Hot Fall Fishing

I fished Saturday with Josh and Molly Frederickson, along with Emily Buck, all in from New England visiting Amelia Islanders. We left Atlantic Seafood early with a full baitwell, headed up to Jolley River and unlimbered our spinning gear with the shrimp and jig combo. We immediately began to pick up bites with Molly boating a couple of Seatrout and Emily joining in with some Croaker. We moved on up the river where Josh hooked up with a 3'+ Bonnethead shark that gave him a battle - one that Josh eventually won when we netted the fish for pictures. We caught a couple of "Rat Reds" then ran back to the front side of Tiger Island. Emily had bite after bite from "nibblers" while Molly hooked up twice with something big - the last looked like a flounder before we lost it at boat side. We toured Cumberland Island and saw a couple of wild horses and then ended the trip by cruising historic Fort Clinch.

Redfish Feeding Frenzy

I fished with Cpt. David Black of Maryland and John Angus of Fernandina Beach this morning. We left the Talbot Island boat ramp at 7:30 am with a livewell of live shrimp and a handful of finger mullet and ran up the intercoastal to the mouth of Jackstaff in the Horsehead area. I began the troll just out from the mouth and by the time we reached the pointe David had a strong hookup and run; the fight was on! David played the fish expertly - we all guessed a shark by the way it was hunkered down on the bottom - but eventually it broke off. However it wasn't long before he was hooked up with a hungry Redfish and worked it in to the boat. John had been tossing a topwater, but switched to the same jig/shrimp Combo that David was using and he too began to get hookups. At one time he had a hookup, lost it, David hooked up, then John hooked up again! These reds were hungry! We worked the same bank for an hour and a half with John tying in to a hungry, hard fighting Redfish that kept us busy for a while. Eventually the fish was netted, measured, weighed and released - a 31", 11lb Big Red! All told, they boated about 7-8 Reds along that bank. We ran to Broward Island, fought the current, ran to "Bubblegum Reef", had a few nibblers with David catching a Snapper, then called it a morning...a great one, at that!

Flounder Pounder

If you can imagine an early morning, sun just coming up over Fort Clinch and the Atlantic Ocean, air temperature cool, just below 70 and just the slightest of breeze - the marsh water is almost "lake like", and two anglers quietly tossing topwater lures to the flooded grass line and Seatrout striking, striking, striking, FISH ON....then you'd know how the morning started today. Brothers Dennis and John Mahar hit the backcountry with me this morning and brought an arsenal of fishing gear to compliment what I had on board. We threw everything at them: topwater plugs, sinking flies on 7w rods, jigs and shrimp and shrimp under floats. Dennis, President of Gainesville's North Florida Fly Fishing Club, was persistent with the flyrod and eventually hooked up with a hard fighting Ladyfish; both guys switched to different tackle as the conditions changed. They ended up boating 6-7 Trout, the Ladyfish, and a Snapper. We ended the day behind Tiger Island where John hooked up and reeled in a nice 17" Flounder. We thought that was a fairly good catch until he then felt a strong, rod bending pull and the fight was on! Playing the fish like an expert, John worked the fish to the surface and into the waiting net...a 8lb, 27" Flounder! Boy what a fish! As always, another great day out on the water!

October Tailing Redfish

There are good "Tailing Redfish" tides early morning October 17 (Saturday), October 18 (Sunday), October 19 (Monday) and October 20 (Tuesday). We had a great time in September chasing the tails around the grass flats - give me a call and we'll set a trip up.

Topwater Duo

Andy Dillard of Fernandina Beach, Florida and his brother Terry Dillard of Waycross, Georgia wanted to get in some topwater plug fishing so we left the dock early this morning with the express intent of hitting a grass line quick! The high tide peaked at 7:15am and when we reached our first spot the tide was already going out. Andy, throwing a white w/red head plug and Terry throwing an all-white plug were making pinpoint casts to the grass line and began to pick up "hits". They caught a couple of trout and Andy hooked up with a hard fighting Blue that had some "umph" to him. We ran around to Jolley River, again throwing the topwaters and had more hits and then another nice sized, fighting mad, Blue. Terry switched to a live shrimp under a float and his first two casts produced bites and eventually trout. We tried a couple of more spots and ended up anchored at the MOA where Terry had a line ripping bite that took him for a tour around the boat - a few times -and after expertly working the fish to the boat - we netted a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark - that gnawed another hole in my net (this net has made it through the summer shark bite having been patched about 4-5 times). We fished the docks at Bell River, the mouth of Lanceford Creek, and then trolled Lanceford oyster beds where Terry picked up a nice Redfish. The wind was blowing 10-15mph but the sun was out on our first cool day of the year so we counted it as....another great day out on the water!

Little Critters

I fished with Leon Freeman yesterday afternoon and evening. The tide was high at around 3:15pm when we left the new Goffinsville boat ramp. We ran to the mouth of Jackstaff and fished the grass edge with our live shrimp under a float and picked up a few bites of small Trout, Jacks, and Ladyfish. Although we were getting a few "nibbles" now and then we decided to try our luck at another spot so we pulled up and ran to "Spanish Drop" and anchored just off of two creek run-outs. Leon's first two casts produced fish, an undersized Redfish and a keeper sized Trout. We fished the creek mouths the remainder of the afternoon, catching about 12 of the "rat" Reds and 6-8 more Trout, all undersized, with a few Ladyfish mixed in. Most were caught on live shrimp but a few were caught on Gulps, rootbeer paddle tails, on a jig. I tried some topwater lures and sinking lures but had no takers. Although the fish were small, the action was constant and we counted it as another great day out on the water!

