Gradually Put Together a Mess

 It's great to see a grandmother taking her grandsons fishing!  I met Cindy Gray and her two grandsons Alex and Henry, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made a quick run up the Nassau River and turned into the incoming current to fish a flooded bank. We started out with jigs and minnows, fishing a deeper drop of the river, and we did have one big bite - it took the line, headed under the boat, and was gone!  We then worked along some flooded shell, now tossing float rigs and minnows, but didn't have much action. 

After dropping back to Twin Creeks, we fished the float rigs and here Alex put a small Jack in the boat then Cindy hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. One in the box! We then made the run down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted floats long, not having much luck, then we fished around the corner. Cindy put a big Jack in the boat, Alex caught a couple of small Seatrout, and Henry got on the board with a Pinfish landing. 

We came back to fish some rocks at Nassauville and after a cast or two Alex had a big bite, battled it to the boat, and landed a huge Mangrove Snapper.  Two in the box! Henry was fishing the same general area and when he had a good bite I thought for sure it was another big Mangrove.  But as Henry worked it to the boat it seemed to get bigger!  He played it perfectly and brought to the net a nice 19.5" Slot Redfish.  Three in the box!  This trio of anglers began to work those rocks vigorously, playing cat and mouse with the Mangroves, and ended up with numbers Four, Five, Six and Seven in the box.

We finished up around at a large drainage, drifting floats around a point and on Alex's first cast, BOOM! A nice Mangrove Snapper, Eight in the box!  Alex finished it off hooking up and landing another keeper sized Seatrout, number Nine. We left them biting and headed back and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. He is a US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator. 

Representing With Bragging Rights

 

I was out at Goffinsville today, meeting Kenny King and his fishing crew, John Raker and John's mother Betty early this morning. We had a bait well full of mud minnow, electing to go with no shrimp today, and we headed over to Pumpkin Hill to make our first stop on a tide that still was coming in for another 2  hours. We set up alongside a flooding shell bottom and drifted floats long - it took a good handful of drifts and I was beginning to wonder when Betty had a her float taken under. She slapped the bail shut, cranked her slack in and let the circle hook set and Big Fish On! Betty battled it to the boat and brought to the net a huge 22.25" Seatrout, a fish that moved her in to a tie for First Place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. Scroll down the right side  of this report for standings. 

We continued to fish and picked up another small Trout or two, a couple of nice hard fighting Jacks, a small Catfish, and a small Mangrove Snapper. After moving around the corner and fishing a stretch of flooded grass, Kenny had a good hookup, played it patiently, and brought in a keeper sized Seatrout. And just minutes later he had a strong bite. This was a big fish and Kenny played it perfectly. When he got it to the net we measured a 19.5" Seatrout, boy what a fish. But with the new rules, it had to go back!

After running thru Horsehead we fished a good looking stretch of marsh on the first of an outgoing tide. There were fish popping and rolling and moving but we managed only another Jack and a Ladyfish.  Back thru Horsehead we went, back up Nassau to Back River and fished some pockets and here John had the big bite. When it ripped some drag and boiled up near the grass we knew it was a big Redfish and sure enough, after a good battle, John brought to the net a nice 22" bulky Slot Redfish. The sun was up but so was the breeze and we had some nice fish in the box so as we headed in we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island and is a licensed US Coast Guard charter boat operator.

 

I Heard The Float Go Down

 Back to work today, fishing out of Old Town Bait and Tackle after meeting Joseph Segraves and his son David early. We headed up to the Jolley River - all the way up to a point where I hoped to fish the last of an incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. We had excellent conditions with an overcast sky but the current was already at a standstill - Joseph and David made good casts but he float just sat there like on a stagnate pond!  We eased along the bank for just a minute or two and Joseph did "knock the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch, then we moved on. 

After running back to the outside of Tyger and setting up on a point, the tide and current had started out now and the moved paid off. Joseph was on the bow and began to get fish - small Redfish and some Jacks while David was on the stern and picked up a Jack, then had his leader quickly snapped by a lurking Shark. Then Joseph had a strong bite and when his drag began to rip we knew it was big. Joseph played it perfectly - it ran north, boiled a few times so we new it was a big Red, but Joseph worked it to the boat and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish.

