Find Me a Redfish Please

Redfish have been few and far between this week so when my cousin, Jim Garner and his buddy Brad Anderson stepped on the boat yesterday afternoon at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp I was hoping we'd find some Redfish.  We made a run up the Nassau River just as the tide was turning and starting back in to fish Broward Island with jigs and shrimp and artificial grubs.  Brad hadn't fished in years but after a little warm up to get the rust off he was ready to go.  His first real cast was to some downed tree limbs and because I was just getting things arranged for a slow troll of the bank, I didn't see the hookup, but..... FISH ON!  And it was big one, too!  The drag screamed on his Shimano Stradic 2500 as the line ripped out and soon Brad was on the way from the bow to stern as the big fish headed out to deeper water.  Brad worked the fish up but this beast was having none of it and again headed deep with the drag ripping.  After a long battle we finally saw the big Redfish come to the surface and Brad pulled him in to the waiting net.  The fish measured 27 1/2", over the slot, so we snapped some pictures then released the fish, making sure it swam easily away.  Brad now holds the lead in The Anglers Mark 2012 Bragging Rights Tournament in the Redfish category!  What a great way to start a fishing day!  We worked the bank slowly and picked up a couple of small, but feisty Seatrout, then Jim had a good hookup on a jig and Temptation Bait chartreuse grub. He played the fish perfectly and we soon landed a nice 19" Seatrout.  The bite slowed so we headed back up the river to fish a few more spots.  Out from behind the island, we were exposed to the wind blowing 15-20 and it made it very difficult to fish. But the anglers persevered and continued to cast until the sun was setting.  We called it day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Trout Bite

Mike Eddins, his wife Erika and Mike's dad Phil made the trip yesterday morning to Amelia Island to fish the backwaters with me on The Anglers Mark.  The tide had just started out and the marsh grass was still flooded so we headed up to Jolley River to fish an outflow with float rigs and live shrimp.  Erika got the action started early by hooking up to a hard fighting Blue then she brought in a nice Seatrout.  Mike also added a Blue.  We fished a couple of more spots with the float rigs then switched to a jig/shrimp combo as the oysters began to show.  We had a good stretch of oysters that we fished and picked up another couple of Trout.  We made a move to Lanceford Creek and fished the docks where Mike found some larger keeper sized Trout out deep.  The anglers picked up a couple of those, found some smaller ones at another dock, then we headed in, counting it as another great day of fishing!

FishFinder

I had the pleasure of fishing with the Neal family again on Friday morning, but this time we launched from the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park.  We left the ramp at 7:30am and headed up the Nassau River, making a stop at a large runout in the marsh.  The oysters were still covered, but the tide was going out and we fished with jigs on the bottom and a float rig.  We had no real bites we made a move back down the river to fish an oyster outcrop.  We found that if we fished a jig and shrimp combo down deep we would feel a subtle bite and could hookup with Seatrout.  Pinson IV (P4)  "the FishFinder", figured it out and got the catch going.  Later, we ran around to Jackstaff Creek and fished the now exposed oysters.  Pinson SR. had a hookup and an exciting fight with a high jumping "poor mans Tarpon" - a Ladyfish.  We found a sandbar to fish across and again the anglers found Trout, in deeper water, picking up our baits from the bottom.  Pinson added a Flounder to the catch.  At our last stop, P4  hooked up with a hard fighting Drum, then a Sheepshead to round out an Amelia Island Grand Slam of Seatrout, Flounder, Drum, and Sheepshead.

Shark Infested Waters

David Olson and his friend Linda planned a fishing trip with me this afternoon so we met at 2pm at the Atlantic Seafood and pointed The Anglers Mark to the backwaters of Amelia Island.  We had somewhat of wind, but it was a beautiful day to be out.  We made our first stop at a marsh run out on a high and outgoing tide.  We quickly dubbed Linda the knickname "fishfinder" because she seemed to have a knack for finding where the fish were!  She caught a couple of Seatrout  on a float rig with live shrimp then David joined in on the catching.   As we were holding the boat in a small creek, Linda's rod bent over and the line began to rip out, FISH ON!  She fought the fish perfectly and eventually subdued it, bringing a nice Bonnethead Shark to the boat for release.  After she fought another won to the boat, David hooked up with one, too, and played it expertly.  We stayed and caught a few more shark, then moved on to fish some now exposed oyster banks with jig/shrimp combos.  Later we moved to get out of the wind and fished some dock pilings on Lanceford Creek.  We boated a keeper sized flounder and a fat Seatrout, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on Amelia Island waters!

