Pumpkin Hill and Jackstaff

I fished with Jim Hamilton, his son Drew, and their friend P.C. today, and a beautiful one it was to be out on the water. It was somewhat crisp when we left Jim's dock at 9am this morning and the boat ride made it even a cooler. But there wasn't much wind so as the day went on it got real nice. We ran over to Pumkin Hill Creek on a tip brom Knute Douglas at the bait shop and fished the marsh grass (the tide was high at 8:30 and just beginning to recede). We had no bites so we ventured up a small creek where Jim picked up a nice, but undersized trout. Drew had picked up the "jig and shrimp" combo fairly quickly and it wasn't long before something was ripping drag off his reel. He worked his way to the back of the boat...and the fish kept going...and going...and got off! Yep, that's fishing! We left the Pumpkin Hill area and ran to the wreck off of Seymor's Pointe - no bites - then ran through Jackstaff to it's mouth on the Intercoastal - no bites. We fished a couple stretches of oyster beds back up Jackstaff and then found a nice drop in one of the bends that yielded a nice bite from trout. The guys boated another 6-7 trout, and a Ray, which are always fun to catch. This was a beautiful day out on the water - what a great way to start the Thanksgiving weekend. Speaking of that - I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving with your families and friends!

Tesiero family braves the wind.

Kelly Tesiero treated her husband, Don and their kids Trey and Marie to a day out on the water for Don's birthday. The sun was out, but the wind was blowing - even more than yesterday. We stopped at Rayonier to see if the trout bite was still on, but it wasn't to be. Don did pick up a nice Black Drum. We untied and cruised over to Lanceford to the "not-so-secret" secret spot (after a tip from local long-time fisherman Greg Nissen) but I think we got there a little late on the incoming tide. No fish. The wind was really blowing but it didn't faze the Tesiero's one bit. We ran up Bell River and cut through in behind Tiger Island which blocked the wind and made the fishing real pleasant. After dropping anchor Don was hooked up with a nice trout after only a few casts. It wasn't long before everyone got in on the action with Trey leading the way. They reeled in trout, Black Drum, trout and even a nice, but undersized, Red Drum. Kelly and Marie caught their share, too. Total for the day: About (8) trout, (6) Black Drum, (1) Red Drum - and a couple of bait stealers. Most were caught on a jig with live shrimp. What a great day of fishing!

Cold, blustery and lot's of fish!

I fished with Leon Freeman this past Saturday. Air tempature was a cold 33 degree's and felt even colder with a strong 10mph wind. We tried a few spots with our live shrimp under the floats in Lanceford Creek but only hooked up with a couple of trout. The wind was really blowing so we pulled up the trolling motor and headed towards Rayonier pipeline thinking we could find some shelter. As we passed Rayonier, Leon suggested that we try the pilings at the warehouse so we eased in and tied up. BOOM! Fish on! Trout after trout after trout. It was the last of the outgoing tide and within two hours we had boated and released 25-30 trout; we kept a few for dinner. As the bite slowed we began to pickup some nice Black Drum up to 17" and ended up with four. All were caught on a jig with live shrimp. What a day! We were out of the water by 12:30 and in time to watch a football game!

Trout Tourney results

Steele Dahl and I fished in the local Trout Tournament this past weekend. We got an early start, checking out around 6:15am and then heading to our first stop. When Steele picked up a nice keeper fairly early after throwing our first baits I thought we were well on our way to a good showing. Unfortunately, it was not to be. We fished our rear-ends off, going to all of my usually productive spots but only found small, undersized trout. Steele did hook up with a nice Blue that gave him a ferocious battle, but again, smallish trout didn't help our prospects. We hit a number of my normal spots, one after the other, and even tried a few new ones, but we just didn't have the "bite". The good news is Steele got a real dose of learning to operate the boat and trolling motor. He even gently docked us when we returned to the boat ramp. Oh well, "wait till next year"!

Recipe of the month: Black Drum Soup!

With all the Black Drum caught this month and with the weather turning a little cooler, I thought a nice fish soup would be good!

Ingredients:

(2) Black Drum Fillets (1/2) lb Jumbo Shrimp

(2) T Vegetable Oil (2) Medium Red Potatoes

(1) Medium Tomatoe (1/2) Cup corn

(1/2) Cup String Beans (1) teasp. crushed garlic

(1/2) Cup Dry White Wine

(2/3) Cup Heavy Cream

Salt, Pepper, Konriko (4) Green onions

(1) Tblsp shredded Basil

Peel the shrimp and boil the shells with 2 1/2 cups water to make stock. Strain the shells out and add the corn and string beans and bring to a boil. Chop the potatoes and green onions. Heat the vegetable oil and stir fry the potatoes, onions and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add this to the shrimp stock and add the white wine, some salt, pepper, and a dash of Konriko. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for a about 10 minutes. Chop the fish fillets into chunks and add them to the soup and cook for a few minutes until the fish is done. Chop the tomatoe, shred the Basil, and add to soup along with the peeled shrimp and heavy cream. Cook for just a few minutes until the shrimp is done.

