Flurry of Fish Catch'n

Callie and Keith Oswald were visiting Amelia Island on business, but took the time to get their young sons out on the water by scheduling a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday afternoon.  We headed north out of the Fernandina Beach City marina and with the tide high and just starting out, found a grass patch to fish some live mud minnows dangled under a float rig.  The wind had kicked up for some reason and made it very difficult to cast, so we moved around to Manatee Creek and tried the same.  Although we had a few nibbles, there were no takers, so we headed up to Jolley River.  The current was really flowing now and with the wind gusting, the anglers had a tough time, but they persevered!  Callie got things rolling by picking up a couple of Rays, then she had a good bite and reeled in a Flounder.  This must have opened the doors because all of the anglers began to catch fish.  Both Carter and Landon caught Trout and a whole bunch of Blue Crabs!   If we had wanted to have a Crab boil, we'd have a had enough!  The anglers added more Trout and a few feisty Redfish to round out an Amelia Island Backwater Slam!  The sun was headed down so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Reds Keep on Coming

BJ and Jeanne Craig were taking a break by camping at Little Talbot Island Park and scheduled to meet me at Big Talbot boat ramp for a morning of backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark this morning.  We headed up the Nassau River on the very last of an outgoing tide and stopped to fish one oyster outcrop that was loaded with moving bait.  BJ had one hookup with a high flying Ladyfish but that was all we found.  Our next stop was at Bubblegum Reef on the very first of an incoming tide.  I set the Minnkota I-Pilot to anchor just north of the structure and we began to toss mud minnows on jigs, letting them sink to the bottom before bumping them back.  It wasn't long before BJ had a strong bite and his rod bent, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and when the big fish made a run at the stucture, he was able to turn him and keep him out in open water.  The fish took BJ from bow to stern and back but we eventually netted this "Tournament Red", a 26 1/4" beast!  We continued to fish the area, picking up a couple of more small Reds and small Trout when once again, FISH ON!  This one was even bigger and bulled down deep, but BJ kept the pressure on and after a couple of trips around the boat, landed a fatter, 26 3/4" Tournament Red!  We fished the spot for a while, then made a run to Broward Island to fish the exposed logs and stumps.  Here, the anglers picked up a couple of more "rat" Reds, a few small Trout and then a keeper sized Trout.  BJ had something on that was big and battled it for a good while, but this one was not to be!  After fishing Jackstaff Creek and picking up a few more fish, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on Amelia Island waters .
 

Young Angler Big Fish

Anna Intraboona, her husband Wesley and their son Collin had set up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark Saturday morning so we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the incoming tide.  Collin is just 7 years old but already has the skills to do his own casting and catching!  We began to ease along the oyster lined bank, pitching jigs and mud minnows up to the edge and bumping it back slowly. Collin was the first to hookup with a hungry Seatrout, then Wesley added one, this one big enough to keep.  Wesley had a feisty Redfish and Collin hauled in a Blue Crab then Collin's rod doubled over, FISH ON!  He played the big fish all by himself and after a good battle, we landed a nice, 22" Slot Redfish!    Later, Collin was fishing a mud minnow under a gloat rig and when his float disappeared, he set the hook and had another strong fight with a Slot Redfish, this one measuring at 21"!  The anglers picked up a few more hungry Trout then we headed on up the river to fish on the bottom for Shark.  All of the fresh water from the recent tropical storms must have chased the Sharks out of the back country because we had no bites.  We made our last stop outside of Tiger Island and within a few minutes Wesley and Collin were trying to see who could get in the water fast enough with their baits because the Trout and Ladyfish were in a feeding frenzy!  Collin added another keeper Trout to the box, then we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Father Son Duo Land Big Reds

Garvin and David Smith were visiting from the great state of Alabama and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark Friday morning. We met down at the south end, just over the bridge at Big Talbot Island Park at 7am and headed up the Nassau River with clear skies, a slight breeze, and a rising tide.  We hit the logs of Broward Island first and although that incoming tide was perfect for the spot, we had no real bites, other than a rare Catfish!  Our next stop was a Bubblegum Reef and here David picked up a feisty Redfish on a mud minnow under a float, tossed up near the grass.  Once the tide covered the oysters I figured I could get into Christopher Creek and with the land mass blocking the wind, the anglers were free to comfortably fish the bank.  They soon began to pick up small, but feisty Redfish on mud minnows under floats, then David's rod bent over on a strong bite, and FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and after a good battle, we landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish!  Later, we were fishing a mud minnow on a jig down deep and something took it hard.  The rod bent and the drag ripped out!  Garvin fought this fish and it was a protracted battle on light tackle,  but the Shimano Stradic 1000FI was up to the task!  Garvin played the fish beautifully and we eventually landed it, to be measured at 27 1/4",  photographed, and released.  But this fish put Garvin in 3rd place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category!  The anglers picked up a few more smaller Reds, a Snapper, and then we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Reds Continue to Bite

Russ Henry and his family were visiting Amelia Island again for the Summer and scheduled a couple of back country fishing trips with me on The Anglers Mark.  We've been having some outstanding Redfish action with most of the the fish being in the Slot or even larger.  Russ and two of his sons Carter and James fished with me Thursday and although the two young men picked up a couple of rat Reds early, no more were to be had.  They caught some small Trout and a keeper sized Flounder then wrapped up the day with some high flying Ladyfish and drag ripping Shark bites.  We fished again Saturday evening and this time we made a run south to fish the Horsehead area.  The angling crew was made up of Russ, Carter and another son - Will.  We eased along the bank at Jackstaff and Carter picked up another Ladyfish, but we had no other real bites.  Later, we held the boat steady at Bubblegum Reef and Will hooked up and played a feisty Redfish, caught on a mudminnow under a float. Shortly after we had a hard hit and, FISH ON!  Carter worked the fish to the boat and we soon netted a nice 24" Redfish.  The wind picked up a little bit so we headed back to the marina area and fished some docks at Lanceford Creek.  The tide had just started in and we were tossing mud minnows on jigs up to the pilings when the rod bent and drag began to rip.  Will had a good battle that made  his arms sore, but he stuck with it and landed a "Tournament Red" - 26 3/4" in length!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be on Amelia Island waters!

4th of July Redfish Bonanza

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!

Mud Minnows Rule!

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!

Slow Start But Big Finish

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!

Redfish on a Jerk Bait

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!

The Jone's Find the Trout

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!