This and That Report

I fished this weekend by myself and tried a few things that I don't normally do, even getting in some whiting fishing.   The sun was out and made for a beautiful day on shore but the wind was howling out on the water so I tended to anchor up and fish a spot before moving on.  At my first spot in Bell River I didn't get anything but I did get to eat my Firehouse Sub sandwhich!  I went in behind Tiger Island and there were already two boats there getting shelter from the wind.  I moved down to the southern end and tossed a jig with live shrimp to the downed logs and picked up a  few Seatrout down on the bottom.  I noticed a family fishing in the center part of the island and they were using large Trout floats fished deep with live shrimp and seemed to be doing very well deep catching Trout.  I moved on up into the Jolley River and found a point out of the wind and picked up a couple of whiting out deep with a fish finder rig.  I also had 3 feisty little shark hookups.    Later, after I had cleaned and put away my boat my wife and I met friends out at Shuckers Oyster Bar for some fried grouper fingers.  They had fished earlier that morning at the first of an incoming tide and had just a few bites here and there but they did have a good hookup and after and extended battle brought to net a 26 3/4" Slot Redfish!  They were in the backwaters of the Nassau River.

Wild Horse On Que

I had the pleasure of doing a eco-photo tour today with a nice couple from the Atlanta area who were visiting Amelia Island for their annual winter trip.  We toured Old Town, Fort Clinch, and the south end of Cumberland Island where one of the wild horses appeared "on que" as we cruised the sea shore.  We eased up into Beach Creek and I dropped the trolling motor to quitely motor along the driftwood strewn bank - what a peaceful day!  We also crossed over to the Tiger Island's and made our way up into Tiger Basin to wrap up another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Cigars, Fish'in, and Flasks

They all have something in common, especially now that the owner of Waterwheel Cigar, Conrad Centeno, is carrying my flasks in his shop!  This fine cigar store is located on the south end of Amelia Island at 5047 First Coast Highway and has an excellent selection of fine cigars, accessories and gifts.  I found the ambiance of the store to be very relaxing and the lounge area with leather chairs to be inviting.  Stop in and see Conrad the next time you're visiting Amelia Island or Fernandina Beach and let him help you select a cigar (or two!) to enjoy during your visit.  Or, just click here to visit the Waterwheel Cigar online store!

Now Fishing TFO

The Anglers Mark has new editions to it's equipment list, the TFO spinning rods!  For the light tackle jigging that I love to do here fishing Amelia Island, I've added the Gary Loomis Tactical Series 6'6" Medium spinning rod.  I've put my Shimano Stradic 1000's on these loaded with 10lb braid, tipped with a 14lb flourocarbon leader tied to a 1/4oz jig.  The rod is light and keeps you in touch with the bottom and any slight bump from a fish and it has the backbone to work in even oversized Redfish. For the float rigs I've got the new Gary Loomis Signature Series 7' Medium Heavy spinning rod. On this rod I have the Shimano Stradic 2500 loaded with 15lb braid, a Cajun Thunder float, then a 3' piece of 14lb flourocarbon leader and circle hook.  This rod has the strenght to make those longer casts into the wind with the float rig and gives you immediate hookup when that float goes under!  I'll also be using these whenever I want to toss topwater lures or use a Trout rig setup.  Here's a message from Gary Loomis about the rods:

Fishin in the Wind

Brian and Leah Cochran were visiting Amelia Island again and met up with me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at the south end.  They also had with them Brian's dad Stan.  Although the weather guys had predicted a nice day they were somewhat off on their wind calculations!  It was blowing at least 10 if not more but these anglers were prepared to brave the elements!  We headed up Nassau River and made our first stop at Spanish Drop, fished a creek runout, then moved on to Bubblegum Reef to fish the very last of an outgoing tide.  I noticed the water temperature was around 54 degrees.  Although the wind was not too bad here it was just enough to be aggravating so we moved over to Seymore's Point.  Our first stop at the docks didn't produce anything other than relief from the wind but the second stop brought some action.  Brian was the first to hook up, tossing a live shrimp on a 1/4 oz jig.  He found a hungry Redfish and brought it to the boat.  Then his dad tossed a live shrimp under a float up near the bank and it soon began to walk off and then go under. Stan lifted the rod tip firmly and had a FISH ON!  He played it perfectly and soon brought it to the net, another feisty Redfish.  Then Leah hooked up with a jig and shrimp but this time it was a fat Seatrout.  We fished this spot for a good while and had a few more fish.  Leah broke in my new TFO Gary Loomis Tactical  6'6" rod by hooking up and reeling in a nice Redfish.  Eventually we made run to Broward Island but the wind and wave action made it too aggravating to fish so we made our way back to the shelter of Christopher Creek where we picked up one more Redfish and a few more bites.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out fishing Amelia Island, Florida waters!

