Big as a Watermelon

Fall is knocking on the door and the great weather we're having makes it the best time of year to be fishing Amelia Island backwaters!  Brett and Suzanne Nichols wanted to treat their son Andrew to a birthday fishing trip so they lined one up on The Anglers Mark yesterday morning.  Although weather forecasts called for possible rain in the afternoon, we couldn't have asked for a prettier morning.  We left the Fernandina Harbor Marina at 7am and headed up to Tiger Island to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  I had 4 rods rigged with Bomber Saltwater Grade float rigs with live shrimp "hangling" underneath and it wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites.  The Ladyfish were slashing baitfish and we had a number of them hookup, some of them throwing the hook, but some were caught and released.  Brett's father in law Logan picked up a feisty Redfish, Brett hauled in a Seatrout, and 10 year old Andrew warmed up with a larger Ladyfish.  It's amazing how with just 4 hours on the water a young angler like Andrew can gain so much experience and confidence!  He started out struggling with the spinning gear, but he persevered and by the end of the day he was "calling his shots" and making pinpoint casts to the oyster banks, impressing all of the adults.  I was watching him towards the end of the trip and I could tell he was intently working his jig waiting for the thump of a Redfish bite!  Our second stop was Jolley Bank and after working the entire stretch with no real bites we reached the large run out and started getting hookups.  Both Logan and Andrew had Redfish and Brett hooked up with a keeper sized Trout.  We fished Snook Creek and found that the Trout were hanging on the outside of a large oyster banks and all three anglers began to to pull in Trout after Trout after Trout.  The water level dropped to where we were having to pull Trout across the oysters, so we lowered the trolling motor and began to ease along their banks, this time switching to weighted swim baits fished on the bottom.  The anglers soon warmed to this method of fishing as there's not much better than bumping a jig on the bottom and feeling that tap-tap-tap BAM and Fish ON!  More Reds and Trout were caught, then we moved back to Jolley Bank to fish the now exposed oysters.  Logan hooked up with a nice Redfish and while he was fighting it Andrew yelled, FISH ON! and we had a double hookup with Grandad and Grandson fighting fish side by side!  Later, Andrew had a another hookup and his rod bent and drag ripped.  He played the fish perfectly, working it up off the bottom and as it came to the surface we saw a larger Flounder,  and as Grandad Logan proclaimed, "Big as a Watermelon"!  I made one attempt with the dip net, missed and the flounder got back around the swim ladder and broke itself off!  OUCH!  Boy what a fish!  But what a great way to spend the day, Father and Son and Grandad, fishing the great backcountry waters of Amelia Island!

Soaking It All In

BJ Craig and his wife Jeannie were camping at Little Talbot Island State Park and scheduled a light tackle fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  BJ and Jeannie are old friends from Lake City, Florida and it was great to get re-acquainted and catch up things.  We had originally scheduled a trip for Monday but when we reached the boat ramp the wind was howling, blowing a lot harder than the forcasted 10-12, more like 15-20!  So we rescheduled for today, hoping to squeeze in some fishing before the afternoon rains and it turned out to be a good plan.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 7am and headed up to the Horsehead area and Jackstaff Creek to troll the bank on an outgoing tide, tossing live shrimp under a float rig.  It wasn't long before BJ had a hookup and he reeled in a nice Seatrout.  We worked the bank twice, first with the float rigs and then with a jig/shrimp combo and picked up a few more Trout and a couple of high jumping Ladyfish.  Our next stop was at Bubblegum Reef but we had no real bites so we moved on to some oyster outcrops at Spanish Drop using the jig/shrimp combo on the very last of the outgoing tide.  This proved to be the trick because we had a "double hookup" almost immediately - a feisty Redfish on one rod, but Jeannie had something big, FISH ON!  The fish ripped off drag and Jeannie battled the fish from stern to bow and back to stern, but the fish was having nothing to do with being "caught" and eventually broke itself off. OUCH!  After BJ picked up a Redfish,  we headed over to Broward Island to fish the first of the incoming tide where the anglers picked up a few more Trout and a couple of Flounder.  The weather had been perfect with only a slight breeze and very little cloud cover but a rainstorm came up and soaked us good!  We headed for the boat ramp and in so doing, found the clear skies again, so we anchored up at a creek mouth where BJ pulled in the biggest Trout of the day!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Team W

