morning before beginning our paddle adventure. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the River House Cafe where we each insisted on having at least one drink while enjoying the good food. We didn't allow very much time to take in as much of the city as we had wished but it was certainly enough for us to consider our return. After lunch and after checking our gear to assure that the dream weaver bamboo artist didn't steal anything, we left Savannah in pursuit of our next destination, Little Tybee. Before meeting our put-in destination we first had to make a stop at Tybee Island Marina where we would absorb as much knowledge about fishing in the marsh and the surf as Ray, the owner, would permit and loaded up on frozen bait and other appropriate tackle (this turned out to be very useful - Thanks Ray!!). From there we were required to stop and get a parking pass that had inflated to $12 a day as compared to $7.00 a day just five months prior. That island is pretty small and I suppose it is worth the price. Finally, we did reach our put-in destination about an hour or so before high tide. Although the water was fairly calm, we did have a moderate breeze to contend with all the way in. We made our way through the marsh without any difficulties and caught a ride on the exiting tide while paddling the Tybee Slough. After reaching our camp destination we were amazed at how much the area had changed just since last October. We set up camp on the "spit" which was on the southern most tip of Little Tybee. While there, our intentions were to fish as much as possible during the day and just enjoy our surroundings. This all would be much more troublesome than originally planned. From put-in to take-out the wind did not let up for ONE SINGLE MOMENT! It had a MAJOR influence on our plans and recreation. Lucky for us, we enjoy being outdoors regardless of the conditions or we would have been miserable. We did good to make the best of it and still managed to do the things we set out to do. Friday was pretty uneventful as we just adjusted to our camp spot and soaked up the environment. This place is truly unreal. Because of Robert's fishing success in the Gulf just days previous, I was pretty hyped up at the thought of catching some speckled trout, flounder, and red fish. But due to unfavorable tide conditions, fishing was a disappointing for the most part. While Robert stayed in the marsh fishing for reds and flounder, Barry and I decided to push on to the mouth of Jacks Cut at "The Back River" to try our hand at whiting. I caught two Whiting and Barry caught one and one crab. Although we all had higher expectations, it certainly made my day to have experienced some success. I filleted the three unfortunate whiting, which some how only yield "five" fillets (LOL), and fried them up at camp. Not very filling but was a great treat and a good learning experience.
Each night we managed to build a wonderful fire to keep the chill off while keeping us from going to bed before 8:00. I believe I would be speaking for us all to say that the fire was probably one of the major highlights of the trip.
Now. Back to the TIDES! High tide Sunday morning, I believe, was 5:14 A.M. We decided that leaving by or between 8 and 9 AM we would be OK to make it through the marsh. WRONG! We left by 8:00 AM and paddled up Tybee Slough to locate the only passage through the marsh and back to out take-out destination. Upon arrival and much to our disgust, the marsh had already drained too much to allow our boats to pass. Not having any options, we had to get out and begin "walking" out of there. I'm not sure you could call it "walking" at all. It was more like dredging our way through thick black MUD. Literally knee deep on average and occasionally reaching the waist. Had it not been for having our boat to use as leverage to dislodge our feet and legs, we could very well still be there. What an experience.
I prefer the other guys (Barry, Chris and Robert) give their detailed version of this part of the trip. Stay posted as they will eventually send it in.