Not as cold as in Minnasota

Local photographer Libby Wilkes hosted her son, George, his wife Barbara, and their daughter Mary Beth, all visiting this week from Minnesota. With temperatures warmer here than back home, they decided to take in some Amelia Island fishing. We left the North end boat ramp just as the rising tide peaked at 8:30am with a live well full of live shrimp and mud minnows. The wind was already blowing at about 8mph so we headed up Lanceford Creek in hopes that the wind would be blocked by the tree line, and it was. We tried anchoring and fishing the dock pilings and submerged oyster beds, then we trolled the docks, pitching a Sure Catch jig and live shrimp to the pilings. With no real bites, we moved back down the river to Oyster Bay's dock, eased back up in behind it and with the water draining from the marsh, soon began to get bites on our live shrimp under a float. Barbara had the hot rod with a number of bites and boated some nice Sea Trout. We fished behind Tiger Island, but with the West wind picking up, we were "challenged" from the start. Even thought the bite was slow we were treated to siting of dolphin, osprey, ibis and other shorebirds and as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be out on the water!

I Think I Invented a New Word

I've had a couple of fishing trips where I've used a word that I don't think is in a dictionary. It just comes out. It's probably caused by jittery nerves after meeting my guests for the first time and within about 15 minutes I'm explaining to them how to bait the live shrimp. When we get to the fishing site I show the guest the live shrimp and if we're using the float with leader combo I'll show them how to run the hook under the horn of the shrimp so that it can "Hangle". It's a cross between Hang and Dangle. Hangle!

Whiting Bite Hot

I spoke with some anglers at the South End dock yesterday morning and they said they had caught a nice mess of whiting Monday afternoon in Nassau Sound. I met Don Combs, his daughter Sabrina, and father-in-law Karl at the south end ramp yesterday for some afternoon fishing. We ran to Simpsons creek, back in behind the island to get out of the wind and anchored up, fishing some bottom rigs. It wasn't long before Sabrina was on the board with a nice 12" Flounder. Eventually we moved on down Simpsons Creek, again fishing the bottom, with no real bites. We then made a run back to Gunnison Creek, fishing the mouth and then on up into the creek, tossing the jig/shrimp Combo with just a few bites. After fishing the docks of Long Pointe, we eased out into the Nassau river and dropped baits to the bottom and it wasn't long before all were catching Whiting and as the sun began to set, we called it a day and another great time to be out on the water!

Ladies Rule

I fished yesterday morning with Don and Diane Lloyd of the Austin,Texas area. We had a beautiful morning beginning with a little fog that burned off quickly with some sunshine. We ran up to the Horsehead area, fishing the oyster lined banks on the last of on outgoing tide with dressed jig heads and shrimp or mudminnows. With no real bites we moved on to the rocks of Seymour's Pointe fishing the pilings and rocks with a float rig and the jig combo. I'd have rather of been fishing the incoming tide there, but I think the wind that had picked up kept pushing the water out, so we ran further down to Broward Island for some nice conditions. It wasn't long before Diane hooked up, had a brief run, then lost a fish! Not to be deterred, Diane continued to cast her jig up near the structure and it paid off with another hookup and the battle was one. She played the fish perfectly and eventually boated a nice slot-sized 20" 4lb Redfish! We wrapped up the day fishing Broward Island and counted it as another great day to be out on the water!

Right Time Right Place, Right Jig?

I had a couple of fishing trips Saturday - the prettiest day we've had in a long time. There weren't any clouds in the sky and the wind was only about 3-4mph to begin with. I left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp with Julie Ryan and her husband, Art and we headed up to Jolley River to fish an incoming tide with the jig/shrimp and jig/mud minnow combo. The conditions were great and Julie and Art gave it the best effort that anyone could, but we had no bites - not even a nibble. We fished the concrete tepee at the mouth of Tiger Island for Sheepshead, tried the Fort Jetties and ended the day behind Tiger Island - with not a real bite to be had. It was great to get out on the water and spend some time with a wonderful couple.

