Trout Bite Early

We had six bay boats lined up at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning ready to meet the Herb Lottman fishing group of 12 anglers for fishing trips  into the back country of Amelia Island.  The group of anglers were staying at the 5 Star Elizabeth Pointe Lodge who had also arranged the transportation and box lunches. It was right at high tide so our first stop was outside of Tiger Island.  On The Anglers Mark, I had Herb along with his friend Roy and we started the day out tossing live shrimp under floats to the marsh grass edges.  It wasn't long before the two anglers were getting some good  bites then Roy hooked up with a nice keeper sized Seatrout to get the "skunk off the boat"!  Roy had the hot rod early and landed a few of the Seatrout and even though Herb was getting bites, they just weren't taking.  But then his float disappeared and his rod bent double, and, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle, with the big fish running stern to bow and back again, we netted a big 22" Seatrout!  We continued to fish the area, picked up a few more trout and Roy had a good battle with a feisty Black "puppy Drum.  There was a big rain storm headed our way and just as Roy had reeled in another keeper sized Trout, the bottom fell out and it began to pour.  We pulled up the trolling motor and headed around to the lee side of Tiger Island to get out of the wind but we still all got soaked!  After the rain subsided, we made a run to Jolley River where we fished a small creek mouth.  Both Herb and Roy had hookups with high flying Ladyfish.  We fished Snook Creek and the MOA and had bites but no takers then we ran around to Bell River and fished some dock pilings. We only found one Croaker so we made a long run to Lanceford Creek where the bite heated up somewhat.  Herb's rod got hot and he landed a couple of nice Snapper then an 11-spot feisty Redfish.  Roy rounded out the day with a very nice Snapper.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Recipe of the Month: Lottie's Spanish Cornbread

My mother let me delve through her recipe box one day and I found this Spanish Cornbread recipe that was my Grandmother Lottie Garner's. It's a great addition to any fish fry or cookout!

1/4 Cup Wesson oil

1 egg
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup cream style corn
2 Tblsp sugar
1/2 Cup grated cheese
1 Tblsp chopped onion
1 Cup self rising cornmeal
(I also added 1 Tblsp chopped jalapeno peppers)

Mix together and pour into 8"x12" pan. (As you can see I made mine in an iron skillet).  Bake 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Like a Science Class

We had postponed our fishing trip from Monday until this morning to avoid the higher winds earlier in the week and boy was it a pretty day!  I met Barbara and Lou Montresor and their son Kevin down at the Big Talbot Island Park this morning at 7am under clear skies and with just a slight breeze.  We headed up the Amelia River to the Horsehead area and began our fishing at the mouth of Jackstaff.  The anglers were tossing live shrimp on a jig and almost immediately began to get bites.  As I suspected, most of the fish were the summertime, ever present "baitstealers" but they presented a good challenge early.  All three anglers knocked the rust off of their casting and got the hang of bumping the bottom.  Lou had the hot rod early and caught a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle's and a hungry Seatrout.  Both Kevin and I had short hookups with a cruising Bonnethead Shark but they were having nothing to do with coming to the boat and broke off.  We made a run around to the Nassau River and things heated up.  Kevin got hot and landed a "Puffer Fish", then a couple of keeper sized Snapper. Then he had a good hookup and after a nice battle, landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  The anglers added Pinfish, Perch and then Kevin landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum.   He also picked up a neat Stingray.  We made a late run to Broward Island and the fish were really biting here.  The anglers caught a number of Snapper, but Barbara landed a feisty Red Drum and then Kevin landed a Flounder to round out an Amelia Island back country Grand Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, Flounder and Black Drum!  We were having a hard time keeping track of the variety of fish which garnered a comment from Lou that it was "almost like a science class" catching the number and variety of fish that they did.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Last Cast Slot Redfish

The Colucciello family - Steve and Patti and their son Vince and his girlfriend Nikki were visiting Amelia  Island before school starts back and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park at 7am and headed up the Amelia River to fish last hour of a very high and incoming tide.  The water was way up in the grass so the anglers were tossing float rigs with live shrimp to the tips of the grass.   We had some early action with both Vince and his mom Patti hooking up with a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  The anglers also picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout.  We moved on around and into Jackstaff and although we had no real bites, we did have a shot at some very nice Sheepshead tailing up in the flooded spartina.  We then fished the mouth of Jackstaff and it wasn't long before Vince had a strong hookup and when his drag began to sing I knew he had a big fish!  FISH ON!  Vince got into the the hang of working the big fish up, letting his rod do the work, and after a battle from bow to stern and back to bow, we netted a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark!    We had a couple of more hookups with these hard fighting beasts and also had a Stingray.  Both Patti and Nikki caught keeper sized Snapper and Nikki added a keeper sized Seatrout.  Our final stop was around at Nassau River and here the anglers found the ever present "baitstealers" - the Croaker.  Steve even put a small, but neat, Grouper in the boat!  It was almost time to leave when Vince had a really good hookup but the wiley fish found a way to break itself off.  Steve tossed to the same area on the last cast of the day and BAM! FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish!  And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

A Whole Lot of Catch'in

Yesterday was another beautiful day to be fishing at Amelia Island.  The morning started off with very little wind, an outgoing tide and just enough cloud cover to make for some nice fishing conditions.  I had met Scott Wetherington and his son Ivan down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and we headed up to the Tiger Islands for our first stop.  We hadn't been fishing long when Scott had a good strong hookup and the battle ensued!  He played the fish patiently and after a while we netted a nice 18" Redfish!  Ivan had a nice Flounder and a big "poor man's Tarpon" - the Ladyfish.  The ever present Croaker and Snapper were caught, too!  We made a run up to Jolley River, fished the MOA spot with no real bites (how could that be?) then moved around to Snook Creek where the bite picked up.  Both Scott and Ivan landed a good handful of feisty Redfish, then Scott had a good hookup and put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  Both anglers caught hard fighting Jack Crevealle, Ivan picked up another Seatrout then we made another move down to Jolley Bank.  Again, a couple of more feisty Redfish then Ivan hauled in a Stingray and a keeper sized Flounder.  Our last stop was back at Tiger where we picked up more Croaker, a keeper sized Snapper, and another keeper sized Flounder.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Shark Makes the Day

There were three generations fishing off of The Anglers Mark today - Mark Barickman, his son Matt,and his father-in-law Steve.  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early - 7am and I had actually launched just after 6am to try and get some finger mullet to use as bait.  I had just a little over a dozen when the anglers arrived and hung around just a little longer, casting the net to get another dozen.  We made our first stop up at Jackstaff and the anglers picked up a few fish with Matt landing a nice Jack Crevalle and Steve  caught a fairly big Catfish.   They caught one or two feisty Redfish then Matt had a strong hookup and his rod bent and drag ripped out, FISH ON!  We chased the big fish as Matt kept the pressure on and after a long battle that took Matt from bow to stern, he landed a big 3'+ Bonnethead Shark!  This fish woke the boat up!  While all that was going on Mark put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  We made a run through Jackstaff and fished the Nassau River side and again caught a good handful of fish, mostly Croaker and Snapper, but Matt also landed a nice Black "puppy" Drum.  Mark had another hookup with a Seatrout here, also.  We made our last stop at Broward Island and landed a couple of more Snapper and a Seatrout, but the highlite of the the trip was when a Manatee came up just at the bow of the boat!  With that,  we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

19 Fish

That's the number that young angler Alexis totaled for her personal catch count when the fishing was done today.  I had met her and her Grandad - Bob Miller, his wife Kathy, and their son Chris at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning at 7am and we had run up the Nassau River to fish.  Our first stop was at a large marsh runout or "dump" as one of my buddy's call it.  We were fishing with fresh dead shrimp as there was no live bait to be had at the bait shop.  But the fish didn't care and the anglers began to catch fish right off.  Alexis had the hot rod early and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum then a number of Snapper, Croaker and feisty Redfish.  Both Bob and Chris picked up fish, fishing on the bottom with a 1/4oz jig.  Kathy finally got on the board with a nice Croaker.  We moved on up the river with the tide still going out and again caught plenty of Croaker, a few Snapper, added a Seatrout or two, and a couple of Jack Crevalle. Alexis had a Ladyfish to the boat and continued to add to her total fish catch count with a nice hard fighting Catfish.  As the bite slowed I got out on an old oyster bank to cast for finger mullet and 10 year old Alexis followed me to act as my "spotter"!  We ended up with just over a dozen nice bait fish then headed over to Broward Island to fish the very last of the outgoing tide.  The finger mullet did the trick because Alexis soon had a hookup and a battle on her hands!  She worked the big fish in patiently and we soon netted a nice Slot 20" Redfish!  The anglers picked up a couple of more Snapper, Croaker and Chris landed the biggest Jack Crevalle of the day.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Good Tide and Good Fishing

