Fishing Before the Front

I fished yesterday afternoon with Steve Vining and his son Sam.  Although we'd had a beautiful
morning, the afternoon weather turned somewhat ugly.  But these anglers were game and we made the best of the conditions to pick up a few fish.  We made our first stop at Temptation Cove just south of Rayonier but had no real bites.  The NE wind was already picking up so we made a run to Tiger Island to have the land mass block the wind.  This turned out to be the ticket because Steve picked up a nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout.  Later, Sam had made a good cast up near the logs and as he worked it back slowly a fish hit

hard!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Redfish.  We worked the bank for a while then headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings.  Unfortunately the wind had picked up even more which made it tough to fish and kept the water high even though the tide was falling.  We had planned to pick up Steve's wife Julia and daughter Abby at the docks for a tour so we made the run to pick them up.  We toured Old Town, the Pogey Plant, Fort Clinch and crossed to Cumberland Island to see some wild horses.  Then we cruised Tiger Island and saw Osprey and had an appearance by one of the Atlantic Salt Marsh minks.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout King

Yesterday morning the flags were laying limp as we headed out of the City marina.  Ryan and Courtney Noble  and their relatives Ben and 6 year old Graham Fox had met me early on this beautiful day.  We headed up Lanceford to fish the dock pilings and as I set the trolling motor to "anchor", the water was like glass.  We had only fished a few minutes when Courtney had a strong hookup and landed a nice 17" Flounder.  Ryan got in on the action and picked up a few feisty Redfish then young Graham's TFO Tactical Fishing Rod heated up as he reeled in a couple of nice Seatrout to 18", earning him the nickname, Trout King!  This little guy could fish!  We eventually made a run to fish the Jolley River and had ideal conditions for catching fish.  Unfortunately, the dolphin had the same idea because they were cruising the bank busting fish!  The anglers picked up a couple of Seatrout then we headed to the Tiger Island logs where they caught a couple more feisty Redfish and another keeper Trout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
sized Seatrout then his dad picked up a couple too.  Courtney had made a cast and when her rod bent double and the drag began to sing we knew she had a big fish!   FISH ON!  She and Ryan worked as a team to subdue the beast and when we saw it roll we confirmed that it was a big Red.  They worked the fish patiently in and we soon netted a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  Then Graham's

Amelia Island Grand Slam

Kurt Powell and his son Davis fished with me today.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning and headed up to Lanceford Creek with the tide almost at the bottom.  Davis hadn't fished but for just a few minutes when he hooked up and brought to the boat a nice Seatrout.  Shortly after that he did battle with a feisty Redfish and we netted it also.  Kurt caught a nice 18" Seatrout then Davis added a Puppy Drum to round out an  Amelia Island Back Country Slam!  The anglers picked up a few more Redfish and Seatrout then we made a run to the Tiger Island logs.  Fishing deep, both anglers

caught a few Seatrout then later we had a very strong hookup and the drag began to sing, FISH ON!  Davis fought the fish valiantly and after and extended battle he landed a 27 1/2" BIG Redfish!  This put Davis into 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament- Redfish category (scroll down right side of this report) Later, fishing deep and slow, Davis caught a Weakfish to make the Slam Grand!  We fished the outside of Tiger then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Last Minute Big Trout

My after noon trip today began with some thunderclouds overhead but Scott Carter and his two sons Sammy and Benny were game to get in some Amelia Island fishing.  We fished south of Rayonier on the very last of an incoming tide but had no real bites then headed up Lanceford Creek to fish a very high tide.  Benny had the hot rod early and landed a couple of feisty Redfish.  We moved around to a grass patch in the middle of some flooded oysters and Benny picked up a hungry Seatrout.  We had to make a short move due to a fast

moving thunderstorm and so we ducked in at Oyster Bay to fish their pilings and again had no real bites.  Our next run was to Tiger
Island  and her Benny again found a Redfish.  Then Scott got in on the action and picked up a Seatrout on a jig and Temptation Bait white fluke.  He continued to work the fluke and with only minutes away from us leaving he had a stong hookup and a good fight on his hands.  He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 19" Seatrout!  We dehooked the fish and on Scott's next cast he had another strong hookup and this time landed another big 18" Seatrout!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Triple Big Reds

Today's weather called for potential showers but the Penskoski family were all for fishing this
morning. We headed up to Lanceford Creek with the tide just starting to come back in and fished some dock pilings with shrimp and jigs.  Our first "demo" cast produced a big 25" Slot Redfish! Wow! What a way to start a fishing trip.  Rich and Karen's daughters Olivia and Sara began fishing in earnest and both were rewarded with strong hookups and BIG Redfish, landing 23" and 24" fish which were the first three fish in the boat, and before 8:00am!  We continued to fish and all the anglers had hookups with

feisty Redfish.  Later, we made a run to fish Tiger Island logs and picked up a keeper sized Seatrout, a couple of feisty Redfish and then Karen added another slot Redfish to the catch.  All fish caught today were released to be caught another day.  We fished outside of Tiger and picked up another Trout and few Blues, then called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