We fished jigs on the outside of Tyger, at a nice drainage, and here Joseph put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. 

Back up to the Jolley we went and fished the "bank", now on an outgoing tide. Both David and Joseph caught fish - a good handful of those small but feisty Redfish. As Joseph and I had our heads turned watching Davids drift I heard the faint "click" of a float going down, yelled, and Joseph set the hook and again, Big Fish On! This fish tried to run up current for just a second then thought better of it, and came back with the current. Joseph had to crank to catch up to it, and he did, and then the battle was back at the stern. Joseph worked it an an landed an even bigger 23" Slot Redfish.

The duo had a small Flounder catch then David had one of those funky bites, hooked it up, and brought to the boat a keeper sized 16" Flounder to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam in the box. After fishing another drainage where we had a few more of those feisty Reds caught, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a back country fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island and is a US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator. 

Recipe of the Month: Garlic Parmesan Crusted Fish

 I fished with the Coffey's a couple of weeks ago and we got to talking recipes and Tracy B described what sounded like a good one. They caught some fish and planned to use it so I asked if they could send it to me and here it is..Tracy B Coffey's.....

Garlic Parmesan Crusted Fish

6 Fish filets

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 big cloves of freshly minced garlic

Juice of half a lemon

Parsley

1- 11 x9 baking dish

Step 1- preheat oven to 425. Rub 1 tbsp of oil on fish so the seasoning will stick better and season fish with salt and pepper.

Step 2- on a separate plate combine Parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic and pinch more of salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in the mixture and press into it so the mixture covers.

Step 3-place the fish in the baking dish and sprinkle a little more of the Parmesan/crumb mixture over the top of the fish. Then squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the top of the fish.

Step 4- bake fish till flaky or 20-25 minutes. The breadcrumbs should be a little browned. Finally, sprinkle some parsley overtop and serve.

Rain? What Rain?

 When I looked at the weather forecast last night, rain was predicted to be around 67% for the morning and when I called my guest they just weren't up for the wetness. But after yesterday's excellent trip, and no real storm predicted with the rain, and now a day off, I had already decided I was going fishing. When I called friend and neighbor Bill Maceron he was of the same opinion -"let's go!" . I even "bet" that the weather would be better when we got started today. I was wrong and would have lost the bet!

When I stepped outside this morning it was drizzling rain and when I picked Bill up around the corner it was drizzling and when we stopped to get some live shrimp it was drizzling and when we launched it was drizzling. But we both had rain coats on and we made our way from Sawpit Creek up the Nassau and around to what I hoped would be the "honey hole". 

In the rain, things started off a bit slow but as the tide dropped and the oysters began to show, we began to get bites. It turned out that Bill came to catch fish while I came to fish for fish. Fishing float rigs with the live shrimp, Bill "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. We both caught a handful of small but feisty Redfish and a couple of hard fighting Jacks. Then Bill, up on the bow, had s strong hookup and this one was ripping drag. Bill played it expertly, let it run, worked it up, let it run, and eventually brought to the net a big 26" Slot sized Redish...and behind us a beautiful rainbow appeared!

And not shortly after that Bill had another strong bite. This one ripped the drag too, boiled up near the bank, then dug deep. But Bill stayed with it and after a good battle landed another big 24" Slot Redfish. Although shorter than the first, it was a bit more "bullish" - thick!

We ran back to Spanish Drop and fished the back side of a bar and picked up another feisty Red or two, then ran back to Broward Island and again caught a few of those small Reds. The rain had  come and go throughout the morning but we had some fish in the box so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. He is a US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Five Slot Day

  I fished with John Raker and his fishing partner Kenny, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. We made a short hop over to some just exposed oyster beds on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours and set up to fish float rigs with live shrimp and mud minnows. It didn't take long before the duo was catching fish - small "rat" reds, one after the other. But as the tide dropped Kenny had a stronger bite and Fish On! He played it patiently and soon landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We continued to fish, picking up the small Reds here and there, then Kenny put another 21" Slot Red in the boat. After moving up a bit John had gotten a good drift and BAM!  He played it slowly to the net and landed a really nice 18" Seatrout.  After John put another Slot Redfish in the boat, we moved on. 

