Dinner for 5

Jeff Bailey and Mike Rugen were visiting Amelia Island on business and scheduled a backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. Saturday.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marine at 7:30am and boy what a beautiful day it was.  The day started out with a cool mid-50 temperature, no wind, and gradually warmed to the high 70's.  We headed up to Tiger Island to fish the downed logs, starting our 1st pass on the south end, tossing quarter ounce jigs with live shrimp up to the shoreline and bumping them back real slow.  The tide had just started back in and it wasn't long before Mike hooked up and battled a feisty Redfish to the boat.  He picked up another in the Slot a while later so we dropped the anchor and began to fish in earnest.  Mike had the hot rod early and caught another couple of Reds but Jeff persevered and after both anglers lost shrimp to a "nibbler", Jeff hooked it up and pulled in a keeper sized Sheepshead and then added a couple of Redfish.  After the bite slowed we pulled anchor and thinking that we may have missed a Red or two, we went back to the south end of the island and made a pass.  It was a good thing we did because soon Jeff's rod bent and drag ripped, FISH ON!  This Redfish was bigger and was taking drag and Jeff had a battle on his hands.  He played the fish perfectly and after a couple of passes around the stern of the boat, we netted and nice 24" Slot Redfish!  After another Red or two we moved on to the outside of Tiger to fish the now flooding oyster beds with float rigs and live shrimp and the anglers immediately began to catch Seatrout.  Almost every cast produced a bite and every other produced a catch!  These Trout were in the 12"-14" range and we probably could have sat there another couple of hours catching fish, but we were looking for something bigger.  We moved to the south of Rayonier and with the water now completely covering the oysters, were able to fish a grass line where Mike picked up our final Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Number 7 and 8 on a Fly Rod

I had a free day to fish before a weekend of "work" fishing so I launched The Anglers Mark this morning at Atlantic Seafood and ran up to Jolley River to, "Get away from it all"!  The sun was just up, it was cool, but comfortable with a sweatshirt, and there was very little breeze.  The tide had been coming in for a couple of  hours but the oysters were still showing so I started easing along the bank tossing a jig and shrimp to the oysters.  I worked a good 75 yards of bank and had no bites!  What's with that?  My next stop was at some pilings on the outside of Tiger Island and again, no bites.  I moved in to behind Tiger Island and began trolling against the incoming tide, fishing in and around the downed logs and tree stumps and...FISH ON!  I picked up a slow biting, but hard fighting Redfish.  After my second hookup I dropped the anchor and began to catch Redfish after Redfish and was having so much fun that I switched to a fly rod and after a few casts and strips, had a hookup.  I went back and forth between the spinning rod and the fly rod.  A few of the Reds were in the smaller range of the Slot but most were 16"-17".  My next stop was on the outside of Tiger where I anchored and fished some flooded oyster beds with live shrimp under a float.  I wasn't there long before the float disappeared and I had my first Trout of the day.  The Trout were plentiful and I probably could have stayed there for a couple of hours catching 12"-14" Trout but I was hoping for a few a little bigger.  My final stop was at Temptation Cove which was like glass with the light breeze coming out of the south blocked by a land mass.  I tossed one float rig over near the marsh grass and one out behind the boat over some oyster beds and soon found it was difficult to man both rods!  The Reds were up near the grass and each time I got my bait up close the float would soon began to start moving sideways then disappear and ...Big Fish On!  The drag ripped out and a couple of times I could see the grass moving as the big Red tried to escape but I worked them in and netted them.  Out behind the the boat, Trout were biting and this time I had a few get over the 15" mark which was kinda nice.  A disabled military veteran neighbor had hinted about wanting some fresh fish so after the day was done I dropped him off a fillet of Redfish and some Trout fillets.  What a great day to be out on the water!

Big Talbot Island/Sawpit Creek Boat Ramp Closed Temporarily

The boat ramp and adjacent parking lot at Big Talbot Island at Sawpit Creek will be closed at least through January 9th for erosion stabilization work.  I assume that one of the things they are fixing is the sinkhole in pavement down near the ramp.  What's the chances of them putting in another floating dock on the south side of the ramp?  That would be nice wouldn't it?  To follow the construction schedule click here!