High Tides and Tailing Reds

Mark Laurint from Jacksonville and I planned to do some "Tailin Red" stalking this morning so we got the day started bright and early - OK, maybe not so bright, but early! We launched from the North end as the sun was coming up and ran around to the Tiger Island entrance, threw some topwater plugs and picked up a couple of small trout. Then we eased the boat up to the flooded grass and fairly quickly saw a cruising Redfish, and boy he was booking it across a grass flat, with no time to stop and feed! We moved around behind Tiger Island and nosed the bow of the boat on to a grass flat and began to see tails pop up. Mark and I both eased over the side of the boat and waded out to make our casts; Mark made some good casts, putting his weedless jig right in front of a large feeding Red: it rolled and boiled on the bait but didn't bite. I chased a couple but never really had a shot at one. We returned to the boat, moved up the river and tried a few more spots, eventually trolling up a small creek through the marsh and to a lake-like flat with visible Redfish wakes cruising through it. I switched to a topwater plug to get some distance and seeing a wake, cast the plug and another "roll and boil" - but no bite. We made one more stop as the tide was going out and found another Red and some Sheepshead tailing, but no bites. We had brought a few dozen live shrimp with us and with a run up to Jolley River and a few casts with a float rig, Mark picked up a nice fat Trout. He then had something take his live shrimp and rip line off his reel heading up-river. Mark fought the fish beautifully but the fish must have got over in in the hidden oyster beds and cut himself off. We caught a few more trout before heading in for the day, another great day out on the water!

Recipe of the Month: Shrimp Au Gratin

This recipe is by Billie Hart, published in Fernandina's Centre St.Cookery Cookbook:

3/4lb fresh shrimp 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tblsps chopped onion 1/4 tsp dried mustard

1/3 cup choppped celery 1/8 tsp black pepper

3 Tbsps butter 1 can chopped water chestnuts

1/4 cup flour (1) and 1/2 Cup milk

1 Cup grated cheese 1 Tbsps butter

1/4 cup dry bread crumbes 1 tsp Konriko seasoning

Toss the shrimp in Konriko and cook in (1) Tbsps butter, drain and cut shrimp in half. Cook onion and celery in butter until tender. Blend in flour and seasonings. Add milk, gradually and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 cup of grated or shredded cheese and heat until melted. Stir in shrimp and water chestnuts. (We were out of water chestnuts so we used pine nuts). Pour into a 9x10 greased casserole dish. Combine a Tbsps of melted butter with remaining cheese and bread crumbs and sprinkle over top of casserole. Bake at 400 degree for 10 minutes or until brown.

Doormat Flounder Caught

Amelia Island angler Patrick Devlin reported catching this massive Flounder on Labor Day. He was fishing near Eagans Creek on a high, outgoing tide when this "doormat" took his live shrimp under a float rig and the fight was on! Once boated, the fish was weighed in at 10.3lbs and was measured to be 28". Nice fish Patrick!

Topwater Action

My daughter Ashley and Son-in-Law Nathan Taylor (USMC) were in town for a week and with only a day left in their visit, we finally got Nathan out on the water. We left the north end boat ramp early with a live well full of shrimp but with the overcast skies I had planned ahead with a couple of rods rigged for topwater Spook Jr's. We ran to Tiger Island where the fishing was hot on Sunday evening, dropped the trolling motor and began to ease along the grass line. The tide had just started out and after a few casts we began to have strikes on the lures and boated 8-10 Seatrout, Jacks and Ladyfish. It seemed the All-Pearl colored version was getting most of the strikes. As the bite slowed down, I turned the boat operation over to Nathan and he ran us up to the Jolley River where we eventually anchored at a small creek and picked up some more Trout and Ladyfish. We again ran further up the river and anchored in the mouth of larger creek with more action on our float rigs. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island with the island blocking the brisk wind, but we switched to the jig and shrimp combo to pitch up near the logs and stumps. This turned out to be productive as we boated a slot sized Redfish and a keeper sized Flounder along with Croaker and more Croaker. The storm clouds were rolling in so we pulled up the trollling motor and ran to the ramp..another great day of fishing!

Tailing Redfish

Don't forget...September 18, 19, 20, and 21st have some great high tides in the morning, a perfect time to hunt those tailing Redfish. The air temperature should be just right! I've got some openings so give me a call and we'll set it up. Plan to wear some old shoes 'cause we may be out stalking them in the grass!

Fishing with the manatees

With the idea to squeeze in one more fishing trip during the weekend, Carol, myself and Hugh John McDonald launched the boat Sunday afternoon at the north end ramp with a few hours of sunlight left. As we boarded the boat, friends Don and Sue Hughes pulled up in their boat and let us know that a "herd" of manatee were at the mouth of Tiger Island. We cruised over, dropped the trolling motor and eased up into a creek and Carol immediately spotted manatee boils and snouts. We drifted out of the creek with the meandering manatee and as Carol snapped pictures, Hugh John and I noticed that fish were feeding on bait as the high water left the grass. We baited our hooks with live shrimp dangling under a float and began casting. The Sea Trout bite was on with trout after trout boated and released with a few Jacks, Lady Fish and "baitstealers" mixed in. I eventually hooked up with a fish that I immediately knew wasn't a feeding trout and the fight was on. My braided line and fluorocarbon leader held and the fish was reeled to the boat and to Carols waiting net - a 29" Redfish! We snapped a couple of pictures then got our bait back into the water and caught trout after trout after trout. With most of them undersized and the sun get closer to the horizon we decided to pull anchor and run to Jolley River. It wasn't but one cast after anchoring when Hugh John's float went under and Trout ON!

