Montana meets North Florida Slam

One of my old college buddies, Dave Bolton was in town and treated his daughter Katie and her fiance Mike to an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  It was a beautiful morning with just a slight breeze and a few clouds to keep the heat off.  The young Katie and Mike were visiting from Montana and it was Mike's first time in Florida.  We left the boat ramp at 7am sharp and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  Evidently the bait shops had sold out of their live shrimp over the weekend so we were using dead shrimp and artificial grubs and minnows.  Katie started things off by catching some Blues and then Mike had a few bites of small trout and blues, all on the dead shrimp.  But David was having some good bites on a plastic minnow, caught a couple of small Trout, and then had one that ripped his drag, and, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and soon boated a nice 17" Trout.  We moved on down the river and anchored at a runout where all three anglers immediately began to catch fish.   They were catching small Trout, Croakers and had a couple of small Reds until Mike added a keeper sized Flounder, completing his North Florida Slam.  But he wasn't finished yet!  We began a troll of the now exposed oysters and it wasn't long before Mike had a strong hookup and a good fight on his hands.  The fish ripped drag and stubbornly stayed deep, but Mike played the fish like a pro and after a few minutes he wore it down and brought the 21" Redfish to the waiting net.  We hit the docks at Lanceford creek where Mike picked up another small Redfish and all three anglers had good bites, but the sun was up so we called it a day, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Beautiful Amelia Island

It doesn't get much better than leaving the dock early in the morning with the sun coming up, a slight breeze, and not a cloud in the sky!  Fred Fishel took in an Amelia Island fishing charter on The Anglers Mark this morning and we got an early start, leaving the dock at 7am and heading up the Nassau River for some backcountry fishing.  We made our first stop at "Leon's Spot" with the tide having been going out for about an hour and half.  We had a few nibbles on our live shrimp under floats, but no takers so we headed on up to Bubblegum Reef where again we had a few bumps on our shrimp, but no takers.  Fred was going to have to work for his fish!  Our next stop at a marsh grass point in Jackstaff proved to be the ticket because we picked up a couple of Seatrout.  Fred was making excellent casts and as we trolled the banks of Jackstaff with the oysters now exposed, Fred caught a couple more Trout and a nice Flounder.  We hit a couple of more spots then made a run to Broward Island where Fred picked up another Trout as the tide was reaching bottom, then we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee

"Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee"!  The quote from Muhammad Ali summed up how I felt like this morning!  Yesterday's smoke had put a pall on the fishing and on my trip to the boat ramp I told myself to "get after it, boy"!  Luckily, my two guest anglers were as eager to catch some fish as I was.  Barry Shelor and his son Matt met me at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning at 7am and we headed up the Nassau River, with not much sign of the smoke, and a high, falling tide.  The plan was to fish as many spots as we could and not linger at any that weren't producing fish.   We eased up to "Leon's Spot" and Barry began to toss a jig/shrimp combo while Matt used a live shrimp under float.  Both had some pretty good bites when Barry's rod bent and he had a good fight on his hands.  These experienced anglers know what to do and Barry played the fish perfectly into the net.  Note in the picture that this large Sheepshead was missing a chunk out of its back!  We hit Bubblegum Reef with no bites, then a few oyster beds in to Jackstaff both anglers caught Sharks. After running through Jackstaff we fished the point of a sandbar and Barry found a nice Seatrout so we anchored.  Both anglers caught a couple of Trout, then we trolled the oyster lined bank of Jackstaff, but had no bites.  The sun was getting up, but the tide was right so we made a run to Broward Island and slowly eased along it's log strewn bank.  Again, both anglers had good hookups and we ended up catching 4-5 feisty Redfish to 18".  Barry caught a Flounder to complete an inshore "Grand Slam" of Sheepshead, Trout, Redfish and Flounder.  After that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Huge Stingray Boated

Jerry Owens was visiting Amelia Island and arranged an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday with his niece, Andrea.  We left the South End boat ramp at 7am sharp and headed over to the docks at Longpointe to fish the last of an outgoing tide.  About half way through the troll, Jerry made a picture perfect cast up into the pilings and just as it hit the bottom he had a strong hookup.  As he cranked the reel he commented that it felt like a concrete block on the end of his line!  He fought the fish perfectly on the light tackle rig and we soon netted for inspection a huge Butterfly Stingray (ID courtesy of MOTE Marine in Tampa area).   We fished the Jackstaff area then Bubblegum Reef where Andrea caught her own Atlantic Stingray.  While fishing the docks of Seymor's Pointe the anglers picked up a few Rock Bass and even a small Grouper.  The breeze had brought in a fog of smoke from the fires so we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!

The Bite got Better and Better

Ricky Williams was visiting Amelia Island with his family this week and treated his two sons Riley and Cooper to a morning of Amelia Island backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning at 7am sharp and headed up the Nassau River, skirting sandbars as the tide began its last hour of runout.  We made our first stop at a small creek on Nassau River and the anglers began to toss their jig/shrimp combo to the oyster lined banks.  Riley made a good cast into the creek mouth and immediately had a strong hookup and after playing the fish perfectly, landed a nice 18" Flounder.  We hit a few creek runouts then ran over to the docks of Nassauville where the Ladyfish were pounding baitfish.  All of the anglers had good hookups and landings of the "Poor Mans Tarpon", and Cooper landed the largest of them all..  Riley tossed a shrimp under float to the rocks and it quickly dissapeared and he had a good fight with a feisty Redfish.  There were more good bites there but no real takers so we headed up to Broward Island to fish the perfect incoming tide.  Riley's first cast produced a good Redfish and for the next hour the anglers were catching fish.  They caught a number of just short Reds then Riley had a strong bite and FISH ON!  He played the fish like a pro and landed a nice slot sized Redfish.  After a couple more Reds, Ricky had a strong hookup and eventually landed another Slot Red and while we were getting pictures, Riley had a hookup!  Another Slot Red!  We fished the island for a while then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

