I named him Big Gulp, then let 'em go.

After suffering through about 10 days of sub-freezing temperatures and no fishing, I was about to go stir crazy. It was still on the cool side this morning when I launched at the North End, but the sun was coming up and there was only a slight breeze. I had acquired a smorgasbord of bait comprised of live shrimp, finger mullet and a hand full of fiddler crabs with the intention of trying some new spots. The tide was low and coming in so I quietly trolled some shallow areas near Tiger Island looking for any any Redfish wakes. The wakes I saw were HUGE, but made by dolphin as they pushed up into a creek, and then back out again. Finding some downed trees, I anchored up and experimented with live shrimp and fiddler crabs, either on a jig or under a float. I soon had a bite that took my shrimp under a float, so I quickly baited up and tossed it back to the same location. The cork disappeared and the fight was on! After a number of powerful pulls, the fish gave up and came to my waiting net, a 20" Sheepshead. I had no more real bites so I moved on and ended up down below Shave Bridge in a small creek. Again I anchored and used both jig and float rigs. The float rig was the ticket and I soon had a bite, and lost my shrimp. I tossed another to the same spot, hooked up, and boated another 18" Sheepshead. Thinking I might just catch a mess of Sheeps, I tossed another bait, saw my cork disappear and soon realized THIS was a fight! The fish "pulled drag" down the creek a few times, then crossed the creek and ran up into the marsh grass and as I worked him (or her?) out I saw it roll and it's tail came out of the water...a large Redfish! He went in and out of the grass trying to shake the hook but I kept the pressure on, eventually boating the fish, weighing in at 12lbs and measuring 31". On the way back to the ramp I was treated to a sighting of a larger Osprey perched on a dead tree. Now that's a great day out on the water!

Name the Project Boat and WIN!

The Waterbug project boat is coming along, finally. I had to postpone putting the final coats of paint on it with all of the below freezing weather that we've had lately. The bow plate and seats are mounted, a hatch cover is made and attached for the bait/dry well and I've found a Evinrude 15hp engine to power it. I still have a few things to do such as complete the trailer wiring, mount some rod holders, come up with a trolling motor mount and put on the pin striping...and give "it" a name! If you have any ideas, send them to me and I'll include them in the options that the "Executive Committee" will choose from. If your entry is chosen I'll provide an Anglers Mark cap, your choice of one of my leather covered flasks or journals, and a goody bag of tackle that I've put together. Get your entry in by the end of February for it to be considered. Here's some info that might help: It's a 15'Waterbug, I'll fish it in shallow salt water and fresh water creeks and lakes. I'll be fishing for Redfish, Trout, Flounder, Drum and bream and bass. I'll be using light tackle or fly rods. My wife's name is Carol, my daughter's name is Ashley, my grandaughter's name is Burgandy. I have two dogs, Bear and Andy. I'll fish mostly out of Amelia Island, but I'm planning some fly fishing trips around Florida. My favorite beer (for now) is Bud Light Lime. The boat's been passed around a lot (one member of the Executive Committee has already suggested a name but it's unprintable and got nixed). Feel free to use any Lawrenceisms. I do leather work, fishing related. I'm a proud member of the Gator Nation. My Charter Boat is The Anglers Mark. Good luck!

Head Start for Kids

I participated in the Peck Head Start "Transportation Day" oganized by Ms. Jay Velez, a Family Support Specialist. Ms. Velez had vehicles from Emergency Services, Fernandina Beach Police Departments, Tow Services, Taxi and a number of others, 10 in all. The kids were between 3 and 5 and seemed to really enjoy climbing on The Anglers Mark. Each got to try on the youth life vests that they would be required to wear (under 13 yrs old) while the boat is under way. I also had a couple of spinning rods with topwater lures, hooks removed. I would toss the lure out and let them sit in the bass seat and reel the lure back in. You would have thought they had the biggest fish on in their lives! It was fast a furious with a staff person handing up two kids at a time, tour the boat, try on a vest, reel in a lure, take the vest off, then hand them off to the staff person. I had a great time and hope to get invited back next year. Another great day in a boat...although not on the water!

Picture of the Month: Huge Striper

Valentine's Special saves you THOUSAND$!

With Valentine's day as the next big holiday I wanted to remind all of you who want to find the perfect gift for the angler in your life. You better believe that your angler would like nothing more than to get out on the water, enjoy some beautiful sunshine and fresh air, see wildlife and feel the tug of fish ripping out line. Seriously, I've had spouses call or email me to say that they haven't seen their significant other more relaxed in years after they've taken in one of my fishing trips. Give me a call and we'll set it up! I'll produce a nice, personalized Gift Certificate; my 1/2 day rate is reduced to $300.00 through February. Just think, rather than spend THOUSANDS on boat payments, gas, oil, insurance, boat supplies, boat storage, tackle, and bait you can send your spouse/friend fishing a couple of times a year! Let 'em get away from it all and send 'em fishing!