He expertly worked the fish in and we knew we were in to some bigger fish. His next two casts produced fish and soon Carol and I joined him, jockying for position to get our casts in. In addition to trout we picked up a few rat Reds and had non-stop bites and action until the sun went down, catching approximately 30 fish for the few hours we were out. With lightning crackling on the horizon we pulled anchor and left 'em biting, another great day on the water!

Fishing Trip for Football Tickets

With the college football season about to kick off I thought that I'd mention that I'd be willing to trade a 1/2 day fishing trip for 1-3 anglers for TWO Florida/Georgia tickets. I'll provide all the bait, tackle, rods, reels and fishing licenses for the anglers....all you need is a hat and sunglasses. Let me know and we'll set it up. You can plan to fish while you're here for the game or I'll produce a gift certificate for use at a later time.

BIG Trout, BIG Redfish, BIG Sheepshead

Friday Carol I fished with Denise and Bill Sweeney (from Waldorf, Maryland) along with Hugh John McDonald (from Hermosa Beach,CA). After launching from Sawpit Creek early AM we were chased south by a rain storm; it passed and we immediatley ran to the mouth of Jackstaff and in no time had a double hook up with Hugh John reeling in a small Bonnethead then Denise fighting to the boat a nice, fat 23" 4lb Sea Trout. The way it was bending the rod I first guessed a Redfish, but it soon rolled at the boat and we saw all of the spots. My "first mate" Carol did a superb job of netting the fish and from then on the fishing got better. Denise had the hot rod early and boated shark after shark, then Hugh John joined in with a feisty Jack Crevalle and Denise countered with a hard pulling Sailcat then Hugh John hooked up and valiantly fought an epic battle to boat a large, 5' Bonnethead. When Denise hooked up again and I heard the drag ripping I guessed wrong again, thinking Shark, but when it rolled up at the bank and we all saw the reddish tinge we knew she had on a huge Redfish. She fought the fish expertly to Carol's waiting net and when measured, turned out to be a 30", 10lb Redfish! Pictures were taken and the beautiful fish was released to swim away. A little later Bill joined in on the action to have something big take his jig/shrimp combo and head to the ocean, outrunning the trolling motor, spooling the reel and snapping the leader. We pulled up and ran to Broward island on an incoming tide where Bill continued with the hot rod by snagging the Bait Stealing Bandit - a fat Sheepshead. We ended the day with a few more fish being caught all (small Reds and Trout) then headed in as the sun got hot, another great day of fishing!

Canada Drift Boat Fishing

Carol and I traveled to Canada last week to have our wedding ceremony and were able to get in some fishing the day after. We had set up a trip down the Bow River with guide Richard "Rocket" Miller who picked us up at the hotel Fairmont at Banff Springs at 2pm. Rocket works with Tightline Adventures located in Banff and had all the gear -flyrods, reels, flys, waders and boots ready to go and had in tow a Clackacraft drift boat. We had a short drive to the launching site where Rocket set out lounge chairs for us to put on our waders and boots. After a brief orienatation we began our drift down the river. Rocket instructed us to cast our Dry fly's up near the bank and coached me on "mending" the line before the current began to make the fly move in an unatural way. We also cast some weighted tips with Clouser Minnow flys where we were instructed to make our cast as close to the bank as possible then strip the line back, cast and strip, cast and strip. I had the most trouble with the heavier sinking flys with their weight giving me casting issues. With the Dry fly's I was able to work in some good casts on occasion with an occasional pile up or line Snafu. Rocket was patient and taught us a number of flyfishing tips, along with pointing out wildlife and interesting features on the shore. We fished until dusk with a planned ending at a couple of "flats" where we expected to see the Trout rising to feed on the many bugs fluttering over the water. Although we did see some rises, they didn't seem to be consistent and wouldn't take when we tossed our fly to the rise. For the day we ended up catching a few "elusive" Brown Trout and missing a few bites but had a great time and saw some beautiful scenery; we were treated to sightings of Bald Eagle, Beaver, Loon and other shore birds and had a coyote cross our path on the way back to the hotel. Another great day of fishing!

Picture of the Month: The Boat Goes First!

Girls Day Out

There's nothing like getting out on the water with a group of friends so John Norris hosted his two daughters Ashlan and Aubrey and their two friends Allison and Evelyn for a day of fishing the backcountry waters of Amelia Island. We left the dock promptly at 7:30am with just a light breeze and sunny skies to run up to Jolley River for a day of fishing. As a I mentioned to John, there's nothing special about the Jolley other than you see very little boat traffic - and I don't think we had a boat pass us all day, although one may have slipped by while we were fighting a fish! We anchored up at a small run out and it wasn't long before the girls were hooking up with fish. They started off with a "double" with one of the lady's fighting in a Ladyfish while another hooked up and brought a Flounder to the boat. All of the girls caught fish, with Croaker providing non-stop "bait stealing" action; some weren't so lucky as the girls got used to their ways and hooked up with a few. Excitement built when a Bonnethead shark swirled at the rear of the boat and sure enough found one of our live shrimp on a jig...and the fight was on! The lady's eventually boated a few of the shark, lost a few to break-offs, caught a couple of neat Stingray and then John wrapped it up with a nice Redfish. We made it back to the dock in time to beat the looming rainclouds and counted as another good "girls day out" on the water!

Fishin' till you run outa worms!

