Smoked Shrimp

Here's a great Smoked Shrimp process, forwarded from my Dad!

Lake Lanier Spotted Bass

We met friends Denise and Bill Sweeney and Judy Cardone up in North Georgia over the weekend to celebrate my wife's birthday and Bill and I were given a pass to take in some fishing at Lake Lanier Saturday with friend Tim Parker.  Tim was gracious enough to meet us near the boat ramp with his bass boat and gear and all we had to do was show up.  He launched the boat around 7am and headed north up the lake to a jut of rocks and instructed Bill and I how to fish the Texas rig worm that he had set up on light tackle.  Tim got us fishing then showed us how it was done by setting the hook on a couple of nice Spotted Bass, fighting them to the boat like a pro for pictures and release.  Bill got the hang of it early and soon began to feel the subtle bite, and he too set the hook, FISH ON!  He played the fish expertly and brought to the boat another keeper sized Bass.  It took me a while but later in the day I was fishing a "Rooster" spinner blade and had a hookup.  It was all I could do, but after a tremendous battle, I landed one of the Spotted Bass,   my first!  We had a great day and Tim was a great host and guide - if you're ever up in the northern area of Lake Lanier, give me a call and I'll hook you up with Tim!

Weird Amelia Island Backcountry Fish

The month of July proved to be a great month for fishing and I had a few trips where we were all surprised at what was at the end of the line!  The Brian Deem family were fishing with me and in addition to other fish, landed what we called a "puffer fish" but according to Carole Neidig, Staff Scientist for Mote Marine Labratory,  is a Striped Burrfish or also called a Spiny Boxfish (Chilomycterus schoepfii). They live in seagrass beds in bays and coastal lagoons and over shallow coastal reefs from Maine to Florida, although they are less common in the northern part of the range. They will puff up with air to increase their size when threatened.

Brian Shepley and his friend Jack Coward were fishing on The Anglers Mark and had a great day of catching and when Brian hooked up with a hard fighting fish we all thought, "Redfish".  But when he eventually brought the fish to net we were surprised to see a Tripletail!  The Atlantic Tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis)  is found from Massachusetts to Bermuda to Argentina and is normally seen in open waters, but can be caught in sounds, bays, and esturaries.  This was another first for The Anglers Mark!

Dan McBryan and his dad Lou picked up a very nice Flounder one day but Dan also landed a fish that I had never seen. Carole Neidig of Mote Marine also identified this one for us, a Lizard Fish (Synodus foetens) and is common in our waters. It is found both inshore and offshore but both are different species. The Offshore variety being much smaller. They are distributed throughout Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The Inshore Lizard fish is coastal. The Inshore Lizard Fish is larger than it's counterpart and is usually 15 to 16 inches in length. World Record is 2 lbs.

Double up on Shark

The Reimer family - Joel and Jen and their two kids Michael and Meagan, were visiting Amelia Island all the way from Ohio and scheduled an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  We had a dead low tide to begin with and it had just started back in when we pulled up at the docks of Lanceford Creek and tossed out some live shrimp under floats.  The anglers had numerous bites but no real takers other than a hungry Croaker so we pulled anchor and headed on up to the Jolley River and then trolled an oyster lined bank, tossing jig and shrimp combos.  However, Meagan stuck with the float rig and she was the first to hookup with a lively Seatrout, bringing it to the net for pictures and release.  Moving up into the river we found more "baitstealing" nibblers but then Jen had a strong hookup, her line ripped out, and FISH OFF! Ouch!  Joel jigged up a Trout and then Jen jigged up a nice Flounder then Michael joined the action when his float rig disappeared and FISH ON!  He fought the big fish expertly and back and forth the fish went until Michael subdued him and brought the big Bonnethead to the net for pictures.  We ran back to Tiger Inlet and fished with the Manatee's but got no bites, saw some Osprey and Spoonbills, then hit a flooded oyster bank outside Tiger for our last stop.  Meagan added a feisty Redfish, Michael picked up a fat Trout then Jen had another shot at a Shark - a Blacktip.  She fought the fish from stern to bow with a partner Black Tip trailing the caught fish and in the middle of the battle Michael yelled "FISH ON" and his drag began to rip!  The two anglers fought their respective fish with rods being passed over and under and the anglers trading places, bow to stern, stern to bow and when Jen's fish was brought to bay and held for pictures, Michael was left to his own battle briefly.  Then we all joined in to see him finish the fight and bring to net a 3' Bonnethead.  What a way to finish a fishing trip!  We headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Life in the Backcountry

Young Dan McBryan set up an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip today with  his dad, Lou, while they were visiting the area.  We made a plan to get started extra early, 6am, to take advantage of the first of an incoming tide.  Our first stop was an oyster lined bank of the Jolley River and the guys were tossing 1/4 jigs with Gulp minnows and shrimp.  Both anglers immediately began to get bites and soon Lou yelled, "fish on" and he reeled in a feisty Redfish.   The baitstealers were nipping the tails off of the Gulps so we moved on up the river to a large creek where Dan worked his jig slowly along  an oyster bank.  He felt a heavy weight and expertly hooked up on a fish, playing it perfectly to the boat and we netted a good sized Flounder for pictures and release.  He also caught a weird fish that we have yet to identify!  Later in the morning we fished outside Tiger where we were joined by Manatee, then we went inside Tiger and were treated to a large number of Roseate Spoonbills roosting.  The bite had slowed so we made one final stop outside Tiger at a flooded oyster bed and had Dolphin and Manatee cruising by, along with a large pod of Stingray.  We eventually called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Catching the Blues

