Power of Perseverance

There was a small window between the winds earlier in the week and the rain that was to come Saturday evening so when I met Anne and Bob Owensby down at the Marina ramp under cloudy skies we realized that we had a perfect day to get out fishing on Amelia Island's back waters.  We headed north to fish the outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp and when Anne hooked up with a fish early I thought that surely we'd be in the fish for a Trout catch'n good time.  But it must have been a lone fish because for the next two hours both Bob and Anne fished and fished but had no real bites. OUCH!  But the great thing about these two
anglers was that they were out to have a good time and were enjoying the outing.  We made our 5th stop of the morning behind Tiger Island as the tide had dropped enough to see the logs.  We'd switched to jigs and shrimp which Bob was expertly casting to the base of the logs and tree branches and BOOM!  FISH ON!  I knew that this fish was big because the rod was bent over, the drag was ripping and all Bob could do was hang on!  He played the fish patiently and after a while it rolled to the surface and wave a big 'ole red tail at us - a BIG Redfish!  Bob

worked the fish closer and closer to the boat and we eventually netted an oversized 30 1/2" Red!  Boy what a fish! Bob and Anne's perseverance had paid off.  We continued to fish the area and the bite picked up.  The anglers landed 4-5 feisty Redfish, 7-8 hungry Seatrout with three of them being of keeper sized and then they wrapped up the trip with an Amelia Island Backcountry Slam by landing a very nice keeper sized Sheepshead.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Looks Like a Manhole Cover

Boy what a beautiful day we had today!  I had met Kay and Dale Bullard at the southend boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park this morning, a little later due to the high tide - and we even waited a little longer because the parking lot was flooded.  But once it receded we launched and headed north up to the Horsehead area to fish the first of the outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. The water was very still and it was almost like bream fishing with bobbers on a lake - except they weren't biting!   But these anglers were persistent and it paid off.  They picked up a feisty Bluefish then a little later we switched to a jig and shrimp and as Kay perfected her cast she picked up a nice Seatrout along the banks of Jackstaff.  We made a second swipe and when Kay thought she had hung on an oyster she applied some pressure but the drag began to rip!  FISH ON!  And what a fish it was!  She played the fish perfectly and when this wiley fish found a crab trap rope to wrapt itself around we deftly repositioned and the fight was back on!  When the big fish came to the surface Dale commented that "it looked like a manhole cover"!  I had thought that it may be a big Redfish but when I saw the stripes I knew that it was a huge Sheepshead. Kay worked the big fish to the net and landed the big 23 3/4" fish.  All of our hearts were pumping after this fish fight!  This fish put Kay into first place in the 2013 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament and set a new record for The Anglers Mark!  (Scroll down right side of this report for standings)  We it a couple of spots in the Nassau River then headed over to Broward Island where both Dale and Kay had good hookkups with feisty Redfish and we also picked up another Trout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

1000 Fish Should Make the Leader Board

Hooray!  Today was the first day in over a week that we didn't have double digit winds!  I had met the Wasserman family - Michael and Ali along with their two kids Annie and Corie, down at the City marina for an early morning Amelia Island back country fishing trip. We headed north with only a slight breeze, but overcast skies and made our first stop outside Tiger Island at "Manatee Creek" to fish with live shrimp under floats.  We had no bites there and across the creek so we moved on up into the creek as the high tide finally started to come out of the marsh grass.  After not getting any real bites we moved back around to the front side of Tiger and even though we only had one "bait stealer", I could see that some fish were beginning to get active.  We made our last stop as the tide began to really move out and the fishing heated up!  Young Annie hooked up and boated a feisty Redfish, then landed another shortly after.  Corey had a hookup and the two young anglers began to "double team" the fish with one holding the rod and the other reeling!  They worked out a great system and landed fish after fish from their secret spot.  Then dad Michael got in on the action and picked up a few hungry Seatrout then began to pickup Redfish, too.  Ali was snapping pictures of the fishing team as the action continued.  Corey reeled in a nice Flounder to round out the family's Amelia Island Back Country Slam and they all stayed busy fishing up until the last minute.  I had told the kids that they should always tell the truth but it was sometimes OK to fudge the truth in fishing so when Corey announced that they had caught 1000 fish we all had a good laugh!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Beating the Wind

After getting in a great Friday morning fishing trip I also had the opportunity to get out that afternoon, too.  I met Doug and Joan Paul along with their college age son Lawder at the Atltantic Seafood dock down at the City marina just after lunch and with the wind whipping whitecaps we eased out of the marina.  These Connecticut anglers were game as we crossed the river to the safety of the marsh and eased in behind a land mass to get in some jig and shrimp fishing on the first of an imcoming tide.  It was still a little windier than the morning trip but we made the best of it and the anglers began to hookup.  Lawder "got the skunk off the boat" first by landing a very nice Flounder then they all joined in catching feisty Redfish.   We hit a couple of other spots but they were all buffeted by the wind so we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Post Thanksgiving Fish Catching

Fat from yesterday's Thanksgiving meal(s), we decided to get in some Amelia Island back country fishing Friday morning.  I had met Matt Block and his sons Dempsey, Copeland and Hunter down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and with a pretty good breeze blowing we headed north to fish the Tiger Islands.  I had thought we'd get in some float fishing but as we entered Tiger Basin I saw that the oysters were well exposed on the outoing tide so we went with the jig and shrimp combo.  And boy was the fishing on fire!  These young anglers didn't waste any time putting fish in the boat, almost one after the other.  They landed umpteen Redfish with at least three going 23", 24" and 25" and probably had a few others in the slot.  Copeland had the biggest Red  while Dempsey put the most in the boat.  Hunter added a very large Flounder and caught a nice fat Trout, too.  The Block brothers had what I'd call an "Amelia Island Grand Slam" by landing Redfish, Seatrout, Sheepshead and Flounder.  We had a great time catching fish and headed then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Wet'n a Line

That's what Patrick Verner's dad used to say when he needed to get out of the house and go fishing.  That was our plan yesterday when I met Patrick and his wife Michele down at the marina to get out into Amelia Island's back waters for an afternoon of light tackle fishing.  Patrick and Michelle were visiting Amelia Island from the Orlando area and staying at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge to celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary and knew of no better way to top the weekend off than to get out on the water and "wet a line".  We had somewhat of a breeze out of the north east so I headed up to Tiger Island to have the land mass block the wind but when we rounded the island there were at least 3 boats fishing the area, maybe even 4.  I knew that there was a Trout Tournament going on and knew that there would be more boats than the usual weekend traffic.  Nevertheless, we found a spot to squeeze in and set out to toss some live shrimp on a jig to the shoreline.  Our first cast was up near some logs and as Michele worked it back slowly, BOOM! FISH ON!  And a big fish it was!  She played the fish patiently  and after a long battle, landed a nice 24" Slot Red!  From then and about 2 1/2 hours it was FISH ON!  FISH ON!  The couple caught and landed at least 9 Slot sized Redfish, more than we could count undersized Redfish, a good handful of Seatrout of which at least one was keeper sized, and then Michele rounded out her personal Amelia Island Backcountry Slam by boating a 14" Flounder.  (IF we had been in the Tournament,  Michele could have entered her catch in the Slam category).  Crazy.  That's what we were all saying about the fishing trip.  Just Crazy.  With only about 45 minutes to go before sundown, we headed around to the outside of Tiger and set up behind an oyster bed and immediately began to catch fish on float rigs and live shrimp.  Here, Patrick had the hot rod as he boated Seatrout after Seatrout with three being keeper sized to 17".  He also had a feisty Redfish which we hoped was going to be a Big Seatrout then he hooked up with something even bigger, FISH ON!  He played this fish perfectly and patiently and eventually landed another big Slot Red, measuring in at 24".  Crazy. Just Crazy.  We headed in as the sun was going down, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Father Daughter Fish'n

