Bird Creek Park Fishing

Bird Creek Park sits where the road runs out: County Road 40 ends just past it on Withlacoochee Bay, near where the Withlacoochee River meets the Gulf. It is a simple county park with a beach, pavilions and a boat ramp, and a good base for shore fishing the bay and the creek.

• Free entry, open every day from sunrise to sunset
• Redfish, trout, sheepshead and black drum, with summer snapper, jacks and ladyfish
• A small beach, covered pavilions with grills and restrooms
• Kayak put-ins along the road and in the park for reaching the marsh creeks

The park is near the west end of County Road 40, known as Follow That Dream Trail, west of Yankeetown in Levy County, near where the Withlacoochee River reaches the Gulf.

• Getting there: follow Highway 40 west from US 19 at Inglis, through Yankeetown, to the end of the road
• Hours: open all year, sunrise to sunset
• Entry: free
• Parking: in the park; the boat ramp is just past the park entrance at the end of the road
• The walk: short from the car to the beach and the shoreline
• Levy County lists the park as open

Withlacoochee Bay mixes river water with the Gulf, and the creeks, oyster bars and rock edges around the park hold fish all year.

• Spring (Mar-May): redfish and speckled trout moving onto the flats; sheepshead on rocks and oysters early in the season
• Summer (Jun-Aug): redfish early in the morning, mangrove snapper around rock, crevalle jack and ladyfish chasing bait, Spanish mackerel toward the Gulf on calm days
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best redfish of the year, trout, and flounder moving out of the creeks
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum on hard bottom; trout in the deeper creek and river channels

Local anglers keep it simple, with two proven baits and a light rod.

• A 7-foot medium spinning rod with 15 lb braid and a 20 to 25 lb fluorocarbon leader
• Chunks of cut mullet on a fish-finder or Carolina rig along the bottom for redfish and black drum
• Live shrimp under a popping cork over grass and along creek mouths for trout and redfish
• Fiddler crabs or shrimp on a short leader beside rocks and oysters for sheepshead
• A 1/4 oz jighead with a soft-plastic shrimp or paddle tail to cover water on the moving tide
• Small spoons or jigs for jacks, ladyfish and mackerel when bait is showing

Tides here are mixed: usually two highs and two lows a day of unequal size, roughly 2 to 4 feet from low to high, and the bay is shallow, so the height of the tide decides how much water you can reach from shore.

• Fish the rising tide and the high water; low tide leaves the shallow shoreline hard to fish
• On lower water, redfish hold along the edge of the river channel and the deeper creek mouths
• Strong north winds after a winter cold front drain the bay even further
• Heavy rain upriver colors the water from the Withlacoochee; the clearer, saltier water is toward the Gulf
• Early morning and the last hours before sunset fish best in the summer heat

This is a quiet, remote park, so come prepared.

• There is no lifeguard; keep your casts well away from anyone swimming at the beach
• Boats use the ramp at the end of the road; stay clear of the ramp and its approach when casting
• Oyster bars and rock are sharp and slippery; wear shoes and do not wade far
• Shuffle your feet in shallow water to warn stingrays
• Summer afternoon thunderstorms build quickly over the marsh; leave the shore at the first thunder
• The Florida Birding Trail lists the parking and restrooms as not accessible

The park has the basics for a day on the water.

• Restrooms by the beach area
• Three covered pavilions with picnic tables and grills, first come, first served
• A small white-sand beach with no lifeguard
• A boat ramp at the end of the road and kayak put-in points along the road and in the park
• No bait, food or water for sale; Inglis and Yankeetown are the nearest places for supplies

• Plan around the tide: a morning high tide is the best time to fish from the shore here
• Bring cut mullet as well as shrimp; it is the local choice for redfish on the bottom
• The road out through the marsh is worth driving slowly: look for birds working bait in the creeks
• Bring a kayak if you can; the put-ins along the road open up miles of creeks
• Pack insect repellent, water and shade; nothing is sold at the park

Bird Creek Park is run by Levy County Parks and Recreation.

• The park is open sunrise to sunset; follow the rules posted at the park
• Take your line, hooks and bait scraps home; there are no fish-cleaning facilities listed
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• Shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC shore-based shark fishing permit
• Check current FWC rules (myfwc.com) for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything