Chris Collins of the Macon, Georgia area had set up a Amelia Island back country fishing trip for his son Cameron and his son-in-law Dave Sauer this morning, so we met at the Fernandina Beach Marina and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the last couple of hours of an incoming tide. The live shrimp have been scarce in the bait shops so we were once again using mud minnows under the float rigs. The tide had covered the oysters as we started a troll of the bank and it wasn't long at all before Cameron picked up a nice Trout then Dave had a hookup that doubled the rod over and ripped the line out, FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and after a protracted battle, landed a huge, over-the-Slot Redfish that measured 28 1/4", putting him in first place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament, Redfish category! I can't remember the last time that I stayed at one spot the entire fishing trip - I don't think I ever have. But today was the day and the fish were hungry. Cameron picked up a Slot Red then both anglers yelled FISH ON! and we had a double battle going on that soon produced two more Slot Reds! Dave picked up a 19" Flounder and found another keeper Flounder later on. All told, the anglers had five Slot Reds in the boat, not counting the oversized one that Dave released. We were still looking for that keeper Trout to round out the Amelia Island Back Country Slam when Cameron hooked up, his rod bent, and drag ripped. It was a big fish and we all thought that here's number six Slot Red but when Cameron got him to the net we realized that it was a large 20" Seatrout! We picked up a few more smaller trout, then called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
Long time customers, anglers and friends - William and Shannon Pleasant and their two sons Ben and Alex were in town for their annual vacation here at Amelia Island and had scheduled a backwater fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday. We met down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed out with clear skies, a slight breeze and a high and rising tide. Ben and Alex have such a great attitude about their fishing, instilled by their parents, I'm sure. Alex got the ball rolling early, getting the "skunk off the boat" by landing a high flying Ladyfish and then an aggressive Blue, caught on mud-minnows. We then headed up to Jolley River where the family preceded to catch big Redfish! William started it off with a nice Slot Red then Ben got in on the action, too. They both played their fish perfectly and Alex pitched in and landed Ben's Red. They picked up some smaller Reds and some smaller Trout, then they began to catch keeper sized Trout with Shannon, William and Ben contributing to the box. Most were caught on mud minnows floated over the flooded oyster beds. William had a very strong hookup but the Red stayed in the oysters and cut itself off, OUCH! Later, he had another hookup and after a long battle, landed the largest of the day, a "Tournament Red" - 26 3/4"! Later in the day we met up for another fishing trip, this time with the tide low and coming in. We fished the 1/4oz jig with shrimp and mud minnows and picked up a small Trout and Red hear and there. The action wasn't like it was that morning, but after Alex had made a great cast to the base of oysters, FISH ON! He played the big Red with determination and with a testament to perseverance, landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish! We hit a number of other spots, picking up a Jack and some small Trout, then headed in with the sun going down, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!
Bill and Cecilia Madden were making the best of their visit to Amelia Island by staying at the beautiful Elizabeth Pointe Lodge at the beach and then making the 5 minute drive into town to meet me at the marina for a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am this morning with clear skies, a slight breeze and a falling tide. Our first stop was the docks of Lanceford Creek and with the oysters still covered, I had Bill tossing a topwater lure up to the marsh grass and Cecilia pitching a jig and shrimp combo. There wasn't much going on, but Bill did pick up and aggressive Blue up near the dock pilings. We moved on to the logs of Tiger Island and both Bill and Cecilia saw action with Bill catching a hungry Flounder on a mud minnow and jig while Cecilia reeled in a feisty Redfish. Jolley Bank started slow but turned out to be the place to be. Cecilia's rod got hot as she began to pickup hungry Trout after Trout on a mud minnow and shrimp fished slowly from the bank (which rounded out the couple's Amelia Island Back Country Slam) and she also hooked up with a couple more of the feisty Redfish. As we neared the end of the trip. Cecilia's rod bent and drag began to sing, FISH ON! She kept the pressure on as she worked the fish in slowly and we soon netted an nice 19 1/2" Seatrout, which put her in 3rd place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament! With only a couple of mud minnows left, and not to be outdone, Bill hooked up with a large Seatrout, too. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