Sundown Redfish

Pinson and Tina Neal were visiting Amelia Island, Florida again and along with their kids Landon and Pinson (P4), took in an afternoon fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City of Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina and headed downriver to fish a flooded oyster flat south of Rayonier pulp mill. The tide had been coming out for an hour or so, but the oysters were still flooded so we used a float rig.  We had no bites.  We made our next stop at the Lanceford Creek docks and although the conditions seemed to be getting right with the oysters beginning to show, we had very little action.....until Pinson Sr. hooked up with something big!  It acted like a concrete block, but every once in a while it would rip some drag, so we knew it had to be a "fish", right? He fought the fish perfectly and after a long battle, pulled up a very large Ray!  Landon then got in on the action and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder that put her in first place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament!  We made a run to Tiger Island where the logs were now showing.  P4 had a good fight with a nice Redfish.  Things were still slow so we moved on to the Jolley River and with the tide almost out, the anglers began to pick up fish.  Almost immediately they caught a couple of Redfish then a few Trout and Blues and then more Trout.  We made a second run of an oyster bank and Pinson and Landon had a "double" hookup with Redfish.  At the end of the evening we had a huge 4-5' Ray come swimming in from the year, up to the osyter bank, then turn and head right for the boat, almost bumping the engine!  It went under the boat and headed out to deeper water.  What a way to end a great day of fishing in Amelia Island waters!

First Shark of the Year

Buddy and Mindy Peterson were in town with their kids Jack and Ben and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday morning.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7:30am and headed up to Jolley River to fish the incoming tide with jig/shrimp combo's.  The oysters were still showing and the anglers worked the bank, picking up a few feisty Seatrout.  We moved on up into the river, still fishing the oyster banks, and Mindy had strong hookup that began to rip the line off of her Shimano Stradic 1000 reel.  She fought the fish around the boat a couple of times and just as we thought we were going to see the fish, it would head for the bottom and Mindy would have to work it back in.  Eventually she won the battle and we netted a hefty Bonnethead Shark!   Buddy, Jack and Ben were able to pickup some Trout and Ben won the ugliest fish caught contest by reeling in a Stingray.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout Come Through

Andrew and Melanie Berlin were visiting Amelia Island again with their two sons, Ben and Daniel, and took in a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City of Fernandina Harbor Marina at 2pm today and headed up to the Jolley River to fish an exposed oyster bank on an incoming tide.  Although the anglers had a few nibbles, we didn't pick up any fish, but as the tide began to cover the oysters we did have sightings of both Sheepshead and Trout swimming in the shallows.  We fished a few more spots in Jolley then headed over to the outside of Tiger to fish with float rigs over some flooded oysters.  This did the trick and both Daniel and Melanie were able to hookup with some fat, keeper sized Trout.   Ben was making excellent casts and Andrew picked up some Trout along the way.  We fished behind Tiger where Daniel had a strong hookup, but the fish found it's way into the downed trees and broke itself off.  After fishing south of Rayonier, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Gear Tip: Scrap Line Holder

I've had a couple of comments about my scrap line/leader holder.  It's a recycled cylinder that those drink mixes come in.  I cut an "X" across the top of the cap and whittled a hole.  Whenever I have a scrap piece of line I shove it down in this makeshift holder so that it doesn't blow out while the boat is running.  It fits perfectly in a coozie and then into a cup holder.

Wildlife Sightings Highlite of The Day

Scott and Jacquelyn O'Melia , along with their kids Palmer, Scottie, and Lady, were visiting Amelia Island again and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today. We headed out on a beautiful, sunny morning, but with stiff breeze.  On the way to our first spot on Lanceford Creek, we saw Dolphin rolling in the water and soon after anchoring Palmer spotted an awesome Bald Eagle cruising the shoreline.  We fished the docks of Lanceford but had very few bites so we headed up to Jolley River to fish the oyster banks.  We saw an Osprey looking for fish like we were!  5 year olds Scottie and Lady got to know the live shrimp real well and settled in to enjoy one of their first fishing trips.  Fishing behind Tiger Island we finally hooked up with a good bite and Palmer battled in a feisty Redfish.  While fishing Tiger we were treated to a sighting of a Sea Otter scampering along the shoreline.  As we left Tiger, we crossed over to Cumberland to view a small herd of wild horses, then made our way back to the marina, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Double Hookup on First Casts

Wade Dial and his son, Pearson fished with me on Sunday morning.  We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 7:30am and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the dock pilings on an outgoing tide.  The oysters were just beginning to show so I set Pearson up with a float rig and live shrimp while Wade tossed a jig/shrimp combo.  We had just gotten their lines out when Wade's rod bent over and his drag began to rip out, FISH ON!  He handed the rod off to Pearson for the battle, then we saw that Pearson's float had disappeared!  Wade grabbed that rod and we had a "double" fish fight going on!  We landed Pearson's Slot Red then we got Wade's in for a "double" Redfish catch on the first cast of the day!  We continued to fish the falling tide and these anglers stayed busy, catching Redfish and keeper sized Seatrout for about two hours.  We moved on to Jolley River, caught a few Trout, then called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island waters!