Jacksonville Florida  resident Mike Kaiser had set up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip for yesterday morning with his daughter Kathryn so I met them at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 8am to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We headed north to fish the flooded oyster beds outside of Tiger Island with live shrimp under float rigs.  Good for me that Mike and Kathryn were patient anglers because the water was still way up in the grass and we had no real bites at the first areas we fished. But we were treated to the procession of a submarine leaving Kings Bay and heading out to the ocean.  We eventually made run up to the Jolley River and found a nice marsh runout to fish.  Mike hooked up with a nice hungry Seatrout then Kathryn followed it up with one of her own.  We fished Snook Creek with no luck then headed back to fish Jolley Bank.  I switched the two to jigs/shrimp even though the oysters were still covered but these two worked the rig perfectly and both landed some feisty Redfish.  Our last stop was at Tiger Island and here the anglers patience paid off.  Kathryn had the hot rod, landing a number of Redfish, Seatrout and a Sheepshead to round out her very own Amelia Island Backcountry Slam, and Mike got his too, by picking up a Flounder along with Reds and Trout.  It was a beautiful morning and a great day to be fishing out on Amelia Island waters!  Can you find the raccoon in one of the pictures?

BIG Red Tops On Early Morning Fishing Trip

Jay Bogdan was in town for work and we squeezed in a super early Amelia Island back country fishing trip this morning.  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and launched the boat with a high tide pushing water up into the parking lot.  After running north up the Amelia River we eased off into Jackstaff and tossed a topwater lure with no luck.  We moved on up into the marsh, switched to live shrimp under a float and began to fish the flooded marsh grass.   We found a nice run out to fish and Jay began to hookup with hungry, hard fighting Seatrout.  He landed 5-6 in a nice flurry then as the bite slowed we moved on to fish a bank with the oysters beginning to show.  Jay commented it was his 3rd cast with a jig/shrimp combo and something bumped his bait then bit it hard, FISH ON!  This fish bulled down deep then rolled at the top, nd I knew it was a big Redfish!  Then the line went slack.  OUCH!  Fish Off?  Nope, he was running right at us!  Jay quickly reeled up the slack and he was back in action, keeping the pressure on the big fish.  We battled the fish down the creek with Jay going from bow to stern to midship to stern and back to midship before we landed the big 32 1/4" Redfish!  Boy what a fish fight!  This fish placed Jay in 3rd place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament(scroll down right side of this report for standings). We continued to fish the bank and it's runouts, had a few nibbles, then called it a day, another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Catch'in Fish Before The Wind Blows

We had a very nice day forecastd today, except for the wind.  I'd set up a morning trip with Kent Hendershot and his friends Nick and Mark and we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock.  They were staying at the Addison on Amelia, just a short walk to the marina.  It was already blowing but there were clear skies so we decided to give it a shot.  And a shot it was, almost like one of those Red Bull's!  We headed up Bell River to fish some dock pilings and after turning The Anglers Mark into the current and wind, the anglers began to cast a jig/shrimp combo up to the pilings and an adjacent oyster bed on an incoming tide.  It wasn't long before the fun started!  All three anglers began to get hookup after hookup.  I had pruchased 6-7 dozen live hrimp this morning and we were going through them like wildfire.  Redfish, Seatrout, Black "puppy" Drum, and Sheepshead were caight, one after another.  In an hour and half time iI guestimate these anglers landed 30-40 fish!  They weren't real big -only about 4 were "keeper" sized (and all were thrown back), but they were real aggressive and fun to catch.  However, the wind changed directions and picked up and the party was over.  WE tried one more spot but it was just too difficlult to fish so we all agreed it was time to head in and count it as another great morning to be fishing Amelia Island!

Bonnetheads Still in the Backcountry

Yesterday morning was some really tough fishing.  The Northeast winds had blown the water in and made the high tide even higher and we struggled to find a bite, much less to find a fish!  But yesterday afternoon as the water came out of the grass we found some fish.  The Raynor group had set up two boats through Captain Jeff  Crumpton and I was the lucky 2nd boat!  I had Anne Raynor, her sister Judy and brother in law Herb and their friend Mary on my boat and we pointed it south to fish the Horsehead area on the outgoing tide.  We found an oyster bank to cruise and when Mary hooked up with something big I thought "big Redfish".  But this fish kept going then held on the bottom and I knew it was a late season shark.  It was group effort landing the 3 foot long beast but these ladies were up to the task and after a long battle we landed the fish, snapped some pictures and threw it back.  Again, Mary had a strong hookup and a long shark fight insued.  And again the ladies landed an even biger Shark.  Then a third shark was caught by Anne and landed.   Three big Bonnethead Sharks were landed on light tackle by these ladies!  When Judy had a strong hookup I thought, "oh boy, here we go again", bu this fish, even though it was putting up a good battle, didn't hang to the bottom but zipped around the boat.  Judy played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Jack Crevalle.  We made a move around to the Nassau River side of Horsehead, fished a nice runout, and here Anne pefected here jig fishing technique.  She landed three feisty Reddfish, a hungry Seatrout and a keeper sized Flounder.  We hit one more spot, caught a few baitstealers, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Counting on Fingers and Toes

Boy, yesterday sure was a pretty day with the sun shining out on Amelia Island waters.  I had Fernandina Beach resident Bill Mooney and his son Cody meet me at the docks at 8:30am, just as the tide peaked, and we headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded marsh grass.  We only had a nibble or two so we made a run around to the outside of Tiger where Cody got the "skunk off the boat" by landing a hungry Seatrout. Bill followed that up with a hard fighting Bluefish.  We moved on up into Mantatee Creek and fished a couple of spots but had no real bites.  I next stop was on the south end of Tiger Island even though the anglers had a few nibble ( and one Whiting)  I was beginning to wonder if the day wasn't going to be made for "catchin".  But luckily both Bill and young Cody were out to have a good time and practiced their patience and it paid off!  The tide had dropped  and the logs were showing and the fish began to bite. BOOM! Fish on!  Boom! Fish on! Cody found a secret spot and landed a couple of feisty Redfish.  Bill picked up a Snapper and Cody landed another Redfish.  Then Bill began to catch feisty Redfish one after another at his spot and Cody joined him.  I had lost count of how many Redfish they had caught but Cody was keeping track of them as his dad told him he'd have to count on his toes!  Bill landed a nice Slot 25" Redfish and before we left Cody added a big 19" Sheepshead.  With that, we called it a daym another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Dawg Gone Good Fish'n

I had another group of Georgia Bulldawg fans in for some Amelia Island fishing Friday afternoon. David Martinez, his son Garrett, and David's brother in law Jeff met me at the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 2pm and we headed up to the Tiger Island area to fish an incoming tide with a jig and shrimp combo.  It wasn't long before all three anglers were hooking up with feisty Redfish, Black "puppy" Drum and a couple of Sheepshead.  It was great fishing but when then we had a real strong hookup with drag ripping, FISH ON!   Young Garrett worked the fish patiently and after a good battle he landed a nice 26 3/4" just-under-the-slot Redfish!  The anglers added a couple of hungry Seatrout to the mix then we headed up to Jolley River to fish and exposed oyster bank.  The fish catchin heated up and the anglers landed a good amount of Seatrout and feisty Reds. We fished Snook Creek with no real bites then wraped the day up back at the outside of Tiger with a few more Trout on float rigs.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island waters!

Honeymoon Fish'n

Friday I had as guests Chuck and Sharon Sherrhouse, passing through Amelia Island on their honeymoon. We met early at the downtown Fernandina Beach marina and headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp on the first of an outgoing tide.  The two anglers picked up a few hungry Seatrout then we headed up to Jolley River where they picked up more Trout and had a good bite from feisty Redfish and a Sheepshead.  The couple continued to fish through the small ones and ended up taking a few nice keeper sized trout home to Lakeland.  What a great way to wrap up a new marriage and honeymoon here at Amelia
Island!

