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!

Meal of the Month: Blackened Sheepshead

What do you do when you've got fresh Sheepshead fillets? Butter them up, toss them in Blackening seasons and sear them in a hot skillet! Serve them up with some fresh stir-fried vegis.

I named him Big Gulp, then let 'em go.

After suffering through about 10 days of sub-freezing temperatures and no fishing, I was about to go stir crazy. It was still on the cool side this morning when I launched at the North End, but the sun was coming up and there was only a slight breeze. I had acquired a smorgasbord of bait comprised of live shrimp, finger mullet and a hand full of fiddler crabs with the intention of trying some new spots. The tide was low and coming in so I quietly trolled some shallow areas near Tiger Island looking for any any Redfish wakes. The wakes I saw were HUGE, but made by dolphin as they pushed up into a creek, and then back out again. Finding some downed trees, I anchored up and experimented with live shrimp and fiddler crabs, either on a jig or under a float. I soon had a bite that took my shrimp under a float, so I quickly baited up and tossed it back to the same location. The cork disappeared and the fight was on! After a number of powerful pulls, the fish gave up and came to my waiting net, a 20" Sheepshead. I had no more real bites so I moved on and ended up down below Shave Bridge in a small creek. Again I anchored and used both jig and float rigs. The float rig was the ticket and I soon had a bite, and lost my shrimp. I tossed another to the same spot, hooked up, and boated another 18" Sheepshead. Thinking I might just catch a mess of Sheeps, I tossed another bait, saw my cork disappear and soon realized THIS was a fight! The fish "pulled drag" down the creek a few times, then crossed the creek and ran up into the marsh grass and as I worked him (or her?) out I saw it roll and it's tail came out of the water...a large Redfish! He went in and out of the grass trying to shake the hook but I kept the pressure on, eventually boating the fish, weighing in at 12lbs and measuring 31". On the way back to the ramp I was treated to a sighting of a larger Osprey perched on a dead tree. Now that's a great day out on the water!

Name the Project Boat and WIN!

The Waterbug project boat is coming along, finally. I had to postpone putting the final coats of paint on it with all of the below freezing weather that we've had lately. The bow plate and seats are mounted, a hatch cover is made and attached for the bait/dry well and I've found a Evinrude 15hp engine to power it. I still have a few things to do such as complete the trailer wiring, mount some rod holders, come up with a trolling motor mount and put on the pin striping...and give "it" a name! If you have any ideas, send them to me and I'll include them in the options that the "Executive Committee" will choose from. If your entry is chosen I'll provide an Anglers Mark cap, your choice of one of my leather covered flasks or journals, and a goody bag of tackle that I've put together. Get your entry in by the end of February for it to be considered. Here's some info that might help: It's a 15'Waterbug, I'll fish it in shallow salt water and fresh water creeks and lakes. I'll be fishing for Redfish, Trout, Flounder, Drum and bream and bass. I'll be using light tackle or fly rods. My wife's name is Carol, my daughter's name is Ashley, my grandaughter's name is Burgandy. I have two dogs, Bear and Andy. I'll fish mostly out of Amelia Island, but I'm planning some fly fishing trips around Florida. My favorite beer (for now) is Bud Light Lime. The boat's been passed around a lot (one member of the Executive Committee has already suggested a name but it's unprintable and got nixed). Feel free to use any Lawrenceisms. I do leather work, fishing related. I'm a proud member of the Gator Nation. My Charter Boat is The Anglers Mark. Good luck!

Head Start for Kids

I participated in the Peck Head Start "Transportation Day" oganized by Ms. Jay Velez, a Family Support Specialist. Ms. Velez had vehicles from Emergency Services, Fernandina Beach Police Departments, Tow Services, Taxi and a number of others, 10 in all. The kids were between 3 and 5 and seemed to really enjoy climbing on The Anglers Mark. Each got to try on the youth life vests that they would be required to wear (under 13 yrs old) while the boat is under way. I also had a couple of spinning rods with topwater lures, hooks removed. I would toss the lure out and let them sit in the bass seat and reel the lure back in. You would have thought they had the biggest fish on in their lives! It was fast a furious with a staff person handing up two kids at a time, tour the boat, try on a vest, reel in a lure, take the vest off, then hand them off to the staff person. I had a great time and hope to get invited back next year. Another great day in a boat...although not on the water!

