Find the Structure, Find the Fish

Mark McDonald and his two friends Kevin and Derrick were visiting Amelia Island for some R&R and contacted me to do some Amelia Island backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp in downtown Fernandina Beach at daybreak and headed up to the docks on Lanceford Creek and anchored upstream from one.  It wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites then Derrick started off the catching with a live shrimp under a float rig. FISH ON!  He pulled in a nice Trout, then Mark hooked up to a feisty Redfish on a jig/shrimp combo.   From then on it was fish catch'n time as the trio reeled in Trout and Redfish almost non stop for an hour.  There was a couple of times when we had "doubles" and it was nice to see that a few of the Trout making keeper size, with one just a little over 19".  Kevin caught his share of Reds but also added a nice keeper sized flounder, the first I've seen in a while.  The bite eventually slowed so we moved on, hitting a 2-3 more areas of flooded oyster beds, but we had no luck.  Our last stop was behind Tiger Island and it wasn't long before the guys were catching fish again.  Redfish, Redfish, Trout, and Redfish was kinda how it went.  A couple of the Trout made keeper size.  We all noticed that both stops that produced fish were near some sort of structure.  With a full day of catching and fish in the box, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Slow Start ends in Big Finish

John Allan and his son, Andrew  had arranged an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark so we met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning.  Boy, what a beautiful morning it was!  The skies were clear, the temperatures were mild, and there was only a slight breeze.  We headed up the Nassau River, making a brief stop at Black Hammock to fish some dock pilings, with little luck.  Our next stop was at Leon's Spanish Drop where we anchored upstream of the run out.  Andrew was bumping a jig/shrimp combo while John fished the marsh grass with a live shrimp under a float and it wasn't long before John found a "sweet spot" and began hauling in Trout after Trout.  Andrew joined in with a float rig and he too began to catch Trout.  After a while we headed further up the river to Bubblegum Reef where the anglers caught a few Redfish, a Drum, and a Sheepshead.  Even with a few fish it still seemed kinda slow so we headed around to the mouth of  Jackstaff and fished the oyster lined banks. John added another fish to the Trout total, but that was it.  We hit one dock on the other end of Jackstaff where John pulled in a feisty Redfish, the we move on to Seymore's Pointe with the tide just starting to come back in.  This proved to be a good move as both John and Andrew caught Redfish after Redfish, one being a slot sized,  along with a few more Sheepshead.  Our last stop was Broward Island where the anglers caught a few more Redfish, a Sheepshead and then Andrew contributed to the dinner table with a nice keeper sized Trout.  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Her First Fish - Ever!

Dave Johns was visiting Amelia Island from Ottawa, Canada with his family and arranged to take his two youngest daughters fishing on The Anglers Mark this morning.    We met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and launched with a whole slew of whiting fishermen heading to the Sound.  It was kinda of chilly but the young girls were ready to fish and they toughed it out as we headed up the Nassau River on an outgoing tide.  The oyster beds were already showing when we made our first stop at Leon's Spanish Drop and threw out live shrimp under a float rig and on 1/4oz jigs.  We fished the runout for a little while and having no real bites, pulled the anchor and move on up to Bubblegum Reef where we anchored and all three anglers tossed jigs and shrimp.  Young Grace was the first to hookup and had a tough battle on her hands, but she eventually brought to the net a nice 16" Redfish, her first ever fish!  Isabel joined in with another Redfish which she expertly played to the net and Dave persevered to catch a Trout.  We ran around and fished the mouth of Jackstaff in beautiful conditions, but we had no real bites, so we came back through the creek and headed to Broward Island where we anchored off of some of the downed trees.  The sun was up, the air had warmed and the gnats were out, but the anglers patience paid off as Grace added to her total by caching another feisty Redfish, this one with six spots!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Let the wind blow!

Tim Everett was visiting Amelia Island with his friends and family, Rob, Emma, and Dee,  all the way from Pennsylvania.  We had set a backcountry fishing trip up for today on The Anglers Mark and although the weather called for clear skies and warming to the mid 60's, it also called for wind 15-20mph. Ouch!  But Tim and his crew were game so we left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River, heading straight to Broward Island.  I knew the NW wind would make it tough fishing but I hoped that it wouldn't pick up until later in the morning.  The tide had just started in and we hadn't trolled for long when the anglers had a hookup and FISH ON!  We landed the nice Redfish for pictures then circled around and dropped anchor to fish the area and it's good we did because they picked up a few more Redfish, tossing their 1/4oz jigs tipped with live shrimp.  The wind was really whipping and the bite slowed so we headed back to the Nassauville bluffs and tried a few spots with the land mass breaking the wind and making fishing very nice. But we couldn't find any fish there!  So out into the wind we went, stopping at Bubblegum Reef to toss our jigs at the now covered oyster bar.  It wasn't but a few minutes before everyone was catching fish. Just when I would think that we wouldn't get any more bites, someone would hookup to a feisty, hard fighting Redfish.  Then, Rob caught a Seatrout and then the rest brought in 3 more.  We ended the day with about 10-12 Redfish and the 4 Trout, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Restaurant on the Water Opens