Georgia Florida Football Fishing

The Blalocks were back in town for the annual Georgia Florida football game this year and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  This time William and Dara brought along William's parents Bob and Martha to round out a great group of anglers. The tide had just started in so we were fishing a jig and shrimp combo and our first stop was up at Tiger Island.  The anglers picked up a good  handful of hungry Seatrout and feisty Redfish and William added a keeper sized Flounder.  We soon ran to the Jolley River where they caught a few Trout and Martha hung a huge Gar Fish that wouldn't fit in the net!  We fished Snook Creek where Dara picked up a keeper sized Trout and William had  good strong Shark bite that just kept going.  We made our last stop in Bell River where we picked up a few more Redfish to round out another great day of fishing at Amelia Island!

Nice Slam at Amelia Island

I had Ray and Heidi Stone along with their brother in law Louis Fagre fishing with me last Thursday here at Amelia Island.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina at &:30 and headed north to fish Nissan's spot but had no real bites.  But when we made our way around to the outside of Tiger Island, it wasn't long before we had started getting bites and all the anglers were pulling in hungry Seatrout.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and here things heated up real good.  They were all catching feisty Redfish on a jig and shrimp combo when Louis hooked up with something big, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon landed a nice 23" Slot Red!  We conintued to fish and Heidi boated a keeper sized 19" Seatrout then Louis rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam by  catching a nice 19" Flounder. We continued to fish the bank and at one time all three anglers had a Red in the boat - Triple Reds! We later headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Pre Fishing Amelia Island

Bill Godek and his fiance Rachel had everything set up for their wedding, including a fishing trip today, just one day before they say their vows.  The couple were staying at the historic Fairbanks House which is just a few blocks from the Fernandina Harbor Marina.  I met Bill and Rachel early this morning even though we had overcast skies and forecasted rain.  But these two anglers were not to be deterred by a little rain! We headed out of the marina, pointed north, and ran up to Tiger Island to fish the logs with the tide having been coming in for about 2 1/2 hours.  Fishing with live shrimp on a jig, both Bill and Rachel began to catch fish.  Bill hooked ip early with a feisty Redfish and Rachel landed a Seatrout.  Then they both landed a few more Redfish.  We had the usual baitstealers - Snapper and even some rather large Pinfish.  Our next stop was up at Jolley River and with the water completely covering the oysters and up in the marsh grass, we switched to float rigs with about a 3 foot leader.  The wind had picked up a little bit and the anglers were casting into the wind. They got a few nibbles here and there and peresevered to pick up a few more hungry Seatrout, with Bill landing the largest of the day.  We rean further up into Jolley to "Snook Creek", fished it with jigs, but had no real bites.  Then we made a long run around to Lanceford Creek and fished a flooded grass patch to get another Trout or two, then made our last stop at Soap Creek where we picked up a couple of baitstealers and then  feisty Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam, and another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Meeting The High and Incoming Challenge

I'd set up a fishing trip today with Chuck Butler and his two sons Trey and Trenton and I had already noted that there would be a "high and incoming " tide as we began fishing.  But these anglers were up to the challenge and we ended up catching some really nice fish.  Our first stop was at Temptation Cove where we fished with live shrimp under floats.  Young Trenton hooked up early with a hungry Seatrout and as he was reeling him in Trey had a solid hookup and a fish fight on his hands.  Trey patiently worked th fish in and we soon landed a nice keeper sized 18" Black "puppy" Drum!  Not long afterwards his dad Chuck landed one,
too. We made a run up into Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded marsh grass and here things really heated up.  Trenton had a huge bite that just kept on going!  All the anglers landed some hungry Seatrout then Chuck put a nice 17" keeper Trout in the boat.  Chuck had two good battles with big Redfish, one brief, and one extended when but the big Red got up in the grass and broke off. OUCH!  But Chuck was not to be deterred when again he hooked up.  This big Red also made for the marsh grass but Chuck was able to work him out slowly. After a
good battle we netted a nice 24" Slot Redfish!  We later checked out some flooded grass flats - saw no tailing Reds - then fished the logs of Tiger at the top of the high flood tide with no real bites.  Trenton landed a feisty Stingray then we move to the outside of Tiger to fish the first of the outgoing tide.  Both Chuck and Trey caught a few hungry Trout, Trenton had a feisty Redfish, then he wrapped up the day by landing a nice keeper sized Black drum.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Redfish Catchin

