Spanish Mack in the Back (country)!

Rick Echols along with his wife Chris and their two kids Ryan and Emily were visiting Amelia Island from Raleigh, NC and decided to take a fishing/boat tour on The Anglers Mark today.  Rick, Ryan and myself left the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning at 7:30am and headed up to Jolley River with a tide that was coming in and already covering the oyster beds.  We started trolling the bank with the anglers tossing their live shrimp up to the marsh grass;  each had a few bites then Ryan's float disappeared and his rod bent and the fight was on! The FINS Windtamer Braided line stood firm and he fought the fish like a pro and we were soon trying to corral a hard lunging Spanish Mackerel!  I was real surprised because I haven't had a Spanish Mackerel up in Jolley and we didn't have a wire leader, just one of fluorocarbon.  We netted the fish, took some pictures and released the brute to be caught another day.  Further up into the river Rick hooked up and we had another fight on our hands, this one turning out to be the first shark of the year.  Rick caught a smorgasbord of backwater fish, boating Trout, Blue and Whiting.  We picked the ladies up at the dock and toured Old Towne, Fort Clinch, and Cumberland Island before making one more stop where all the anglers pitched in,  Emily reeled in the "poor man's Tarpon", a Lady Fish, and Rick topped it off with a 6-spot Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Trout come on strong

Joe Lobdell was in town visiting and he and his friend, Dave, and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday. We launched from Atlantic Seafood at 7:30am and headed out of the marina with almost no wind, still cool, and a tide that had just started in.  Water temperatures are about 67 degrees.  Our first stop in Lanceford creek only produced a few nibbles from "baitstealers" so we trolled the oyster banks to find...more baitstealers!    We found a good dock with the tide coming in to pitch our jig/shrimp to the pilings and it wasn't long before the anglers were hooking up with feisty, hard hitting Redfish.  Joe landed a few and Dave hooked up to a large one that through the hook after a few seconds of fight. Ouch!  We moved on over to behind Tiger Island where the guys had some more good bites, landing Redfish and a couple of small Trout.  Our next stop was up to Jolley River where we trolled the now covered oyster's along the bank.  We had some good bites from undersized Trout on our shrimp/float combo and this experienced anglers landed and released them.   We moved on up into the Jolley to "Snook Creek", anchored and fished as the tide just started out.  After just a couple of casts Dave's float went under and the fight was on!  Dave fought the nice keeper sized Trout to the net then we had a good flurry of fishing with Trout bite after Trout bite. We boated a few of the keeper Trout, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

9 year old sets the bar high!

Hugh John McDonald and his two kids, Cameron and Heather, were visiting Amelia Island all the way from Hermosa Beach, California and took in two fun filled days of fishing on The Anglers Mark.  The first day we launched from the south end Sawpit Creek ramp and headed up to the Horsehead area, making our first stop at Bubblegum Reef.  Forest Gump would have been proud because we had out jigs and shrimp, shrimp under floats, and shrimp on the bottom!  It wasn't long before the rod with the bottom rig started bouncing and 9 year old Heather grabbed the rod and started cranking.  They whole crew pitched in and helped as the battle wore on but the large Redfish finally succumbed and came to Hugh John's net to be weighed in at 7.5lbs and 26 inches!  Wow, what a start!  We had a few bites there then moved on to Seymore's point where Cameron got in on the catching by expertly landing another feisty Redfish, doubling up with his dad who was hauling in another.  Our next stop was Broward Island where the anglers picked up another Red or two, a couple of small Trout then Cameron yelled, "Fish On!" and had a battle on his hands with a nice keeper sized 18" Sea Trout.  

The next day we launched from Atlantic Seafood, made stops at Lanceford Creek,  Manatee Creek, and Tiger Island where Cameron boated a nice Bluefish.  We got in behind Tiger Island to get out of the wind and caught a few feisty Redfish and a couple of Trout.  With the bite kinda slow, we headed up to Jolley River and fished the bank where all anglers picked up a few small Trout.   We were all a little hungry so we headed up to St. Mary's for some lunch (the kids had pancakes!) then headed back to the Jolley River to fish the outgoing tide.  Fishing shrimp under floats, the Trout started biting, and with Cameron on the hot rod, he soon landed some keeper sized Trout.  We did a little whiting fishing near the Fort, saw some wild horses on Cumberland Island, then headed in, with two worn out kids counting it as couple of great days to be out on the water!