Another option for boaters and anglers who want to stop and eat is the new Marker 13 Oasis located at the Amelia Island Yacht Basin.  The restaurant offers a wide variety of grilled foods and offers to "cook your catch",  up to 5lbs.  They're open Fridays thru Sundays and you can see their menu at http://www.marker13.com/ or contact them at 904-277-8466 or VHF Ch 16.  The Marina is located at ICW Marker 13, just north of the Shave Bridge.

New Dock Opens at Riverside Arts Market

While showing at the Riverside Arts Market this past weekend I was able to walk down to the river front and see the new dock that was installed.  I spoke to Jacksonville's Marina and Waterways Coordinator Captain Jim Suber about the dock.  He said the dock was 200' long and would be open to the public on Saturdays during the Riverside Arts Market.   Space is "first come, first serve", but they will allow rafting.  This would be a great outing in your boat, so come on down and plan to visit the Market!  For more information contact Capt. Suber at 904-630-0839 or jsuber@coj.net

Winter Discount Ends Soon, Spring Breakers Get Ready!

My Winter discount ends March 31st.  If you want to get in at the lower rate, please give me a call and we'll get out on a nice day.  The weather and water temperatures are warming up and the fish are biting.  We'll be catching Redfish, Whiting,  and Black Drum.  I see in my journal that Bald Eagles were hanging out at Broward Island.

For those of you who are visiting on Spring Break, please call early!  April's trips pick up and scheduling can be tough some times - I'd hate to miss fishing with you!  Redfish are biting and the Trout bite will be picking up along with some Blues and a few Flounder will be showing up.

Book a Trip. Win a Trip!

Plan to book a fishing trip or Eco/History tour with me this year and I will enter your name into a drawing for a free trip next year! I plan to have the drawing December 1st and will present you with a nice gift certificate to be used for a 1/2 day fishing trip for up to 3 anglers. You can use it in 2012 or give it away as a gift. All you have to do is go fishing with me this year and I'll add your name to the drawing.  You can contact me HERE. Thanks, and let's go fishing!

Great Day on Egans Creek Greenway

If I were a visitor to Amelia Island I would want to include in my itinerary a visit and walk on the Fernandina Beach Egans Creek Greenway!  I took a break from fishing on The Anglers Mark and joined my wife, her mother, sisters and niece for a walk on the Greenway yesterday and had a great time, seeing Cranes, Egrets, Osprey seeking their morning meal in the marshes.  The waterway's that paralleled the walk had turtles, mud-minnows and we even came across a 7' alligator sunning herself on the bank of a pond.  There's no cost to use the Greenway so plan to visit the Egans Creek Greenway when you're on Amelia Island

Goldfish Gang Track Elusive Redfish

Jaime Maloney, with his kids Aidan and Maeve, along with Jay Cutler and his kids Quintin and Emmy, were visiting Amelia Island and their mother/grandmother, a resident of the island, so they scheduled to take in a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  They had come all the way from Massachusetts and were enjoying the great warm spell that we've had and as we launched the boat and headed up the Nassau River we saw that it was going to be a beautiful day.  To start with, anyway!  We got to Bubblegum Reef and baited some bottom rigs with shrimp and the kids soon had rods in hand, waiting for some nibbles.  It wasn't long before Emmy pulled in a nice Whiting and then Quintin had a good battle with a Stingray and shortly after Aidan hooked up with a Rock Bass.  The wind picked up some so we moved to Seymor's Point and attempted to anchor, but the current and wind were playing havoc with the effort so we made few pitches to the docks with a jig/shrimp combo then headed on up river.  Our last stop was at Broward Island where we anchored near shore and tossed out the bottom rigs.  It wasn't long before we were yelling, "FISH ON" and the Elusive Redfish were found!     Aidan and Maeve and Quintin and Emmy all had Redfish hookups and deftly brought the fish to the waiting net.  A couple of times we had "double hookups" and once we thought we had a "triple", but it actually was one Redfish and a Black Drum caught by two of the young anglers!  Emmy eventually hooked up and brought a 20" Redfish in for the dinner table.  The Dads had been super helpful throughout the whole trip, putting the kids fishing experience ahead of their own, but as we began to wind down - I actually was stowing away gear for the ride back - Jaime had a good bite and drag began to rip from his Shimano Stradic 1000, FISH ON!  He played the fish expertly, working it out from some tree limbs and we soon had a 24"  5lb+ Redfish in the boat to close out the day.  The wind was whipping up white caps by now so we headed back to the boat ramp, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!