We've had a great run of beautiful mornings and this week happens to have great tides for Amelia Island back country fishing.  I met the Scher family - Greg and Lee and their daughter Hope down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City marina and we headed north, up to Tiger Island to fish the very last of an outgoing tide.  We had live shrimp to bait our 1/4 jigs and soon found out that the "baitstealers" were going to pick us clean on every cast.  But we worked through them and had a good hookup with a nice fish  10 year old Hope worked the fish to the boat with some of dad's help and we soon landed the 19" Redfish.  Greg was getting the hang of snagging the pesky Snapper and Croaker but we decided to move on.  As we pulled away from the island we saw some good schools of finger mullet and after a few casts we were on our way with a baitwell of perfect sized bait.  Our next stop was up at Jolley Bank and we had a few good bites as we eased along the shoreline.  Greg picked up some more Snapper, a couple of feisty Redfish and then he had a very strong hookup - one that ripped the drag out and bent the rod.  Greg fought the fish from bow to stern and then included young Hope in on the action.  But this big fish had probably been through this drill before because it dove deep, under the boat and with a tight line, the leader snapped, OUCH!  But it was a good fight and livened up the boat!  We moved on up into Jolley and the action heated up.  Greg caught more Snapper, a couple of more Reds, and a couple of nice Seatrout.  We eventually called it a day, left 'em biting, and headed in counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!  In addition to a good day of fishing, we saw a raccoon, Atlantic Salt Marsh Mink, Rosette Spoonbills, dolphin, and wild horses on Cumberland Island.

Pretty Good Day of Fishing

It's a new week and it started out great this morning as anglers Bart Woodham, his son Chad and their friend Zack worked the banks and put fish in the boat.  If you're going fishing any time soon I'd recommend using finger mullet as bait, and as a second choice mud minnows.  We started off fishing Nassau River on the very last of an outgoing tide and all we had were shrimp.  The anglers had tons of bites - it seemed like one on every cast, but the "baitstealers" were just killing us!  We landed Snapper, Croaker, Catfish and finally Zack had a good hookup and landed a fat 17" keeper sized Flounder.  Before we left the area we were able to net about 40 perfectly sized finger mullet.  Our next stop was the mouth of Jackstaff and this time I eased along the bank as the anglers cast their mullet and jigs to the exposed oyster beds.  The tide was just starting to come in and it took a while for things to heat up but eventually Bart had a good hookup and, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and landed a nice 21" slot sized Redfish!  The anglers picked up a few hungry Seatrout, Chad landed a fish that I've never seen before (I'll send the pic to Mote Marine to get it identified) and Chad also had the biggest Jack Crevalle of the day.  Zack added another fat 17" Flounder and then on our second pass Bart put another 21" slot Red in the boat!  We made a run to Broward Island and now the tide was really rushing in.  But the anglers persevered even though the temperatures were getting over 90, and picked up a nice Seatrout and Snapper.  Then both Bart and Zack added a fat keeper sized Flounder apiece to the catch to wrap the day up.  These anglers had elected to release all of their fish to be caught another day and that made it all the more satisfying as we headed in knowing that we'd had a pretty good day of fishing on Amelia Island waters!

Red Drum and Black Drum

Robert McCarthy and his son Evan met me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp yesterday morning.  Boy was it a pretty day!  The water was like glass as I ran up the Nassau River to fish the Horsehead area on an incoming tide.  The anglers were tossing 1/4oz jigs with live shrimp and soon found that they had to work through the pesky bait stealers so common this time of year.  They caught plenty of Croaker, a few Jacks and then Evan had a good hookup and a good battle.  He played the fish perfectly and soon landed a nice keeper sized Black Drum.   He seemed to have the knack for catching the Drum because he landed a couple of

more.  We made run around to Jackstaff and fished the marsh grass, again using jigs even though the tide was up.  The anglers picked up a couple of feisty Redfish then Robert hooked up and this one was a bigger fish.  It bent the rod and ripped the drag but Robert played it patiently.  When it rolled up we know we had a nice Red.  He worked the fish to the boat and w netted a nice 21 1/2" Slot Red!  Later, Evan had a similar hookup and this one was even bigger.  He fought the fish for a good while, we saw it roll up a couple of times and knew it was a a BIG oversized Redfish.  But this wiley fish had been around for a while and when it saw it's chance it through the hook and the battle was over!  Later, Robert had a big hookup too, but this fish ran strong and deep and we knew right off it was a Shark.  He played the fish from bow to stern and back and when we got the big Bonnethead to the boat we broke it off and got back to fishing!  We made a run to Broward Island, picked up a couple of more Croaker, fished Jackstaff one more time, then headedin, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!