Trout Galore!

Jordan Laycook and his relatives Andrew and Jeffrey were visiting Amelia Island for a family get-together and had arranged to do a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning and eased out of the City Marina, heading up to Lanceford Creek.  We've had a good 4 days of rain but today it was clear, but windy, so I thought the land masses of Oyster Bay and Blackrock would provide a wind break and they did!  Our first stop was the docks of  Lanceford Creek and it wasn't long before these anglers floats were disappearing with bites.  They guys caught the first Blues of the year and then began to hookup with Trout, dangling a live shrimp (courtesy of Amelia Bait and Tackle) under a float rig.   We probably boated 7-8 Trout then we moved around to the southern side of the dock where they picked up a few more Trout then Andrew had a hard bite and a fight was on!  He eventually brought to the net a feisty Redfish.  Later, he hooked up with another one, this one with (8) spots which would have brought a nice purse in the upcoming Spot Tournament!  We moved on to Tiger Island, this time exposed to the wind, but the guys persevered and Jordan hooked up to expertly fought to the boat a nice Redfish.  Jeffrey joined in by bringing in another Trout.  Our last stop was at Eagans Creek, but with no bites, we decided to head in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Times Union Redfish Roundup

Plan to fish the Times Union Redfish Roundup tournament on April 16, 2011.  This tournament is a great family event where whoever catches a legal Redfish with the most spots will win the first prize of $7500!
The tournament benefits the Safe Harbor Boys Home and is in its 11th year and will be held at the Sisters Creek/Jim King Boat Ramp.
Deadline for entries is April 8, 2011 at 6:30pm or 500 confirmed entries. Tournament is April 16, 2011, 7 a.m. - 2p.m. or Safe Light after 7a.m.  Cash prizes will be paid to the top 50 anglers. (Payout based on 500 paid entries.)
A mandatory meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at The Florida Times-Union building, 1 Riverside Ave, on Thursday April 14, 2011.
Entry Fee is $60.00 per boat.   If you can't make the tournament, give me a call and we'll launch The Anglers Mark!

Take a Kid Fishing!

Cody and Dakota's grandad Rob Metz was in town from Pennsylvania and he treated them to an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday.  We made our first stop at a grassy oyster bank on the east side of Tiger Island with all the anglers pitching float rigs with live shrimp hangling underneath.  It wasn't long before Cody noticed his float had disappeared so he set the hook and FISH ON!  He expertly reeled in a feisty Redfish that we netted, photographed and released.  A stop at Manatee Creek didn't produce so we moved on to behind Tiger Island, anchored, and bumped jig/shrimp combo's on the bottom.  The anglers perseverance paid off when both Rob and Cody hooked up with fish and we had a Double Redfish bite!   I thought we surely would have a mess of Redfish and although they had numerous bites, no real takers after that.  We moved on to the docks of Lanceford Creek and after anchoring the group all noted that they were getting bites almost instantly.  Rob felt a tap, tap and hooked up to a nice keeper sized Trout and the others caught some "baitstealers", but that was it.  We hit a few more spots with no real bites, but the weather was great and Rob got to spend quality time with is grandsons, so we counted it as another great day to be on the water!

Whiting Bite on the Beach Hot!

This from Nancy Hudson, fishing north of Main Beach, Fernandina Beach, Florida this week...
Hey Lawrence,


We went fishing again today after work about 30 mins before the tide changed. Fishing in the surf again with dead shrimp on the bottom at about 30 yards. Just like yesterday, the whiting bite was on from the second we threw out. We had 10 fish in less than 20 mins! We actually took our chairs with us and never did get a chance to sit down. Sometimes as soon as the hook hit the water we had a fish on. Doubled up 3 different times and had several that were bigger than average. The bite was constant until about an hour after the tide started coming in and then it just stopped. But we ended up with 38 and i believe we threw back 10 that were eating size but since we were catching so many we threw them back to catch again another day. We have fished 3 days since friday and in those three days we have a total of 94! I'm lovin it!!! Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow! Attached is todays pic.