Boy what a beautiful day it was today!  I met Mark and Heather Adams at the Atlantic Seafood dock lat this morning, timed to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We headed north and made our first stop outside of Tiger Island and tossed out some live shrimp under floats.  We picked up a couple of baitstealers and a couple of hungry Seatrout.  We then made a run up to the Jolley River to a large creek and fished as the tide swept out.  We only had a couple of mini bites but both Mark and Heather had spotted some tailing fish on the other side of large oyster bar.  We re-positioned ourselves and this turned out to to be the trick!  Mark had a strong hookup and after patiently working the fish, landed a nice Redfish!  I picked up a Seatrout then it was pure catching for a good while.  We landed a number of feisty Redfish and Mark caught a keeper sized Black "Puppy" Drum and also landed a Sandtrout which gave him an Amelia Island "Grande Slam", of sorts - Redfish, Seatrout, Black Drum, and Sandtrout.  We also caught a keeper sized Croaker and Whiting to go along with a few Pinfish and Perch - the ever present baitstealers.   We made a last stop behind Tiger and picked up a couple of more Reds as the tide eased to a halt, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

It's the Method

The Mannering family included a back country fishing trip in their family reunion activities this morning.  I had Matt Mannering and his son Mason and their Grandfather Bob and Uncle John meet me at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and we headed north to fish the outside of Tiger Island on the first of an outgoing tide.  The anglers were armed with float rigs and live shrimp and began tossing to the grass line.  We had a number of nibbles and finally John got it started by landing a hungry Seatrout.  Matt got in on the action and he and John landed a few more Trout.  John tangled with a good sized Ladyfish and I as I was baiting a  hook I heard a drag begin to sing.  I looked up and saw Matt's rod bent over  and out beyond it I saw a big boil in the water, FISH ON!  Matt exclaimed that he saw the big fish come up and engulf his shrimp and the fight was on!  He played the big Redfish perfectly which tried a number of times to run under the boat but Matt wasn't having anything to do with that.  He kept the pressure on and eventually we netted the 29.5"  12lb fish!  Boy what a fish!  We fished the area for a while longer then made a run up to Jolley River and fished a large creek.  The anglers had no bites on the float rigs so we switched to jigs and shrimp and this did the trick.  All the anglers got in on the action, catching Seatrout after Seatrout with a couple of Croaker and Sanpper thrown in.  Most were in the 14" size but we had a few keepers toke home for fish sandwiches!   Our last stop was at a large marsh runout and here young Mason perfected his "method" and landed a Black "Puppy Drum" and a Flounder to round out his own personal Amelia Island Backcountry Slam.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Aunt Dumpy's Congo Squares

My Aunt Dumpy and Uncle Charles Grant lived here at Amelia Island when I was growing up and I've always fondly remembered Aunt Dumpy's Congo Squares. Come to find out, her recipe was very similar to her neighbor, Florence "Noonie" Partin and Mrs.Partin's niece  Julie is a friend of ours and she had the recipe.  I polled my cousins Susie and Trish for their recipes, merged it with the Partin recipe, baked a few test batches (the neighbors loved them) and here's what I came up with:

1 Box light brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2¾ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt (leave out if using self rising flour)

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder (leave out if using self rising flour)

3 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cup chocolate chips (1 ¼ in mix, ¾ cup on top)

1 cup chopped pecans

OPTIONAL:  ½ cup coconut

 

Melt butter in microwave, mix with sugar,  let it cool!

