Call'in His Shots

Libby Wilkes had her daughter Margaret and her grandson Will visiting Amelia Island and wanted to take in some backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark today.  We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 7:30am and headed up to fish the banks of Tiger Island as the tide started back in.  It wasn't long before Will had a hookup and was soon reeling in a nice Redfish.  As we trolled the log-strewn bank he caught a couple more Reds and a fat SeaTrout.  We eventually moved on and ran up to the Jolley River where I started trolling the exposed oyster banks.  Will had just said he sure would like to catch a shark when BOOM!  Fish On! and his line was ripping out, heading up river!  Will fought the fish expertly and went around and around the boat with the Finns Braided Line keeping the fish under control.  The catch became a team effort and we soon netted the Shark for pictures and release.  What a fish!  We continued on up the bank, fished a little, moved on to another creek where Will caught two more Sharks.  After a tour of Cumberland Island and Fort Clinch we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

4 Times Around the Boat!

Roger Edmiston, his wife Laura and their son Noah were visiting Amelia Island and took in a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock yesterday afternoon and made our first stop on the banks of Tiger Island, but had no bites!  We move on up to the Jolley River and anchored at a nice runout where Noah hooked up with a Big fish;  he fought the nice Trout to the net and we measured it to 20"!  We caught a few more Trout at that spot then moved on up the river to Snook Creek where Roger caught a nice Redfish, Noah caught a couple of more Trout, then FISH ON!  Noah's FINS Braided Line was ripping out, but he held on and the fight was on.  His mother, Laura pitched in and the two fought this big fish around the boat, not once, not twice, but FOUR times!  Roger and I were getting out of the way as they went 'round and 'round but soon the duo subdued the beast and we used the net to toss this 3'+ Shark into the boat for pictures.  Boy, what a fight!  We  eventually moved on to Tiger Island and picked up a few more Trout, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Where's My Bobber?

Lisa Senecal was visiting Amelia Island with her sons Riley and Noah and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop at the log strewn banks of Broward Island.  The Lisa and the boys were pitching a jig and shrimp combo as the tide started in and it wasn't long before Riley hooked up to a large Seatrout. He played the fish expertly to the net.  He caught a couple of more Trout then Lisa and Noah got in on the action by catching a nice Redfish.  Noah soon found that he could toss a live shrimp under a float to the bank and it soon would disappear prompting him to exclaim "Where's my bobber?!"  He caught a few more Trout using this method!  We eventually ran to Bubblegum Reef but had no bites so we motored through Jackstaff to it's entrance where Lisa caught and fought a Shark to the boat.  Riley completed an "Inshore Slam" by catching a Flounder then the anglers wrapped the day up by catching a whole slew of SeaTrout.  We headed in counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

SeaTrout Bite Picking Up

Andy and Melanie Berlin and their two boys, Ben and Daniel, were visiting Amelia Island with their from Maryland and took in a great backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this past week.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock for an afternoon trip and headed up to the Jolley River to fish an outgoing tide with jigs and shrimp.  Ben started the catching off by catching some nice Redfish then Melanie and Daniel teamed up to pull in a Redfish, also.  We moved on up the river to a nice creek where Andy picked up some Red's and Ben hauled in a large keeper sized Trout.  We cruised Cumberland Island to view some wild horses, took a short break at Dee Dee Bartels Boat Ramp, tried our luck in Eagans Creek, then headed to the docks of Lanceford Creek to catch the first of an incoming tide.  This paid off and the group ended a great day on the water by catching few more Redfish and Trout.

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!