Not Ice Fishing, But Close!

Denn Evans and Marilyn Curran were visiting their daughter in Jax Beach and planned to take in an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this past weekend.  Denn and Marilyn were visiting from Minnesota and mentioned that their local anglers were beginning to bring in their ice huts off the lakes back home.  We didn't need an ice hut Saturday but the cool temperatures and 15+mph winds made us seek shelter from the westerly winds.  At our first stop we had some bites early on the last of an incoming tide and it wasn't long before we had a strong hookup.  Denn played the fish perfectly and patiently and we soon netted a 24.5" Slot Redfish that puts him in first place of my 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish category! (Scroll down right side of the Report for standings)  He continued to fish the spot with 1/4 oz jigs baited with live shrimp and picked up a few more feisty Redfish.  We had a couple of really nice fish take the bait and hook and keep going so they had to have had some size to them!  We made a move to a grass patch at the high tide and picked up another feisty Redfish, hit another spot with no luck, then came back to the shelter of an island to get out of the wind where we again confirmed it was a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

CCA Florida Boil and Brew

Carol and I had a great time at the Coastal Conservation Association Boil at the Brewery and Auction this past Friday night which was held at Intuition Ale on King Street in Jacksonville.  In addition to getting to sample some of the brewery's fine beer we had our fill of Low Country Boil!

February Redfish at Amelia Island

Margaret Kiely and her son Will were visiting Amelia Island and her parents, local photographers Libby and Clyde Wilkes this past Presidents Day weekend.   I've had the pleasure of fishing with young Will a few times and it was great to see this fine angler again.  When I named my business The Anglers Mark, it was anglers like Will that I had in mind!  It's a little more difficult to see it in older anglers who've got mortgages, jobs, kids, and bills weighing on them, but my young anglers who have "the Mark",  step on the boat with nothing but fishing passion.  They're in to fishing and are going to cast from the minute they step on the boat until we pull back in to the marina.   I had received an eMail from the adults that they may need to cancel the fishing trip due to the extreme cold that was forecast.  The first thing I thought was, "I bet Will hasn't weighed in with his opinion yet!"  Sure enough, we decided to make a go of the fishing trip and planned to meet at 7:30am yesterday morning at the Atlantic Seafood down at the City marina.  As I was heading to my boat I noticed the temperature outside was a balmy 27 degrees!   We were bundled up as we pulled out of the marina but with only a short run to the docks of Lanceford Creek, we made it without our ears freezing off.  I dropped the Minnkota I-Pilot trolling motor, set the anchor feature and the anglers tossed out jigs and live shrimp on the last of an outgoing tide.  It didn't take long for Will to yell, "FISH ON!" and have a fight on his hands.  He played the fish perfectly and landed a nice slot Redfish!  With Libby taking pictures, Margaret got in on the action fishing deep with the jig and shrimp and pulled in a hungry Seatrout.  From then on it was fish after fish after fish.  Most were fiesty Redfish but they did add another Slot Red and a few more Seatrout with Will hooking up and landing a nice 19" Trout that puts him in first place of my Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down right side of Report).  We eventually made a move to behind Tiger Island and picked up another keeper Seatrout and then Will hooked up with a wiley Sheepshead to round out his Amelia Island back country Slam!  With that, we called it day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Adventure Eco Tour Nets Blue Crabs

I had the pleasure of giving Robin Killeen and her friends an adventure eco tour boat ride yesterday out of Fernandina Beach harbor on Amelia Island.  We eased out of the marina and moved over to the marsh line and dropped a couple of baited crab traps.  Mixing in some history, we toured Old Town Fernandina,  the Pogey plant,  Fort Clinch, and Cumberland Island.  We did spot a small herd of wild horses on Cumberland before we trolled up into the interior of Cumberland's Beach Creek.  Before making a pass of Tiger Island I ran up into a back water creek to release some live shrimp and mud minnows that I had on board from a previous fishing trip.  Our last stop was back at the crab traps where each trap yielded a lively Blue Crab!  It was cold all afternoon but these visitors were prepared with warm jackets and blankets to spend a beautiful couple of hours out on Amelia Island waters!

February Amelia Island Redfish

I had the opportunity to fish with the Smith family the last two days - Jimmy, Pamela and their two kids Mekayla and Briley.  We fished from the Amelia Island south end Friday morning, hitting Bubblegum Reef where the anglers picked up a couple of Trout and then Broward Island where we picked up another Trout.  We then eased up into Christopher Creek and both Mekayla and Briley each caught a feisty Redfish.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and warming to almost 70, but these anglers had to work for each and every fish that they caught.  However they kept good attitudes, enjoyed being out on the water, and made plans to fish again this morning.  This time, we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock, located at the Fernandina Harbor Marina here at Amelia Island.  We had a little more wind blowing today so we headed up Lanceford Creek to have the land mass block the wind and fished the dock pilings.  It wasn't long before the anglers were catching one Redfish after another!  We were catching them all on the bottom with live shrimp and mud minnows and although most were undersized, they did put three Slot Reds in the boat with the largest being a 20" Red caught by Mekayla that puts her in first place in my 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament!  (Scroll down right side to view Tournament standings) Both Briley and Mekayla caught a hungry Puppy Drum and when Pamela boated a Seatrout we called it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam!  We hit a couple of more spots then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

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!