 (I didn't the first time and when I added the chocolate chips they melted)

ADD vanilla

Add eggs

Stir until all is mixed thoroughly.

If not using Self Rising Flour,  add baking soda and salt to flour and sift a couple of times to get it mixed thoroughly.

Add Chopped pecans

Add 1 ¼ cup chocolate chips

Add coconut if you are using it

Add  sugar/egg mix to dry ingredients and beat with blender.  Spoon into “Large Bar Pan” (Pampered Chef-stoneware) lined with parchment paper and sprinkle the last 3/4  cup chocolate chips over top.  Bake  30 minutes on 325 degrees. Make sure the center is done.

Cut Congo Squares in bar pan then lift out parchment paper and put on cooling rack.

These are great served hot with vanilla ice cream.

Big Flounder Tops Birthday Trip

I had the pleasure of fishing again today with the Teseiro anglers - Don and his kids Trey and Marie.  The fishing trip was part of  Trey's 12th birthday celebration here at Amelia Island.   We met at the Fernandina Harbor Marina as the sun was coming up and headed straight to Tiger Island to get out of the northeast wind.  We had live shrimp and mud minnows and even a couple of small crabs to fish with and it wasn't long before these anglers were getting bites.  Marie started it off first by hooking up with a hard fighting feisty Redfish which she expertly landed.  Shortly after that Trey had a good hookup, played it perfectly, and landed another feisty Redfish - this one with 5 spots!  All of the anglers caught Multiple Snapper and added a few Croaker, too.  Don had a good battle with a hard fighting Black "Puppy" Drum.  Trey made a pinpoint cast to a pocket in the trees, worked his minnow slowly, and then the rod bent over, FISH ON!  This fish was causing the drag to sing but Trey kept the pressure on and after a long battle, landed a big 21.5" Flounder!  Boy what a fish!  This fish put's Trey into 3rd place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  Don added a keeper Snapper, Trey landed the "ugliest" fish - a Toad Fish, and Marie wrapped it up with a pesky Croaker.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Nor' Easter Blowin

We had a beautiful sunrise today and even though the wind was already blowing 10+ we headed out to do some Amelia Island back country fishing.  Joel and Myra Godwin were visiting Amelia Island celebrating their anniversary so we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock in downtown Fernandina Beach, Florida this morning.  Our first stop was up Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings with jigs/mud minnows on the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  It wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites and soon Joel hooked up and reeled in a hungry Snapper.  Joel had bass fished his Georgia waters and quickly got the
hang of jigging and hooking up and eventually Myra got the hang of it too and reeled in a fat Snapper. Although the wind was picking up we pulled "anchor" and made a run north to Tiger Island and fished the vary last of the outgoing tide and then the incoming.  Again, the Snapper were present and this time Myra had the hot rod and picked up a few. Later she had a good bite, a hook up, and this time the fish fought differently.  The feisty fish put up a good fight but we soon landed a nice Redfish.  We fished the entire island but the wind was really beginning to blow so we headed over to Eagans Creek to fish some more dock pilings.  There wasn't much action going on but Myra did wrap the day up with a hungry Seatrout catch.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Beautiful Day of Fishing

Boy what a beautiful day we had fishing on Amelia Island's waters!   I had met Chris Kimbrell and his friends Mike and Cassidy down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and we pointed The Anglers Mark nortah to Tiger Island.  There was just a slight breeze but the water was calm as we pulled up to the downed logs.  The anglers got busy casting jigs and shrimp to the shoreline and were soon getting bites.  They landed a number of rather large Croaker and added some fat Snapper to the catch.  Mike had a good fight with a feisty Redfish and before we left the spot Cassidy landed a keeper sized Flounder.  We moved to the outside of Tiger and broke out the float rigs and some live shrimp.  We had a really good flurry of bites and the anglers caught some hungry Seatrout, did battle with some Ladyfish, and then Chrisis landed a feisty Black "Puppy" Drum.  We ran up to the Jolley River and picked up a couple of more Trout and Chris reeled in another Flounder.  Our last stop was to the outside of Tiger again where they had a few more bites and then Mike had a big bite and break off as we were preparing to leave.  That wrapped up another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Seatrout Come On Strong

