Shark Bit

John Massey had his son, John Allen and grandsons Jonathan and Joshua set up to fish with him The Anglers Mark. We headed up to the Jolley River to fish the incoming tide with the water creeping up on the oysters.  The anglers immediately began to get bites and hookups with hungry Croaker. Then, Allen hooked up (kinda!) and had a battle on his hands. The big fish circled the bow then headed to the stern and out to deeper water. We soon saw a nice sized shark....and then it was off!  Allen reeled up his line and found a half eaten Croaker! The shark wasn't hooked but had latched on and it was a tug of war that ended in a tie! Young Jonathan caught a hard fighting Puppy Drum while his Grandad reeled on a feisty Redfish.  Later, John also caught a angry Jack Crevalle.  The tide got up and we hit a few more spots with Jonathan catching a high flying Ladyfish. During the trip we saw dolphin, osprey, Rosette Spoonbills, a raccoon, and numerous bird life today in the backwaters of Amelia Island.

Family Tournament

Richard Fritz was visiting Amelia Island with his wife, son and father in law and planned an Amelia Island The Anglers Mark yesterday.  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp back country fishing trip on
and headed up the Amelia River to fish the Horsehead area during the last few hours of a high and incoming tide.  The family had a small "tournament" going amongst themselves for the "first fish", "biggest fish", "most fish" and "last fish".   Although we had a beautiful morning with absolutely no wind we found that it was somewhat detrimental to our comfort and the fishing!  The bait fish were way up in the marsh and so were the fish and with no breeze it got rather warm, quickly!  But these anglers were determined to catch some fish and they did pickup a couple of hard fighting Ladyfish.  We fished the mouth of Jackstaff, Bubblegum Reef and then moved on down to the Spanish Drop area, and sure enough, when the tide started out we began to get a flurry of bites.  Young Amir hooked up with a couple of Ladyfish and helped reel in an angry Jack.  Richard landed a very nice keeper sized Trout and Ed reeled in another high-flying Ladyfish.  We did see a number of Dolphin rolling through the water and took a short tour of the Big Talbot shoreline to make it another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Slot Reds And A Bunch of Trout

I had the pleasure of fishing with John and Andrew Allen again today who were visiting Amelia Island on their first leg of a vacation.  We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning at the peak of high tide and headed up to the Horsehead area to fish with some top water lures.  We had a few "spits" at the lures but no takers so we switched to float rigs and mud minnows as soon at the tide started out.  This did the trick and the anglers started picking up some fish.  They landed a number of Seatrout, a few Ladyfish and a Blue then John had a strong hook up and landed a nice Slot Redfish.  We eased along a bank flooded over the oysters and they picked up some more Trout along the way.  We made a run around to Nassau River and fished the Twin Creeks and again picked up Trout, a small Red, and a few Jack Crevalles.  Then Andrew had a slow take, patiently waited, then hooked up.  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice keeper sized Flounder.  He caught a 2nd Flounder later, too.  We made our last stop at Bubblegum Reef and landed one more Slot Redfish, then called it a day, another great one to be out on
Amelia Island waters!

Sisters Day Out

I fished with sisters Karen, Lynette and Mitzi yesterday evening, launching from the Atlantic Seafood dock during the last few hours of a high and incoming tide.  We made a stop on the outside of Tiger Island and Mitzi was the first to hookup, catching a hard fighting "poor man's Tarpon" - the Ladyfish.  Shortly after that Karen hooked up and had a good bend put in her rod.  She patiently played this big fish and eventually landed a very nice sized Bluefish.  We made a run around to the inside of Tiger, fished the flooded logs, then ran up to Jolley River to fish Snook Creek.  We'd had a number of bites but no takers but then Lynette had a good bite and she quietly reeled in a feisty Bonnethead Shark.  Our last stop was back at the outside of Tiger Island as the tide began to start out and things heated up.  The anglers picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then Mitzi reeled in another Ladyfish to claim the coveted "Golden Pocket Knife".  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Change of Strategy Makes the Day