I met Frank Wright, his friend Mary Beth, and her grandson Jared at the south end boat ramp yesterday morning at 7:30 to take in some fishing on a beautiful day. Jared was visiting from Minneapolis on his summer break and had done some lobstering down in the Keys but hadn't gotten in much fishing. We ran up Middle River a ways, anchored at a runout and got our spinning rods unlimbered with some live shrimp under corks. With no bites on the last of an incoming tide, we pulled up and headed to Bubblegum Reef, anchored and switched to the jig and shrimp combo. Jared was first to boat a fish with a large Croaker. We ran up into Jackstaff, anchored and that's when the fishing began to heat up. The whole party hooked up with what turned out to be elusive and somewhat wiley Bonnethead Shark. With the tide beginning to go out we trolled the marsh grass and as the oysters began to show, we started getting bites and catching fish non-stop. Everyone joined in, catching 6-7 Redfish with Jared pulling in the largest; they also caught 5-6 Trout, a large Vemillion Snapper, Black Drum, Flounder and some hard fighting, poop slinging "poor mans Tarpon" - Lady Fish. After a few more line ripping runs from the Bonnetheads, a determined Jared hooked up and fought a 4' shark to the boat and into a waiting net. We snapped pictures and tossed the rascal back. As we continued to fish, Mary Beth volunteered to sew my catch net up where the shark had eatin a hole through it! We fished until we ran out of shrimp and left them biting, counting it another good day of fishing!

Non-Stop Fishin' Action

I fished with Ray and Jeff Goetze Tuesday morning and the fish bit from start to finish. Jeff will be starting back to Clemson University in a few weeks to begin his Senior year and the guys wanted to get in some fishing before heading back to their home in Greenville, S.C. We left the dock at 7:30 sharp and headed up to my favorite get-away spot, the Jolley River. Fishing the east side marsh grass on the last of an incoming tide we began to pick up Seatrout on our live shrimp under a cork. We anchored up at a runout and caught 6-7 trout, then pulled up and ran up to a larger creek mouth. Both Ray and Jeff hooked up with Bonnethead sharks; we had a few break off but the guys expertly played a few in and eventually boated a couple for pictures. Both Ray and Jeff were excellent casters and as the tide started out began to catch Trout (another 7-8), Redfish (4), Vermillion Snapper, Jacks, and a Stingray. Writing in my journal that evening I tried to count up the number of fish that we caught and arrived at about 30 - and we left them biting. A great day of father and son fishing!

Recipe of the Month: Bourbon Bacon Scallops

Carol and I had these as appetizers at Sliders Seaside Grill at Fermandina Beach on Amelia Island. We liked them so I hunted up a recipe on recipezaar.com. I added some jumbo shrimp to the skewers:

(6) slices of bacon

(3) T minced green onions

(2) T Bourbon

(2) T Maple syrup

(1) T Soy Sauce

(1) T Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

24 large sea scallops

1lb jumbo shrimp

Heat a skillet and fry the bacon for 4-5 minutes, until limp and partially browned; remove from skillet, drain and set aside to cool. In a bowl, combine the green onions, bourbon, maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, and pepper and stir well; remove about 2 Tablespoons of marinade and set aside. Add the sea scallops (and shrimp) to the marinade in the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Soak 6-8 bamboo skewers in a dish of water. After the scallops and shrimp have marinaded, wrap a piece of bacon around the scallop and then skewer. I alternated the shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops. Grill until the the bacon is crisp and the scallops are opaque; turn about half way through. Baste with the set aside marinade and serve.

Tail'in Reds

I have clients ask about when to fish for tailing Reds. The thing is the tide has to be high enough AND it needs to fall during the daylight hours. I try to target them if the tide gets to around a 6.7 height. With that in mind, September 18, 19, 20 and 21st have a high tide in the morning hours. We want to be on the marsh at least two hours before the high tide. If you like to throw a fly at tail'in Red's, it doesn't get much funner than this. If you don't flycast, we'll use spinning tackle with a weedless jig or spoon. Give me a call....we'll set it up. Don't forget your wading shoes!

Big Flounder and Manatee

Rick Larkin and his two sons, Andrew and Mathew, were in town from Virginia and wanted to get out on the water so I met them at the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp at 7:30 with 6 dozen live shrimp. We ran up to the Jolley on the last of an outgoing tide and fished the mouth's eastern shore and immediately began to get "nibbles" - it wasn't long before Rick boated a Seatrout. We move on up into the river, catching Croaker, Seatrout and a small Redfish; shark were cruising the mudbanks and sure enough, Andrew hooked up with a hard running Bonnethead and fought it perfectly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the shark decided to quit playing and with a jerk, broke off and went on his way! We tried the MOA briefly, then ran around to behind Tiger Island, fished just a short while and were treated to a Manatee cruising the shoreline; it swam by us underwater, then turned around and came back and passed us again. We all enjoyed watching it swim peacefully by. Shortly after it passed, Rick hooked up and yelled, "this one has some muscle" and the fight was on. He eventually fought a nice 23" fat flounder to the net so that we could snap some pictures and then release it. Our last stop was on the other side of Tiger; the sun was getting warm and although we only had a few more bites, we were able to watch a couple of more Manatee rolling in the shallows.

New Goffinsville Park and Boat Ramp Opens

The County held a ribbon cutting ceremony today with dignitaries opening the new Park to the public. The Goffinsville - Nassau River Park features a building that houses restrooms and a potential bait and tackle shop, a fishing pier, boat ramp with floating dock, covered picnic tables, a playground, bike/walk paths, boat trailer parking, plenty of trees, and long railed bulkhead for river veiwing. This is byfar the nicest County park to date. The area, known locally as Goffinsville, was originally a small community that grew up

around an oyster packing plant owned by Mr. Saul Goffin. His daughters made the property available to the County who along with help from the Trust for Public Lands, Florida Community Trust and the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, put together funding to have the park built. Grandaughter of Mr. Goffin, Ms. Doris Mellion was on hand to help with the ribbon cutting, along with Mr and Mrs. Charles Albert and Mr. and Mrs. Mallory Wilder, longtime residents of the area. Mr Daniel Salmon, County Parks and Recreation Director, who oversaw the construction and saw the project to completion, was also in the crowd along with his grandkids.