Friends Tim and Wes Parker were in town for the Amelia Island Blues Festival this weekend and we had set up to do some Amelia Island backcountry fishing.  Thursday afternoon we met at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina and made a run up to the Lanceford Creek docks to fish the outgoing tide.  I thought the timing was almost perfect with the oysters showing.  Tim used one of his Temptation Baits, an artificial with a unique scenting process,  and caught a fiesty Redfish and Wes was tossing a live shrimp under float, catching a couple of Trout.  Although everything was "right", the fish just seemed slow to bite, so we headed up to the Jolley River for some real backwater fishing!  The oyster beds were almost fully exposed and the bite seemed to pick up - we caught a 3-4 Redfish at the first stop and another Trout, then crossed the river to pick up another Red or two.  Tim's Temptation Baits were catching as many fish, if not more and the neat thing about it was that he wasn't having to "re-bait" after every nibble like Wes and I!  When the tide changed and started back in, we fished Jolley Bank, catching more hard biting Redfish.   Then Wes's float went under with a vengeance and his rod bent, drag ripped and FISH ON!  I thought for sure it was slot Red.  But after Wes worked the fish expertly to the boat, letting it take drag as needed, the fish came to the surface and we all saw that it was a large Seatrout!  Tim netted the fish for his son, "Team W"!  Wow, what a fish!  We eventually moved around to Tiger Island and wrapped up the evening with two Flounder, one of which would provide some exceptional fillets!  The next morning I picked up Wes and his buddy James and we headed to the south end early, launching and motoring up to Broward Island to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Again, the tide and conditions were almost perfect and the two anglers were making excellent casts to the bank, working their jig and artificial Temptation Bait back slowly.  On one cast, "Team W" Wes felt a strong "bump" just after his chartreuse Juicy Lucey hit the water and the fish followed it and bit strong, FISH ON!  Wes worked the fish up off the bottom and into the net, a nice 19" Flounder!   We had  few bites along the bank but it just didn't seem to be a fish bite'n day so we move on to the Horsehead area where we picked up a few Trout on some artificial shrimp under float rigs.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water! 

Redfish Magic

Paul and Janet Schmidt were visiting Amelia Island, Florida from Pittsburgh, PA and staying at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge. We met at the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 7am this morning and Oh what a morning it was! The temperature was about 68, one of our first cool mornings and it was great to be out on the water! We pointed The Anglers Mark up Lanceford Creek, made our first stop at the docks, anchored, and began to toss live shrimp under a float rig up to the dock pilings on an outgoing tide. It wasn't long before both Paul and Janet were catching fish - Seatrout, Redfish, and even a small Grouper and Rock Bass. We had a strong hookup and Paul knew he had a larger fish - he played it perfectly (and casually) and then he teamed up with Janet who netted the fish while I videoed the catch! The bite slowed so we made a run up to Jolley River to a large creek runout and the Redfish bite resumed, along with another nice Trout that Janet caught. Our last stop was along the now oyster lined banks of the Jolley and when we approached an outflow, BOOM! Fish on! We caught one Redfish after another, twice having "Double" hookups, and had a great finale of caching fish. What a great day to be out on the Amelia Island waters!

High Jump'n and Hard Run'n

Josh Weinberg and his aunt Karen were visiting the Amelia Island area and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday.  We met at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp at 7am with the tide having another hour or so of running out and headed over to the mouth of Jackstaff to fish the exposed oyster banks.  We began a slow troll against the current and the anglers immediately began to get some bites.  It wasn't long before both Josh and Karen were hooking up, first with high flying Ladyfish and then with hard fighting Jack's.  The Ladyfish will do everything they can do to throw the hook and a lot of them succeeded, but the anglers were able to boat a few of them.  It was a beautiful morning with some cloud cover and a slight breeze.  We made a couple of passes of the bank, then headed over to Nassau River to fish some exposed oyster beds on the very last of the outgoing tide.  Again, both anglers had some good bites, then Josh's rod bent and his drag ripped out, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and with Karen handling the landing net, they pulled in a nice 20" Slot Redfish!  The tide had turned so we headed to Broward Island to fish the exposed logs and even though Josh and Karen were making excellent casts, the fish just didn't seem to be hungry.  However, the scenery was beautiful, we had a few good bites, and we picked up a nice Flounder, then we called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island waters!

Honeymoon Heats Up Quick!