Angler Gift Samples

Here are a few samples that are available for last minute Christmas gifts for the angler in your life!  I have a whole lot more in stock so contact me and I'll send you pictures of the entire stock. I've got a whole bunch of flasks, a few journals, a couple of money clips, and a fly wallet.

Nice Boat for Sale

For Sale, 1998, 17.6 Key West Stealth, flats boat, fully rig, Very Clean. New 2011, 115 Mercury Opimax, less than 80 hours, 3 year warranty, mounted on a 6 inch offset plate, with a spare SS 4 bladed pop. Motorguide Trolling Motor, 82 pound thrust Great White, 24 volt system, with a quick release mount. Power Pole, 6 foot, with new upgraded mounting bracket. Optima Batteries, 4 New 2011, Size D-31, cranking and trolling. Stiffy Push, Pole, 21 foot. New 2011 HumminBird # 560 death finder. 98 LoadMaster Boat Trailer,with I-beam aluminum construction, torsion axel, new tires, aluminum rims, and spare tire.


$10,500.00

Please call Capt. Russell Tharin at ph # 904-4914799.

Hunkered Down Redfish

Joe Lukasik and his family were visiting the Jacksonville area for over this Thanksgiving week holiday so Joe and his two teenage sons, Alden and Christian, took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock in downtown Fernandina Beach at 7am and headed down the Amelia River to fish the still flooding oyster beds and marsh grass with some live shrimp under floats.  The wind was blowing pretty good so we anchored and the anglers pitched their rigs up near the marsh grass.  Alden was the first to hook up with a hungry Seatrout then Joe caught one, too.  They went back and forth catching a few Trout with Joe landing a nice 19" one.  Christian was feeling a little left out but not for long!  We had a cork disappear and when Christian grabbed the rod the drag ripped out and the fight was on!  He battled the fish for a while then all of a sudden the fight came to a halt.  We even questioned whether Christian even had a fish in the first place!  His line was tight but wasn't moving and Joe and I both wondered aloud that maybe he was just hung in the oysters.  Well, he was hung but the fish was still attached, hunkered down tight in the oysters.  Soon he came out and the battle was on again!  Christian played the big Redfish perfectly and brought it to the net to be measured at 26", in the Slot.  Later we fished Lanceford Creek in three spots and picked up a Trout or two then tried behind Tiger Island where there seemed to be an armada of fishing boats, then we headed over to Eagans Creek to get out of the wind.  The anglers picked up a few more small Trout, then we made our last stop at some flooded oysters on the outside of Tiger Island on the first of an outgoing tide.  There wasn't much going on until Joe's float was yanked under and then he too had a fish fight on his hands!  He worked the fish in and to the net and we measured another nice Slot Redfish.  The anglers perseverance had paid off and helped wrap up another great day of fishing on Amelia Island!

Sand Gnats for Breakfast

Ted and Bonnie Simendenger were visiting their daughter, Gracie and other family in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  Although it was a cool, there was no breeze at all and when we anchored at our first stop in Lanceford Creek, the sand gnats soon found us.  But these anglers were game and we fished the area for awhile, picking up some hungry Seatrout on live shrimp floated over the flooded oyster beds.  We moved to fish some of the Lanceford docks and it with the first cast we had a good Redfish hookup and Bonnie fought the fish perfectly to a waiting net.  Then Gracie's float rig disappeared and the drag ripped out, FISH ON!  She played the fish expertly and after a good battle, brought a Slot sized 23" Redfish to the net for pictures and release!  The anglers picked up a few more Redfish and Ted added a few keeper sized Seatrout to the catch, but the gnats had overcome any fear of the bug repellant and Skin-so-Soft and we were all covered with the swarming critters!  It was almost unbearable so we pulled anchor and left fish biting at this great fishing hole!  We made a long run up to Jolley River and when we arrived we found that there was a nice breeze and NO GNATS!  The shoreline looked real fishy with the oysters now exposed but the anglers worked an entire bank with their jig and shrimp combo with no real bites.  We tried a creek run out and had no bites but on the next stop we found some good Redfishing!  Ted was the first to hookup and he played the fish perfectly then all three anglers got in on the action, catching 7-8 more Redfish.  At one time both Ted and Bonnie had a fish on and then Ted and Gracie had the double hookup, making for a great way to wrap up a day on Amelia Island waters!