Directions to the Park: If you're visiting, you will need to leave Amelia Island on S.R. 200, crossing the bridge over the intercoastal. From the bridge, travel west 1.7 miles to the first traffic light. Turn left here on C.R. 107 and travel south 3.6 miles. Turn left into the Goffinsville - Nassau River Park.

Everybody catches fish!

Redfish, Black Drum, Bonnethead Shark, Black Tip Shark, Vermillion Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Stingray, Croaker, and Ladyfish! Today's fishing started out kinda slow although we had about the nicest weather that you could want: blue skies and only a light breeze, slick water and a day of fishing! The Koszut family, Greg and Kelli along with their daughter Shelby and son Grant, were in town from Indiana and wanted to get out on the water and experience Amelia Island fishing so we left the dock early and headed up to the Horsehead area. The first stop only produced a few nibbles but Greg did have something roll on a top water lure. We headed into Jackstaff Creek, anchored up in a bend and it wasn't long before Kelli hooked up and caught a nice Bonnethead and shortly after Greg pulled in a Stingray. We moved down the creek where Grant caught his first Jack then we crossed the creek, trolled the bank and Greg hooked up, played masterfully and boated a keeper sized Redfish. We anchored up and the whole family joined in with Shelby catching a Black Tip shark and a nice Redfish. Greg caught Snapper, Black Drum and some really big Bonnethead's. In fact everyone got to experience the ripping runs of the shark bites. Grant wrapped up the day with an entertaining catch of a hard fighting Lady Fish. What a great day out on the water!

Kayakers come to town

Steve and Sharyn Bush visit the area every year, bringing their camper, kayaks, and dogs to stay at Fort Clinch State Park. They wanted to see some kayak accessible areas and also do some fishing so as we left the dock I pointed out the Tiger Islands and some fishing spots that they could try. We then ran up to....you guessed it, the Jolley River where we fished the east side of the inlet. It was a beautiful morning as the sun shone on the marsh grass, birds chirping, and light breeze. Steve hooked up to and fought to the net a nice "poor man's Tarpon" - a lady fish; it earned it's name as it thrashed to throw the hook. We had a few nibbles then picked up and ran up to a creek (I call it "Snook Creek" because that's where I caught a small Snook a few years ago). With a jig and shrimp on the bottom, it wasn't long before Sharyn had a fight on her hands with a 3' Bonnethead Shark. Althought we had some beautiful Roseatte Spoonbills as neighbors, we moved to outside of the creek where Sharon caught a small Redfish, Steve picked up a Vermillion Snapper, then Sharyn caught a larger Bonnethead. We made a stop at the MOA where Steve jigged up another shark then we ran to Tiger Island, fished the shore line with no real bites. We ended the day with a tour up Eagans Creek where Steve and Sharyn saw the opportunities for some kayak fishing.

Smorgasboard of Fish

Jo and Pat Devlin love to fish and having lived in the area for only a short while, said they only had one spot to fish and needed to see some new areas; it was Pat's birthday and so JO treated him to a day of fishing. With a high, falling tide, we left the dock Saturday morning and ran up to the Jolley River, one of my favorite areas to fish. Not only is it very scenic, there's very little boat traffic and plenty of areas to fish. We fished the eastern shore of the inlet with float rigs to unlimber then went up to a creek mouth where both anglers picked up some croaker then Jo hooked up to hard pulling stingray. Jo had the hot hand early, catching a nice Seatrout and two small Redfish. Pat hooked up to what had to have been a large Bonnethead shark that almost spooled the reel; Pat played him like a pro, but the shark must have found an oyster bed and got cut off. We anchored at the MOA spot, fought and lost another Shark, but otherwise had very few bites, then motored back Jolley and anchored at a small creek where we cast netted for finger mullet. We all noticed something coming out of the water on a mudflat and then realized that about a dozen Blue Crab were ambushing Grass Shrimp, so Pat eased the boat forward and I cast netted a few for bait.

We fished the mouth of Jolley, now with oyster beds showing and Jo caught a slimey but hard fighting Sail Cat. To end the day we ran to Lanceford Creek, fished a dock where Jo cranked in a Black Drum - caught on a piece of the Blue Crab!

Rat-a-tat-tat and a herd of Manatees

I had the pleasure to fish with Ken Broecker and his son Kyle this morning. They were visiting from Ohio and had tried to pick a day where the rain and storms might let up...and we almost made it. We left the City marina at 7:30 am and ran straight to Jolley River. After warming up a bit with the spinning rods, we started our troll along the marsh grass and it wasn't long before Kyle put the first fish in the boat, a nice trout. Ken hooked up with something big near a submerged oyster bank, fought it for a while, and it broke off. It didn't run like a shark and I'm sure it was a nice Redfish. We moved on up the river to a creek mouth, anchored, and picked up some "baitstealers". Unfortunately, a rain cloud moved in and we began to get wet, so we did our best to outrun the storm and ran to the east side of Tiger Island and anchored. We again picked up some baitstealers then Ken hooked up with a hard running Bonnethead shark which he fought to the boat to a waiting net. Dolphin and a "herd" of about 7-8 Manatee moved in, with a few swimming right under the boat. We also saw a neat plate-sized Sea Turtle and more shark. Off towards Cumberland Island it appeared the Coast Guard gun boats were practicing intercept manuevers on a "bad guy" boat, even firing off rounds to force it to stop. We all hoped that they were shooting blanks!