We again had a beautiful morning today, somewhat cloudy, and a slight breeze to make it real comfortable to fish the Amelia Island back waters on The Anglers Mark.  I had met Rich Euler and his daughter's boyfriend Mike down at the City marina at 7am and we headed up to Jolley River to fish the outgoing tide.  The oysters were just showing as we pitched topwaters along the first stretch of marsh.  We had no real bites on the lures so we switched to jigs and shrimp and soon found that the "baitstealers" were gonna keep us busy!  We moved around to the MOA (Mother of All) spots and held off of the oysters, tossing are bait up current and dragging it back into deeper water.  Rich was the first to hookup and it was a good battle.  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice 18" Seatrout!  We picked up a hard fighting Puppy Drum then Mike had a hookup. This fish pulled hard and was shaking its head furiously but Mike kept the pressure on and he too netted a nice 20" Seatrout.  We picked up a few more Croaker then ran back to the mouth of Jolley to fish the now exposed oysters. We fattened up a number of Croaker but had no real bites. The water was muddy from the SW wind and no game fish were to be found.  So we decided to run around to Bell River and fish the dock pilings and sure enough the water was clear and just "looked" fishy!  BOOM!  FISH ON!  Mike had a hookup, a bent rod, and some drag ripping!  He played the fish patiently and soon brought to the boat a nice Slot 21" Redfish!    Shortly later he had another hookup and while he battled this Slot Red, Rich hooked up and his drag sizzled!  BIG FISH ON!  We landed Mikes fish then went to work on Rich's.  Rich was very patient with this fish as it made a number of deep and long runs but he kept the pressure on with his TFO Tactical Spinning Rod and after a long battle we landed a BIG 30 1/2" Redfish!  This fish put Rich in 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish category. (Scroll down right side of this report for standings).    The big fish was photographed, revived and released.  We fished a few more docks then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Quick Start

BJ and Jeannie Craig were back on Amelia Island this morning and this time they brought along their friends Maryann and Tommy Tompkins to fish the back waters of Amelia Island on  The Anglers Mark.  We headed up the Bell River to fish some dock pilings as the oysters just began to show on an outgoing tide.  We were fishing with jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and it didn't take long to get some hookups.  BJ broke the ice with a hungry Snapper then Tommy hooked up with something big and the fight was on!  He played the fish patiently and after a number of runs that put a bend in his TFO Tactical spinning rod, he landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish!  But that was just the beginning because BJ hooked up with something bigger, fought it perfectly, but this big Red finally found its way into the dock pilings and broke itself off, OUCH!  And moments later, Tommy had the same thing happen.  His fish ran deep and I thought for sure that we were in the clear but it too made it's way back to the safety of the dock pilings and , BAP, FISH OFF!  These big wily Reds know how to play the game!  We continued to fish, caught  couple of hard fighting Puppy Drum and a handful of  "baitstealers", then made a run up to the Joelly River.  The wind had picked up somewhat and although it felt good, it had muddied the water of Jolley Bank and we had very few bites except a nice Flounder that Tommy picked up at a creek mouth.  We moved on up the river, fished Snook Creek, hooked up with a Shark for a brief 2 seconds, then headed around to the MOA to try our luck, which  had pretty much run out!  Our last stop at Tiger Island on the very first of an incoming tide produced a hungry Seatrout that Jeannie picked up.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

2 Slot, 3 Slot

Kelly Haggard was in town with some friends of hers and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing charter on The Anglers Mark this morning.  Her and her friends were staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites which is just across the street from the marina and Atlantic Seafood dock where we met. We ran up to the Jolley River and Kelly tossed a mullet pattern topwater lure on the last of an outgoing tide.  She had one really good blowup but the big Trout missed the bait entirely!  We switched to jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and within minutes she hooked up with a feisty Redfish.  A few minutes later she had TFO Tactical spinning rod and we soon landed a nice Slot Redfish.  Moments later she hooked up with another big Redfish which we photographed and released like the others.  We continued to fish an oyster lined bank and caught numerous Croaker, a hard fighting Puppy (black) Drum.  We had an extended battle with a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark then we moved on up the river, fishing the MOA spots with no real bites then back to Snook Creek where we had more Croaker. Our last stop was at Tiger Island and here Kelly reeled in her 3rd Slot Redfish and she also landed a keeper sized Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Slam of Redfish, Drum and Flounder.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
another hook up and this time her rod bent over and the drag sang, FISH ON!  She played the fish patiently on her

