Twin Slam

An overcast day couldn't keep the Bill Steinauer family from fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island today.  Bill and his wife Pam, along with their twin daughters met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning and we headed up river, stopping The Anglers Mark at a flooded shell bed.   The anglers tossed live shrimp under floats and immediately began to get bites and soon boated a nice Bluefish, a neat Needlefish, a small Jack, and a whole host of other bait stealers!  We ran on up to the Jolly River and anchored in a creek runout and again found a great deal of bait stealers, so we eased out to the mouth of the creek and WHAM!  Bill had a good bite and caught a feisty Redfish.  The move proved to be the ticket because the whole family joined in catching Redfish, a couple of Trout, and Bill added a Flounder to round out the Amelia Island Backcountry Slam.  A number of Croaker were caught, too.  We eventually moved around to Tiger Island where the Steinauer family added a couple of more Croakers and another Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Smorgasbord of Fish

 I've had a handful of trips the last couple of weeks that have started out slow but picked up with fish beginning to bite right up to the end.   A lot of it has to do with how much the patience the anglers have and if they  "endeavor to persevere"!  Today was one of those days.  I met Sam and Molly Pearson and their two kids Cassidy and Clay at the Big Talbot Island boat ramp, 7am, and we headed up the Nassau River for a morning of backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  Our first stop was at Leon's Drop with the tide going out and the oysters not showing yet - perfect tide for the spot, but no bites.  We headed around through Jackstaff and fished the bank and Clay did pick up a feisty Redfish with a live shrimp under float. We crossed the creek where Sam had a good battle with a Bonnethead Shark, but the Shark won and move on!  Our next stop was at Bubblegum Reef and this time we broke out some bait casting bottom rigs.  Cassidy had a rod bending, drag ripping hookup and, FISH ON!  She and I battle the fish briefly then Sam jumped in and took over for a long battle which he won this time, and he brought to the boat a huge Stingray for pictures.  That must have gotten things going because Sam started having good hookups on a jig/shrimp combos.  He had a good strong bite, and played the fish perfectly, then handed the rod off to Clay who brought in a slot sized Redfish.  Then Sam hooked up with another and this time handed it off to Cassidy, who brought in an even bigger slot Redfish.  Sam was on a roll because he eventually boated a "Smorgasbord" of fish including a Sheepshead, Sea Bass, and Black Drum.  Molly joined in and expertly reeled in the Sea Bass. Cassidy added one more Stingray to the mix.  The sun was up and it was time to head in, so we called it a day,  another great one to be on the water!

TripleTail leads off for Grand Slam

Just when you think you've seen it all in the backcountry waters of Amelia Island a fish is caught that just boggles your mind!  A few years ago I was fishing up in Jolley River which is northwest of Amelia Island and I had a hookup, a good feisty fight, and landed a small Snook, to my amazement!   We've been having pretty good catches this summer of Redfish and we've been also catching a few Trout and Flounder, and once in a while a Sheepshead.  But you can imagine my surprise when one of my customers caught a hard fighting fish that just didn't want to come to the boat and when we finally netted it, a TripleTail!

Busted Net

I keep telling myself that I'm going to quit trying to net Bonnethead Sharks.  Today I learned my lesson when Parker Grow, his dad Bill and Parker's 4 1/2 year old son Crawford took in an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the boat ramp and the City's Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning around 7am and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the docks on an incoming tide.  The oysters were almost covered, so we tossed a live shrimp under float up near the dock pilings.  The anglers had few bites so we headed up to Jolley River;  the oysters were now covered and the jig/shrimp combo wasn't working too well.  We headed further up the river and anchored in a large creek and it wasn't long before Parker had a strong bite and his drag began to rip out, FISH ON!  He had Crawford help him out and the two fought the fish perfectly, bringing it to the boat and wearing it out so that I could scoop him up with the catch net, but as soon as I began to drag this large Bonnethead up the net collapsed!  I grabbed at the fish and the line broke. OUCH!  But it was a great fight and provided some much needed excitement!  We were in the right spot because it wasn't long before Bill had a nice shark on.  He too played it perfectly and this time we grabbed the Shark and tossed him in the boat for pictures and release.  We caught a couple more shark and had a good mess of Croaker to go with them.  The wind had picked up and was really blowing and after a couple of brief stops we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Saltwater Fishing 101

Michael and Loraine Belcon were visiting Amelia Island with their two sons Michael and Max and decided to take in an Amelia Island backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp and headed up to the outside of Tiger Island, dropped anchor and fished the covered oyster beds with a live shrimp under float. Although we had numerous bites, there were no takers, so we pulled up and ran to Jolley River to fish a large creek mouth. It wasn't long before all the anglers were getting bites then Michael Sr. had a good bite on a jig/shrimp combo and his drag ripped out, FISH ON! He fought the fish expertly, the FINS Braided line held, and after a long battle we netted a nice Bonnethead Shark for pictures an release. Moments later, Michael Jr. had a good bite and his drag began to rip out too! He fought the fish from bow to stern and back to bow and we again netted a large Bonnethead, took pictures and released it. We went back to the inside of Tiger Island where the anglers again had bites with Michael Jr. catching a couple of Croaker while his dad had something nice almost to the boat, but it threw the hook, OUCH! We eventually move to the outside of Tiger and the bite really picked up at almost full high tide. Max landed a very big Blue and the group added a few more Blues, Croaker, Pin Fish, Trout and Black Drum before we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