Our next stop was down the river at Spanish Drop, now tossing jigs to a submerged "bar". The duo picked up a couple of the small Reds, then Kenny had a weird "bump", hooked it up, played it perfectly, and landed a Doormat-like 19" Flounder. Moving up the river and fishing drainages, we found one where a bunch of bait was getting busted, fished it, and sure enough, John found another big Flounder to bring to the net. 

The final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing jigs deeper and once they started biting, it was non-stop! One "feisty Redfish" after another. But finally a big one moved in, Kenny hooked it up, and landed the 4th Slot Redfish. We caught more of the smaller Reds then it was John's turn to battle the final Slot Red of the day - he played it expertly and landed another 21" fish. The duo

added a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snappers before we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator.

Covering Costs at Old Town Bait and Tackle

 

If you didn't see the extensive and explanative Facebook post by Nic Bremer, owner of Amelia Island Bait and Tackle/Old Town Bait and Tackle, he has instituted a parking/launch fee at Old Town Bait and Tackle. There is a $5 daily park or launch fee, or you can pay a $50 fee for an annual permit. 

As Nic mentioned in his post, he and his family have put a large amount of funds toward improving the property - a complete remodel of the Tackle shop, with an improved and consistent inventory - and they are consistent in opening on time, and every day! Crazy huh?  Those also brought in a few loads of rock to try and level the parking area.

The Bremers have remodeled and made work the "outhouse"  restroom, and keep it clean and stocked with toilet paper. They got the water spigot working and provided a water hose for rinsing off your boat. They installed a fish cleaning table down at the dock and installed water, a hose, and nozzle for use by anglers. THIS PRIVATE BOAT RAMP IS THE ONLY RAMP THAT HAS A CLEANING TABLE IN OUR AREA.

When you get your tax bill this November and you're looking at how much you pay in tax's, note that The County has NO cleaning tables at their ramps(Dee Dee Bartels, Goffinsville, Holley Pointe). The City has not cleaning table at the Marina ramp. The State has no cleaning table down at Sawpit Creek. Heck, it's been "closed" for the last 5 months! 

This ramp and dock also has a true "NO WAKE" zone - you don't have to worry about your boat getting waked and dinged up. Try that at Dee Dee Bartles, Goffinsville or Sawpit Creek - you're boat hull will look like the Anglers Mark's- dings and dents and scratches. Why don't they enforce the No Wake at these ramps? My gut tells me it's not "politically" viable. Every one they write a ticket to is a voter. 

Old Town has installed some new signage to try and manage the parking. Up front at the door you'll see a sign "Old Town Customer Parking" - you can pull up there and park and go in and make a purchase with no parking fee. 

If your launching a boat, pull out and park over by the bridge incline/14th Street, but PULL IN DIAGONALLY!  There's a sign. If you're in a car with no trailer, park over by the boat yard fence. DO NOT PARK IN THE BOAT TRAILER PARKING. There are few spots up near Eagans Creek where you can park.  Make sure you pay for your parking or launch fee. The Old Town Bait and Tackle staff will give you a parking permit. 

I know everyone hates to see a new fee, or prices to go  up, but for what we get - the improved Bait and Tackle store, wash down hose, restroom, cleaning table, a real No Wake zone, and parking...then I'll gladly pay the fee (NOTE: I purchased the annual permit). When I meet customers there, they will need to pay the $5 parking fee. Thanks, see you out there fishing. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide and US Coast Guard licensed Charter boat operator in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

The Flounder Boys!

 

I fished with Justin Palmore and his two sons Will and Bentley this morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made a long run up the intercoastal and made our way over to Poteat Cut to set up along some exposed oyster beds on an outgoing tide that still had a few hours to hit bottom. We had good action early catching a couple of small but feisty Redfish, a Seatrout, and a big Catfish. 

