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.

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!