Blackened Redfish for Dinner

Dale and Kay Bullard took in another fishing trip today and this time they brought along their adult daughter Autumn.  We had a high and incoming tide when we left the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina and headed north to fish the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live minnows.  We had a nibble hear and there, saw a tailing Redfish in some sparse grass, but had no real bites.  We had planned to fish for Tailing Redfish  as the tide was predicted to be  high enough for Reds up in the spartina but it never made it with

the west wind pushing back against the tide.  So we continued to fish the edges and the three anglers patience paid off.  Dale knocked the "skunk off" by landing a hungry Seatrout and shortly afterwards Autumn yelled, "FISH ON" and her rod bent double.  She fought the fish perfectly despite the unwanted coaching from her dad and I, and eventually landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish!   Talk immediately turned towards methods of preparing the fish and we all agreed that it should be blackened, outside!  We fished the shoreline then made a run around to Lanceford Creek where Dale added to the box with a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout.  We fished a while longer, picked up another couple of Trout, had a Flounder to the boat, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

She Married an Angler

My trip this morning was with Andrew and Jessica Piccirillo, newlyweds visiting Amela Island as part of their honeymoon.  We met at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina and headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island on the very last of an incoming tide.  The anglers were tossing live shrimp and mud minnows under floats and began to get bites right off.    Jessica had a Ladyfish take her bait,  sling itself off, then she caught a nice Whiting on here retrieve!  This was her first fish she had ever caught!  Andrew followed that

up with a hungry Seatrout.  There was a ton of bait up in the marsh grass and even though we could see big fish attacking, they wouldn't take our offering, so we moved on around to fish the  mouth of Tiger.  Again, we had some decent bites, one strong hookup that cut itself off on the submerged oysters, then we eased around to fish the logs of Tiger on the very first of an outgoing tide.  This isn't and ideal tide to be fishing the spot but Jessica found a way to catch a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum on a jig and shrimp.  We then headed up to Jolley River, fished a larger creek runout, picked up another Seatrout and Ladyfish, then Andrew had a good hookup.  The fish started it's fight like a decent sized Redfish but then it took off, bending the rod double and causing the drag to rip, FISH ON!  Andrew played the fish like a good angler, working the fish patiently through its runs until he subdued the beast, a nice 4' long Bonnethead Shark!  We fished a little move in the area then moved back to Jolley Bank where Andrew wrapped the trip up by landing a nice keeper sized Flounder, making it another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Double Slam

I fished the south end today, launching at the Big Talbot Island Park
on a high and still incoming tide.  Bill Walker had set the trip up and had his fiancé Katie and her dad Ronnie, planning to do some Amelia Island back country fishing.  We ran north, up the Nassau River and made our first stop at some flooded oysters. The anglers were tossing live shrimp and mud minnows up to the marsh grass.  It took just a little while but Bill was able to knock the "skunk off the boat" when he hooked up and patiently played in a nice Redfish.  We fished until the tide peaked then made a run around and through Jackstaff then up into a side creek.  The catching heated up here with both Bill and Ronnie landing some fat Seatrout.  Further down the bank Ronnie had a strong hookup and landed another nice Redfish and then Katie got on the board by catching a Flounder to give the anglers their first Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  We crossed over to Jackstaff "bank" where Bill and Katie switched to a jig. This did the trick for Katie - she picked up a Trout and a Jack Crevalle.  After fishing a good stretch of marsh line on the outgoing tide, we made one final run back to

the Nassau River, fished an oyster outcrop, and Ronnie hooked up with a keeper sized Flounder to give the anglers their 2nd Slam of the day.  We ended the trip with Bill battling a Bonnethead Shark for a good 5-10 minutes, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Birthday Finish

We had a high and outgoing tide this morning when I met Tim Vieke and his friend David down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina to do some Amelia Island Back Country fishing on Tim's birthday.  The guys and their wives were staying at the beautiful Elizabeth Pointe Lodge - on the ocean, but just a short ride into town to the marina.  We headed north and fished the outside of Tiger Island, tossing topwater lures and had some really good strikes, but no takers.  Our next stop was up to Jolley River, fishing the "bank" with live mud minnows under floats and even though the conditions seemed right, we only had a few nibbles and one hungry Bluefish.  Another run up the river to a large creek outflow and boy was it

pretty!  David went back to the topwaters while Tim stayed with the minnows.  And he finally got the "skunk" off the boat, landing a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  We picked up another keeper sized Trout, then Tim tangled with a Ladyfish.  Our final stop was a run back to Eagans Creek where we fished some dock pilings with jigs/minnows and this was the ticket. Both Tim and David landed feisty Redfish then Tim put a Slot Sized one in the boat.  David picked up another keeper sized Seatrout then we netted another Slot Sized Red.  The anglers were picking fish up in shallow water near the pilings but many came from out deep on the outside of the floating dock.  They landed three more keeper sized Seatrout with the largest being 19 1/2".  It was great that both Tim and David stayed patient and it paid off with a great way to end an Amelia Island fishing trip!