The last few days of rain and wind gave way to a beautiful day today.  I met Paul and Aimee Kirday, their daughter Abbie and her friend Brooke down at Atlantic Seafood early this morning and we headed north to fish flooded oysters outside of Tiger Island.  The anglers had a few good bites early and Brooke landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Paul later caught a couple of hungry Seatrout.  We checked out some spartina grass for tailing Reds, saw none, then fished the covered logs behind Tiger but had no real bites.  Our next stop was the Jolley River, fishing the flooded banks, but again had no real bites.  We eased up into the

marsh in a small creek and saw a big 'ole Redfish tailing way out in the middle of a flooded flat!  Unfortunately the flat was surrounded by thick marsh grass and I couldn't find an entry to get the bow into a wade-able area.  We did circle the flat and had some distant shots at the fish (and soon saw that there were more than one fish) but we just couldn't get close enough.  Our next stop was "Snook Creek" and here things began to pick up.  Paul started it off by catching a keeper sized Seatrout then all of the anglers got in on the action.  They caught a good handful of smaller Trout and gradually added keeper sized Trout to the cooler.  Both Aimee and Brooke had keepers and then Abbie caught the only Flounder of the day.   Aimee had a strong hookup with a big fish that took her from bow to stern but this fish just kept going with no intentions of being caught,  After another couple of keeper Trout catches, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout Bite Early

We had six bay boats lined up at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning ready to meet the Herb Lottman fishing group of 12 anglers for fishing trips  into the back country of Amelia Island.  The group of anglers were staying at the 5 Star Elizabeth Pointe Lodge who had also arranged the transportation and box lunches. It was right at high tide so our first stop was outside of Tiger Island.  On The Anglers Mark, I had Herb along with his friend Roy and we started the day out tossing live shrimp under floats to the marsh grass edges.  It wasn't long before the two anglers were getting some good  bites then Roy hooked up with a nice keeper sized Seatrout to get the "skunk off the boat"!  Roy had the hot rod early and landed a few of the Seatrout and even though Herb was getting bites, they just weren't taking.  But then his float disappeared and his rod bent double, and, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle, with the big fish running stern to bow and back again, we netted a big 22" Seatrout!  We continued to fish the area, picked up a few more trout and Roy had a good battle with a feisty Black "puppy Drum.  There was a big rain storm headed our way and just as Roy had reeled in another keeper sized Trout, the bottom fell out and it began to pour.  We pulled up the trolling motor and headed around to the lee side of Tiger Island to get out of the wind but we still all got soaked!  After the rain subsided, we made a run to Jolley River where we fished a small creek mouth.  Both Herb and Roy had hookups with high flying Ladyfish.  We fished Snook Creek and the MOA and had bites but no takers then we ran around to Bell River and fished some dock pilings. We only found one Croaker so we made a long run to Lanceford Creek where the bite heated up somewhat.  Herb's rod got hot and he landed a couple of nice Snapper then an 11-spot feisty Redfish.  Roy rounded out the day with a very nice Snapper.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Recipe of the Month: Lottie's Spanish Cornbread

My mother let me delve through her recipe box one day and I found this Spanish Cornbread recipe that was my Grandmother Lottie Garner's. It's a great addition to any fish fry or cookout!

1/4 Cup Wesson oil

1 egg
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup cream style corn
2 Tblsp sugar
1/2 Cup grated cheese
1 Tblsp chopped onion
1 Cup self rising cornmeal
(I also added 1 Tblsp chopped jalapeno peppers)

Mix together and pour into 8"x12" pan. (As you can see I made mine in an iron skillet).  Bake 425 degrees for 30 minutes.