I picked up Don, visiting with his friend from N. Illinois at 1pm and we headed off for another trip, this time stopping at the oyster beds across from the North end boat ramp. No bites. We fished Jolley again, this time on the outgoing tide and although we did pick up a Stingray, there were no more bites. We ran to Bell River to try to get out of the wind that was picking up and fished the docks, this time getting a few hits on our jigs, but no fish! Don's friend Judy called so we picked her up at the boat ramp and did a quick tour of Fort Clinch and Cumberland Island and decided to drop a line one more time behind Tiger Island, getting there about an hour and a half before sunset. I hooked Judy up with a live shrimp under a float and we positioned the bait up near a fallen tree; before Don and I could get baited up, FISH ON! Judy had a nice hookup, fought the fish nicely and brought it to the boat, a 25" 5 1/2 lb Redfish! After snapping pictures we all got baits in the water and for 30 minutes had significant bites, most on a black "dressed" jig baited with a mud minnow. Don had a good battle with a 26" 6lb Redfish, boated, photoed and released then he hooked up with a 18" Redfish and a nice Seatrout. I had tossed out a jig, too, and was amazed at how aggressive the fish were attacking the bait. Just before sundown the bite stopped so we pulled up anchor and called it another great day to be out on the water!

17lb Striper caught in Nassau River

David Hagins and Debby Portier report of great Striper fishing in the upper reaches of Nassau River. They've caught several over the last 2 months in the 8-17lb range with David hauling in this 17 lb'er last Tuesday afternoon. He was slow trolling at low tide with a YO-ZURI plug when he hooked up with the big fish and according to Debby, he may have had an "incident" where he was in and out of the boat while battling the fish! I haven't gotten the whole story but evidently David ended up a little wet, but still landed the fish. Debby calls David her "Striper King". David learned his Striper fishing techniques from his dad and employed them yesterday to pick up another nice fish, this one weighing in at 11 lbs!.

Trout Season Closed in February

Don't forget that Trout season is closed for the month of February in North East Florida. We can still fish for Redfish, Sheepshead and Black Drum though! We can catch the trout, but they just have to be released for another day of catching.

2010 Southeastern Fly Fishing Show

If you've ever thought about taking up Fly Fishing or if you're already a Fly Fishing Fanatic, you'll want to plan to attend the 2010 Southeastern Fly Fishing Show hosted by the Southeastern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers. This years show will be held at Unicoi State Park just outside of Helen, Georgia, nestled in the North Georgia Mountains. Unicoi is one of Georgia's most beloved State Parks where outdoor enthusiasts enjoy hiking, biking and access to some of the best fishing Georgia has to offer. There will be speakers, numerous educational programs, casting instruction and fly tying demonstration sessions with over 30 of the best fly tiers in the world. I've attended a couple of these shows and I can attest that the folks at these shows are the nicest Fly Fishers you'd ever want to meet. The Fly tiers are more than happy to show you their art and the Fly casters will help with every facet of your casting. There will be about 20 commercial fly fishing vendors exhibiting the latest fly fishing equipment and guide services. If you want to immerse yourself in two days of fly fishing stuff, plan to attend this show June 4-5, 2010. Visit the 2010 Southeastern Fly Fishing Show page for more details!

Big Red Deep

My daughter Ashley, her husband Nathan, and my new granddaughter Burgandy were in town over the weekend and I got to visit with the new baby! Nathan and I were able to get out for some fishing Saturday and even though the weather called for "partly cloudy" skies, we only saw the sun peak though the clouds a couple of times. The for casted winds were 7-11mph but most of the day seemed like 15mph+. We began the day trolling the Jackstaff banks and if we got close enough to the shoreline, the marsh grass blocked the wind, somewhat, but we were probably on top of the fish! We eventually pulled up and ran to Seymoure's Pointe, anchored out of the wind, and began to cast our baits up near the rocks and near a dock pilings. In a short while we had a hookup on a jig/shrimp combo fished deep in 10' of water. The big fish put up a good battle and made numerous runs but we wore him out and netted a 28" 9 lb Redfish. Another boat fishing nearby at the end of the dock was using fish-finder rigs on the bottom and caught a handful of puppy drum. We trolled the rocks for a while then called it a day, another great day to be on the water!

All Dressed Up and Ready for Action!

Sometimes the winter colds keeps me off the water so I spend my time getting tackle ready to go. These topwater lures had some rusty trebles that needed to be replaced. I "dressed" the rear trebles by locking them in my fly-tying vise and tying bucktail and flash on them. Pretty, huh? When the water temperature's warm I'll be ready for some topwater action!