I Call Her The Hardy Girl

from Wikipdia.....

In 1874 brothers William Hardy and John James Hardy started "Hardy Brothers" with the
purchase of "Superior River and Sea Fishing Tackle" in Alnwick, Northumberland, England.

In 1891 they patented and launched "the Perfect" fishing reel to complement the fishing lures they sold. It was successful and they received a royal warrant from King George V of the United Kingdom. They continued to create a variety of winning fishing reels, some of which had novelties including a complete bail arm and long casting reels.

In 1897 they opened a shop in London's Pall Mall that lead to international expansion of their fishing rods, lures and guides still made by hand in England.

In 1967 Hardy Brothers was bought out by the Harris and Sheldon group and in 1985 renamed the "House of Hardy Limited." It was later merged with a former Hardy employee's fishing company and renamed "Hardy and Greys Limited" in 2004.

In 2008 the history of the House of Hardy was made into a documentary, The Lost World of Mr. Hardy.

In 2013 the company Hardy & Greys was sold to Pure Fishing, a division of conglomerate Jarden Corporation, that was later renamed Newell Brands. Newell sold Pure Fishing to Sycamore Partners in 2018.

HERE'S A REALLY GOOD HISTORY OF THE COMPANY...

For a while Hardy issued posters (left) of a young lady that was using their fishing tackle and they became very popular for young men to hang them over their fly tying bench. 

Now, when my wife Carol and I vacation, we tend to get in at least one fly fishing trip.  We did a float trip down the Bow River in Banff, Canada the day after we were married on the banks of the Bow; 

We did a float trip down the Penobscot River in Maine, catching Smalllmouth Bass, then we did a wade trip west of Lincoln, Maine to catch Brook Trout. 

I fished alone in Cherokee, NC and got skunked, then the next year we fished in Banner Elk, North Carolina and caught Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Brook Trout.

Carol in Banner Elk, NC

Another year, back in North Carolina, we fished out of a stop-in-the road - Topton, and fished the Nantahala River  for Rainbow Trout and last year we were up in Dahlonega, Georgia fishing the Etowah River for Rainbow Trout.

 We just wrapped up a trip out to Colorado Springs to see my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids but we found time to travel north west to the South Platte River and fish an area in the Spinney Mountain State Park called the "dream stream". Each time we fish and Carol gets to go along we try to get a "photo op" that I call my "Hardy Girl"!

South Platte River, Colorada

First Cast Blast

 After a long week out in Colorado to see my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids, I was back on the water today with the Bailey boys - Douglas and his sons Anderson and Dylan. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early then ran up the intracoastal, up the Back River, and around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up tossing float rigs and mud minnows. Anderson jumped up on the stern platform and made an excellent cast to the left of a grass clump - it drifted down along side it and BAM! Float gone~ and it was a nice fish! Anderson played it perfectly and patiently and after a good battle he landed a nice 22.25" Slot Redfish. First Cast of the day!

We drifted that stretch a good number of times and had nibbles here and there, then Anderson, not giving up the stern, went looooong with a drift and had another take -we could tell it was a nice fish when it rolled up. He worked it in slowly and landed another 22.5" Slot Redfish. We then moved up to a point and drifted the other side and Anderson stayed hot. He had made a cast up to the grass, worked it out when it snagged, let it drift and, float gone again. He caught up to it and had the hookup, then brought to the net a nice keeper sized Seatrout. 

We fished further down the Nassau, then ran over to Seymore's Pointe and drifted a point of grass, to no avail, then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point. We worked up the grass then back down and had zero bites, then we came over to Jackstaff "bank" and worked along it. Somewhere amongst those spots we caught a couple of Catfish and Ladyfish but when we crossed over the creek and switched to jigs we finally hit paydirt. Dylan had made a good cast up into the cut - was hopeing for a bite when he got further out but he had a strong bite right when it hit the water and, Fish On!  Dylan worked it in on this lighter outfit, let it run, worked it in, then brought to the net another 23" Slot Red - they had their limit! Douglas picked up a Seatrout fishing off the stern and out deeper. 