From Football to Fishing

Peter Pray from the Atlanta area was in town to see FSU and Bobby Bowden's great game and extended his visit to get in some Amelia Island fishing. Although the air temperature was in the mid 30's, he and I both were dressed warmly and with the sun shining, we left the dock around 10am. It was a high tide, just starting out and we had a wind blowing 15-20mph, so we headed to Lanceford Creek for some protection. Peter warmed up and was tossing a jig/grub to the dock pilings as we trolled by. With no real bites, we pulled up and tried another dock system, but anglers had staked it out (and were pulling in trout left and right), so we moved on. We fished some run outs along the intercoastal, motored down to "Poteat cut" and anchored at a run out, spending a short time sharing some tasty Publix sandwiches that Peter had brought, then we moved on to Jackstaff, switching to a buctail jig tipped with mud minnows. The wind was really cranking now and my trolling motor was straining against the wind and current. We attempted to fish the rocks at Seymour's Pointe but the anchor continued to pull, so we trolled the docks. With bites few and far between we pulled up and ran back up the intercoastal, stopping at Rayonier's warehouse. After only a few casts of his jig/grub, Peter had a couple of good bites on the bottom, then UMPH, the fight was on! Peter played the fish like a pro and eventually boated a nice, fat 20" Trout. We also picked up a nice 18" Redfish from up in the pilings on one of the bucktail jigs tipped with a shrimp. This was some fairly tough fishing, but Peter stuck with it and prevailed. Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

Striper Fishing Hot in the St. Mary's and Nassau

Veteran angler Bud Hill reports that his son Skip and grandson Dustin Hill were fishing with jerk baits in the St. Mary's River yesterday and pulled in 10 nice Stripers up to 8lbs. A neighbor of mine reported that he and a fishing buddy fished the Nassau up near the I-95 bridge, trolling and fishing the runouts and pulled in 5 Stripers. He mentioned that the fish were striking up top rather than deep.

Hard Fought Fishin

I know folks who think of fishing in the winter time can only imagine bitter cold winds and nasty weather, but when Al Emerick, his son RC, his brother-in-law Joe, and friends Patrick and Kirby met me at the Goffinsville dock this morning it was just perfect weather. The sun was coming up and causing the marsh grass to glow gold, and as we turned the corner heading towards Horse Head a dolphin rolled in the water; the gulls and pelicans and cranes were out and all I heard was oohs and aahs- what a great way to spend time with friends during the holidays! First stop, after the customary round of hot cider, the guys all grabbed rods, some with topwater plugs and some with Cajun Thunder float rigs. We fished the oyster flats during the last of the incoming tide and then moved on to some creek run-outs. We fished "Poteat" cut, then the first stretch of Jackstaff. The guys were "game" and continued to cast and crack jokes and have a good time....but no real bites! I couldn't believe it! So we cranked the engine and ran through Jackstaff, around Seymour's Pt. and out to Broward Island. By this time the wind had picked up and fishing the downed trees and roots was made more difficult, but these anglers, as a buddy of mine says, "endeavored to persevere". RC lead the way and soon hooked up with a hard fighting Trout, then followed it with a frisky Redfish. Then Patrick got in on the action with a large Trout and Kirby followed it up with a Redfish. RC continued with the hot rod and wrapped up the day picking up another Redfish. Then the guys planned to head in to Fernandina for lunch and count it as another great day out on the water!

Have Oyster Roaster Will Travel

Carol and I "put on" an oyster roast the other day for a birthday party and everything went off without a hitch. This roaster is an outdoor firepit with a custom stainless steel grill that has an external ring with a inlaid "faux oak" wooden shelf. We dump the washed oysters on the grill and put the cover over it to roast them 'till they sizzle and are ready for opening. The shelf is handy to place the hot sauces, oyster knives, crackers and gloves. I also made my world famous "Gumbolaya", 20qt version, and the pot was scraped clean, good when it's hot!

Cold day, Hot fishing

I fished today with Mark Laurint and his son Brent from the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Fl. When we launched the boat at Goffinsville boat ramp just before sunup, the temperature was still in the mid 30's, but it was clear and we had no wind. We "puttered" down Nassau River until we could see the crab traps then cruised through Jackstaff to troll the mouth with our live shrimp/jig combo (after a round of hot cider). We were using the Shimano Stradic 1000FH's on a light rod with FINS Windtamer 12lb Slate Green braided line. The line is tied to a 17lb test fluorocarbon leader using a Uni-to-Uni knot. The tide was low and had just started coming in; we had only made about 50 yards when we had a nice hookup and boated a undersized Redfish. We fished the stretch up then back and boated a slot sized Redfish and Brent reeled in a hard fighting Blue. After the second run we picked the trolling motor and headed to Seymour's Pointe, anchoring along the rocks. Mark hooked up with a couple of Redfish then we were off down the river. With the sun beginning to warm things up, we trolled the docks at Goffinsville, picking up a couple of small trout on jigs, then headed for Broward Island...and a bonanza. Our first cast of live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float produced a Trout and then we picked up a couple of more Reds, one in the slot, then BOOM! Brent with a Redfish. Mark with a Redfish, Brent with a Redfish (and maybe another - we lost track). Most were just undersized but very aggresive and fun to catch. We ended up catching a few more trout to wrap up with (11) total Redfish, (6 1/2) total Trout, and (1) Bluefish, another beautiful day to be out on the water!