No Steak Tonight

Gordon Duff was visiting Amelia Island again and treated his two grandsons Ethan and Vincent to an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at the City Marina and headed up river to fish the outside of Tiger Island.  We began a troll along the flooded beach where bait was getting popped and Ethan tossed a topwater lure, "walking the dog" expertly.  I was throwing a smaller popping lure and we both had numerous hits but no takers.  We anchored up at a grassy area and tossed out live shrimp under floats and it wasn't long before both young men were catching fish.  We boated a number of Redfish to 17", Ethan added a couple of Trout, and of course, the summer time ever present Bluefish.  Our next stop was at the docks of Lanceford where we had a few bites and picked up a nice Flounder, completing early the Amelia Island Inshore Slam!  We ran up to Jolley Bank and fished the now exposed oysters and Ethan worked the bank with a jig/Gulp Shrimp and again caught a couple of Redfish, just under sized.   At out last stop, the current was running out of a large creek and we had a good hard bite up near the oysters and FISH ON!  Vincent cranked the reel, I held the Rod, Grandad took pictures, and Ethan netted the Big fish for a team effort in boating a nice 22" Slot Redfish for dinner tonight!  After that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

ShaaarkRed!

Jason Carr set up an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip with his father-in-law Tommy and his brother-in-law Dave on The Anglers Mark this morning.  We got an early start, leaving the City of Fernandina Beach marina a little before 7am and headed up to the Jolley River to "Sues Spot" where the guys began to warm up with the jig/live shrimp combo.  It didn't take long before all of them were getting bites along the exposed oyster beds and we soon began to net feisty Redfish.  We move on up to "Snook Creek" and again the anglers found Redfish and a couple of fat Seatrout, along with a few Rock Bass.  The tide turned and started back in so we ran back to the mouth of Jolley and fished the oyster banks and again their were Reds to be caught.  We all spotted a Bonnethead Shark cruising the edge and Tommy made a perfect cast in front of the fish, waited patiently and hooked 'em up!  FISH ON!  He had a good battle on his hands with drag ripping out on occasion, but these anglers were after Redfish so we contemplated breaking the shark off when all of a sudden the fish rolled and we then knew that it was a slot Redfish that had beaten the Shark to the bait!  Tommy played the fish perfectly and we soon netted the big Red.  We made another stop at Tiger Island where Jason found his on hole of Redfish, boating three in a row on the live shrimp, one of which was right at the slot.  The temperatures had warmed and after one more stop we called it a day, another great one to be on the water

Grand Slam Leads to Homerun

Local resident Andy Herrin had worked non-stop at  his job since last Christmas and when he finally got 4 days off he "got away from it all" and went fishing, with his two sons, Colton and Kyler.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning and pointed The Anglers Mark up to the Jolley River with a couple hours left of a falling tide.  The oyster banks were well exposed and the anglers wasted no time, hooking up to some feisty Redfish in between hungry Croaker.  At our second stop Andy added a Seatrout and not long after completed his Amelia Island Inshore Slam by pulling in a Flounder.  Both Colton and Kyler added Redfish, and of course, the pesky Croaker.  When the tide changed we headed to the mouth of Jolley to fish the oyster lined bank and again found Croaker and other "baitstealers".  We had a good flurry of bites when Kyler had a strong bite.  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a keeper sized Trout.  Then it was Andy's turn with a rod bending fish - his turned out to be strong pulling Black Drum, adding to his Slam and then he hit a home run when he had another strong bite, a good battle, and we netted a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish.  Colton got in on the action with the biggest fish - a 3' Bonnethead Shark - and fought it like a pro until he decided to break it off.  We hit a couple of more spots, saw some manatee, and then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

3 Before 8

Tim Schiefflin and his family were visiting Amelia Island again this summer so Tim treated his two sons Eli and Ian to an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock promptly at 7am and headed up the Lanceford Creek to fish the docks on an outgoing tide.  The oysters had just begin to show as we anchored and pitched a live shrimp under float up near the dock pilings and FISH ON!  First Cast!  Eli played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a Slot sized Redfish!   All the anglers got in on the action and began to catch Redfish after Redfish and before 8am they had three Slot Reds in the boat!  The Reds were up near the oyster beds and Ian soon found that he could cast his bait up near them and let it drift along and he'd soon have a bite.  By the time we left Lanceford they had boated 13 Redfish and 6 of them were slot sized!  We made a run up to the Jolley River and fished an oyster lined bank with jig and shrimp combos.  Tim added the biggest Redfish, boating a nice 22"er and then Ian hooked up with a Trout on an artificial minnow.  After moving to creek runout, Eli had a good battle with a 2' Black Tip Shark and Ian caught another Trout.  The sun got up so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Big Redfish leads to Slam

