Steinhatchee - Dallus Creek Boat Ramp

th19999

Hey guys. This is my first time posting here in Big Bend as I am from southeast Florida in Palm Beach County.

I have been scalloping a few times in years past in Steinhatchee and always left from Steinhatchee River. I am starting to plan a scallop trip for next season. Last time there I checked out the Dallus Creek boat ramp and it looks nice.

I have a question on launching a small skiff from Dallus Creek boat ramp. My 15' flat bottom skiff drafts really shallow and I can usually go over shallow sand bars easily even pushing it if needed.

I have only herd by searching on this and other forums where people use the Dallus Creek boat ramp for kayak along with air boats. From google earth it looks like a maze of sand bars.

Will I have any issues launching my skiff from this location to get out to the scallop grounds?

Thanks in advance. Also is it a good general area to scallop off Dallus Creek?

As you can see the boat is really light and drafts shallow with my small 8hp

capt louie

Yes , I do it in my 1620 Action craft , except on high tides. Plot a course on your GPS to follow back. It all looks the same and you will forget the location of some bars.

Salty Dawg44

smh

Your boat should do fine in Dallus Creek.  If you are navigating it when the tide is lower, you may scrape bottom or have to push in a few places.  Like capt louie said, save a track on your GPS unit to follow since it can get confusing.  Once you clear the creek, you should be real close to historically good scalloping grounds (realizing that they may concentrate in different areas from year to year).  It is definitely a pretty area with the bonus that you won't likely have to deal with the typical boat ramp circus during scallop season.

th19999

Thanks for the information.

I was thinking that my plan would bypass riding several miles north along with avoiding the hectic boat traffic that happens in Steinhatchee.

I do not think launching my skiff from Steinhatchee and making the miles of run to the scallop grounds is very doable in my boat as it goes slow with that 8hp and along with the flat bottom that kind of skips around and can be a bit wet in chop and slop. But it can do well in very shallow water!!

I will probably be going with a few other families that have bay boats along with a 20' twin vee that would not be able to use the Dallus Creek ramp. 

If all works out I could definitely be on the water gathering scallops well before they arrive and also avoid the discomfort of traveling back and dealing with the afternoon storms.

Maybe (in a perfect fantasy) I would even get my scallop limit, catch a few fish, be back at wherever we stay, have my potential catch cleaned, scallops shucked, myself showered, and sitting drinking a cold one before the group gets back!!!

Slacker

you can fish there that time of year, I just keep going deeper until I find trout

reds on last of incoming on the grassy shoreline

I fish till my crew threatens mutiny and then throw them in the water

capt louie

One year I was able to leave my camp on 51 get a 4gal limit of scallops and be at my camp in 3 hours drinking beer and almost done cleaning them.