Ready for some Football!

I make it a point to try and not talk politics and college football on the boat.  Once in a while I get drawn in but I try and stay away from the topics.  BUT, truth be known I'm a Gator fan, graduating in 1983 from the University of Florida.  With that said, I've been getting Jeff Davis to do repair work on my rods, mostly replacing bad eyes and rod tips.  I visited his booth at a local marine/fishing show and he had a rod in Gator colors so I had him build a custom rod for me.  It's 6' long, medium action with  the split grip and down locking reel seat.  Jeff upgraded the eyes and did some Orange and Blue wraps, added a Gator logo and hand laid my name on the rod.  I added a brand new Shimano Stradic 1000FJ reel loaded with orange 10'b braid.  I'm ready for football!  Contact Jeff Davis at jake401@bellsouth.net to get your custom rod built.  CLICK ON PICTURES FOR CLOSE UPS!   I'm sure he'll do a Dawg or Nole if you ask him to!

Lucky $2 David

I had three generations fishing with me this morning - Aaron Self, his sons Isaac and David and their granddad Charlie Saunders.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the Fernandina Beach city marina and headed north, making a first stop outside of Tiger Island to fish float rigs with live mud minnows.  We had no real bites but the anglers were just warming up.  Grand dad Charlie let it be known that he had a few $2 bills back at the hotel for the first and 2nd fish brought to the boat and that lit a fire under the younger anglers.  We made a run up to the Jolley River, fished a small marsh run out, had a few decent bites, but  no takers.  We then move to a larger creek mouth and this was the ticket.  Young David earned his nickname "Lucky $2 David" when his float disappeared and a fish fight ensued!  David played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish! Shortly after that he put a hungry Seatrout in the boat then landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  But the other anglers weren't to be denied and they soon got in on the action.  Isaac persevered and began to boat fish - first a hungry Seatrout then a nice Slot Redfish.  All of the anglers seemed to tangle with  the acrobatic Ladyfish but they all were throwing the hook before we could get them in the boat and get a picture!  We made our last stop back at Jolley Bank and again the fishing was fast and furious!  The anglers caught a couple of more feisty Redfish,  a couple of hungry Seatrout then Grand dad decided to show them how it was done.  He had a good hookup and patiently played his big fish, landing another Slot Redfish!  But Isaac was after the elusive Ladyfish and this time when his float disappeared and sliced through the water he kept the pressure on and quickly reeled in the "Poor Man's Tarpon", a Ladyfish for picture and release.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Two Big Fish

Ron Paxton was visiting his hometown of Callahan and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip with his brother Lee, nephew Paul and friend Wade. We met down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina this afternoon and made a run up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an incoming tide.  The anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp to the exposed oyster bed and I believe Wades first cast produced a strong hookup!  Wade worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice Redfish.  We continued to fish the bank and then Wade landed a keeper sized Seatrout.    Both Ron and Lee had Ladyfish hookups and all the anglers had to deal with the pesky Croaker.  We ran further up the river, fished some more oysters and here Paul landed a nice Seatrout and Ron landed another feisty Redfish.  We fished a small creek but had no real bites then made the run to Tiger Island.  Paul rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam with a Flounder catch and Ron caught one, too.  Our next stop was Temptation Cove on a flooded high tide.  We had a few bites on live shrimp under a float but no real takers.  As we were leaving the Cove we checked out some flooded grass flats and immediately saw tails!  Redfish tails!  One was barely in casting distance but it just wouldn't eat then Paul spotted a different tail only 15' from the boat. Wade dropped his mud minnow under a float near the fish and a minute later we saw a boil near is bait but thought the fish missed it.  Seconds later his float slowly began to disappear and Wade set the hook, FISH ON!  It was a furious, but brief battle - I don't think the big fish knew what had got a hold of him!  Wade kept the pressure on and we netted a nice Slot 23" Redfish!  We checked out a few more flats and saw a few more Redfish tailing but they were too far away to cast to.  After fishing a grass line for Trout we made one last run to the outside of Tiger Island. The water was high, high, high but we had a few minutes to spare.  We had had no bites and most of the anglers had put there rods away when Lee yelled, "FISH ON" and his rod bent double!  The drag was ripping and we could tell he had a big fish on.  Lee worked the fish patiently and eventually we landed the 21 1/2" Seatrout.  This fish placed Lee in 3rd place in The Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings.  Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing out on Amelia Island waters!