We then made our way over to the mouth of Jackstaff and worked that bank with jigs and live shrimp and here Will hooked up and expertly landed a nice 17" Flounder to go in the box. And just a bit up the way Justin had a hookup and he too put a 17" Flounder in the box. 

After running thru Horsehead we made our way down to some docks at
Nassauville and fished jigs and minnows, dueling with the Mangrove Snapper. Both Will and Bentley had hookups and Will put a rather large one in the box. Justin outsmarted a good handful of those Mangroves and the trio added a couple of small Flounder. But then Bentley, fishing on his own, had a good "bump",  set the hook like a pro, and reeled his own keeper sized Flounder.

We finished the day down at Spanish Drop, fishing a bend of oysters on the first of an incoming tide and had good action from Redfish bites. Will had a strong hookup, played it patiently, and landed a Slot sized 13 spot Redfish to wrap things  up, and as we headed back to the dock, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide and Charter boat operator in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Shark Attack!

 We fished out of Sawpit Creek today after I met Bob Kossman and Dale Bullard early. I had a live well of shrimp and had caught some mud minnows. After running a little bit up the Nassau River we began to fish a shell bank on the last of an outgoing tide baited with the live shrimp. I was a somewhat surprised that we didn't get a bite, not even a Jack or Ladyfish and unlike yesterday, none of the "feisty" Redfish. 

After moving up a few hundred yards we fished a large drainage, then moved on up to Twin Creeks and worked that area and Dale did manage to get "barely legal" Flounder to the boat. Needing some action, we ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished float rigs around some docks and that did the trick - we dueled with Mangrove Snapper and won out a few times to add a handful to the box. Once the tide started in we moved around to fish some docks, back with the jigs, and again caught a handful of keeper sized Mangroves.

The final stop was down at Broward Island, just as the tide was changing, and here Bob put a feisty Redfish in the boat. Dale added one, then Bob had a strong hookup. He played it expertly and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We worked just a little down that bank and then it was 
Dale's turn to battle the big fish. He played it patiently, worked it up, and landed another nice Slot sized Redfish. Fishing on, Dale again had a good bite. He fought it valiantly and had it right to the boat when a big Shark came by and took most of it!  Dale had yelled "Shark"! and I thought that was what he had on the line until he lifted what was left of the Slot Redfish! Ouch.

We fished a bit more - Bob hooked up and landed a big Mangrove Snapper, then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Bragging Rights Blowout

 Our weather pattern has been holding the last few weeks...great early morning, sometimes even overcast like today, with just a slight breeze, then some sunshine, then the heat comes on by about 10am.  And the fish bite has been similar. I met Grant Gressman and his son Colton along with Grant's dad Charlie out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and we headed down to Spanish Drop to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. We baited jigs with live shrimp and began pitching to the exposed shell bank as we eased into the current. And it wasn't long before we were catching fish, First a couple of Jacks, then we got into some feisty "Rat" Reds, and caught one after another. Grant had the hot hand initially but the other two anglers joined in on the catch. Grant caught a Seatrout and a Black Drum to round at his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam.

We moved up to a large drainage and fished it and here Charlie hooked up out deep and landed the firstkeeper fish, a nice Seatrout. Colton had a strong bite and fought it expertly to the boat to land the largest Jack Crevalle of the day. Then, when Grant's rod bent over, we questioned what he had on the line. I was thinking a big Catfish but when it came to the surface I saw that it was a HUGE Flounder and it was all I could do to get the catch net under it's nose and bring it to the boat - a 22" Flounder, the biggest of the year and big enough to smash into First Place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings. 

We fished a dock at Seymore's Pointe briefly, added a Mangrove Snapper to the box, then made a run down to Broward Island where we added another Flounder to the catch. Our last stop was back at some docks at Nassauville where Colton hooked up and landed a nice 16" Flounder, a keeper, then all three anglers dueled the Mangroves, winning a few and losing a few, but adding to the box another good handful of keeper fish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator