You always hear the saying, "a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work", and I agree, but sometimes you gotta wonder. It wasn't that it was terribly cold and it wasn't that it was raining, and it wasn't that the wind was blowing because none of that was happening. It was just a tad bit cool, but there was a whole bunch of fog and mist, and even though the wind wasn't blowing, the fish weren't cooperating! Brian Roach and his Son Michael had met me up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning. The tide had been coming in for about two hours and I thought we could surely still have time to get some Drum around some dock pilings with jigs and shrimp. Even though Brian and Michael were making excellent casts we had nary a nibble at three different docks.
We moved over to another creek and fished the marsh grass, now drifting shrimp under a float with the current. Nary a Nibble. After running over to Bell River and trying the same technique, we ran further up the Bell and this did the trick. Brian had the first hookup near a dock and expertly landed a keeper sized Seatrout. Then the duo caught and landed a handful of Trout, all undersized. Brian picked up one on an artificial plastic Shad. We worked up and down those docks and picked up a Trout here and there but never did we hear a drag rip! Our final stop was over in the Jolley River where we tried the jigs and he floats, to no avail.
As we headed back thru the fog/mist I still had to admit that a not-so-great day of fishing sure beats any day at work!
We had a high tide today when I met Roger Pickett and his fishing partner David. I met them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and we headed over to the outside of Tiger Island and set up to fish Cajun Thunder float rigs with live shrimp, up by the marsh grass. Both anglers were making excellent casts as we worked the bank, but we had no takers. We then ran around and fished some marsh in Soap Creek to no avail. The tide was still up when we worked our way over into Lanceford Creek and again, no fish! I was beginning to wonder.
After making a short run back to Eagans Creek, the tide had fallen a bit so we switched to jigs and shrimp and with the lower tide, this did the trick. David had a strong hookup and worked to the boat a nice feisty Redfish. He picked up another or two, then we had a Black Drum bite and Roger brought it to the boat - a keeper. We continued to fish that dock as the tide drop and did pretty good, catching feisty Reds, a couple of the "puppy" Drum, and Roger added a Seatrout to the mix. When things slowed we moved around to the other side and the move paid off. The duo landed a couple of the smaller Redfish, then David reeled in a keeper. Then he had a strong hookup and, Fish On! We could tell this fish was big - the drag was ripping and it was hanging on the bottom. But David was up to the challenge and subdued the fish and landed a big 23" 6lb+ Drum, boy what a fish!
We tried another dock for just a bit, then made the long run over to Bell River and up to some docks. We stayed with the jigs and shrimp and had a good flurry of Seatrout catches, all in the 14" range. When we ran low on bait we tried some artificial jigs and they caught fish too. Although we didn't get any Trout keepers, Roger and Dave each had an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Black Drum so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
With Winter down time I thought I'd try and make Fly Rod Case #2. A few years ago I put together Fly Rod Case #1 and it came out pretty good, but as usual, there were a couple of areas for improvement.
The first step was to cut out some leather. I took a sample piece of leather and wrapped it around my fly rod tube to get the proper width of the leather that I would cut, then cut it out: TIME = 4 hours
The next step was to mark out lines around the edges and then to trace the design on the leather that I wanted. I chose a floral design with a couple of Redfish. The rectangles will be where the strap and buckle hardware are attached.
I went ahead and cut out and made a bunch of buckle and D ring holders...
Then I used a swivel knife to cut out the pattern on the leather. By the way, the leather has been "cased" with water to allow the swivel knife to cut the leather like butter. TIME =2.5 hours
TOTAL TIME = 6.5 hours
Then I used a couple of different beveling tools to knock down all the edges and give the pattern some depth..
Multiple stamps were used to complete the design, then everything else was stamped with a background tool..
And finally, the finished tooled piece of leather. Stay tuned for dyeing and finishing of the leather!