Beginning with a Bang

I fished this morning with Joanne Esch and her friends Frank, Kim and Jim, launching from the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina in downtown Fernandina Beach, and running up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  I think it was the first cast when we hooked up with a keeper sized Seatrout and Joanne worked it in patiently to the landing net.  Only a minute or so later Kim caught a high flying Ladyfish.  We had a few more Ladyfish hookups that threw the hook then Jim landed another keeper sized Seatrout then  a nice feisty Redfish.  We fished up a small creek, had a few nibbles, then, hit the MOA spot with no real bites, then ran to Jolley Bank and switched to jigs and shrimp.   It didn't take long for Kim to land another keeper sized Seatrout and Frank put a larger Whiting in the box.  All of the anglers had their share of dealing with the pesky Croaker.  It was an overcast morning but that and the light breeze made it a perfect day to be fishing out on Amelia Island waters!

Keeper Sized Trout

Another beautiful morning and a great fishing day!  I met Aaron Perlstein and his day Mitchell down at Big Talbot Island Park and we headed up to the Horsehead area to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We had exactly (9) shrimp...and a bait well full of mud minnows and we began fishing with the float rigs.  It wasn't long before Aaron had a hookup and he soon landed a thrashing keeper sized Seatrout.  What a great way to start a fishing trip!  Shortly after that he had another hookup but this fish buried deep then boiled at the grass line - a nice Redfish!  Aaron played the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a slot sized 22" Redfish!  We fished the bank for a while and when we came to a large creek mouth Mitchell switched to a jig and minnow and it may have been his first cast - BOOM!  Fish on!  He fought the fish from bow to stern and around the engine and eventually landed another big keeper sized Seatrout.!  We worked the bank a second time with jigs and picked up a couple of more keeper Trout then another feisty Redfish.  Our 2nd stop was at Twin Creeks over in the Nassau River and found a nice Ladyfish to battle with.  We then made a run over to Broward Island fished the deep river bottom and BOOM!  Both anglers had a hookup - a Double!  Mitchell boated a nice feisty Redfish and Aaron landed another keeper sized Seatrout.  After Mitchell fought and released another Ladyfish, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Poor Man's Tarpon

I had the pleasure of fishing with Dale Bullard again, who brought along his high school and college buddy, Steve.  We met down at the City docks yesterday afternoon and made a run up to the Jolley River to fish an incoming tide with jigs and shrimp.  The conditions seemed perfect but it must have been just too hot cause all we did was feed the oysters and Croaker!  We then made a run to fish the logs of Tiger Island and here we picked up a couple of Sheepshead with Steve's being the largest and of keeper size.  We fished outside of Tiger over some now flooded oysters, had no luck then made a move further south and this did the trick.  By this time all of us were just looking for some action and we found it with a whole handful of 24" long high flying Ladyfish.  It was almost non stop action for about an hour with both anglers tangling with the acrobatic fish.  We then checked out some marshes as the tide was supposed to flood and even though there were a few spots that flooded, we saw no Redfish tailing.  One final stop at Temptation Cove produced a few bites and one very good hookup but it just wasn't to be.  We wrapped the trip up, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Grande Slam

I got to fish again with the Moore family again yesterday - Daniel and Donna and their kids Ansley and Landon.  This time we mixed it up, launching from the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina and with picture perfect weather, headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings on the first of an outgoing tide.  The anglers were getting Croaker bites when Landon and Daniel finally hooked up,  boating a nice feisty Redfish. A little later Daniel had a strong bite and this fish was ready for a fight!  But he and Landon were up to the task and after a good battle, landed a big 18" Black "puppy" Drum!  We then made a run around to Tiger Island and here Ansley got in on the action, catching a hard fighting Redfish and then a fat keeper sized Seatrout.   Landon followed it by outsmarting the sneaky Sheepshead.   The Moore family now had an Amelia Island Grande Slam of  Redfish, Drum, Seatrout and Sheepshead.  We made a run up into Jolley River, sparred with the Croaker, then Daniel's patience paid off when he boated one more feisty Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Total Team Effort