The Hot Rod

Sometimes you just gotta count on the young guys to put fish in the boat.  I fished this morning with Gene Rice, his son Gene Jr, son-in-law Robby and grandson Will.  We met down at the Atlantic Seafood dock in downtown Fernandina Beach and headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island on the first of an outgoing tide.  The anglers started off tossing live shrimp under floats and thanks to Gene Jr. we were able to "knock the skunk off" when he picked up a hungry Seatrout.   Later, Robby had a fish flash by his bait then came back to take it and began ripping the drag on his reel  He

fought the fish patiently and soon landed a Bonnethead Shark.  We then ran up to Jolley River, fished the "bank" and had a few tangles with high flying Ladyfish.  Then young Will, regulated to the back of the boat, hooked up, FISH ON!  This young angler fought the fish from port to starboard and back again, working the fish with his rod and after a good battle, landed a  nice 18 3/4" Slot Redfish!  We ran further up the creek where Gene Sr, fishing with a jig and shrimp,  picked up a Redfish; we moved around to the MOA and had very little bites.  Our last stop was over in Bell River, fishing some dock pilings with all anglers tossing jigs and shrimp and Will had the hot rod again, hooking up and landing another Slot Redfish, this one measuring 19.5".   His dad Robby followed that one up with one more Slot Red to wrap up another great day of fishing Amelia Island waters!

One Big Trout

I had the pleasure of fishing with Mike Morrill and his buddy Ross this morning, leaving early to fish with topwater lures on an outgoing tide.  We headed up to the Jolley River, set up outside a large creek and began tossing Zara Spooks to the marsh grass.  Walking the Dog, the anglers had a few good rolls at their lures, but no takers.  We switched to live shrimp under floats and they picked up a couple of Ladyfish bites and feisty Bonnethead Shark.  We ran back to Jolley Bank and switched to jigs and shrimp and it wasn't long before Mike picked up a Feisty Redfish.  Our next stop was the logs of Tiger Island and hear the action picked up.  Both Ross and Mike landed a couple of Redfish then Ross had a strong hookup and a fight on his hands.  He played the fish patiently and after an extended battle, landed a 22 1/2" Seatrout, putting him tied for 3rd place in The Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  We also picked up a couple of smaller Seatrout and Black "puppy" Drum.   We then made a  run over to Eagans Creek, fished some dock pilings, picked up a couple of feisty Redfish, a huge Stingray, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Drumming up Fish

Fish the dock pilings or fish the marsh grass?  That's what I was asking myself this morning as I was getting The Anglers Mark ready.  I was meeting Michael Furhman and his crew down at the Atlantic Seafood dock to fish the last 3 hours of an outgoing tide.  When Michael made it to the boat I found that most of his crew had "mutinied" but he had drafted his sister-in-law Erin to come along and fill their shoes.  I decided on "docks" so we headed over to Eagans Creek, found a likely spot, then began to toss shrimp and mud minnows on a jig up to the pilings.  It wasn't long before both

anglers were catching feisty Redfish but when Michael's rod bent double and drag ripped out, we knew he had a bigger fish, FISH ON!  The big fish tried to get back up in the pilings but Micheal was a savvy angler and worked the fish out. Once in deeper water it plowed deep but it was no match for Micheal!  He soon landed a not so "puppy"  Black Drum measuring at 22"!  Shortly after catching another couple of feisty Reds, Erin took a turn at a hard fighting Black Drum. She too had to keep the pressure on to keep the fish from getting back into the pilings but she soon landed a

nice 18" Black Drum.    They caught another couple of smaller Reds, then Erin had a strong hookup and, FISH ON again!  She played the big fish patiently, working it away from the pilings, letting it run when it wanted to run, but eventually landing a 25 1/2" Slot Redfish!  After photographs we released the big fish to hopefully make it to the oversized limit!   Michael caught a keeper sized Sheepshead to round out the anglers Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then we headed up to Jolley River, fished some exposed oyster banks, then BOOM!  Michael had a drag ripping hookup, then BOOM! Erin did to. We had a double!  Both anglers patiently fougt their fish, bow to stern, port to starboard, stern to bow, going 'round and 'round.  I had to shuffle from one angler to the other trying to figure out which Bonnethead Shark to net first but soon we had both of them flopping around the boat!  We got some good photographs then tossed them back.  After fishing another spot with no real bites, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

After a long lunch break I met Michael again at the Marina and this time he had a brother-in-law

Andy and his daughter Ella.  We had planned to do a short fishing trip and boat tour so I headed up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish some now flooded oyster beds with live shrimp under float.  After just a few minutes Ella had a hookup and a fish fight!  She worked the fish in and we netted her first ever fish - a hungry Seatrout!  Her dad and uncle Michael joined in and in less than an hour we the anglers had caught 7-8 Seatrout, a high flying Ladyfish, and a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  We then did a tour of Fort Clinch, crossed to veiw some wild horses on Cumberland, cruised up Beach Creek and saw two manatee, then headed in - another great Amelia Island fishing trip and boat tour!