TIME = 7.75 hours
TOTAL TIME = 14.25 hours
Punching holes for later stitching
Beginning the back ground dying - I'm using Forest Green
All finished with the back ground dying!
Dying the fish! After I dyed them, let them dry, I "blocked" them with a finish.
After the "block" was dry, I wiped an antique stain over the entire project.
All the staining is done. I'll put a finish over the entire thing, let it dry, then move on to putting the hardware on.
TIME = 4 hours
TOTAL TIME = 18.25 hours
Straps were stained and finished then riveted to the case. I also reinforced them with some stitching.
I glued the leather to the fly rod tube and tried lacing with the holes that I had punched earlier. It didn't work. So I had to take a rotary hole punch and make each hole bigger.
TIME = 4.5 hours
TOTAL TIME = 22.75 hours
The tube is about 32" long. I begin the lacing using a bent needle!. And more lacing! This is 1/8" wide lace.
TIME = 3.75 hours
TOTAL TIME = 26.5 hours
Sewing on the end cap
Made some straps and finished up the top cap and attached them both.
TIME: = 6.5 hours
TOTAL TIME: 33.0 hours
And here's the finished Rod case! Now I need to make the Reel case to finish up the project.
Cutting and punching the reel case pieces, then carving a design
Over the years I've had some postcards produced and then I give them out to my customers, on occasion. I know that postcards are old fashioned but I've always thought it was cool that folks who traveled years ago would take the time to buy a postcard, jot a quick note, and send it off to their loved ones. Here's a couple that I had produced over the years:
While on vacation in North Carolina this past September I found these old vintage
postcards....
So I commissioned an artist to "Florida-ize" it! He first did a sketch...
Then we finalized it and had some cards printed. Here's the new postcards for 2021. Click on each to expand..
If I forget to give you some after you fish with me, REMIND ME!
Finally! What a beautiful day! I had met Hank and Pam Holbrook up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning and before long the sun was shining which made for an outstanding day to be out on the water. We skipped across to the outside of Tiger and fished the very last of a (very) high incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. We had no bites there so we ran thru Tiger, made a pit stop to see if we could see any "tails" then continued on in to Bell River where we set up near a large flooded oyster flat and this did the trick.
Pam did us the favor and "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught today were released) then we had some good action, catching Trout on the float rigs. Hank joined in and landed a good handful himself.
We ran down the Bell and up the Lanceford to fish "Millie's" Spot and this paid off, too. Pam caught a Trout and Hank tangled with the biggest fish of the day...this one was pulling some drag, but it was not to be...it thru the hook to be caught another day.
After bouncing back to Soap Creek we set up at a large marsh run out and this had some action, too. The duo caught a handful of Seatrout to keep things going. After working the bank a bit we came back out and fished BM's Spot but had no luck. I thought that was a bit unusual because we usually pick up a fish there most visits. After fishing some oysters along the Bell with jigs and shrimp and minnows, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
This recipe came across Facebook, presented by Blue Plate Mayonnaise and it looked pretty good.
Making the recipe as presented meant left overs for a day or so!.
Ingredients:
3 pounds white potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-inch cubes ( I used some deluxe gold potatoes)
1/2 pound bacon, cooked until crisp, crumbled
6 green onions, chopped, white and some of the green parts
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dill relish, or pimientos drained ( I used the dill relish)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon creole seasoning ( I used Old Bay)
1/2 cup light Blue Plate Mayonnaisse
1/2 cup light sour cream
Paprika and celery sticks for garnish.
Cook the potatoes in boiling water in a large pot over medium high heat for 15-18 minutes, until tender.
( I checked them constantly to make sure I didn't over cook them). Drain and cool slightly.
Place potatoes in a large bowl, add bacon, celery, relish, salt, pepper, creole seasoning. In a small bowl, stir mayonnaise and sour cream until blended. Pour over potato mixture as much as you like. (I poured about half of it, stirred, added about a quarter more, stirred). Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with paprika and celery sticks.