Picture of the Month: Huge Striper

Valentine's Special saves you THOUSAND$!

With Valentine's day as the next big holiday I wanted to remind all of you who want to find the perfect gift for the angler in your life. You better believe that your angler would like nothing more than to get out on the water, enjoy some beautiful sunshine and fresh air, see wildlife and feel the tug of fish ripping out line. Seriously, I've had spouses call or email me to say that they haven't seen their significant other more relaxed in years after they've taken in one of my fishing trips. Give me a call and we'll set it up! I'll produce a nice, personalized Gift Certificate; my 1/2 day rate is reduced to $300.00 through February. Just think, rather than spend THOUSANDS on boat payments, gas, oil, insurance, boat supplies, boat storage, tackle, and bait you can send your spouse/friend fishing a couple of times a year! Let 'em get away from it all and send 'em fishing!

From Football to Fishing

Peter Pray from the Atlanta area was in town to see FSU and Bobby Bowden's great game and extended his visit to get in some Amelia Island fishing. Although the air temperature was in the mid 30's, he and I both were dressed warmly and with the sun shining, we left the dock around 10am. It was a high tide, just starting out and we had a wind blowing 15-20mph, so we headed to Lanceford Creek for some protection. Peter warmed up and was tossing a jig/grub to the dock pilings as we trolled by. With no real bites, we pulled up and tried another dock system, but anglers had staked it out (and were pulling in trout left and right), so we moved on. We fished some run outs along the intercoastal, motored down to "Poteat cut" and anchored at a run out, spending a short time sharing some tasty Publix sandwiches that Peter had brought, then we moved on to Jackstaff, switching to a buctail jig tipped with mud minnows. The wind was really cranking now and my trolling motor was straining against the wind and current. We attempted to fish the rocks at Seymour's Pointe but the anchor continued to pull, so we trolled the docks. With bites few and far between we pulled up and ran back up the intercoastal, stopping at Rayonier's warehouse. After only a few casts of his jig/grub, Peter had a couple of good bites on the bottom, then UMPH, the fight was on! Peter played the fish like a pro and eventually boated a nice, fat 20" Trout. We also picked up a nice 18" Redfish from up in the pilings on one of the bucktail jigs tipped with a shrimp. This was some fairly tough fishing, but Peter stuck with it and prevailed. Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

Striper Fishing Hot in the St. Mary's and Nassau

Veteran angler Bud Hill reports that his son Skip and grandson Dustin Hill were fishing with jerk baits in the St. Mary's River yesterday and pulled in 10 nice Stripers up to 8lbs. A neighbor of mine reported that he and a fishing buddy fished the Nassau up near the I-95 bridge, trolling and fishing the runouts and pulled in 5 Stripers. He mentioned that the fish were striking up top rather than deep.

Hard Fought Fishin

I know folks who think of fishing in the winter time can only imagine bitter cold winds and nasty weather, but when Al Emerick, his son RC, his brother-in-law Joe, and friends Patrick and Kirby met me at the Goffinsville dock this morning it was just perfect weather. The sun was coming up and causing the marsh grass to glow gold, and as we turned the corner heading towards Horse Head a dolphin rolled in the water; the gulls and pelicans and cranes were out and all I heard was oohs and aahs- what a great way to spend time with friends during the holidays! First stop, after the customary round of hot cider, the guys all grabbed rods, some with topwater plugs and some with Cajun Thunder float rigs. We fished the oyster flats during the last of the incoming tide and then moved on to some creek run-outs. We fished "Poteat" cut, then the first stretch of Jackstaff. The guys were "game" and continued to cast and crack jokes and have a good time....but no real bites! I couldn't believe it! So we cranked the engine and ran through Jackstaff, around Seymour's Pt. and out to Broward Island. By this time the wind had picked up and fishing the downed trees and roots was made more difficult, but these anglers, as a buddy of mine says, "endeavored to persevere". RC lead the way and soon hooked up with a hard fighting Trout, then followed it with a frisky Redfish. Then Patrick got in on the action with a large Trout and Kirby followed it up with a Redfish. RC continued with the hot rod and wrapped up the day picking up another Redfish. Then the guys planned to head in to Fernandina for lunch and count it as another great day out on the water!