Amanda Hammonds was visiting Amelia Island with her family and boyfriend and decided to take in a an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. We left the boat ramp at 7am sharp and headed up to Lanceford Creek to fish the docks on a high, outgoing tide. The oysters were still covered so we tossed out live shrimp under floats, drifting them up near the dock pilings. First cast, Amanda's brother hooked up with a nice Trout! All the anglers caught bait stealer, after bait stealer, after bait stealer. Ouch. But as the tide dropped Amanda had a strong bite and soon realized that this wasn't a bait stealer! The big Redfish put up a tremendous fight and after a prolonged, drag ripping battle, found it's way back into the pilings and cut itself off! The Big One that got away! However, shortly after Amanda's brother had a good hookup and played the fish to the boat where we netted a nice 23" Redfish. Amanda boated a Flounder and the rest of the anglers caught a few more smaller Red's, then we headed over to Tiger Island where they caught a couple of more smaller Redfish. We headed up to Jolley River and began a troll of Jolley Bank and again they caught some small Reds then boated two keeper sized Flounder. After hitting one more spot, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Fly Tying Contest

For all the fly tyers out there, here's an interesting contest:  Tie a fly that looks like the space shuttle Atlantis!  Get more information here

Hunt for Reds

Chris Clark,  his "almost 8" son, Hunt, and Hunt's grandfather Vance Hefner were visiting Amelia Island and took in an Amelia Island fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at 7am sharp and headed up to the Jolley River for some backcountry fishing.  Our first stop was at a small runout as the tide reached it's bottom and the anglers warmed up by tossing shrimp and jig combos.  They had a few bites and Vance broke the ice with a Croaker and when the tide started back in we pulled anchor and began trolling the oyster lined banks. A few more bites later and a couple of more croakers, a small Redfish,  then we had a strong bite and drag ripped out! Hunt and his dad worked the fish together and they soon boated a nice 17 3/4" Redfish.  We had a couple of more good Redfish bites but they shook the hook so we moved on up the river to a nice creek.  We had only trolled a few minutes when WHAM!  FISH ON!  Again, Hunt and Chris fought the fish, playing it perfectly and as the big Red got close to the boat, Chris netted it and brought it in, a slot sized 23" Redfish!  We moved on up into the creek and anchored and the anglers each had a shot at fighting and catching Bonnethead Sharks then Chris picked up his 2nd Flounder and Vance topped off the Amelia Island Inshore Slam with a nice Seatrout.  We made one more stop at the outside of Tiger Island and the guys fought a couple of more shark and Chris added another Flounder, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Fish Lost, Fish Gained

John Spagna, his son Anthony, and family were visiting Amelia Island and scheduled an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 7am this morning and headed up the Nassau River to catch the last few minutes of an outgoing tide.  We picked an oyster outcrop and dropped the trolling motor to quietly ease along, both anglers pitching 1/8 oz jigs with live shrimp.  They each had some bites then John had a hard bite and then the fight was on!  Then off!  The Redfish threw the hook!  At the next outcrop of oysters John had an even harder bite and this time he expertly fought the Redfish for a minute or so and...fish OFF!  The line broke.  OUCH!  But John was not to be deterred.  We fished the docks at Seymore's Pointe and as the tide started in, headed for Broward Island where bait was being busted on the south end of the island.  After trolling just a minute or two both anglers commented that they were getting bites, then John hooked up and brought in a nice Seatrout.  Shortly after he had another strong bite and this time everything held and he got his Redfish!  Anthony joined in on the action, getting a subtle bite, then his line felt heavy and he set the hook on a nice keeper sized Flounder.  John added a Flounder to complete his Amelia Island Inshore Slam then Anthony upped the ante by hooking up and bringing to the net an even bigger Flounder.  All of these fish were mixed in with a number of hungry Croaker!  We ran to Jackstaff and fished the now flooded oysters, but the fish had decided to take a break so we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Mom Puts Fish In The Boat

Scott O'melia and his son Palmer fished with me again this morning on The Anglers Mark and this time they brought Scott's wife and Palmer's mother, Jacquelyn.  Palmer was an old pro with the boat and new where all the hatches, life vests, and bait wells were and was eager to point them out to his mom.  The tide had been coming in for about an hour as we left the Atlantic Seafood dock and headed up to the Jolley River. We anchored at a small runout and tossed shrimp on jigs to the still exposed oysters.  The anglers warmed up by catching a couple of hungry Croaker.  We moved on up into Jolley and I was able to cast net a few dozen perfectly sized finger mullet.  This did the trick and soon everyone was getting bites.  Scott and Palmer caught Blues and Croaker while Jacquelyn had some good hookups and fought to the net a couple of nice Seatrout.  Once, her line tightened and the drag began to rip out, FISH ON!  She fought the fish for a while but it must have gotten across an oyster bed because it broke off after a few minute battle, OUCH!  We eventually moved down to Tiger Island, saw a few Sea Turtles surfacing and caught a few more Croaker, Blues and Trout.  We moved to the front of Tiger and Jacquelyn again had a brief battle with an unwilling large fish, again getting broke off.  But she persevered and as we trolled the beach where hundreds of mullet were milling, Jacquelyn had another good bite and she cranked in a nice 17" Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!