We ran back thru Horsehead and back up to Back River and switched back to floats where Dougals
hooked up and landed a nice13 Spot Redfish. We fished between two docks at Littlefield, then made our way down the Nassau. The trio had a few Ladyfish hookups then Douglas added another Redfish to his catch total, then Dylan wrapped things up with two hungry Flounder catches. We had a beautiful morning, had some good fish in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

New Journals Finished

 I just finished up these journals, all handcarved, stamped, dyed and finished.  Each are "one-of-a-kind". $125 each. (add tax,shipping if you're not local)  You can get your loved one something made in China, or....

                                (SOLD)

 

 

(SOLD)

Nice Box of Fish

 We had a pretty day when I met Frank and Joanne Wytiaz down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this
morning - clear skies, just a slight wind, and I could feel just a bit of fall in the air. We headed up the intracoastal then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide had been coming in for about two hours so we turned into the current and began tossing jigs and live shrimp to the shore line - the shells on the bank were already covered. Joanne "knocked the skunk off" when she let her bait fall down the river bottom and had a hookup - a nice keeper sized Seatrout. We worked along that bank and after making an excellent cast, Frank had  a strong hookup - one that was ripping some drag. He played it perfectly and soon landed a Slot Redfish.

We moved up the river and fished Twin Creeks with float rigs, had a few nibbles, then Frank battled a 4' Bonnethead Shark to the boat for photograph and release. Joanne hauled in a complete...Cast Net!  Some of the lines were broken but other than that, it was intact! We then ran down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs. Joanne, fishing off the stern, had let her float go long, real long!  After having a hookup, we saw that the drag was ripping some - she played it patiently and worked it in and landed a "gator" Trout that measured right at 20.25".  Up at the point we had good action - they caught a handful of Ladyfish, a huge Jack Crevalle, and a couple of  Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. After fishing a couple of grassy island, we moved on.

Our last stop was back around and down from Pumpkin Hill, working the flooding grass edge with float rigs. The duo added one more keeper sized Seatrout before Joanne finished it off by landing a solid 23" Slot Redfish. The box had four Trout and two Slot Reds, we had stayed busy catching Jacks and Ladyfish, and Sharks and Catfish, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. .

Weeding Thru the Ladies to get the Big One

 Pretty day today -sunshine, clear skies, and just a light breeze. I had met John Raker out at Goffinsville
Park on a tide that was high and still coming in - I was feeling confident that we were going to catch fish today. We had a bait well of live shrimp as we eased away from the dock and made our way down the Nassau River to pull up at Twin Creeks where we had such good bites a couple of week ago. But not today! Well, we had bites, but if we hooked one up it was a Ladyfish! After drifting with the current for a bit we moved on, making our next stop back up the river at Pumpkin Hill. 

John was getting good casts and good drifts with his float and live shrimp and again, we caught Ladyfish. We moved around the corner and fished the point, then worked our way down to some flooded marsh grass and again, Ladyfish. This was getting old! After a run down the river and thru Jackstaff and over to the Poteat Point area we worked the first of an outgoing tide. Finally!  John caught a few hungry Seatrout - all measuring right at 13". We move over to Poteat Point and fished that thoroughly, but to no avail. 

Our final stop was back over in Jackstaff. I had noticed over the last few months that the current had washed out a pocket at a point of grass and I had fished it twice before and caught Redfish as the water flowed over the old bank. John switched to jigs and shrimp and I think it was on his first cast he had a hookup and landed a Trout. He kept going to the same spot and caught another couple of Trout, one of which was of keeper size. He then fought a feisty Redfish to the boat and I was feeling a bit better about the trip. My head was turned when I heard the tale-tale sound of drag ripping so I knew, Big Fish On! When I looked up I could see the fish had dug around what was left of the point, then it came back out and went deep, ripping that drag and boiling up - a Big Redfish for sure. John kept the pressure on, came back to the stern of the boat and battled it from port to starboard, starboard to port and back again. John stayed patient and after long battle he brought to the net an Oversized 30.25" bulky Redfish, boy what a fish! 

We caught another couple of Seatrout after that, one of them a keeper.  We had dealt with Ladyfish all morning, put a handful of Seatrout in the boat, and battled a huge Redfish so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

This 23" Red Had Some Bulk

 Finally! I was back fishing this morning, meeting Larry and Connie Soper up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early (6:30am) - we wanted to beat the heat, and we did! We eased out of Eagans Creek and made a fairly long run up and over to the Jolley River, and up it to JC's Spot to fish the very last few minutes of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. If you had stock in mud minnows you'd be making your retirement - they are seriously scarce! We worked along the exposed oysters and Larry began to "set the hook" and had a good handful of feisty Redfish brought to the net. 

We then moved over to the MOA as the tide changed and fished it's oyster beds. Again, Larry had good
action catching those smaller but fun to catch Redfish while Connie "coached him up". Larry was tossing to the the mouth of the horseshoe and had made an excellent cast and when the next fish hit and began ripping drag, we knew he had a big one, Fish On!  This fish was ripping drag and not coming in - a tale-tale sign that it was Slot. Larry played it patiently, worked it in slowly, and soon landed a bulky 23.25" Slot Redfish, boy what a fish!

Working back down Jolley ( we didn't see another boat all morning up here), we made a stop at Snook Creek and worked that bank with float rigs and almost immediately caught a handful of those feisty Redfish. It was almost too easy. Our next stop was further down the river at Tyger Cut. We fished one side of the flooding shell point and had a couple of bites but no takers, then we moved around to back side of the shell and this did the trick. The fish were hanging on that back side waiting for bait and Larry's well placed casts produced  bites. He hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout, then had a handful of high flying Ladyfish, then added another hungry Seatrout to his catch. 

Our last stop was on the outside of Tyger, fishing the jigs again. We had a bunch of nibbles but no takers so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Skirted The Storms

 After last week's heat, today's weather was a blessing, albeit kind of spooky - there were storms to the eastof us and storms to the west of us, but we stayed dry and safe the entire morning. I had met William Waldman up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and after easing out of Eagans Creek we made our way up and around to the Bell River, set up along a point of submerged oysters, and began to toss and drift float rigs on the last hour and a half of an incoming tide. William got bites right off - he hooked and brought to the net a handful of hungry Seatrout, a handful of high flying Ladyfish, and a....Catfish.

We were waiting for that tide to change so we made a quick run over to Lanceford Creek and stuck with the float rigs - not much was happening other than a Pinfish bite. Back down Lanceford we came, up the Bell and thru Tyger around to the outside of Tyger. The wind had picked up out of the north and with the tide starting out it was really kicking up - felt like we were out at the jetties! The float got a few bites but no takers then we switched to jigs and live shrimp and William, fishing off the stern had a nice "bump" - he set the hook and battled to the boat a nice feisty Redfish. 

Our next stop was up the Jolley River where we positioned the boat alongside a grass line at the mouth of a large drainage. William was working the bank - he had to be close with his cast or that north wind would push him off. We saw his bait get attacked and then his float disappeared and Fish On! This fish was ripping drag and heading east!  William kept the pressure on, turned him, then battled the fish from the stern, around to port, up to the bow, then back around to port and back to the stern, all the while ripping drag. William was up to the challenge and battled a nice 4' Bonnethead to the boat for photograph and release (all fish caught today were released).  Further up the Jolley William had his float slowly go under on a grass point - he caught up the line, lifted the rod to have his circle hook set, and had another good hookup. He patiently brought to the net a keeper sized Flounder.