22nd Annual Trout Tournament

The Nassau Sportsfishing Association will host their 22nd Annual Trout Tournament November 7th and 8th. The captains meeting will be held on Friday November 7th at 6:30pm at Tiger Pointe Marina. The tournament begins Saturday November 8th with a checkout of 6:00am at Fernandina Beach Marina. Weigh in is back at Tiger Pointe Marina and anglers can begin to bring their fish in at 3pm and no later than 4:30pm. There will be an awards ceremony at 7pm that evening at Tiger Pointe Marina. Last year I fished with a "Big Brother/Little Brother" duo of Dr. Jim Gildenstein and Steele Dahl. We caught some fish and Steele was able to weigh his fish in at the tournament.

Local Anglers Finish Strong in FLW Tournament

Fernandina Beach natives Mike and Linda Dotson placed second in the Walmart FLW Redfish Series Tournament held in Fernandina Beach September 4-7th. Using their knowledge of the local waters, coupled with their angling skills, Mike and Linda brought in 6 Reds weighing a total of 30lbs 4oz. Mike said that the fish were tearing up their artificial lures, a rig that he's put together made up of a purple and silver HydroMinnow on a jighead with a silver or gold freshwater spinner attached. Mike and Linda's next stop is in Panama City where they will fish the IFA Championship on November 7th and 8th. Mark your calendars for Sunday November 2nd, 11:AM and find the FSN television channel to watch Mike and Linda in action during their 2nd place finish in FLW Redfish Tournament. Photo by David A. Brown

Grueling Battle with Redfish Beast

Elizabeth and Robert Torregrossa were visiting Amelia Island for a week while staying at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge. We left the dock today with no wind and with a tempature in the high 50's. Such a beautiful morning called for a nice run up to the Jolley River. Our first effort along the oyster beds didn't produce any bites so we cruised further up into the river. It was the last of the outgoing tide and we found a gap in some oyster beds. Rob picked up using the jig/live shrimp combo quickly and in no time hooked up to a nice Black Drum - and then another. We felt like we were on a good spot and then WHAM! Rob was hooked up with a huge fish and the battle was on. He happened to be using the Shimano 1000 reel and light rod and he played the fish like a pro. When we saw the fish roll a few times we knew it wasn't a shark. After what seemed like an eternity, Rob subdued the fish and we got him in the boat. Boy, the fight wore me out - and I wasn't even on the rod! Turned out the fish was 32" and weighed 12.25 lbs! What a fight! We moved on to the MOA (mother-of-all) where Rob and Elizabeth both boated some nice Sea Trout. As we were leaving we trolled by the oyster bed where the "Battle" took place and Rob picked up (3) more undersized, but beautiful, Redfish. Talley for the day: (2) Black Drum, (4) Redfish, and (8) Sea Trout. Another great day of fishing in the back waters of Amelia Island!

Will Kieley: Angler

Amelia Island resident Libby Wilkes likes to do something extra special and personal with her grandchildren when they turn 8 years old. Her grandson Will Kieley was in town and turning 8 real soon so she treated him to a fishing outing in the backcountry of Amelia Island. We left the dock bright and early at 7:30 this morning and were pleased to see that the weekend winds had subsided and left us with a beautiful morning. We made our first stop at the mouth of Lanceford Creek and I soon found out that Will was already a very good angler - his casting was on target. He quickly picked up a Rock Bass then went on to hook up with a few 14" trout and then WHAM - a 18" Black Drum was on the line. Will played the fish superbly and we netted the fish. The bite slowed somewhat so we moved on up into Lanceford Creek to what is now known as "Will's Spot"! After fishing for just a little while, Will hooked up with another Black Drum, this one 21" and a bull fighter. Will worked the strong fish in and we eventually got a net under him and lifted him into the boat. Libby joined in by catching some more of the 14" trout and Will contributed with a few, too, yelling "NET" whenever he had a hookup. With Will casting precisely to some dock pilings, it wasn't long before he was hooked up again, this time with the "Grandaddy" of them all! He fought the fish to the boat, handed the rod off to me, grabbed the net, and pulled in his own fish - what turned out to be a 22" 6.5lb Black Drum! Total for the day: (3) Drum, (10) Trout, (1) Bass, (2) Croaker. What a great day of fishing!

Reb and Lynn Stewart

Reb and Lynn Stewart were visiting from Steinhatchee, Florida and took in a fishing trip this morning. We left the docks at 7:30am and because the wind was still blowing, cruised up Lanceford Creek. Although the bite was not near as good as yesterday, they picked up a nice flounder and puppy drum. We eventually pulled anchor and ran up to Jolley River where Lynn hooked up to a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark. After what seemed an eternity, with the fish going from front to back and under the boat, Lynn handed the rod off to Reb and he eventually boated the shark. We got a couple of great pictures and sent him back to his home waters! Reb was able to get some fly fishing when the wind subsided and had a few "hits" on a shrimp fly. In this picture, Lynn holds up the flounder she caught. Notice the great coloring.