Mike and Katie Olsen  were visiting Amelia Island this week for their honeymoon and scheduled a backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park at 7am and headed up the Nassau River, running directly to Broward Island to catch the incoming tide.  When we got there it was still going out so I trolled the south end while the anglers cast their 1/4 jig with shrimp to the bank amidst the downed logs.  I think it was Katie's third cast when she had a strong bite and her rod bent, FISH ON!  She played the feisty fish expertly and we soon netted a nice Redfish. Mike joined in and caught one too,  then the couple matched each other fish for fish, catching more Redfish with a Seatrout thrown in.  We later fished the Seymore's Point docks, having some small bites, but no real good ones, then we made a run through Jackstaff to it's mouth and began a troll along the marsh grass, tossing live shrimp under float rigs.  Both Katie and Mike had a few bites and then they got the hang of it and both landed fat Seatrout.  The tide had gotten up into the grass and as I scanned a flat for tailing Reds, Mike enticed a Bonnethead Shark to take a jig/shrimp combo and the fight was on!  The boat was grounded on a shell bed and as I worked to get it off, Mike fought the fish off the stern. We got the boat out into the creek then Mike went back and forth from starboard to port, line ripping out, and Mike working it back in, and eventually he subdued the beast!  We netted the 2'+ shark for honeymoon pictures and release.  After trying our luck at the Longpoint docks, and with none to be found, we called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island water's!

Teaching a New Generation to Fish

 Written by Adam Coholan, an active angler and blogger out of New York who writes about the great outdoors and fishing and helps run web relations for Elliman Real Estate.  You can reach him via email, or follow him on Twitter.

I have been fishing for many years, and I think the intense passion that I feel for it comes from my older cousin. He is just over ten years older than I am, and when he was in his twenties he always made a point to bring me along when he went fishing for bass, salmon and trout. Jeff is now married and has a few children, and he doesn’t have as much time to fish as he would like thanks to a promotion at work. To pay him back, I started taking his daughter Sarah fishing with me and I thought I’d share some of the main things I have learned from the experience:

Establish The Rules Right Away:
You need to realize that supervision must be given to children, especially when they are out on the water. I sat down with Sarah before we even left the car to make sure that we were on the same page. All of my rules taught her about safety and respect. As far as safety is concerned, we discussed how she needs to wear a lifejacket, how she should ask me to help her with anything involving hooks, and she agreed to tell me if there was a snag. The respect we talked about started with his showing respect and proper care for the equipment and also for nature; the goal, I told her, was to leave no trace of ourselves when the sunset.

Start with One Child:
I took Sarah and her two younger brothers with me one time; they wanted to go since Sarah told them we were having so much fun. It didn’t take me long to realize that three times as many kids wasn’t about to be three times as much fun. The two boys ran and splashed all around the creek and constantly picked on their sister. After that, I made it a point to bring them out one at a time until they developed the concentration and appreciation for the sport. Now I can take them all out as a group, and they’re so eager to actually fish they never bother each other unless it’s to joke who’s catch is bigger.

Do Not Forget To Have Fun:
You have to realize that there are days when you are just not going to get a bite, even though you are trying everything. We have all had this happen at some point. Most seasoned anglers live for that type of challenge, but young kids tend not to agree. They get antsy when the fish are nowhere to be found. If this happens, you need to be able to change your plan. You can go swimming, go for a hike, or do anything else to enjoy nature and help the kids appreciate being outside. Remember, you don’t want to discourage these future fisherman simply because you are feeling stubborn and you want to stay on the water.

I can think of nothing better than fishing with Sarah. When she gets a fish, I am more excited than when I get one. The odds are that someone taught you how to fish when you were a child. One of the best things that you can do is to give this gift to another child, passing on your knowledge and talents.

Goodbye Irene

Mike Langston and his family were visiting Amelia Island this week so he scheduled an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  He brought along his son Scott, his son-in-law Rhett, and his brother-in-law Billy Pate and met me at the south end boat ramp at 7am.  Hurricane Irene just passed off the coast but the skies were clear and there were just some remnants of wind. We headed up the intercoastal and cut in to Jackstaff to fish the flooded grass on the last couple of hours of an incoming tide.  Our shrimp didn't seem to survive the trip but we used them anyway and it wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites, with Scott leading the way by hooking up the "poor man's Tarpon", a Ladyfish and then following that up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Bill and Mike added a couple of smaller Jack's and while Rhett was tossing a topwater lure, he had a nice roll on the plug bit it didn't bite.  We moved further up into the Horsehead area and fished over a large expanse of flooded oysters but had no bites, so we headed over to Broward Island on the very last of the incoming, first of the outgoing tide.  This is always tough fishing but the guys were making excellent casts up between the submerged logs and it paid off when Bill's float went under and he had a battle on his hands.  He played the fish perfectly and brought to net a nice Redfish.  Even though the tide was high, we switched Scott and Rhett to jig/shrimp combos' and it paid off.  Scott hooked up first and played his Redfish expertly to the net.  Mike switched to the jig/shrimp and on his second cast he had a strong hookup, fought it like a pro, and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish!  Rhett got in on the action by tossing his jig up between some limbs and, FISH ON!  He worked the fish in and to the net for pictures and release and then Bill wrapped it all up when his float disappeared, his rod bent and a good battle ensued.  He fought the fish to a standstill and we brought it aboard, another 23" Slot Redfish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island waters!