Have Oyster Roaster Will Travel

Carol and I "put on" an oyster roast the other day for a birthday party and everything went off without a hitch. This roaster is an outdoor firepit with a custom stainless steel grill that has an external ring with a inlaid "faux oak" wooden shelf. We dump the washed oysters on the grill and put the cover over it to roast them 'till they sizzle and are ready for opening. The shelf is handy to place the hot sauces, oyster knives, crackers and gloves. I also made my world famous "Gumbolaya", 20qt version, and the pot was scraped clean, good when it's hot!

Cold day, Hot fishing

I fished today with Mark Laurint and his son Brent from the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Fl. When we launched the boat at Goffinsville boat ramp just before sunup, the temperature was still in the mid 30's, but it was clear and we had no wind. We "puttered" down Nassau River until we could see the crab traps then cruised through Jackstaff to troll the mouth with our live shrimp/jig combo (after a round of hot cider). We were using the Shimano Stradic 1000FH's on a light rod with FINS Windtamer 12lb Slate Green braided line. The line is tied to a 17lb test fluorocarbon leader using a Uni-to-Uni knot. The tide was low and had just started coming in; we had only made about 50 yards when we had a nice hookup and boated a undersized Redfish. We fished the stretch up then back and boated a slot sized Redfish and Brent reeled in a hard fighting Blue. After the second run we picked the trolling motor and headed to Seymour's Pointe, anchoring along the rocks. Mark hooked up with a couple of Redfish then we were off down the river. With the sun beginning to warm things up, we trolled the docks at Goffinsville, picking up a couple of small trout on jigs, then headed for Broward Island...and a bonanza. Our first cast of live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float produced a Trout and then we picked up a couple of more Reds, one in the slot, then BOOM! Brent with a Redfish. Mark with a Redfish, Brent with a Redfish (and maybe another - we lost track). Most were just undersized but very aggresive and fun to catch. We ended up catching a few more trout to wrap up with (11) total Redfish, (6 1/2) total Trout, and (1) Bluefish, another beautiful day to be out on the water!

Newest Angler Arrives

My daughter Ashley and her husband Nathan Taylor of Holley Pointe, NC are the proud parents of Burgandy Elizabeth, born Saturday December 18th at 5:28pm. She was a "keeper" weighing in at 8lbs, 10oz. She's so beautiful and I'm really excited to meet her.

Just in time for Christmas!

See more at The Anglers Mark Art

Tough Conditions...but Fish On!

Although today's weather report called for highs in the 60's, sunshine and 7mph winds, Lowell Berry, his future wife Paula (tomorrow's wedding) and myself eventually figured out that weathermen aren't always right! It probably did get in the 60's but we only saw the sun peek through the low clouds once or twice and the wind was more like 10-15mph. Never the less, we gave it a good go, with Lowell and Paula working the shore line of Jackstaff with the jig/shrimp combo on a low and incoming tide. They only had a few nibbles so we moved around to Seymour's Pointe, anchored, and fished the rock line. It took awhile to get our float rigs positioned up near the rocks, but eventually we did and it wasn't long before Paula was battling a Slot-sized Redfish. She worked the fish to the boat and the waiting net for pictures and release. Shortly we had another Red on, this time taking the bait up near a grassy bank. In between stops we sipped on hot Apple Cider! Although we were leaving the windbreak of Seymour's Pointe, I wanted to give Broward Island a try so we pulled anchor and ran to the south end of Broward and began our troll back up river. With Lowell making good casts up between the downed trees it wasn't long before he had a hookup and worked to the boat a nice 11 spot Redfish. We had a few more bites as we trolled the shoreline, working in an out of the roots and trees. Paula had a nice, hard pulling hookup that quickly headed for a log, wrapped up, and broke off! That was a nice fish! (The big one that got away). As we passed the north end of the island and began to work the grass bank, Paula hooked up again, played the fish to the boat and Lowell netted it for a team effort. We called it a morning and headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day out on the water!

The tide had gotten so high that I couldn't get my truck down to the ramp without dunkin it in water so with a livewell with a couple of dozen shrimp in it, what do you do? Go Fishing! I ran south down the intercoastal, into Gunnison Creek and anchored at the mouth of a runout. With three rods out, I eventually picked up 5 small Trout and 3 hard running Bluefish. If you want to take the kids out and catch some small trout, go on the first of an outgoing tide - they're out there.

Winter Discount November through February

Once again I'm offering the "Winter Discount", November through February. This is $50 off the normal $350 half-day trip. Even if our North Florida temperatures start out in the high 30's or low 40's the day will usually warm up for a nice outing. It's actually a better time to be out on the water than those hot July and August trips. Just plan to wear a few layers and as the sun warms things up you can shed a layer. I usually have a hot cup of tea, coffee, or cider on board to help tide us over! If it's too windy we'll just cancel and try another day. Get away from it all and....let's go fishing!

Recipe of the Month: Roasted Corn Guacamole Dip

Hey, I know it's not seafood, but I've made this twice and it's gone over well. It's nice and fresh, healthy and quick. It came out of a Betty Crocker Apptetizer booklet...

1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and diced

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup pickled jalapeno slices, drained and diced

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 Teaspoons salt

Tortilla Chips

In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, cook corn over medium-high heat 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients (except chips) with fork, mashing avocados. Stir in corn. Serve with chips.

Project Boat coming along

I finished patching and sanding nicks and holes in the hull of the boat and have just started the first coat of paint. I've already purchase some stainless steel seat mounts and pin striping. The Starboard material is also in to make the bow mount and live well cover. There has been reports of shallow water fish fleeing our waterways in fear for their lives.

Trout Mania

Bruce Hansen, his son Brent and Ken Graham were in town for the holiday and took in a fishing trip. We left the dock at Atlantic Seafood just as the sun had come up and ran up to Jolley River. It wasn't quite as windy as yesterday, but it was still cool to start the day off. We fished the shoreline with the tide still high, but going out, and picked up a few Trout with shrimp under a float. Later, we moved up the river to a big creek and picked up more Trout, then trolled the bank, catching Trout fairly regularly. As the water began to drop and the oysters began to show, a couple of the anglers switched to the jig/shrimp combo and caught Trout on those, too. The air was still cool and when I broke out some hot Apple Cider, all of us enjoyed the warm drink! The anglers really began to pick up the jig fishing and all caught fish. Although most of the Trout were small, we did boat a few keepers. Bruce eventually switched to a sinking lure and caught Trout on that, too. I never did keep count but I estimated we caught at least 20+ Trout and about 5 Blues during the day, another great day out on the water!

Holiday Fishing

I had Chip Watt, his son Hansell, and son-in-law Adrian fishing with me the day after Thanksgiving; they were visiting Amelia Island for the holidays. Although we had a very brisk wind and temperatures in the low 40's we looked forward to a day of fishing with a forecast sunny day. We left the south end boat ramp at 7:30am and ran up to the Horsehead area to begin our trip. After warming back up with a round of hot tea, we began to toss our trout floats to the bank, offering up live shrimp. The sun came up and we began to get some bites, boating a few Trout at our first stop. We moved over to Jackstaff creek, fishing an outgoing tide and picked up some more trout and a few Blues. We lost a nice flounder at boat side along the way. Moving around to Spanish Drop we picked up a few more Trout and then Hansell hooked up with a hard fighting fish and eventually boated a nice keeper sized Flounder. We wrapped it up with that and headed back to the house for some Thanksgiving leftovers, counting it as another, great day out on the water!

Stood up... but I made the best of it!

