Coopers gone fish'in

Jimmy Cooper, his two sons Mitchell and Jake, and grandfather "Coop" fished with me yesterday. We had beautiful weather, a very light breeze and sunshine. We crossed the marina and stopped at the long oyster bed at Lanceford Creek. Mitchell and Jake had never used a spinning outfit so we got in some practice casts with live shrimp on Sure Catch jigs and before long they were getting some bites with Jimmy getting the first fish in the boat, a Jack Crevalle. We ran around to Tiger Island and anchored up and shortly Mitchell was reeling in a nice flounder. Jake joined in on the action with a couple of croaker and we also caught a vermillion snapper. The tide was starting back in so we used the trolling motor to get us through the cut to Bell River and ran to the docks on Lanceford Creek. We ended the day here with Jimmy reeling in a "puppy drum" and then a Sheepshead. Mitchell and Jake's casting had improved throughout the day so that they were beginning to make pin-point casts. What a great way to be out on the water with a Grandfather, son, and two fine young men.

In search of Manatee

When Bob Tidball from the Addison House on Amelia Island called and said he had some guests who'd like to do an eco-tour and see some manatee I joked that normally I couldn't gaurantee seeing manatee but maybe I'd let a few out of their cages! I met Buddy and Shannon Barnes at the City docks and we crossed the river to one of my first go-to spots for tailing Reds. The tide wasn't quite high enough for Reds in the grass, but we did see two Horseshoe Crab cruising along. We eased through the cut from Bell River to Tiger Basin, cruised Tiger Island and saw some birdlife, then crossed over to Cumberland Island and up into Beach Creek. I thought I saw a tail flap up ahead and sure enough, we found a family of three manatee munching on the grass. We slowly lowered an anchor and watched the family for 30 minutes as they had their lunch. I get as excited as my guests at seeing the manatee and I realized that I was hogging the prime picture taking position on the bow so I relinquished the spot to Buddy and Shannon! After a while we cruised further up the creek and saw a racoon cutting through the marsh grass; we all thought it was unusual to see a raccoon out in the middle of the afternoon. As we left Cumberland we eased along the south shore and found a herd of horses grazing in the marsh, then we crossed to see historic Fort Clinch to wrap up the trip. After I dropped Buddy and Shannon off, I went back to Cumberland to get the manatee back in their cages!

Salt Water Fishing License Required for Shorebound Anglers

Effective August 1, 2009, many Florida residents who were previously exempt from purchasing a saltwater fishing license will be required to purchase a saltwater fishing license before fishing from the shore or a pier, bridge or jetty attached to the shore, unless they are a member of a group* that is still exempted from the license requirements. Read more....

Boat Fire at City Marina

Boat fire kills dog, takes all
By Angela Daughtry, News-Leader
City and county firefighters battle a yacht fire at the city marina Monday night, above and below, before a crowd of onlookers. The boat was a total loss. Photos by Robert Fiege/News-Leader. Read more here...

Shark infested waters!

Capt. Ron Presley of Cocoa Beach, Florida was visiting Amelia Island with his wife so he and I were able to get out on the water this morning. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7:30am and eased across the harbor to fish a long oyster bank at Lanceford Creek. It was a clear, beautiful morning with only a slight breeze. We had a few nibbles, but no hook ups so we cruised through the marsh to Tiger Island. Again, just a few nibbles, but no takers. We picked up and ran to Jolley River, fished the east bank, then on up to one of the creeks that branch off. It wasn't long before Ron's drag was singing with a large fish ripping line off. He fought it expertly to the boat, and into the net. We snapped pictures of the nice, Bonnet Head shark and then slid him back into the creek. We hooked up with a few more of these hard fighting fish then moved on. Although the next few stops didn't produce any real bites, it was good to get out with Ron and trade "Charter stories". Thanks Ron, see you on your next trip!.

