From Football to Fishing

Peter Pray from the Atlanta area was in town to see FSU and Bobby Bowden's great game and extended his visit to get in some Amelia Island fishing. Although the air temperature was in the mid 30's, he and I both were dressed warmly and with the sun shining, we left the dock around 10am. It was a high tide, just starting out and we had a wind blowing 15-20mph, so we headed to Lanceford Creek for some protection. Peter warmed up and was tossing a jig/grub to the dock pilings as we trolled by. With no real bites, we pulled up and tried another dock system, but anglers had staked it out (and were pulling in trout left and right), so we moved on. We fished some run outs along the intercoastal, motored down to "Poteat cut" and anchored at a run out, spending a short time sharing some tasty Publix sandwiches that Peter had brought, then we moved on to Jackstaff, switching to a buctail jig tipped with mud minnows. The wind was really cranking now and my trolling motor was straining against the wind and current. We attempted to fish the rocks at Seymour's Pointe but the anchor continued to pull, so we trolled the docks. With bites few and far between we pulled up and ran back up the intercoastal, stopping at Rayonier's warehouse. After only a few casts of his jig/grub, Peter had a couple of good bites on the bottom, then UMPH, the fight was on! Peter played the fish like a pro and eventually boated a nice, fat 20" Trout. We also picked up a nice 18" Redfish from up in the pilings on one of the bucktail jigs tipped with a shrimp. This was some fairly tough fishing, but Peter stuck with it and prevailed. Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

Striper Fishing Hot in the St. Mary's and Nassau

Veteran angler Bud Hill reports that his son Skip and grandson Dustin Hill were fishing with jerk baits in the St. Mary's River yesterday and pulled in 10 nice Stripers up to 8lbs. A neighbor of mine reported that he and a fishing buddy fished the Nassau up near the I-95 bridge, trolling and fishing the runouts and pulled in 5 Stripers. He mentioned that the fish were striking up top rather than deep.

Hard Fought Fishin

I know folks who think of fishing in the winter time can only imagine bitter cold winds and nasty weather, but when Al Emerick, his son RC, his brother-in-law Joe, and friends Patrick and Kirby met me at the Goffinsville dock this morning it was just perfect weather. The sun was coming up and causing the marsh grass to glow gold, and as we turned the corner heading towards Horse Head a dolphin rolled in the water; the gulls and pelicans and cranes were out and all I heard was oohs and aahs- what a great way to spend time with friends during the holidays! First stop, after the customary round of hot cider, the guys all grabbed rods, some with topwater plugs and some with Cajun Thunder float rigs. We fished the oyster flats during the last of the incoming tide and then moved on to some creek run-outs. We fished "Poteat" cut, then the first stretch of Jackstaff. The guys were "game" and continued to cast and crack jokes and have a good time....but no real bites! I couldn't believe it! So we cranked the engine and ran through Jackstaff, around Seymour's Pt. and out to Broward Island. By this time the wind had picked up and fishing the downed trees and roots was made more difficult, but these anglers, as a buddy of mine says, "endeavored to persevere". RC lead the way and soon hooked up with a hard fighting Trout, then followed it with a frisky Redfish. Then Patrick got in on the action with a large Trout and Kirby followed it up with a Redfish. RC continued with the hot rod and wrapped up the day picking up another Redfish. Then the guys planned to head in to Fernandina for lunch and count it as another great day out on the water!

Have Oyster Roaster Will Travel

Carol and I "put on" an oyster roast the other day for a birthday party and everything went off without a hitch. This roaster is an outdoor firepit with a custom stainless steel grill that has an external ring with a inlaid "faux oak" wooden shelf. We dump the washed oysters on the grill and put the cover over it to roast them 'till they sizzle and are ready for opening. The shelf is handy to place the hot sauces, oyster knives, crackers and gloves. I also made my world famous "Gumbolaya", 20qt version, and the pot was scraped clean, good when it's hot!