With all the intentions of providing the best possible service to another welcome guest, I crawled out of bed at 4:45am, loaded the boat with the tackle, rods/reels, drinks and made my way to the Bait House, arriving shortly after 6am. I purchased 8 dozen frisky shrimp, some baitpump batteries and a bag of ice and was on my way, launching by quarter to 7. I got everything in order on the boat, traded stories with other anglers who were launching and waited, and waited, and waited. A NO SHOW. What kind of person sets up a fishing trip and doesn't have the courtesy to make a phone call to cancel? All I can say is they must not have been raised right! With 8 dozen shrimp in the live well and a beautiful sunny morning and time on your hands, what would you do? Go Fishing! As I was walking down to the parking lot (one last check for the "Guest") I saw some Redfish tails out in the flooded marsh so I hurried down to the boat, changed out a lure for a weedless jig, tipped it with shrimp and ran back up the board walk to cast at the feeding fish. I had no takers but my bad spirits were dissolved. I cranked the boat and ran up to the Horsehead area and started tossing a mullet colored Zara Spook. It wasn't long before the lure blew up and the fight was on and eventually a nice 21" Trout was in the boat. I worked my way around the flooded marsh grass, getting a few hits and eventually settled in near a point when the tide started out. I caught a few more Trout, a nice Blue and a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark. Moving to another shore line that I have never fished I picked up a few more Trout and then anchored up at a large run-out. The Trout were thick and a number of times I had 2 Trout on at the same time so I had to reel one in and then grab the other rod to get it in. Most of the fish were small but I did have a few "keeper" sized ones. The bite slowed so I headed to Jackstaff, rounding the corner to find my buddy Charlie Jones and his cousin Tommy Phiester (visiting from Oregon) I tied up with them for about an hour, watching them catch some really nice Blues on finger mullet, then I finished the day by trolling the bank, almost at low tide, tossing a jig/shimp. I picked up a small Redfish...and headed to the dock. I ended up with 27 Trout, a Blue, a Shark, and a small Redfish. What a great day of fishing!

From Boules to Fishing

Ron Richie and his son-in-law Alejandro Legandro were in town from Arizona participating in a Boules Tournament hosted by Amelia Island. They decided to stick around for an extra day and get in some great Amelia Island backcountry fishing. We had a beautiful clear morning with no wind as we set off from Atlantic Seafood with the high tide peaking at 8:11 am. Our first stop outside of Tiger Island didn't produce any bites on topwater lures so we moved on up to Jolley River, tossing live shrimp under floats. We trolled the marsh grass as the tide started out then stopped at a run out: the trout started biting and we boated about (8). We eventually moved on up the river trying a couple of spots, picking up a Blue, but nothing else. The tide was still very high, no oyster beds were showing yet; we headed back to the interior side of Tiger Island, trolled the loggy bank with Alejandro tossing a jig/shrimp rig. He had a good bite, paused, then set the hook on our first Flounder of the day. They picked up a couple of more Flounder then we noticed fish crashing the finger mullet along the bank so we moved along and got into some more Trout, this time larger. At one time we had a "double" with both anglers playing a fish. In addition to the great fishing, we were treated with a Bald Eagle sighting feeding on his fish catch. We ended the day with (14) Trout, (3) Flounder, and (3) Blues...another great day out on the water!

New Anglers Mark Art

I've just completed some new pieces, just in time for Christmas shopping. Contact me to purchase or visit The Salty Feather at 2683 St. Johns Bluff Road, Jacksonville. Also see The Anglers Mark Art.

Amelia Island a favorite among travelers.

The 2009 Conde Nast Travelers' Readers Choice Awards named Amelia Island the No. 4 North American island to visit. In addition to great beaches, hotels, B&B's, shopping, restaurants and golf, you've got some great fishing!. Get away from it all and let's go!

