Can you believe 35 Redfish?

When I met George Bowlin and his friend Ray at the Fernandina Harbor Marina yesterday morning there was a light mist and the wind was "howlin".  We talked about our options and all I could come up with was to head to an island and get out of the westerly wind.  We'd be there all day but hopefully we'd catch some fish.  Boy that was an understatement!  We suffered through the trip across the river but when we arrived we found that most of the wind was blocked so we anchored up and started fishing with live shrimp under floats.  It wasn't long before both anglers were hauling in fish.  I thought, well there's 3, 4, 5 Redfish and then they caught a couple of  keeper sized Seatrout.  Then things got fast and furious with a couple of "double" hookups and George and Ray were catching them as fast as I could get them de-hooked and back into the water!  We were wondering if maybe we would catch at least 20 Redfish, but then the anglers easily surpassed that number and kept on going!  We had a few "keeper" sized Reds, but on the low end of the slot and as the tide changed the count was up around 30 fish!  We made a slight relocation to account for the incoming tide, picked up a few more smaller Reds, then Ray had strong hookup out in deeper water and a Big fish fight on his hands.  This fish was wily and eventually found some structure to break itself off!  OUCH!  But Ray had found the big fish and George followed up with a good, strong hookup and this time he knew to keep the fish headed away from the structure.  He fought the fish like a pro and brought to net a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  Then Ray hooked up with another one and he too played the fish perfectly and landed another 25" Slot Red!  They caught another of those big Reds and added a 18" keeper sized Black Drum to round out the trip with 35 Reds, 2 Seatrout, and one Black Drum!  Boy what a great day of fish catching, especially when we almost canceled the trip!

Fishin is Dawg Gone Good!

John Nuckolls and his friend Dick were visiting Amelia Island this weekend to attend the annual Florida/Georgia football game and pre-scheduled a Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. We met early at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City Marina and headed up Lanceford Creek with a baitwell of live shrimp, an armory of tackle, and a whole lot of hopes for a good fishing day! We anchored just south of a dock on an incoming tide and fished the already covered oyster beds with Dick throwing a jig and white Gulp Shrimp while John was tossed a a Strike King Spinner Bait and I was using a live shrimp under float. We all got bites and boated some nice, fat Seatrout, a small Redfish, and a Flounder. Our next stop was to the outside area of Tiger Island and as I trolled up to the spot John made a cast and had an immediate hookup and a good battle on his hands. He played the fish perfectly and we netted a keeper sized Trout. Both he and Dick caught a few more Trout and I picked up a couple, too. We made a brief stop behind Tiger to check the flooded grass, fish the log strewn bank, then headed up to Jolley River to fish the now flooded grass line. It wasn't long before we were hooking up with aggressive Trout and we again boated some keeper sized fish. Then John's float slunk under, he set the hook and FISH ON! This fish didn't give up as easily as the Trout and his drag ripped out, and John worked him back in and eventually brought to the net a 4.5lb Slot Sized Redfish! Dick stayed with the white Gulp Shrimp and he steadily picked up Trout. When the Trout began to get small we moved on to "Snook Creek" and anchored to fish the first of the outgoing tide. Again, we caught Trout, some of them keeper sized, and then Dick had a hookup that wanted to hang to the bottom. He played the fish like a pro and worked it to the boat and we soon netted a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder. He also picked up a Puppy Drum and I picked up hard fighting Bluefish. Our last stop around the corner produced a couple of more Trout and then we called it a day. The anglers estimated that they had caught about 40 fish this morning. The skies were overcast from time to time - we got sprinkled on once or twice, but the temperatures were great, there was very little wind, and the water was very clear. Although all fish were released, I tallied "keeper" sized fish of our 3-man bag limit of 15 Trout, one Slot Red, and two keeper sized Flounder.   That's Dawg Gone good fishing!  What a great way to hookup with fishing friends and spend time out on Amelia Island waters!

Doubling Up

Kathryn Birmingham and her friend John Denton scheduled an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip yesterday afternoon on The Anglers Mark.  We headed up the Nassau River and made a dash straight for Broward Island to catch the first of the incoming tide.  It couldn't have been a better guess because the anglers immediately began to pick up Seatrout on a jig/shrimp combo.  As we neared some downed logs Kathryn's rod bent and dragged ripped out, FISH ON!  Then John yelled, FISH ON! and the couple had their first double of the day.  Kathryn played her fish like a pro but the large fish was just too much for the tackle and broke off after a good fight,  but John still had one on and he worked the fish in and we soon netted a nice 20" Flounder!  We fished the log strewn shoreline for the next two hours and both Kathryn and John caught Redfish, Trout and even picked up another Flounder, nailing down an Amelia Island backcountry Slam.  They had at least one, maybe two more "Double" hookups with both playing fish to the boat.  Most of the Redfish measured to 17" with a couple within a hair of being Slot sized.  We moved on to Seymore's point, anchored,and the anglers picked up a few more Redfish on live shrimp under floats, then we ran over to Jackstaff Creek and although we were now out in a wind that had picked up, Kathryn and John persevered and picked up a couple of more Trout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Two Men and a Boat