Bob Anderson along with his two teenagers, Zack and Rogers, fished with me this morning and we were all shaking off a bit of "stir crazy" after being cooped up the last few days as Tropical Storm Debbie left the whole area drenched. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the dock pilings as the tide was falling. The oysters still weren't showing so Bob tied on a jerk bait that he had brought with him and began to fish it over the flooded oysters. I had the boys fishing with jigs and shrimp up near the pilings. We'd only been fishing for a short time when Bob hooked up and his rod bent, FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and after an extended battle we netted a nice 21" Slot Redfish! What a great way to start the day. Rogers joined in on the action later by hooking up and reeling in a hard fighting Puppy Drum. We hit another dock system, cast netted some nice finger mullet, then headed up to Jolly River to fish the now exposed oysters. It was tough fishing with the current ripping out and the wind blowing right at us, but these anglers persevered and Bob soon landed Flounder that took one of the mullet under a float. We moved on up the river and as we were easing into a creek, Bob landed another feisty Redfish, this time on a white artificial jig with a skirt. We found no sharks up the creek and after hitting another couple of spots, the sun was up and the temp's were in the 90's, so we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
David Jones, his son Keith, and grandad Fred fished with me last evening. David and his wife Julie own and operate the Blue Heron Inn, an elegantly appointed Bed and Breakfast within walking distance to the marina. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 3pm and headed up to the Jolly River, where within just a short time of fishing, Fred hooked up with a large Bonnethead Shark, fought it like a pro, and landed it for pictures and release. We moved on to another spot, but had no real bites. The tide was getting right, we had a nice breeze, and I just knew there had to be some fish ready to eat, and these anglers proved me right! They picked up a hungry trout at one spot and then as we eased up Jolley Bank, they begin to get some serious action. Keith was floating a live shrimp under a float up near the oysters and was getting good bites. He then had that float disspapear with a vengeance and he set the hook and hauled in a nice, fat keeper sized Trout. David added a large 19" Trout and then all three anglers were hooking up. We passed through a mess of Ladyfish and had a few more Trout. Later, behind Tiger, Keith reeled the last Trout of the day, so we headed in , counting it as another great day to be on Amelia Island waters!
Kurt Freese, his wife Sheila and their daughter Cara, along with Sheila's cousin Scott had scheduled a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark so we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock Saturday morning and made a run up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an incoming tide. Both Cara and Kurt picked up some hungry Seatrout then Cara had a strong bite, her rod bent over and the drag sang! FISH ON! She played the fish for a while, then Kurt joined in to help subdue the big Bonnethead Shark. Boy, that will wake you up! After fighting another shark, we move on up the river, made one stop and had no bites, but at the next the anglers picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout. Fishing outside of Tiger Island, Scott found a couple of feisty Redfish feeding over an oyster bar and Cara pulled in a coupe more Trout. At our last stop, Kurt had a good battle with a nice Redfish, one that just missed the Slot by an 1/8", OUCH! But it was a good battle, a good fish, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!
The Yeomans, George, George Sr., and young George (Gus) were visiting Amelia Island from the Macon, Ga. area and after business conference's, were able to squeeze in a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark Friday afternoon. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City marina at 3pm and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish the last of an outgoing tide. Using jigs and shrimp, the anglers fished the dock pilings, but had no real bites. Our next stop was behind Tiger Island, fishing the exposed logs and here the fishing heated up. George Jr. had the hot rod early, pulling in a nice Slot Redfish and then adding a large 19 1/2" Flounder, putting him in first place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament! Gus added another keeper Flounder to the ice box. We headed up to Jolly River's Snook Creek and Gus continued his catching ways, pulling in some hungry Seatrout, and George Jr. added another couple of keeper sized Flounder. They caught and tossed a few smaller Flounder, too. Fishing Jolley Bank, George Sr. got in on the action, reeling in some Trout and the others caught some too. They also added another keeper Flounder. George Jr. claimed a personal keeper Amelia Island Backcoutnry Slam! We wrapped up the trip as the sun started down, heading in with a nice cooler of Amelia Island fish!