Al Emerick treated his two sons Richard (RC) and Dylan to an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed up river to fish the outside of Tiger Island with some topwater lures on a high and incoming tide. RC had the hot rod early and had a couple of "spits" at his popping lure and then he hooked up, catching a Blue then a Seatrout.  Later, we dropped an anchor and fished the area with Shrimp under floats and all three anglers began to hookup, catching some rather larger Blues and another Trout.  We fished the Jolley River with shrimp under floats and had hookups with Ladyfish and when we moved into a larger creek RC had his line ripped out by a Sharks.  The first one broke itself off, but on the second we were able to maneuver the boat and RC battled it around and around, and around!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon brought to the boat a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark for pictures and release.  The sun had gotten high, and hot, and after one more stop with not much action, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Bunch of Catch'n

Tyler and Sarah Bolick were visiting Amelia Island and took in an backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark Saturday.  We met at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at 7am and headed up river to the outside of Tiger Island.  The anglers were tossing topwater lures, had a few "spits", and Sarah hooked up a small Jack.  We switched to shrimp under floats and both anglers began to catch slashing Blues, a small Redfish and Trout.  We also had a keeper sized Flounder to the boat.  We moved around to Snook Creek and Sarah had a big fish bite and her drag ripped out, FISH ON!  She played the fish expertly and we soon netted a nice Bonnethead Shark.  Later they picked up another Trout and when we moved on to an oyster bank that was now exposed, both Sarah and Tyler caught Blues, Trout, Croaker, Redfish and Ladyfish. At one point Sarah hooked up with what had to have been a Slot Red, her drag was rip, rip, ripping and she played it perfectly, but it was not to be.  The fish through the hook, the Big One that got away!  We had a great trip with a lot of catching and eventually called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

It's Not a Shark!

Steve Silverman, his wife Gretchen and their two kids were visiting Amelia Island, Florida and scheduled a backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park and headed up the Nassau River, making our first stop at Leon's Drop.  Jason was the first to hookup with a fish and his drag ripped out, FISH ON!  He and his dad fought the fish to a standstill and we soon netted a nice Bonnethead Shark.  The other three anglers joined in and had strong bites, drag ripping action and some good battles.  Note that two of these battles ended with the fish winning - not from broken string or knots that gave, but from broken hooks! OUCH!  We move on to Bubblegum Reef and CJ caught a fat Rock Bass, then we move on around to the mouth of Jackstaff to battle with Sharks.  On one such bite, Steve had his drag ripping out so we maneuvered the boat and he battled the fish around and around, and around!  We just knew it was another shark but when Steve finally subdued it, the whole group yelled, "It's not a shark!"  We netted a very large Jack Crevalle, boy what a fight it put up!  And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Shark after Shark after Shark

Brian Deem was in visiting Amelia Island with his family and set up two backcountry fishing trips, one with his younger kids, and one with the older kids.  We met Thursday afternoon for the first trip with the younger set and left the Fernandina Harbor Marina at 4pm on The Anglers Mark.  Our first stop was outside Tiger Island and we were joined with a few manatee!  The youngest, Noah, was the first to hookup and reel in a feisty Redfish.  Fishing behind Tiger Island, Cameryn caught a couple of Croaker.  We moved on up to Jolley River and things heated up with Riley and Noah, along with their Dad, fighting Bonnethead Sharks. Cameryn added a nice sized whiting to the catch.  Our last stop was up a side creek off of Jolley and the trio of anglers had their hands full by catching one big Shark after another, and as the sun began to set, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

We met Saturday afternoon and this time Brian brought his to older sons, seasoned anglers Jordan and Hunter.  We had chosen to meet at 3pm which was at the very bottom of an outgoing tide.  The oysters were exposed and the three anglers were tossing jig and shrimp combos to their base and soon had some good hookups, with Jordan reeling in a couple of hard fighting Redfish and Brian battling a 2' Bonnethead Shark. We move around to Jolley River and fished the first of the incoming tide and all anglers had Redfish - Hunter picked up 4 on his own, Jordan added a couple more and Brian had a few, too.  As the tide began to rise, the fishing slowed, so we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Slot Reds lead to Slam

Davis Norris and his friend Kevin were visiting Amelia Island with their families last week and they decided to take in an backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed up river to fish the outside of Tiger Island with topwater lures.  Although we had a couple of "spits" at the lures, we had no real bites.  We moved around to the docks of Lanceford Creek when the tide started out and this proved to be the ticket because the guys began to get good bites and hookups on live shrimp under floats.  They ended up catching 10-12 Redfish with at least 3 of those in the Slot.  Davis hauled in a keeper sized flounder and they had a couple of small Trout.  We eventually ran around to the Jolley River and fished an now exposed oyster bank and the guys caught another Slot Red, some smaller Reds, a keeper sized Trout to round out an Amelia Island Backcountry Slam.  We picked up a few more fish then called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!