New Residents Enjoy Amelia Island

Zack and Nicki Welsh recently moved to Amelia Island and when Nicki's parents Greg and Darla planned a visit this week they decided to take in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We headed out of the Fernandina Harbor Marina at 1pm and headed up to the Tiger Island area to fish float rigs with live shrimp.  Our first cast produced a hookup with an angry Bluefish so all the anglers got busy casting and catching!  We

later fished Manatee Creek with no luck then went around behind Tiger to fish.  The current was rushing out and it was very difficult to fish so we made a run to Lanceford Creek to fish the dock pilings.  This turned out to be the trick because all of the anglers began to catch feisty Redfish and hungry Seatrout.  Zack had a strong hookup and I thought for sure it was another Redfish because this fish was really fighting.  He worked the fish patiently and we soon netted a nice big 19" Seatrout!  Later he added a 19" Slot Redfish to the cooler! The anglers caught a few more Red's then we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Reds and Big Trout

Stephen and Linda Lee and their friend Ray took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip

yesterday morning - and a beautiful one it was!  We headed up to Lanceford Creek to fish the incoming tide with the oysters just showing.  It wasn't long before Linda hooked up and brought to the boat a nice hungry Seatrout.  Then both Stephen and Ray had strong hookups and reeled in a few feisty Redfish and Linda added a couple.  Then, Linda's rod really bent over and when the drag starting singing I knew this was a BIG fish!  She worked the fish patiently and after a long battle we netted a nice 25 3/4" Redfish!  But not to be outdone, Stephen had a big hookup and his fish too was BIG!  He played the fish perfectly and soon landed a 26 1/2"

Red!  The anglers also added a 18" Seatrout to the mix.  We eventually made a run to the outside of Tiger Island and played with Blues, landing about a dozen, then we went in behind the island and the anglers caught a few more Trout with one being of keepers size.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

The Legend of Robert Redshirt....

began today when Robert rode into Fernandina (with his parents Rob and Jenny) to slay (not really)
the mighty Amelia Island Redfish.  The wayfarers met met at the rustic Atlantic Seafood dock in downtown historic Fernandina Beach and we pointed the old bow of The Anglers Mark out to sea (actually the back country waters of Amelia Island).  We made our first stop in Lanceford Creek  and it wasn't long after Robert Redshirt made his first mighty cast with the TFO Tactical spinning rod that he hooked up and did battle with a feisty Amelia Island Redfish.  He struggled mightily with  the fish as it fought valiantly,

but Robert Redshirt was up to the challenge and subdued the beast and eventually brought it to the net, for pictures and release!  He and his dad continued to fish the dark and murkey waters and each pulled a number of Redfish to the boat.  Rob Sr. added a nice Puppy Drum to the mix.  We made a run to the logs of Tiger Island and Robert Redfish rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam by hooking up and subduing a couple of hungry Seatrout.  The slight wind was blocked by Tiger Island and as we eased away from the island we saw our first Manatee of the year crusing down the river - what a way to wrap a great day of fishing at Amelia Island!

Are the March Winds Gone?

Spring Break visitors to Amelia Island were greeted with one last blast of winter and strong winds to begin the week.  Fishing guides had to push back trips to the latter part of the week and in some cases cancel trips all together.  But luckily, I was able to get out yesterday with Mark Friedman and his sons Jay and Josh and their friend Drew.  We met at the City marina just after noon and headed up to Lanceford Creek.  Our first cast produced a feisty Redfish!  The anglers continued to have good hookups and brought in 4-5

more Red's.  Then Josh went deep and fished on the bottom and caught a nice 18" Seatrout.  Drew followed his lead and he too brought in a keeper sized Trout.  We moved on down Lanceford and fished an oyster hump then made a run to Tiger Island.  Josh's first cast produced a nice 17 3/4" Flounder, putting him in first place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament! (scroll right side of this report) The anglers picked up some hungry Seatrout, another smaller Flounder, then Jay reeled in the last keeper sized Trout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout Machine

Today we finally had a little break in the wind and I was eager to get out on the water and see how the fishing was going to be.  And boy was I not disappointed!  I met Curtis and Emily Elliot at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at 7:30 this morning and we headed up to Lanceford Creek to fish an outgoing tide.  The oysters were still covered as the anglers tossed their jig and shrimp combo to the dock pilings and...FISH ON!  Their first cast netted a feisty Redfish!  Both Emily and Curtis had numerous hookups with Redfish, then Emily brought in a keeper sized Black Drum.  With a Redfish and Drum in the boat, it wasn't long before she landed a nice keeper sized Trout, rounding out her version of an Amelia Island Back Country Slam!  Not to be outdone, Curtis added some Trout and then with his reel ripping, expertly landed a large 22" Seatrout!  This put him in first place in my Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Trout category and unseated Mark Pettijohn who had taken the lead yesterday!  Scroll down the right side of this report to see current standings.  Then Emily hooked up with a big fish and landed a 19" Trout that put her in a tie for third place in the Bragging Rights Tourney!   When the wind shifted to the northeast, we headed up to Tiger Island and fished the deep waters off the island.  Emily claimed the title "Trout Machine" as she landed one after another of the Sea Trout with a couple being keeper sized,  then Curtis landed a hungry Flounder to round out his version of an Amelia Island Back Country Slam!  The anglers also landed a few Sand Trout, a Snapper and a Sea Bass for a great variety of fish catching!  With that, we called it a day and another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!