We fished out of Fernandina Beach today, leaving the Atlantic Seafood dock and heading up to fish the Tiger Island logs on an outgoing tide.  I had Jim and Ronnie Voigt along who were visiting Amelia Island and staying at the beautiful  Elizabeth Pointe Lodge - an easy 5 minutes to the Marina.  Jim was tossing a fly and Ronnie was pitching a jig and shrimp with a spinning outfit.  We fished the logs thoroughly, had a few good bites, but only picked up a single fat Seatrout.  We then made a run up to Jolley River to fish "the Bank" on the last of an outgoing tide and this did the trick.  Jim picked up another hard hitting Seatrout, then a good Slot sized Redfish.  I was thinking "it'd be nice to get a Slam" when Jim hooked up on a good bite.  This fish fought differently than the rest and sure enough when Jim worked it to the surface we saw that it was a 16" keeper sized Flounder, giving these anglers an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  All fish caught today were released to be caught another day!  We continued to fish the bank, caught another Trout, moved further up the river, caught another Trout, then move on around to the "Mother of All" spots where both anglers picked up Trout.  We made one last stop back at the Bank and after landing a couple of Rays were almost ready to call it a day.  I had tossed a jig and shrimp up near the bank and handed off to Ronnie who patiently fished it when BAM! FISH ON!  She fought the fish away from the oysters then handed it off to Jim who patiently played the fish.  It went deep, back to the stern then back around towards shore but Jim kept the pressure on and we eventually landed a big 26 1/2"  "Tournament" Redfish!  Boy what a fish!  And that was a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing the back waters of Amelia Island!

Ladyfish, Jacks and a Big Red

I met the Moore family, Daniel and Donna along with their two kids Ansley and Landon down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we headed up to the Horsehead area to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  We were fishing with jigs and shrimp, slow on the bottom and it took a while to get some bites.  It was one of the first days I've seen where there was a lot of bait movement up in the shallows and maybe  the fish had too much to eat!  But these anglers were patient and eventually young Ansley "got the skunk off the boat" and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  She followed that up with a high humping Ladyfish - the "poor mans Tarpon".  We fished the area for about an hour and half, had some bites, but no real takers, then headed around to the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef.  Again, we had nibbles and luckily Ansley was doing her thing because she landed another Jack.   The rest of us had a good hookup or two, lost them, then Landon reeled in a couple of feisty Croaker.  We then made a run to Broward Island to fish the very last of an outgoing tide and once again, Ansley found a Ladyfish!  But shortly after, Daniel had a subtle nibble, a strong bite, and he set the hook, FISH ON!  He put young Landon on the rod and together they fought the fish away from the tree limbs, out into the deep water, then from bow to stern.  The big fish got into the current and gave a valiant fight but he was no match for the Moore family!  Ansley was "coaching 'em up" and Donna manned the catch net and they soon landed a big 26 3/4" "Tournament Red"!  Boy what a fish and boy what a fight!  The anglers added one more keeper sized Seatrout then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Clay Roberts Memorial Fishing Tournament

Plan to fish the Seventh Annual ClayRoberts Inshore Slam Fishing and Junior Angler Tournaments scheduled for Saturday June 14^th, 2014.  Clay's parents Gary and Terry Roberts founded In River Or Ocean (IROO)  in memory of their son Clay.  In River Or Ocean is dedicated to promoting the protection, restoration and rational management of all river and ocean resources, working as a steward of the waterways by providing educational opportunities regarding conservation and responsible use and care of our natural resources for this and future generations.

The ClayRoberts Inshore Slam Fishing Tournament has become a tradition for the fishing community on Father’s Day weekend and is fun for the whole family.
Clay’s two greatest passions in life were being on the water fishing, and spending time with his family and friends. The IROO strives to make sure that Clay’s tournament is an event the whole family will enjoy.  Whether people fish or not, they welcome them to come on out for the weigh-in and enjoy the food from Terry’s Kitchen.  It is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  They hope people will discover the magic that Clay found in our rivers an oceans.