Reports from Little Shark River Anchorage, South of Marco Island, SW Florida Coastline
Mouth of Little Shark River - Click for Chartview
Little Shark River is an interesting, but sometimes very buggy anchorage that lies well south of Everglades City and a short hop north of Cape Sable. It is one of the most backwater cruising possibilities in all of Florida.
Just don’t try anchoring here on a still, summer night, or even in October, as Captain Luby relates. The little guys will come out, pick your boat up, and consume it in the nearby marsh! The SSECN recommends three Little Shark River anchorages in our Western Florida Anchorage Directory, but there are actually several dozen spots you might choose to drop the hook.
Anchored here Oct 2013 and it was fascinatingly beautiful. Though the water is black and nothing much visible below the surface, there were many creatures jumping. One very large creature would surface making a large splash but we could never see what it was ‘“ thinking it would be manatees surfacing. We were alone this night and it was incredibly peaceful and the sky was incredible with billions of stars and no ambient light. Bugs were fierce after dark and cutters held most at bay but a few got through. Hatch screens a must here if you want to sleep. Recommend this as interim between Marathon and Marco areas. Depths going in and out were fine. A little challenging to locate by eyesight so the GPS was required to find it. Have fun.
Jim Luby
`A little buggy’ is quite the understatement. This is a fantastic anchorage . . . in January, February. Otherwise it’s mosquito hell.
Ed Robinson
We were there on August 10, 2013 with one other boat for one night and had nearly zero bugs. I suppose it was because we had a 15 to 20 knot wind just about the entire time. We had a few of the big horsefly type flies, but nothing else. I suppose we were just lucky, but we were prepared none the less. I was actually able to cook a pork loin on the grill outside without any issues. This is REMOTE and a really fine anchorage ‘“ well protected in just about any direction as long as you choose your spot wisely. A west or southwest wind might be a problem, but when we were there the wind was out of the east. It even has a marker to help you find it, but I would recommend GPS as the coast looks pretty much the same all around. Don’t confuse the larger Shark River just north of here ‘“ it does not have much protection. We had a few fishermen come by in small boats before dark, but after dark, it was dead quiet and VERY dark with zero ambient light. It is strategically located just about the halfway point between Marco and the Keys. I highly recommend this anchorage.
Dave Fuller
In the past, we had to hug the shore away from Fl G’1’³ at the entrance to the Little Shark River, as the shoaling came out into the channel there. Not sure what the current conditions would be.
Our first visit to Little Shark was during a 50K/12’ seas blow. The conditions inside were `severe calm’. A Great Anchorage!
Nils Pearson `Fairwinds’
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