We fished jigs around in the Bell River, had a flurry of "bait stealing" bites, then made our way back to the dock. Although we had storms north west of us, and storms east of us along the coast of Amelia Island, we had not had a drop so as we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

New Case for New Fly Rod

 Most of you know that I collect vintage fishing tackle and lures. One of those pieces was a "new in box" Shakespear fly reel, made of magnesium - I kept it on a shelf for display but I got to thinking, "that think might be fun to fish"!  So I began searching for a fiberglass fly rod - old school right? And I came across a fellow that makes fiberglass fly rods - he has an Etsy site but the ones he had for sale had darker colored hardware. After communicating with him, he was more than accommodating and made me a 7'6" 4 piece 4w rod to go with the reel. I ended up staying old school and lined it with Cortland 4w double taper floating fly line.

But now I needed a case!  I've made two leather wrapped tube and this would be my third one. I kept track of the hours spent on it and it was 22.5 hours. I am whittling down the time it takes by making and storing notes and diagrams and templates. Here's how it turned out:

Scuttlebutt: We anglers keep losing access

Our Jacksonville TV station WJXT4 ran a story this week about the George Crady Bridge being closed on the Duval side. Evidently Duval County pays good money to subsidize the fishing bridge. It's been closed for years with no plan is sight to open it back up.  CLICK HERE for the TV story

You've probably seen my rants about boater parking getting squeezed down at the City of Fernandina Beach Marina with the new Waterfront Park that is being built. We've gone from a whole parking lot for boat trailers (plus an overflow) to just 12 parking spaces. Getting to and from the ramp is a nightmare. Buses and Tours regularly park in the "trailer parking" spots. CLICK HERE for that rant. 

The State did finally patch up Sawpit Creek boat ramp, although a new pothole is forming. The south dock has been damaged and unusable for about 10 years now. On a low tide it is essentially a "one boat" dock - they need to expand the floating docks. And why are there not any cleaning stations at any of our public boat ramps? Are there plans to repair and improve this boat ramp or will they just let it deteriorate and become unusable? CLICK HERE  for my suggestions.

Our area USED TO HAVE a fishing pier up at Fort Clinch. It was damaged during hurricane Mathew in October 2016, and completely torn down in 2017 -another lost resource that gave anglers access to the water. Back then it was stated, "replacement will have to be put in the 10 year plan".  We're getting close to that now....

With all that, you have to question, "do our local and State leaders have it out for we anglers and boaters"?  I've noticed we anglers tend to be laid back, non-confrontational, low-key folks. Unfortunately, that approach is allowing our access to fishing resources diminish. We need to stand up and demand that local and State officials give us access to OUR waters. 

AIGA Inshore Classic Fishing Tournament is ON!

 

BREAKING NEWS!

The 9th Annual AIGA Inshore Classic is ON! And scheduled for Friday October 24, 2005 (the Captains meeting) and tournament it self is on Saturday October 25, 2025. Both will be hosted by Old Town Bait and Tackle at 1620 N. 14th Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida.

HELP US HELP OUR VETERANS!  All net proceeds will be shared with our local American Legion Post 54.

All anglers need to be at the Captains meeting on  Friday October 24th. Final registration will begin at  6pm with the meeting beginning at 6:45pm. No entries will be accepted after 7pm.You can download and print the Rules and Entry Form here. 

The tournament will commence at daylight, Saturday October 25,2025.

There will be two Categories:                                                                                                                         1) All anglers  are required to enter the Redfish Spot Tournament. The legal Redfish with the most spots wins!                                                                                                                                                       2) A boat aggregate of one legal Seatrout and one legal Redfish. The boat with the heaviest two fish wins!  ALL ENTRY MONEY WILL BE PAID OUT IN PRIZE MONEY. Please encourage your friends to fish the tournament - the more anglers the bigger the prizes.  

There will be a youth division for the Redfish Spot Tournament with trophies and prize money. 

NOTE: the Amelia Island Guides Association shares the net proceeds of this tournament with the American Legion Post 54. Over the years the AIGA has donated over $21,000 to veterans organizations

PLEASE consider a Sponsorship! That's where the donation comes from! CLICK HERE FOR more information. 

FOOD - Silent Auction - Raffles - Special Raffles!  Win 1/4 Cow, processed and packaged!  Purchase your raffle ticket now from one of your favorite AIGA Members!