Trout Tourney Results

Carol and I fished the Nassau Sportsfishing 23rd Annual Trout Tournament yesterday. It was a beautiful morning with the temperature around 56 degrees and a slight breeze. We picked up some live shrimp at the Bait House on north 14th street, launched at Dee Dee Bartels, and checked out around 6:30am. Being so close to Rayonier pulp mill we decided to fish the warehouse pilings while we were there...and had no bites. Our intent was to run south so we headed that way but when we rounded the pipeline we stopped to fish the shoreline and picked up (2) nice, but small trout. When Carol lost a hook on an oyster I then realized that I had forgotten to load the tackle! OUCH. We pulled up and ran back by the Bait House and picked up some hooks and jigs then crossed the river to fish Tiger Island. We were there for only a few minutes when Carol caught another small Trout and with another cast drifting across an oyster bed the battle was on. Eventually she worked the big fish to the boat and my net, boating a 23" Redfish. We have a legal Redfish in the boat and were catching Trout, albeit little ones and it's not even 9:00 yet so we've got a shot at the "Slam" entry in the Tournament, right? We moved around behind Tiger Island to get out of the wind that's picking up, fish the south end of the island and get no real bites. With Carol nodding off (I got her up at 4:30am), we pull anchor and run to the south end of the island, heading straight for Leon's Spanish Drop spot. The wind's whipping pretty good but we have sunny skies and we've shed most of our jackets and soon pick up another couple of small Trout then Carol hooks up with a hard running fish. We're hoping for a huge flounder but it makes some pretty strong runs, deep, then shallow and after a long fight we see the shark fin. It's a 3' Bonnethead. With the tide starting out around noon, we run to the mouth of Jackstaff, anchor up, and catch a couple more small Trout. Then I start a troll along the bank, heading up into the creek and we catch more small Trout and then UMPH, fish on! I play the fish on my light tackle, 10lb test rig and hope for a big flounder. I felt a number of head shakes initially and then change my guess to a BIG Trout. After what seemed like a 15 minute battle we get a glimpse of a large Redfish and eventually boat the 31" oversized fish. We quickly got a picture and released. We ended up catching more small Trout, ending up with a total of 14 for the day, 2 nice Redfish, a Blue, a Bonnethead Shark, and some pinfish, but no Trout to weigh in. We saw dolphin, Osprey's, Cranes, Pelicans, and other shore birds - a great day to be out on the water...and fishing!

Project Boat II

The "project" boat is coming along. I've filled and sanded any holes in the interior and shored up the motor mount area with 3/4" plywood fiberglassed to the the inside and 1/2" Starboard bolted through on the outside. The interior is painted and now I'm ready to flip the boat over and start on the outside. Creek fish are beginning to tremble.

Anglers Taking Advantage of Winter Discount

Once again I'm offering the "Winter Discount", November through February. This is $50 off the normal $350 half-day trip. Even if our North Florida temperatures start out in the high 30's or low 40's the days usually warm up for a nice outing. It's actually a better time to be out on the water than those hot July and August trips. Just plan to wear a few layers and as the sun warms things up you can shed a layer. I usually have a hot cup of tea, coffee, or cider on board to help tide us over! If it's too windy we'll just cancel and try another day. Get away from it all and....let's go fishing!

Florida - Georgia Slam

Hordes of Dawg fans decended on Amelia Island this week for tomorrows Florida/Georgia football game and those of us that live here get a "holiday" feeling and you know there's nothing better than a fishing trip with friends to kick off a holiday. I left the new Goffinsville boat ramp at daybreak with friends Don Hughes and Foy Maloy and ran to the Spanish Drop area of Nassau River. We had our rods rigged with topwater lures and also had a few rigged for shrimp under a float and with the sun just coming up we started a troll. There were a few clouds, a light breeze and the Marsh Hens were raising a ruckus as the sun came up. We didn't have any hits on the topwaters, but picked up a couple of nice Bonnethead Sharks so we cranked the Johnson and ran around to the mouth of Jackstaff. After trolling a short while we began to pick up Trout and Redfish, all on the shrimp under a float rig. I noticed that we had very little, if any Pinfish/Croaker nibblers that keep you busy; every now and then we'd have a hookup and it would be a Trout or Redfish. We worked the bank up and down with Don and Foy making pinpoint casts to the shoreline, catching about 6 Trout and 6 Reds with a couple of nice Blues thrown in. Finally, Foy rounded out the inshore "slam" by hooking up and netting a nice 19" Flounder. With the big game coming up tomorrow, this turned out to be another great day to be out on the water!