Kevin Gannon and his wife were visiting Amelia Island for the first time on vacation and Kevin arranged a backwater fishing trip with me on The Anglers Mark yesterday. We met early AM at the Sawpit Boat Ramp, Big Talbot Island Park, and headed up the intercoastal on a beautiful but cool morning. I thought I'd stop by a new spot a fellow captain had told me about so we eased up to the marsh grass and began casting a live shrimp under float on a still high, but outgoing, tide. We had no bites but the spot was looking good. As we motored out of the area the Captain (me) wasn't paying attention and soon realized we'd found ourselves on a mud bank! Folks, this doesn't happen too often, but fishing the backwater you're always bound to find an oyster bed or mud bank. I don't advertise that I offer complimentary exercise options but Kevin was soon given the opportunity to participate in a strenuous morning work out! We both were in the water up to our thighs at times and after 30 minutes of pushing and pulling and tugging and motoring we had the 3700lb boat floating in deep enough water to continue our fishing trip with both of us a little wet and muddy but ready to catch some fish! Kevin couldn't have been a better sport about the whole thing and with his great attitude it paid off because later we found a few Trout in Jackstaff Creek then after we moved around to Nassau River and fished some oyster outcrops the fishing got better. He hooked up and expertly played a Slot sized Redfish to the boat then picked up a keeper sized Flounder. When we reached one particular oyster outcrop he hooked up again, his drag ripped and after fighting the fish perfectly, we soon netted an even bigger Redfish. Kevin found that he could let his jig/shrimp combo fall into a hole outside the outcrop and when it did, BAM! FISH ON! His third Slot Red was the biggest, coming in at 25+ inches and on a 1000FH Shimano and light rod, that's a nice fish to end a trip with!  Kevin also added another Flounder and a small Puppy Drum to round out a "Grande Slam" of inshore fish.  We called it a day, and a memorable one at that! Another great day to be fishing on Amelia Island!

Becks Outboard Inc. to the rescue!

After finishing my fishing trip this afternoon I went to load the boat on the trailer and the engine wouldn't even fire!  OUCH.  I had to use the trolling motor to get the boat up to the trailer and winch it up.  The battery tested OK so I called Beck's Outboard Inc. located at 1257 Broward Road in Jacksonville, Florida and spoke to Charles who diagnosed the problem over the telephone with "sounds like you have a bad starter".  He advised me to bring the boat to their shop and he could check it out so I headed over and sure enough, Charles made a quick test and determined the starter was bad.  He removed the old starter and had a new one in stock to replace it - the test and repair was done in less than an hour!  I'm sure they can't get you in and out like that all the time, but I really appreciate them making the effort to get me back in business - they saved the two trips that I have scheduled for tomorrow!  Becks Outboard Inc.  sells Evinrude engines 25hp and up and they service Johnson and Evinrude engines.  They also have parts for those engines and trailer parts too!  They're a family business and give excellent service and most importantly, they know what they're doing when it comes to servicing Johnson and Evinrude engines.  Thanks Becks!

Logistical Slam

Charles Odom and his workmate Dennis were visiting Sawgrass in Jacksonville on business and scheduled an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 8am and headed up the intercoastal to the mouth of Jackstaff Creek to fish the oyster banks on an outgoing tide with jig/shrimp combos.  The guys were making excellent casts and soon began to pick up bites and eventually had some good strikes and hookups with hungry Seatrout.  We crossed the creek and fished a sandy point and the action picked up, again with Seatrout hitting their presentations.  We moved on to Nassau River where the bites continued and then Charles had a hard bite and fought the feisty Redfish to the boat.  A couple of more Trout were caught then we headed up to Broward Island to wrap the trip up on the very last of an outgoing tide.  Charles caught a small Flounder then his rod got really hot as he picked up a couple of keeper sized Trout.  We were almost ready to head in when Charles felt a heavy weight on his line and he set the hook expertly - playing a good sized Flounder to the boat to nail down an Amelia Island backcountry slam! With that we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

A Perfect 10

Bill and Joan Sank were visiting Amelia Island, Florida and staying at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge this week and scheduled a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  As I was coming over the bridge this morning the weatherlady on the radio said today was a Perfect 10 and she couldn't have nailed it better!  I met Bill and Joan early, 7am, at the Atlantic Seafood dock and we headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the docks and get out of the still present wind coming from a front that came through over the weekend.  We anchored first south of a dock to fish the last of an outgoing tide and Joan was the first to hookup and boy what a fish it was!  She worked the hard fighting fish to the boat and we netted a 20" Flounder!  We tried the other side of the dock and had no real bites then headed on up the creek to try another dock system.  This proved to be the ticket as both anglers began to catch fish and once, both had a hookup and we had an exciting "Double Hookup" going on!  Joan's eventually threw the hook, but Bill played his feisty Redfish to the net for pictures and release.  Then Joan had a strong bite, her rod bent, and the drag ripped out - Redfish ON!  She fought the fish for a while and then Bill pitched in for a "teamwork" catch of a large, slot sized, 25" Redfish!  Later, Joan cranked in another slot Red, then Bill got in on the action with his rod getting bent and drag ripped - he played the fish perfectly and we soon netted another 25" slot Red!  Wow what a day!  We even had a couple of hookups that were big fish that found a way to throw the hook, but the anglers still were not done.  Bill caught a couple of more smaller, but feisty Redfish and then he caught a 15" Flounder.  All fish were realeased to be caught by some other lucky angler!  The weather was unbelievably great and the fishing was even better as the couple wrapped up another great day to be on Amelia Island waters!