Big Red and lot's of Spots

I fished Sunday afternoon with Jeff Fuchs who was visiting from West Palm Beach with his family and staying at the Ritz Carlton. We left the south end dock around 2pm and had the last of the outgoing tide to fish. Our first stop was at the mouth of Jackstaff Creek up at Horsehead and boy what a way to start! Jeff was an excellent caster and was pinpointing his Sure Catch jig and shrimp bait to the base of the oyters; we had only trolled the bank for about 50 yards when he hooked up to a big fish, fought it to the boat....and it broke off! OUCH! He hooked up with another briefly - it got off, then he hooked up again and fought this large 27", 6lb, 25-spot Redfish to the net (17 spots won the Redfish Spot Tournament in Jax last month). We were both huffing and puffing with excitement. I eased the boat up to the same spot and UMPFF! Fish on! Jeff boated a 18", 2lb Red. We again eased up to the "spot" and Jeff hooked up again, but this time he yelled, "It's bigger than the 1st". After a long battle, Jeff led the large 30", 9 1/2lb Redfish into the net. Like the others, we snapped some pictures and released this beautiful fish to fight another day. We eventually cast netted some finger mullet and picked up a nice Jack Crevalle, a small trout and then ended the day as the sun began to fall with a fat 19" Trout at Broward Island. What a great day of fishing!

The Bait is here! The bait is here!

I fished yesterday afternoon with my buddy, Charlie Jones. He's been off all week and picked me up at the Holley Pointe boat ramp. It was dead low and as we rounded the first bend in Christopher Creek we could see pods of finger mullet along the bank. Charlie positioned the boat while I tossed the cast net and we eventually had 2-3 dozen finger mullet along with a couple of dollar sized crabs. We ran to Broward Island to get out of the wind (will it ever stop blowing?) and trolled up the north end, casting our fresh baits and Sure Catch Jigs up to the shoreline. I hooked up fairly quickly - the fish came to the top of the water, rolled and came off! When I got my bait in, it was intact, so I'm still trying to figure that one out. A little later we eached hooked up, bringing in some nice, fat trout. We caught some more and lost a few, but ended the day with some really good fishing.

Fishing and Sightseeing

We had friends Bill and Denise Sweeney in from Maryland to take in the Shrimp Festival and decided to get out in the boat for a few hours on Friday. We launched from the north end boat ramp around 8am and had a baitwell full of live shrimp; the tide was low at 9am. Our first stop was on the east side of Jolley River, fishing the oyster beds with Sure Catch jigs and live shrimp. We had a few nibbles, but moved up the river to some of the creeks as the tide began to inch back in. The wind picked up so we ran to the docks on Bell River. Again, we had a few bites, some that wanted to take, but never hooked up. With the sun getting high and hot, we made a run by Tiger Island and over to Cumberland for some sightseeing and came upon a small herd of horses with a couple of new foals. Out by noon and on to some Seafood!

County Approves No Wake Zone

By Ryan Smith, Fernandina Beach News-Leader

The Nassau County Commission passed an ordinance Monday creating a no-wake zone in the waters around the North End Boat Ramp. The zone, in which boaters will have to cruise at idle speed, will extend 500 feet north and 500 feet south of the boat ramp. However, some locals don't think it goes far enough, and the commission agreed to investigate extending the zone.
Read more....

Recipe of The Month: Shrimp and New Potato Stew

Another recipe from The Cooks Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking by Joanna Farrow:

1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

12 ounce jar (or can) tomato and chili sauce

11 ounces peeled shrimp

(I added some chopped celery, Vidalia onion, crushed garlic and corn)

Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water, boiling the water for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain and return to pan.

(I browned the garlic in some olive oil, and added the celery and onion, ) then

Finely chop half of the cilantro and add to the pan with the tomato and chili sauce and 6 tablespoons of water (I forgot the water). Bring to boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp and cook a few more minutes until they are cooked. Spoon into bowl and sprinke with remaining cilantro pieces.