Blacktip Shark

The Loy family, Rick and Maureen, with their two sons Brendan and Sean, were in town from Orlando and took in a backwater fishing trip this morning. With rain forcast at 30% and increasing to 70% by noon, we were surprised to see clear skies when we left the dock. We ran to the mouth of Jackstaff, anchored, and unlimbered our spinning rods. It wasn't long before a jig tipped with shrimp enticed a Bonnethead shark and the whole family joined in taking turns cranking in the fish. The Loy's had done some crabbing yesterday and we were all excited to see an occasional Bluecrab crawling underwater on an old oyster bed next to the boat. It wasn't long before all of the guys were out of the boat and netting the crab to add to their catch from yesterday! One of the nettings produced a small "Pufferfish", too. We caught couple more shark, lost a few and moved on to "Bubblegum Reef" where Brendan hooked up with a Catfish while Maureen pulled in a keeper sized Croaker. Then something struck a bait furiously and Rick had a fight on his hands. With all the commotion, I called a "Ladyfish", but was proved wrong when we netted a nice Black Tip shark, which was a surprise as I haven't seen many of them in the backwater. The tide was almost completely high when we made our last stop at Broward Island, then we raced to the dock, beating the forecast thunderstorms just in time. What a great day out on the water with a smorgasboard of marine life to experience.

Goffinsville Park and Boat Ramp to open

A Grand Opening of Nassau County's newest park and boat ramp will be held Wednesday, July 22nd at 10:am at the park. Nassau County Building Maintenance and Parks & Recreation Director Daniel Salmon said there will be plenty of door prizes, snacks and drinks available and encourages folks to come out and bring their kids. The park contains hiking trails, the boat ramp, a fishing pier, floating dock, restrooms, six covered picnic tables. There is a building available for a vendor to sell bait and tackle and there is a possibility of having a security residence.

Recipe of the month: Sea Trout Sub

This recipe comes from Tim Parker, a Dawg fan, who hails from central Georgia, but frequents Amelia Island and its estuaries quite often...

Ingredients makes 4 subs:

4 trout fillets (no rib bones)

4 small sub buns

1/2 cup Panko (japanese style) bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Large egg

1/3 cup milk

small amount of butter or margarine

3 to 4 table spoons vegetable oil

Seasoning -salt or Konriko

Rinse fillets and pat dry, season with Konriko. Mix Panko breakcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a flat style bowl.

Dredge fillets in the egg/milk mixture, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Heat the vegetable oil and cook fillets 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. While the fillets are cooking, split sub rolls in half, and lightly spread a thin coat of butter on the inside portion. When the fish is done, set aside on paper towels to drain, lay sub rolls face down in same pan and let them brown slightly. Dress your sandwich how you like it! This one had mayonnaise, horseradish spread, lettuce, tomato and onion. Serve with fries, cole slaw...or eat two of the subs!

Croaker,Croaker,Croaker,Croaker, REDFISH!

I got to fish with Ted Szarzanowicz, his wife Michelle, and their kids Amanda and Mathew yesterday evening. I'd picked up some live, but sluggish shrimp so we headed to Tiger Island and trolled the bank. Although we had no real bites, we had a number of Blue Crab come cruising by, one of which I netted. We ran to Jolley River, pulled over to the east side as the tide reached it's bottom, and began to pitch our baits to the oyster beds. Michelle had the hot rod early and began to pick up Croaker after Croaker, some of which were of good eat'n size. Both she and Ted were tossing the jig and shrimp combo and Ted reeled in a few of the Croaker, too, and just when I began to wonder, he hooked up and expertly reeled in a nice 18" Redfish. There was plenty of bait in the river which turned out to be small shrimp after I cast a net; we moved up the river and anchored and soon after Amanda pulled in her Croaker. After a few more of those, we moved around to the MOA -"Mother of All" -spots where Ted caught a Flounder and a Trout, completing his "inshore slam". Matt manned a bottom rig with the crab that we had caught and had numerous bits. We stayed to watch a beautiful sunset and made it back to the marina right at dark. The Szarzonowicz family had great attitudes - I remember thinking, "boy these folks get along with each other real well", and were a pleasure to fish with.

Shaaaark!

David and Celeste Kraus were visiting from Kansas with their teenagers Aaron and Alijah and took in a fishing and sightseeing trip this morning. We left the dock a little before 8am and ran to Beach Creek on Cumberland to see if there were any manateee (none) and then we crossed to Jolley River to begin fishing. All of the Kraus family were excellent casters and began pitching their live shrimp under floats up to the grass. There was a high tide with the current still bringing water up the river and we didn't have many bites, so we cranked up and moved up to a runout and anchored. Although Aligjah had a nice hookup and run, the fish broke off and with no more real bites, we moved up to a larger creek runout and anchored. We were there for only a little while when Alijah hooked up again, this time with line ripping out and rod bent fully. She fought the fish for a long time then it broke off on the hidden oyster shells. Shortly after that, Aaron hooked up and fought his fish to the boat - a 3 1/2' long Bonnethead shark. We made a few attempts with the net then finally got the fish in the boat for pictures. A little while later David hooked up and expertly fought his fish from one side of the boat to the other then we netted another 3'+ Shark. We eventually moved on to Tiger Island, trolled the bank, then crossed back to Cumberland Island to check out the wild horses with some binoculars; then we cruised Fort Clinch and made it back to the dock in time for lunch. Not a whole lot of action, but some good quality action with hard running shark!