Cold day, Hot fishing

I fished today with Mark Laurint and his son Brent from the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Fl. When we launched the boat at Goffinsville boat ramp just before sunup, the temperature was still in the mid 30's, but it was clear and we had no wind. We "puttered" down Nassau River until we could see the crab traps then cruised through Jackstaff to troll the mouth with our live shrimp/jig combo (after a round of hot cider). We were using the Shimano Stradic 1000FH's on a light rod with FINS Windtamer 12lb Slate Green braided line. The line is tied to a 17lb test fluorocarbon leader using a Uni-to-Uni knot. The tide was low and had just started coming in; we had only made about 50 yards when we had a nice hookup and boated a undersized Redfish. We fished the stretch up then back and boated a slot sized Redfish and Brent reeled in a hard fighting Blue. After the second run we picked the trolling motor and headed to Seymour's Pointe, anchoring along the rocks. Mark hooked up with a couple of Redfish then we were off down the river. With the sun beginning to warm things up, we trolled the docks at Goffinsville, picking up a couple of small trout on jigs, then headed for Broward Island...and a bonanza. Our first cast of live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float produced a Trout and then we picked up a couple of more Reds, one in the slot, then BOOM! Brent with a Redfish. Mark with a Redfish, Brent with a Redfish (and maybe another - we lost track). Most were just undersized but very aggresive and fun to catch. We ended up catching a few more trout to wrap up with (11) total Redfish, (6 1/2) total Trout, and (1) Bluefish, another beautiful day to be out on the water!

Newest Angler Arrives

My daughter Ashley and her husband Nathan Taylor of Holley Pointe, NC are the proud parents of Burgandy Elizabeth, born Saturday December 18th at 5:28pm. She was a "keeper" weighing in at 8lbs, 10oz. She's so beautiful and I'm really excited to meet her.

Just in time for Christmas!

See more at The Anglers Mark Art

Tough Conditions...but Fish On!

Although today's weather report called for highs in the 60's, sunshine and 7mph winds, Lowell Berry, his future wife Paula (tomorrow's wedding) and myself eventually figured out that weathermen aren't always right! It probably did get in the 60's but we only saw the sun peek through the low clouds once or twice and the wind was more like 10-15mph. Never the less, we gave it a good go, with Lowell and Paula working the shore line of Jackstaff with the jig/shrimp combo on a low and incoming tide. They only had a few nibbles so we moved around to Seymour's Pointe, anchored, and fished the rock line. It took awhile to get our float rigs positioned up near the rocks, but eventually we did and it wasn't long before Paula was battling a Slot-sized Redfish. She worked the fish to the boat and the waiting net for pictures and release. Shortly we had another Red on, this time taking the bait up near a grassy bank. In between stops we sipped on hot Apple Cider! Although we were leaving the windbreak of Seymour's Pointe, I wanted to give Broward Island a try so we pulled anchor and ran to the south end of Broward and began our troll back up river. With Lowell making good casts up between the downed trees it wasn't long before he had a hookup and worked to the boat a nice 11 spot Redfish. We had a few more bites as we trolled the shoreline, working in an out of the roots and trees. Paula had a nice, hard pulling hookup that quickly headed for a log, wrapped up, and broke off! That was a nice fish! (The big one that got away). As we passed the north end of the island and began to work the grass bank, Paula hooked up again, played the fish to the boat and Lowell netted it for a team effort. We called it a morning and headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day out on the water!

The tide had gotten so high that I couldn't get my truck down to the ramp without dunkin it in water so with a livewell with a couple of dozen shrimp in it, what do you do? Go Fishing! I ran south down the intercoastal, into Gunnison Creek and anchored at the mouth of a runout. With three rods out, I eventually picked up 5 small Trout and 3 hard running Bluefish. If you want to take the kids out and catch some small trout, go on the first of an outgoing tide - they're out there.

Winter Discount November through February

Once again I'm offering the "Winter Discount", November through February. This is $50 off the normal $350 half-day trip. Even if our North Florida temperatures start out in the high 30's or low 40's the day will usually warm up for a nice outing. It's actually a better time to be out on the water than those hot July and August trips. Just plan to wear a few layers and as the sun warms things up you can shed a layer. I usually have a hot cup of tea, coffee, or cider on board to help tide us over! If it's too windy we'll just cancel and try another day. Get away from it all and....let's go fishing!

Recipe of the Month: Roasted Corn Guacamole Dip

Hey, I know it's not seafood, but I've made this twice and it's gone over well. It's nice and fresh, healthy and quick. It came out of a Betty Crocker Apptetizer booklet...

1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and diced

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup pickled jalapeno slices, drained and diced

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 Teaspoons salt

Tortilla Chips

In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, cook corn over medium-high heat 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients (except chips) with fork, mashing avocados. Stir in corn. Serve with chips.