23rd Annual Trout Tournament

The Nassau Sport Fishing Association has set the date for their Annual Trout Tournament benefiting the Big Brother and Big Sisters organization. A Captains meeting will be held at Tiger Point Marina on November 6, 2009 at 6:30pm. Check out at Fernandina Harbour Marina will start Saturday November 7th at 6:00am. Weigh in will be at Tiger Point Marina. Weigh in line opens at 3:00pm and closes at 4:30pm. Entry fee is $120 per boat with checks made payable to N.S.F.A. There will be an awards dinner at 7:00pm Saturday November 7th at Tiger Point Marina. There are first prizes for Largest Trout, Aggregate (3 trout) and Slam (Redfish, Trout, and Flounder). Prizes will also be awarded for 2nd and 3rd place in each category. Register at Atlantic Seafood, The Bait House, Amelia Bait and Tackle, Leaders and Sinkers, and at the Captain's Meeting.

Recipe of The Month: Roasted Seatrout with Bruschetta

This recipe comes from the Florida Times Union, who got it from "The Best of Relish Cookbook".

16 oz of Seatrout 6 Tbsp Olive oil

1/4 tsp Sea Salt Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Lb Grape Tomatoes, halved 1/2 Cup red onion finely diced

1 Tsp sugar 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

4 thick Italian ( or one long roll) 1/2 Cup shredded basil leaves

3 large cloves garlic crushed, divided

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a sided baking sheet with nonstick spray and place fish on sheet. In a small bowl, stir together 3 Tbsp of the olive oil, 1 crushed garlic clove, the salt and pepper. Using half this mixture, brush over the fish.

Place the fish in the oven to bake for about 10 minutes or until tender and opaque.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, remaining garlic cloves and sugar. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until slightly thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in parsley. Keep the mixture warm.

Remove the fish from the oven. Brush some olive oil on bread and bake in oven for 3 minutes or until slightly toasted. Place bread slices on each plate and top with some tomato mixture. Place fish on top of mixture and then add some more tomato mixture and shredded basil leaves.

Project Boat

This 15" Waterbug boat was built by B & W plastics in Brooklet, Georgia - probably in the 80's. It was my dad's boat, who sold it to my buddy, Charlie, who eventually gave it back to us. I told him I'd fix it up and we'd all use it for some shallow water and creek fishing. This is the boat that I borrowed from my dad when I first started fly fishing in Lofton Creek, Boggy Creek and the little St. Mary's River. One day while fishing for bream in Lofton Creek with a fly rod and popping bug I made a cast a little too long and hung the bug up in a overhanging brier. I eased the boat's bow up to the creek bank and reached out to retrieve the popping bug. At the last minute I saw a big 'ol fat Water Moccasin start moving and slither down the bank, alongside the bow of the boat, and into the water. As the snake went by the boat all I could envision was it coming right into the bow where I was standing....so I started dancing trying to get my feet up off the floor of the boat...and in a split second the serpent slipped into the water and disappeared! I'm glad nobody was watching! Anyway, I've replaced the wheel bearings, wheels, and springs on the trailer and have removed any "loose" stuff. The stern has a crack or two so I'm in the process of repairing those and attaching a new motor mount. Then my plan is to patch some holes on the interior of the boat, sand and paint. Stay tuned!

A Family Affair.....

....with a little bit of sibling rivalry thrown in! Brothers Mike Craig, Steve Leary and sister Loretta Hayes, along with Mike's son David met me at the boat ramp bright and early Sunday morning for Mike's birthday fishing trip. Although we launched from Atlantic Seafood, we decided to run south to the Horsehead area and I'm glad we did. Pulling into the mouth of Jackstaff, it wasn't long before we began to hook up with Mike catching a Bonnethead then David boating a Seatrout. Then all heck broke lose with everyone joining in catching Red after Red after Red. They were all in the 15"-17" range but they were very aggressive and put up some good battles on the light tackle gear. David did hook up with a drag-ripping fish that first headed down river, then up...and kept going, snapping the line and gone for good! We tried a couple of more spots in Jackstaff with Loretta catching a Flounder, David another Trout and then Mike had another Red. We ran to Broward Island where the anglers picked up a Puppy Drum and Snapper. This was a beautiful day with a light breeze that made the unusual October heat tolerable.