Big Catfish, Lots of Wildlife

Saturday afternoon I fished with the Maxwell family, in from Nebraska. Parents Andy and Teggy along with kids Riley and Rogan wanted to see some Florida wildlife; they brought along their cousin, Craig and his daughter, Maddy and we met at the south end boat ramp late in the day in an effort to beat the heat. We ran up to Jackstaff and anchored at a runout as the family practiced their casting then we moved further up the creek to a bend and anchored. It wasn't long before both Teggy and Craig had hooked up and fought to the boat two nice Stingray, to the delight of Rogan and Maddy. We trolled the bank for a while with a high tide pushing water into the grass, but saw now Redfish tails, then we cranked up and moved aroung to Bubblegum Reef where Teggy picked up a small croaker then a huge Sail Cat that made some nice drag-ripping runs. The kids saw plenty of bird life, fiddler crab, porpoise and jelly fish during the day. We ended the day with the sun going down at Broward Island with a pair of Osprey resting in a nearby tree and pairs of porpoise cruising along side the boat. What a great learning experience for the young ones to be out in the wilds of northeast Florida.

Stringray and Croaker Holes

Donald Lorton and his wife Lila, from Tennessee treated their grandson, Luke, to a fishing trip this morning. We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 7:30am and ran directly to the mouth of Jackstaff with a tide that high and about two hours going out, with oyster beds showing. We fished the bank and had a number of small bites, then went up the river and anchored in a bend. Luke pulled in a Jack Crevalle, then fought and worked three stingrays to the boat. We went around to Bubblegum Reef and anchored and began to immediately hook up with croaker after croaker. Both Donald and Luke had gotten proficient in casting the 1/4 ounce Sure Catch jigs, tipped with live shrimp and had some fun catching some fish. We made a final stop at Broward Island, but it had gotten so hot we eventually pulled up and ran to the "house". Luke learned a lot, catching a smorgasbord of sealife and had a great time out on the water with his grandparents. I remember to this day fishing for Crappie with my Grandfather on Lake Sante Fe and know that Luke will remember today's fishing trip, too.

Beat'n the heat with late afternoon fishing

With a heat wave pushing tempatures to the mid 90's, I scheduled a fishing trip with visitors Belinda and Don Pottorff for late afternoon yesterday. They were in from Kansas City on a work related trip and were eager to soak in some outdoor experiences along with the ambiance of Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, Florida. When we left the dock at 4:30pm it was still hot so I cruised over to Cumberland Island and up Beach Creek in hopes that we'd see some manatee, but they were the smarter mammal and were hiding out somewhere cool! We left Cumberland, crossed Amelia River and cut our engine at the mouth of Jolley River. Throwing a live shrimp on a leader under a cork, Don was getting his casts up near the marsh grass with a tide high and going out. It wasn't long before his cork disappeared and Don boated a nice Speckled Sea Trout. We eased along the shore line for about 100 yards and he expertly hooked up and played a number of trout, with some of them in the 19", 2lb range. We went further up Jolley, anchored at the mouth of a creek and Don caught some more trout, a few keeper sized, but the rest rather small. We did hook up, catch, and release a hard fighting 2 1/2' Bonnet Head shark. Playing with the small trout and croaker was fun but we wanted more of the larger variety so we pulled up anchor and headed around to the "MOA" - Mother of All - spots, and sure enough, the trout were there! Don caught a couple more on the shrimp, then we switched to an all white Zara Spook topwater plug and had some fun watching the trout hit and miss and finally hook up. We ended the day as the sun was going down over the marsh and got back to the dock with just a little bit of daylight. This was one of my more "prolific" trips in a long while and makes me want to do some more late afternoon trips!

2nd Annual Clay Roberts Inshore Slam Tournament

Joe and Diane Warwick, owners of the Florida House Inn on Amelia Island, are supporters of the 2nd Annual Clay Roberts Inshore Slam Tournament so Joe, his son, Tanner and father-in-law Paul entered the Tournament and fished with me today. Fishing was to begin at "safe light" so we were out early, even before the bait shops opened. We launched from the south end and ran to the docks at Longpointe and anchored. It wasn't long before we had caught an undersized Red and Black drum and a few "bait stealers". We pulled up and headed up the river to Jackstaff and after trolling the bank for about 50 yards, Tanner yelled, "I got one" and started cranking the spinning reel. We adults were somewhat pessimistic and I even asked for the rod to see if it needed to be pulled loose from an oyster bed but when I felt the rod tip bend and the line rip out I handed it back to Tanner who reeled in a nice 18+" Redfish. We trolled on up the river, anchored at Bubblegum Reef, ran to Broward Island (now dubbed "Tarzan Island" and had a few nibbles hear and there with some croaker and small vermillion snapper in the boat, but no more line-ripping fish. It got so hot that we ended up runnning to the bridges over Nassau Sound to find some shade. Last year Tanner was a foot shorter and wasn't casting much but he's grown, is eager to learn and is well on his way to being an excellent angler.

Big Red, Big Trout

I fished with old friend Mike Stalvey, his son Michael and grandson "Bird" this morning and had a great day of fishing, catching up and swapping stories. They got in from Lake City last night for a planned day of fishing and after dining on seafood at the Crab Trap and getting to bed at decent time, we were up early this morning to be waiting at the bait shop to open for our live shrimp. We were in the water and running to Jolley River by 7am, began fishing and had only trolled a short distance when Michael hooked up and had a battle on his hands as the fish took drag, hunkered down, then took some more drag. When the fish rolled at the surface we knew we had a nice Redfish on the line and Michael expertly worked the fish, eventually bringing the 9.5 pound, 29" fish to the net. We snapped some pictures and released it to be caught another day. After all the excitement and "high-fives" we got lines back in the water and began inching along the grass line again, tossing live shrimp under Cajun Thunder's. Michael hooked up again, this time with a hard running, head shaking 19" trout; then Mike got in on the action with two more 18" trout, all hooked good and fighting mad. We eventually ran further up the river where Bird caught some croakers then we fished the docks on Bell River and were proud to see Bird's casting improve to the point where he was calling his spots and making pinpoint casts. Eventually, we wrapped up the day then headed home to some fried trout, cold slaw and baked beans. What a great way to "hook" up with old friends!