Deep water Redfish

Andy and Katrina Herrin were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this week and included an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  I met Andy and Katrina at the Goffinsville Park and Boat ramp yesterday afternoon at Noon and we immediately made a run to Broward Island to catch the first of an incoming tide.  When we got there we found the tide was still trickling out so we started easing along the bank from the north end, against the tide, with the anglers pitching their jig/shrimp combo to the bank.  Although Andy did have a strong bite, the fish didn't hookup and we had no other good bites until we reached the sound end of the island.  The tide started back in so we anchored out from some tree limbs and Andy tossed a deep Trout rig up beyond the limbs and let the float drift with the current and, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and brought the feisty Redfish to the net.  Andy had found a hot spot because for 30 minutes he could duplicate the same method and usually get a hookup.  In addition to a few smaller Reds, Andy boated two Slot sized keeper Redfish and a couple of nice 18" Seatrout. Both Katrina and Andy had some of the smaller Trout, too. We trolled the  south end of the island for a little while and had no real bites, so we made a run to Seymore's Pointe where Andy added a keeper sized Sheepshead to the well.  Our day ended over at "Bubblegum Reef" with Katrina catching Seatrout until we ran out of bait, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Father Daughter Grandfather Fishing

Jevon Anderson and his family was visiting Amelia Island for the Thanksgiving weekend and scheduled a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday. Jevon and his young daughter, Ginger, along with grandad Tom met me at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 7:00am and we headed up the Nassau River on a high and falling tide. We made our first stop at Spanish Drop and anchored to fish the nice creek run out with live shrimp under floats.  Tom was the first to hookup with a lively Seatrout, which he played perfectly to the waiting net.  The anglers picked up a couple of Trout there then we moved back down the river to fish an oyster outcrop to pick up a few more Trout.  The anglers found that Ginger turned out to be the perfect fishing partner as she was more than eager to fetch a new live shrimp for her dad and grandad!  We made a run to the mouth of Jackstaff and trolled the now exposed oysters and again, the anglers caught a couple more Trout along with a feisty Bluefish.  Ginger commented that the "Bluefish" was actually green!  We ended the day fishing the Longpointe docks but had no real bites, so we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

SEC East Champs and Amelia Island Slam Fishing

Tom Pool and his son, Jackson kicked off a great weekend by taking in a Georgia Bulldawg win between the hedges in Athens to secure the SEC East Championship, then they hopped in their car and made the trip to Amelia Island to take in some backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  I met Tom and Jackson at the south end Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up river to the mouth of Jackstaff to fish a high and falling tide with float rigs and live shrimp.  The anglers were making excellent casts and were getting some action, but the trout seemed to be wary and would make hit and run attacks on our baits.  This put us on our toes and we soon boated a couple of nice Seatrout.  We tried our hand at Bubblegum Reef, picking up a handful of baitstealers, and then fished  few of the oyster outcrops in Nassau River where we had a few bites but no takers.  Our next stop was at Broward Island and although the tide was schedule to be low at Sawpit at around 9:45am, we still had an outgoing tide at Broward.  We had only been trolling and pitching to the log strewn bank for a few minutes when Tom had strong bite and hookup, FISH ON!  Not to be outdone and only seconds later, Jackson yelled, "FISH ON!" and we had a double hookup!  Both anglers played their respective fish perfectly and we soon netted Tom's feisty Redfish then we had Jackson's in the boat, too.  After some picture taking we released both fish to be caught another day.   We continued to troll against the tide which was still going out at 11:30am.  Jackson caught a another nice Seatrout and as we reached the southern end, Tom had a good hookup but the fish immediately headed for the logs and broke itself off!  OUCH!   But Tom went right back with his jig and shrimp combo, got a hookup and had a good fight on his hands.  He handed the rod off to Jackon who completed the catch of a nice 15" Sheepshead, rounding out an Amelia Island  Backcountry Slam of  Seatrout, Redfish, and Sheepshead.  With that, we called it a day and headed in, counting it as another great day of Amelia Island fishing!