Milton Harsh and his longtime friend Hayden were in town and set up a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark Friday morning. The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours so we headed up to Broward Island to fish the still exposed logs and stumps with live shrimp on jigs. The anglers got unlimbered and were working the bank with the jigs, slowly bumping them back. Just as they had a good flurry of hookups with feisty Reds and hungry Trout, the bottom fell out and we all three were soaked to the bone. I found out that my waterproof captain's bag really isn't waterproof! But these guys were game and we continued to fish until we realized that the heavy rain was washing mud into our fishing zone and the bite had come to an abrupt stop! We cranked the big engine and headed back to the Horsehead area to fish Bubblegum Reef, but had no bites there. I trolled through Jackstaff where they picked up a nice keeper Trout on a Temptation Bait grub and later they added a hungry Flounder caught on a mud minnow, finalizing an Amelia Island Backcountry Slam. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on the water!
The bait shop was without live shrimp this morning so I picked up a few mud minnows and knew that I had plenty of artificial Temptation Bait's on board. I met Wade Turner and his son Ethan at the south end boat ramp (Big Talbot Island Park) this morning and we headed up the Nassau River to fish the incoming tide at Broward Island. We started on the south end with Ethan tossing a minnow on a jig and Wade tossing an artificial. Ethan had the hot rod early, picking up an aggressive Trout to get the skunk off the boat. Later, his rod bent and drag sang as his line ripped out. He fought the fish for a good while, saw it roll a time or two, but it broke off out in deeper water. OUCH! Wade was getting hits, but no takers on the artificials so we pulled and ran to Bubblegum Reef, but had no real bites there. Later, we fished the flooded marsh grass of Jackstaff Creek with Temptation Bait grubs on jig heads and here Wade got in on the action, boating a couple of nice, fat Trout. Ethan had a good battle with Stingray to wrap the trip up and we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!
...there was a banana on the boat! I had made my usual stop early this morning at the Gate station to get my half-and-half cappuccino and decaf and I thought I might want a banana for a snack before I launched. After loading the boat and making a run to get ice, I was running early so I went ahead and picked up a sausage biscuit for breakfast....and threw the banana in the cooler for later. OUCH. As most mariners know, banana's on the boat are bad luck. Later, I met Brooklyn and Brent Edwards, along with their two sons Ryan and Sam at the Atlantic Seafood dock and we headed out of the marina on The Anglers Mark.
There was already a good breeze blowing out of the east, but we made our first stop outside of Tiger Island and fished with float rigs and live shrimp, but picked up no fish. We eased around behind Tiger and sure enough, the land mass blocked the wind and we had some easy fishing, but again no bites. After a short break I headed south down the river past Rayonier to fish Temptation Cove and here Brooklyn got the skunk off the boat by landing a nice, keeper sized Flounder, but that was the only bite. Two more stops in Lanceford Creek produced only nibblers and no real bites. Luckily, young Sam had a great time working the bait buckets and keeping all of us with live shrimp. The anglers were making great casts, but there was a banana on the boat! Tomorrow, there will be NO banana on the boat, and I'm changing hats for good measure!
scarce in the bait shops so we were once again using mud minnows under the float rigs. The tide had covered the oysters as we started a troll of the bank and it wasn't long at all before Cameron picked up a nice Trout then Dave had a hookup that doubled the rod over and ripped the line out, FISH ON! He played 
the fish perfectly and after a protracted battle, landed a huge, over-the-Slot Redfish that measured 28 1/4", putting him in first place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament, Redfish category! I can't remember the last time that I stayed at one spot the entire fishing trip - I don't think I ever have. But today was the day and the fish were hungry. Cameron picked up a Slot Red then both anglers yelled FISH ON! and we had a double battle going on that soon produced two more Slot Reds! Dave picked up a 19" Flounder and found another keeper Flounder later on. All told, the anglers had five Slot Reds in the boat, not counting the oversized one that Dave released. We were still looking for that keeper Trout to round out 
the Amelia Island Back Country Slam when Cameron hooked up, his rod bent, and drag ripped. It was a big fish and we all thought that here's number six Slot Red but when Cameron got him to the net we realized that it was a large 20" Seatrout! We picked up a few more smaller trout, then called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