Great Gift from California

Bill Crews received a gift certificate to fish on The Anglers Mark from his daughter who arranged it all the way from California.  He brought along his dad, Willie Crews, and met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning as the sun came up.  There was a nice breeze blowing and some cloud cover which made perfect conditions for some Amelia Island back country fishing.  After my usual safety orientation we headed north towards Cumberland Island and then eased in behind Tiger Island to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Things started slow, but we did get some bites from the pesky Croaker then we had a nice hookup and Willie
landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  Bill picked up a couple of Trout as we fished the downed logs and we also caught a hungry Puppy Drum.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and fished the still exposed oyster beds.  We continued to get the Croaker, but then Bill had a strong hookup and landed a hard fighting Redfish.  The anglers picked up a nice Jack Crevalle then Bill again had a strong bite, but this time the fish fought back!  It bent Bill's rod double and his drag began to sing, FISH ON!  He played the fish from bow to stern and half way back as the fish made deep runs, often going under the boat and back.  After some patient fish fighting we eventually landed an oversized 29" Redfish!  Bill said that it was the "biggest fish I've ever caught"!  That's what I want to hear!  This fish place Bill in 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish category (scroll down right side of this report for standings)  We continued to fish and then Willie had a good hookup and good fight.  He landed a nice 19" Seatrout that we added to the box.  We made one more stop on the way back in and Willie had some good bites on a float rig and picked up a couple of more Seatrout to wrap the fishing trip up. We headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

The Fish Whisperer

I thought about titling this report, "BOOM, FISH ON!" because when Chip Lobeck and his father-in-law Ron made their first casts to some Bell River dock pilings, it was FISH ON!  Ron hooked up first and had a battle on his hands.  The fish made numerous runs deep, pulling the 10lb braid to its limit but Ron used the TFO Tactical Rod to slow the big fish down.  Then Chip hooked up from the stern and we had double!  He played his fish expertly and soon landed a nice Slot 19" Redfish!  But Ron's battle raged on at the bow of the boat.  He finally wore the fish out and when we netted the beast we found it to be a 28 1/2" Redfish! Now
that's the way to start a fishing trip!  This fish puts Ron in 3rd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Redfish caterogy (scroll down right side of this report for standings) . A couple of casts later Ron had another hookup, another battle, and landed another oversized 28" Big Red.  Just before we left the area Chip had a hungry Seatrout follow his jig and shrimp to the boat and he landed the keeper sized fish.  We made one more stop at another dock, got "skunked", then made a run to the Tiger Island logs.  Here the anglers had plenty of action, landing (4) Flounder, a number of hungry Seatrout, and a number of hungry Snapper.  We also picked up a Ladyfish and two hard fighting Puppy Drum.  As the fishing trip was winding down, Ron was "dialed in" and began to talk or "whisper" to the fish that were nibbling at his bait.  He had a couple of really hard hits, but lost his shrimp.  On his last cast he talked it in and sure enough, BOOM!  FISH ON!  He played this fish perfectly and kept the pressure on as it shook its head and eventually netted a nice fat 19" Seatrout!  With that, we called it a day, another great on to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Hung On The Bottom or Doormat Flounder?

Michael and Ann Austin were in town this week along with their adult daughter Carla and scheduled an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  The tide had only been coming in for an hour so we headed up to Tiger Island and fished the downed logs with live shrimp and jigs.  Michael had the hot hand early and hooked up with a couple of keeper Seatrout.  All of the anglers were picking up the pesky Croaker when Ann commented that she thought she was "hung up" on a log...but the line started moving up river!  Then here rod bent over double and the drag began to rip out, FISH ON!  She patiently played

the big fish but as it hugged the bottom for what seemed like an eternity.  When she finally brought it to the surface we saw that it was a huge Flounder!  I missed the fish the first time with the net but Ann kept the pressure on and we soon landed the 25.5"  7lb+ doormat Flounder...the biggest Flounder of the year AND the biggest I've ever had on The Anglers Mark!  Boy what a fish! This obviously puts Ann in first place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder category.(scroll down right side to see standings).  We continued to fish the logs, picked up a couple of more Trout, Grey Snapper, and Croaker, then headed up to Jolley River.  We caught a few more small Trout and Carla had a hookup and brief battle with a Shark.  We moved on up the river where Carla caught a fat keeper Seatrout and also a big Ray.  Michael got back in on the action and landed a 2' Bonnethead Shark, then we made a last run to the outside of Tiger where the anglers picked up a couple of more Seatrout to wrap up a great day out on Amelia Island waters!