Patience Makes The Angler

Another beautiful  morning found The Anglers Mark down at Sawpit Creek, south of Amelia Island, meeting Danny Genther and Zack and Ben Ford to do some back water fishing.  We headed up to the Horsehead area to fish "Jackstaff Bank" and although we had a few nibbles, we had no real good bites -other than a Ladyfish encounter that Ben had.  We crossed and fished a point and here Zack knocked the "skunk" off, landing a fat and still  hungry Seatarout.  We then made a run around to Nassau River to fish the very last of the outgoing tide and first of the incoming.  This proved to be better fishing.  Ben landed a couple of Catfish, Danny landed a plump Snapper, then Zack upped the ante by tossing a live shrimp under a float to an exposed oyster bank, and got a  hook up!  Fish on!  He fought the fish patiently and let the rod do the work, wearing out and landing a nice 21 1/2" Seatrout.  Later, we were letting shrimp sit on the bottom with very little movement when we had a hookup again.  This time Ben managed the rod and he to patiently worked the fish.  We weren't thinking it was very big but as it got closer to the boat it made some good runs deep, but Ben kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice keeper sized 16" Black "puppy" Drum.  We picked up another Snapper, fished a shallow slew, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

The Bonnethead Two Step

Boy what a beautiful morning we had today!  I had met Zach Peyton and his dad, Bob down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp with plans to fish the Horsehead area on the last of an outgoing tide.  We had a good quantity of live shrimp and mud minnows to fish with our 1/4oz jigs.   Our first stop was at the mouth of Jackstaff and even though the conditions seemed perfect - a slight breeze, oysters showing, sunshine, outgoing tide-we struggled to get some bites.  We did pick up a small Seatrout and Black "puppy" Drum.  But then Zach had a strong hookup that bent his rod double and made the drag sing, "FISH ON"!  He fought the fish valiantly as the beast took him from bow to stern, from port to starboard, and then back to the stern, travelling under the boat a couple of times. Zach and the equipment were up to the task and eventually subdued a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark!  Shortly afterwards, he had a similar battle with the same results.  As the tide started in we made a move over to the Nassau River which turned out to be the prime ticket.  We all had some strong hookups, losing something big in some structure, then we hooked up again and landed a nice 18" keeper size Puppy Drum.  And only minutes later we had a another hookup and landed a 25" Slot Red!  And a short while later, another 26" Slot Red!  We picked up a couple of feisty Redfish then moved in close and actually got out of the boat to fish a shallow slew from an old oyster bank.  I think it was Zach's second cast when he hooked up!  I was yelling "I'm coming with the net" and Zach paced himself until I got there to help land a feisty Redfish.  We then made a run over to Broward Island where Bob caught another Slot Redfish, then a very nice keeper sized 16" Sheepshead.  The sun was getting up but we still had a little bait so we ran back to Jackstaff and tried some float rigs.  Bob rounded out our Amelia Island Grand Slam by catching a keeper Sized Seatrout then almost at the same time both he and Zach had strong hookups, FISH'(s) ON!  We had a double!  Zach's fish zipped north and Bob's fish zipped south.  Zach's fish went to starboard while Bob's fish went to port.  The two anglers were passing their rods over and under and around each other, doing the "Bonnethead Two Step"!  We saw both fish surface and it appeared Bob's was the largest which made sense  because it eventually got tired of the whole thing and broke itself off.  Zach kept up the fight with his fish and soon landed another big Bonnethead Shark.  With that, we called it a day, another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Perfect 10

I had the pleasure of fishing again with Allen Reeves and this time he brought along his adult sons Jason and Jeff to fish the back waters of Amelia Island.  Last year when I fished with Allen we had what I call a "banner day" - just non-stop action with some really nice fish.  I knew it was going to be hard to live up to a day like that but with the radio station's weather report this morning calling today a "Perfect 10", we knew it would be a great day, regardless.  We headed north to Jolley River to fish a large creek runout on the very last of an outgoing tide.  The conditions were almost perfect but all we could find were some pesky Croaker.  We made a run around to the MOA (Mother-of-All) spots and this did the trick. Jason didn't take long to have a hookup and land a nice hungry Seatrout, then Allen followed it up with one of his own, this one of keeper size.  He also landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and Jeff battled and subdued a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark.  We ran back to fish Jolley Bank and right off we had a double hookup!  Jeff had a Big fish on and then Jason did too.    But Jason's threw the hook while Jeff battled on. At first I thought it was a Shark, then when it rolled up I thought "Redfish"!  Jeff kept the pressure on, letting the rod do the work, then eventually landed a 21 3/4" Seatrout!  We fished on, catching a Jack Crevalle, another Seatrout, then another keeper sized Seatrout before heading over to fish the logs of Tiger Island.  Although we some good nibbles the fish just wernt' biting so we made a run and stop outside of Tiger where Allen landed one more Seatrout.  With that, we called it a day, a "perfect 10" to be out fishing Amelia Island waters!