One Shy of a Big Slam

Allan and Charmaine Wendroff, residents of Amelia Island, took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip this afternoon.  The winds had shifted and the smoke from the Okefenokee fires had been pushed back to the west as we left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 3pm.  We headed over to Tiger Island and fished the log strewn bank as the tide began to drop from a 1pm high.  We tied up to a downed tree and fished back to some sunken tree branches with live shrimp on jigs and floats.  Both Charmaine and Allan had good bites and soon Allan had what felt like a concrete block on his line, but it was pulling back!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice 20" Flounder!  We fished the entire bank, having a few bites, then headed up to Jolley River to a nice creek run-out.  The mullet were schooling and fish were feeding and soon Charmaine had a good bite.  She fought what turned out to be a big Trout to the boat and we almost had it netted when it made one final flip and threw the hook!  OUCH!   Luckily, not long after, Allan had a good bite and he eventually brought to the boat a nice 20" Trout.  He also had a line ripping run after a strong bite and the fish came out of the water a couple of times.  I knew it wasn't a Bonnethead and was hoping it was a huge Trout, but when Allan finally subdued it we found it to be a nice Black Tip Shark!  We fished another spot with no luck then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Early Morning Artificials

Michael Furhman was in town with other relatives and treated his two sons Zachary and Austin to a early morning day of Amelia Island backcountry fishing.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 6am and headed up to the Jolley River to catch the very last of an outgoing tide.  Trolling the oyster lined banks, the anglers were tossing jigs with weighted swim baits and Gulp shrimp.  We had a few bites and it wasn't long before Michael had a hookup and reeled in a nice Seatrout.  We cruised the same bank as the tide started back in then move on up the river where we saw numerous Shark, but had no takers.  Michael again had a hookup and caught another nice SeaTrout.  After a few passes of a creek run out we headed back to the Tiger Islands, fishing the log strewn bank.  We didn't have any takers along there and eventually called it a day, heading in to get the anglers back in time for breakfast with the family, but counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Father's Day Surprise

Candace Carter, her sister-in-law Heather, and her mother-in-law set up a surprise Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip today for their husbands.  They rousted them out of bed early and had them at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp by 7am.  We headed up the Amelia River and started an easy troll of the exposed oyster beds as the tide began to ebb.  Using a jig/shrimp combo, Clifford was first to break the ice and hooked up with a nice Seatrout.  Al had a couple of hookups with the "Poor Mans Tarpon" - Ladyfish and landed them expertly.  Rashad grew quiet.  As the tide started in, we cranked the big Johnson and ran around to the Nassau River and the south end of Broward Island.  Al caught a feisty Redfish and Clifford had a nice Trout.  And Rashad grew quieter.  But then Rashad's rod bent and his drag ripped out and FISH ON!  He had a good fight with the fish hunkering down deep then rolling on the surface and he played the fish like a pro and we soon landed a nice 25" 5lb Redfish!  Game On!  Clifford hooked up with a big one, too and played it for a minute or so until the fish got into the tree limbs and broke itself off.  Rashad added a 16" Trout to the fish box then he had another powerful hookup and another big fish! He fought it to the boat and we soon netted another 26" Slot sized Redfish.  Things slowed down so we headed back, stopping at a couple of run-outs where Clifford caught another Trout and then Al had something take his live shrimp under a float and FISH ON!  His drag ripped out and the fish kept going until Al slowed him down and then the battle ensued.  15 minutes later Al landed a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark on the light tackle rod/reel combo.  We took pictures, released the fish, then headed in, counting it as another great Father's Day to be out on the water!

Big Lucky

Scott Omelia was visiting relatives on Amelia Island so he treated his 7 year old son Palmer to a morning of backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark.  We had some severe thunderstorms last night and there was lingering wind and overcast skies as we headed up the Nassau River with a tide high and still coming in.  We made our first stop at a small creek and tossed out some live shrimp under floats.  It wasn't long before Palmer's float disappeared and his drag began to rip out!  FISH ON!  He held on tight and then his dad pitched in and they fought the fish around the boat a couple of times before we landed a nice 3' Bonnethead Shark for pictures and release.  Shortly after Palmer dubbed the rod he was using "Big Lucky"!  We hit another spot with know real bites then headed over to Broward Island to fish the flooded logs and limbs.  Although we were still using the float rigs, we also tossed out a jig and shrimp combo and it that turned out to be the trick because Palmer soon had a hookup and pulled in his first feisty Redfish.  He went back to the same spot and a little later had a hard bite and another fight on his hands.  I was retreiving the net when I heard him yell, "it's a Big Redfish" and then we saw it roll up behind the boat. He cranked the fish in and we netted a nice 19", 3lb Redfish for pictures and release.  We tried a couple of more spots then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Florida House Inn Brings Back Homestyle Lunch

I had the pleasure of eating lunch at the Florida House Inn today and it was there "grand re-offering" of the home style lunch!  The wonderful Florida House Inn staff brought out homemade meatloaf and fried chicken, along with biscuits and jam, succotash, stewed squash, collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, iced tea and topped it off with a blueberry cobbler and ice cream! WOW!  It was a great meal and even nicer was that I got to meet some great people that I'd have never had met if I hadn't sat down at their table.  Innkeepers Emily and Karen Saltmarsh and their staff were gracious hosts, it was a warm atmosphere, and the food was delicious!  Lunch will be served 7 days a week from 11:30am to 3pm.