Trout and more Trout

Dean Gunderson was in town, visiting from the Atlanta area and new that his grandson Ian and Ian's parents Susan and Mike would like to catch some fish. Ian and Dean had caught a 3' shark off the pier at Amelia South yesterday and warned me that it would be a tough act to follow! I had procured some live shrimp so we headed up to Jolley River on a high, outgoing tide with no wind. We anchored up and it wasn't long before another large shark was chasing Ian's bait! He hooked up, had 'em for a while and the shark or an oyster cut the line. Not much later, Mike worked a nice trout to the boat. We ran around to the MOA, anchored, but had no bites. As we were passing the original spot we could now see the oysters and it looked so "fishy" we had to try it again. It was a good decision because everyone was able to join in on some action, catching trout after trout. Most were on the small side but we were able to put a couple of keepers in the boat. Ian had the most variety with a perch, croaker and black drum and expertly reeled them in. The highlite of the trip was watching a small sea turtle surface and work its way around the boat.

Arnett Family Fun Fishing

David and Kim Arnett of Douglas, Ga. were in town with their kids Abbey and Bethany and called for a fishing trip. They fish as a family at home and you could tell that they knew their way around a fishing rod! We left the southend boat ramp at Sawpit Creek at 8am, ran to the docks at Longpointe, anchored, tried a few casts and then moved on. We anchored at the mouth of Jackstaff, had no bites, but I noticed that both David and Kim were making some excellent casts and Abbey was doing a pretty good job, too. So we began to troll the marsh grass with the oysters just beginning to show on an outgoing tide. It wasn't long before Kim had a fish take her live shrimp the fight was on! I yelled "clear the way" and Kim fought the fish to the back of the boat and back to the middle and we netted a nice 6-spot 20" Redfish. We fished on up Jackstaff, moved on to "Bubblegum Reef" and dropped anchor again. We had only been there a few minutes before David spotted a bottom rig bouncing. Abbey eagerly grabbed the rod fought the fish to the boat and we netted not one, but TWO catfish: caught on one hook! The smaller cat had bit the hook while a larger one had gotten entagled in the line. As we tried to free the catfish Kim hooked up with another fish that put up a good fight, brought it to the boat and landed a fat 16" Trout. We tried one more stop at scenic Broward Island, but the sun was getting hot, and all of us were talking about the swimming pools and air conditioning that awaited us so we wrapped it up and came on in.

Recipe of the Month: Spanish Cornbread

From the desk of Lottie Garner....

(My Grandmother)

1/4 Cup Wesson Oil (1) Egg

1/2 Cup Buttermilk (1) Cup Cream Style Corn

(2) T. Sugar 1/2 Cup grated cheddar cheese

(1) T. Chopped onion (1) T. Chopped Jalepeno

(1) Cup Self Rising Cornmeal

Mix ingredients together and pour into 8x12 pan (or one of these cool iron fish skillets!)

Bake 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Butter and eat!

Why fish with Cpt. Lawrence Piper?

As most of my local readers know, I'm fairly new to the Charter Captain scene. I've fished all of my life and have gotten into the business at a rather late age (52). I've run another service oriented business for the past 22 years and think it has prepared me for the charter fishing service. In addition to serving in a leadership capacity on some of the local non-profit boards such as the YMCA, Chamber of Commerce and Optimist Clubs, I've volunteered with youth organizations such as Little League softball coach, YMCA basketball coach and Swim Team judge. When my daughter graduated, married and moved to California to begin a life with the Marines, I saw it as my opportunity to "Do what I like, Like what I do". I mean, if I'm going to work all of my life, I might as well enjoy what I'm doing, right? But why fish with me?

I'm going to do my very best to provide professional service. I'm going to return your e-mails and phone calls and I'm going to be on time for our scheduled trip. If I need to pick you up or meet you at your personal dock, I'll do it. I'll do what I can to accomodate you. I won't knowingly break any boating or fishing laws and I'll have all required safety equipment on board. I won't ogle your wife or girlfriend and I'll do my darndest not to let a curse word slip. The boat will be clean, the rods will be rigged and the tackle will be ready. Nine times out of ten I'll have the bait before the trip starts or a plan for it. I'll also have a fishing plan based on the location we leave from, the tides and the weather. If you're a lefty I'll switch the rod handles and if you're a beginner I'll take the time to show you how to bait the hook and make your cast. If you don't want to bait the hook or remove the fish I'll do it for you! I'll have some ice waters and a few soda's on board and I'll require youth under 13 to have a life vest on, but tactfully let the child know that it's up to their parent to let them remove it once the boat is stopped and fishing has begun. I have a ton of patience and will rig and re-rig and re-re-rig as much as need be to keep you fishing. Most times I'll hand you a new rod and let you get back to fishing while I re-rig another one. I know that most folks want to catch fish when they hire a Charter and I'll take you to spots that have produced in the past given the tide that we're fishing. Most of the time my guests will catch some fish. Once in awhile they just arent't biting, and I honestly do feel bad about it. My soon-to-be wife, Carol, will tell you that I'm seriously bumbed if I have a day with no fish, but in the end, I know I'm going to do my very best to make sure your trip is a no-hassle experience. I know people are spending their hard-earned money while they're visiting and they want to just get away from it all so....click here to book a trip: Let's go fishing!