Now Showing...

I'm happy to announce my work is now being carried by Beau Outfitters located at 3564 St. Johns Avenue which is in the historic shopping district of Avondale in Jacksonville.  Co-Owner Chase O'Steen felt like my hand crafted leather covered flasks would be a great fit with the quality apparel and accessories that he stocks.  If you're in the area, plan to stop in at Beau Outfitters in Avondale and browse the aisles!  I also have flasks at the two upscale Amelia Liquor stores on Amelia Island.  One is located on Sadler in the Publix shopping center and the other is located on the south end in the Harris Teeter shopping center. 

New Years Eve Blow Out

Brian Corbett and his family were visiting Amelia Island, Florida for the New Year holiday and so he scheduled a light tackle fishing trip with his two sons Conner and Kiernan and his nephew, Knox.  We meet up at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island park yesterday morning and headed up the Nassau River in The Anglers Mark with the tide having already turned and coming in for about 3 hours.  The back country water temperature was 53 degrees when we made our first stop and began to fish live shrimp under floats and live shrimp and mud minnows on 1/4 oz jigs.  Almost immediately Kiernan hooked up and had a feisty Redfish on. The other anglers joined in and had hookup after hookup of hungry Redfish and Seatrout.  Knox landed a 9-spot Redfish and Brian hooked up with a Sheepshead to round out an Amelia Island back country slam, of sorts.  When we made a move to deeper water Conner added a keeper sized Trout to the cooler then he "called his fish", putting on a fat Cocahoe minnow and tossing it deep to the rocky shoreline.  BOOM!  FISH ON!  This Redfish wasn't a rat, for sure!  He played the fish perfectly and after a long battler with two or three drag ripping runs, he landed a nice, 28 1/4" oversized Redfish!  We snapped some pictures, measured the beast, then sent him on his way to be caught another day!  We hit Bugglegum Reef at dead high tide and had very little action then move on around to Jackstaff and up into a shallow creek.  The anglers again had some hot action, catching a good handful of Trout then a whole mess of hungry Blues.  Moving out into deeper water they got back into the trout and wrapped up the day catching fish down to the very last shrimp!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Redfish On Fire

Michael Purser, Tim Ralston and Andy Hall were visiting Amelia Island with their spouses for a pre-holiday break and had scheduled a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark well in advance.  The weather was probably ordered up by the Chamber of Commerce because there wasn't a cloud in the sky, no wind to speak of, and the temperature rose to the low 70's.  We met at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on Talbot Island and headed up the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef on the very first of an incoming tide.  We found some Trout,  fishing live shrimp under a slip float and the anglers also caught some on a jig.  As the tide came up we made the run to Broward Island and began to fish just as the tide started in at that location further up the river.  BAM! FISH ON!  BAM! FISH ON!  BAM! FISH ON! The guys started hooking up on almost every cast.  I was huffing and puffing to get the hungry Redfish de-hooked, photographed, and released!  I guestimate that they caught at least 15 Reds if not more and Michael also caught a keeper sized Sheepshead.  Tim landed one Redfish with NO spots while Andy was working a slip float rig and catching fish.  When the bite slowed we ran up to Christopher Creek where the anglers again caught some hungry Redfish, about 6-7 in all.  With that, we called it a day, another great on to be out on Amelia Island waters!

High Tide Trout Fishing

We had an unusual high tide yesterday when we launched The Anglers Mark - the water was way up in the grass and even covering the grass.  Zack Peyton and his friends Carl and Mark met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 10:30 at the peak of the tide and we headed up river to fish with live shrimp under float rigs.    I found it difficult to find my "spots" because the water was so high I couldnt' see my landmarks!  But these anglers were ready to work and after some of the water had left the marsh they began to pick up some hungry Seatrout.   Mark started it out then Carl and Zack got in on the action at Millie's spot up Lanceford Creek.  Later we hit a dock on Lanceford with no real bites then ran around to the Jolley River to fish the "Mother of All" spots.  However the tide was so high and the current running so stiff the MOA didn't pan out.  But on around the corner Zack found a ripple where the Trout were hanging and moved over to let Carl join in on the catching.  Jolley Bank had no fish but as the tide hit bottom we made our last stop at the logs of Tiger Island where Zack picked up a keeper sized trout with a jig on the bottom and also found the only Redfish of the day.  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Two Leather Projects Completed

I know, they don't have anything to do with fishing! I have some of these on consignment at Amelia Island Liqours and they owners requested that I do an Elk and Bulldawg. You can tell by the picture that the Dawg is "antiqued".   See more at my Fish Craft page.