Inshore Slam and Wildlife Bonanza

John Payne and his family was visiting Amelia Island from the Dallas, Texas area and treated his son Jacob to an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The  Anglers Mark.  We launched from Atlantic Seafood and headed south down the intercoastal and were treated with a few porpoise feeding on bait fish on our trip down.  We made our first stop at the mouth of Jackstaff Creek and began trolling the oyster lined banks with about an hour of a falling tide left.  The conditions were near perfect with no clouds in the sky, temperatures near 75 and only a slight breeze to keep the gnats off.  But no fish!  We move on to the docks at Seymore's Pointe and fished the pilings as the tide continued to drop.  John and Jacob were patient and it soon paid off as both had hookups;  John started it off by hooking and playing a nice, keeper sized Trout then Jacob joined in when he made a nice cast to the pilings and had a feisty Redfish take the jig/shrimp combo.  He played the fish like an expert and we soon netted Jacob's first Redfish!  John made it a slam when he deftly hooked up with a keeper sized flounder to round out the Inshore Slam - Redfish, Trout and Flounder.  The tide had started in so we cranked the big Johnson and ran up the Nassau River to Broward Island and started trolling the log strewn bank.  It was a good move because John and Jacob were able to catch a few more Trout, Redfish, and another Flounder!  A Slam at both stops!  As we prepared to leave an Osprey made it's roost on one of the trees and we were able to motor the boat right underneath it.  On the run back to the dock John spotted a Bald Eagle perched on a channel marker, making this another great day to be on the water!

Find the Structure, Find the Fish

Mark McDonald and his two friends Kevin and Derrick were visiting Amelia Island for some R&R and contacted me to do some Amelia Island backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp in downtown Fernandina Beach at daybreak and headed up to the docks on Lanceford Creek and anchored upstream from one.  It wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites then Derrick started off the catching with a live shrimp under a float rig. FISH ON!  He pulled in a nice Trout, then Mark hooked up to a feisty Redfish on a jig/shrimp combo.   From then on it was fish catch'n time as the trio reeled in Trout and Redfish almost non stop for an hour.  There was a couple of times when we had "doubles" and it was nice to see that a few of the Trout making keeper size, with one just a little over 19".  Kevin caught his share of Reds but also added a nice keeper sized flounder, the first I've seen in a while.  The bite eventually slowed so we moved on, hitting a 2-3 more areas of flooded oyster beds, but we had no luck.  Our last stop was behind Tiger Island and it wasn't long before the guys were catching fish again.  Redfish, Redfish, Trout, and Redfish was kinda how it went.  A couple of the Trout made keeper size.  We all noticed that both stops that produced fish were near some sort of structure.  With a full day of catching and fish in the box, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Slow Start ends in Big Finish

John Allan and his son, Andrew  had arranged an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark so we met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning.  Boy, what a beautiful morning it was!  The skies were clear, the temperatures were mild, and there was only a slight breeze.  We headed up the Nassau River, making a brief stop at Black Hammock to fish some dock pilings, with little luck.  Our next stop was at Leon's Spanish Drop where we anchored upstream of the run out.  Andrew was bumping a jig/shrimp combo while John fished the marsh grass with a live shrimp under a float and it wasn't long before John found a "sweet spot" and began hauling in Trout after Trout.  Andrew joined in with a float rig and he too began to catch Trout.  After a while we headed further up the river to Bubblegum Reef where the anglers caught a few Redfish, a Drum, and a Sheepshead.  Even with a few fish it still seemed kinda slow so we headed around to the mouth of  Jackstaff and fished the oyster lined banks. John added another fish to the Trout total, but that was it.  We hit one dock on the other end of Jackstaff where John pulled in a feisty Redfish, the we move on to Seymore's Pointe with the tide just starting to come back in.  This proved to be a good move as both John and Andrew caught Redfish after Redfish, one being a slot sized,  along with a few more Sheepshead.  Our last stop was Broward Island where the anglers caught a few more Redfish, a Sheepshead and then Andrew contributed to the dinner table with a nice keeper sized Trout.  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!