Flounder on a Fly

John Stewart was in town with his family attending a wedding and staying at The Residence Inn here on Amelia Island and he squeezed in a fly fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed up Lanceford Creek with the air temperatures a cool 58 and wind blowing 10-14mph, but we felt like we could get out of the wind behind the land masses of the Blackrock area, and it worked.  John was making excellent casts with the 8 weight rods to dock piling on the first of an incoming tide, but we just couldn't get a hookup.  At our next stop, there were very good signs of fish feeding on the finger mullet staging to follow the tide up into the oysters so John patiently worked a shrimp fly across the bottom and FISH ON!  He made a strip set and hooked up to a Flounder which he played perfectly to the boat and net for pictures and release.  Although we had a couple of more bites we had no hookups so we made a move to run up to Tiger Island and fish the flooding oyster beds. Wrong move!  The wind was really blowing and it would have been a terrible experience so we ducked back in to Eagans Creek to fish the creek mouths.  Here, John had another hookup as a Trout chased down his black and green Clouser and he again fought the fish to the net for pictures and release.  As we wrapped up the fishing, the sun was warming the day up, the wind was blocked and we were seeing Rosette Spoonbills, Cranes, Egrets, and Osprey - what a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

First Casts

For his birthday, Rick and Lisa Alexander treated their son Danny and a couple of his friends, Nick and Tanner, to a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark at Amelia Island, Florida.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am with temperatures in the mid 60's and a stiff wind blowing, but these anglers were not to be deterred.  Heading up Lanceford Creek we found an area where the wind was blocked and baited up our jigs with live shrimp.  On the first cast, up near some pilings, we had a strong bite and Tanner reeled in a hard fighting Sheepshead - what a way to start the morning!  All the young anglers joined in and soon we were getting good bites.  Nick picked up an aggressive Snapper then Tanner's rod bent and, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and brought to net a nice Redfish.  We moved to some more docks up Lanceford and Rick got in on the action by catching a Flounder, then Nick rounded out a sure-fire Amelia Island backcountry slam by picking up a Trout out in deeper water.   Danny was determined to get on the board and he wasn't to be denied!  He worked a jig/shrimp combo out from the docks and WHAM!  FISH ON!  He played the feisty Redfish like a pro and brought it to the net for pictures and released the biggest fish of the day.  We made one more stop up in Eagans Creek and Nick had the hot rod here, hooking up a couple times with "The Poor Man's Tarpon", thankfully releasing them at boatside.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the Amelia Island waters!

Football, Fishin and Friends

You just can't beat a great weekend of getting together with friends to do some fishing and attend a college football game.   Paul Damron and his friend Bill were looking forward to attending the football game tomorrow down in Gainesville pitting the Florida Gators against the Alabama Crimson Tide, but they starting off the weekend this morning fishing the beautiful backcountry waters of Amelia Island on The Anglers Mark.!  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on Big Talbot Island a little after 7am and headed up the intercoastal to fish the oyster lined banks of Jackstaff Creek on an incoming tide.  When Paul hooked up on a nice fish after about his third cast I thought, "here we go!".  He landed the fat Seatrout expertly, but even though the guys were making excellent casts, the rest of the stretch only produced high jumping Ladyfish - fun to catch - but not exactly great table fare.  We made a short stop at Seymore's Pointe then headed over to Broward Island, fishing the south end with the tide already up in the logs.  Paul had a strong hookup but the fish got up in the logs and broke off.  Later he hooked up and brought to the boat a nice Flounder.  Later, Bill had a good hookup and again, the fish tried to get up into the branches, but Bill kept the pressure on and pulled out a feisty slot Redfish, fighting all the way to the boat and net.  The tide was up and the grass was flooding so we headed back to Nassau River and on our second stop, just off the bow, was a tailing fish!  Bill tossed a "Fiddler in the Grass" fly at what turned out to be a Sheepshead but it wouldn't bite.  50 yards away we could see more tailing fish - a couple more Sheepshead and a huge Redfish wallowing around in the grass gorging itself.  We all piled out of the boat and waded over, Bill tossing flies and Paul using a weedless jig on spinner.  Both were making excellent casts and Bill reported that one of the Sheepshead followed the fly for a short while checking it out, but we had no takers.  We had a great time stalking fish as it was a beautiful flat with clear water, a great way to wrap up a day on Amelia Island waters!