59 Fish!

Mike Maron and his wife Shannon were wrapping up a two week vacation here at Amelia Island and took in one more Amelia Island fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  I fished with Mike last week on the south end so today we met at Atlantic Seafood at 7am and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  Things started a little slow but Mike was making great casts to the pilings and he soon picked up a small Trout and shortly after his cork went under again, but this time with a vengeance, and he had a good battle with a keeper sized Trout.  Shannon had her camera out and was getting pictures of the amazing ecosystem, river shrimp boats, and wildlife, and the fishing!  The baitstealers were thick, but Mike persevered and it paid off because after casting his live shrimp under a float to the pilings the cork disappeared again, the rod bent, and the drag ripped!  FISH ON!  He battled the fish expertly and we soon netted his first Slot Redfish of the day!  We moved all the way around to the Jolley River and fished the MOA spot (Mother of All) and at first we had no real bites but we soon found some feisty Redfish up between the oysters and pulled 3-4 fish out.  Our next stop was at the mouth of Snook Creek and it turned out to be a good move because Mike had 4 bites in the first four casts with a jig/shrimp combo, picking up a few more small Redfish and then he had a good bite, his drag ripped, the fish ran for deep water, we thought it might be a small shark, but no,  Slot Redfish #2 of the day!  Our last stop was Jolley Bank and as we began our troll against the current Mike tossed his shrimp/jig combo to a nice runout and soon felt a heavy pull on his line.  He waited a few seconds and set the hook!  The fish put a good fight, but Mike worked it in and we netted a keeper sized Flounder, rounding out the Amelia Island Inshore Slam!  Shortly after he again had a strong hookup and brought in Slot Red #3 of the day!  When I asked Mike and Shannon how many fish we had caught for the day, Mike said, "59 Fish", because it seemed like it!  Not much later, Mike had another strong hookup and the fight was on, Big Time!  He battled the fish around the stern and out to deep water and back again with drag ripping as the big fish made its runs.  Shannon was on the video camera, The Anglers Mark's first, and Mike played it like a pro, bringing to net an oversized 8lb 29" Redfish! Wow, what a fish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Flounder Getting Larger

Shonda Warner and her friend, Ed, were visiting Amelia Island, staying at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, and took in a couple of backcountry fishing trips on The Anglers Mark.  On Thursday morning we met at the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp early, headed up to the Jolley River and Snook Creek and fished the exposed oyster banks on the last of an outgoing tide.  The anglers started with 8w flyrods and #1 black Clouser's, casting to the base of the oysters.  Both had hookups and caught fish before the sun got high and they switched to spinning tackle.  Croakers, the ever present "baitstealers" of summer were in big supply, but the anglers persevered.  We moved to Jolley Bank as the tide started in and Ed had a good battle with a feisty Redfish.  The Sunday morning trip we again met at Atlantic Seafood but this time we headed down river to the Horsehead area and the mouth of Jackstaff Creek.  The tide was going out but the oysters were well exposed so the anglers tossed a jig/Gulp combo to the shallows.  It wasn't long before both anglers were getting good bites and Shonda picked up a nice Seatrout.  Later, she made an excellent cast to the mouth of a runout, felt a heavy bite, waited a few seconds, and set the hook, FISH ON!  She played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice 18"+ Flounder.  We hit a few spots in the Nassau River and as the tide began to turn, headed to Broward Island to fish the log strewn banks as the water came back in.  This turned out to be a good move, because it wasn't long before Shonda had a good strong bite and began her battle with a Redfish  When we landed the fish we saw that it was a beautiful dark copper color.  Shonda picked up another, larger Redfish, then Ed got in on the action and hooked up one, too.  He played it like a pro and we soon netted, photographed and released a nice Redfish.  The sun was up and the ride back was to be long, so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!