Covering Costs at Old Town Bait and Tackle

 

If you didn't see the extensive and explanative Facebook post by Nic Bremer, owner of Amelia Island Bait and Tackle/Old Town Bait and Tackle, he has instituted a parking/launch fee at Old Town Bait and Tackle. There is a $5 daily park or launch fee, or you can pay a $50 fee for an annual permit. 

As Nic mentioned in his post, he and his family have put a large amount of funds toward improving the property - a complete remodel of the Tackle shop, with an improved and consistent inventory - and they are consistent in opening on time, and every day! Crazy huh?  Those also brought in a few loads of rock to try and level the parking area.

The Bremers have remodeled and made work the "outhouse"  restroom, and keep it clean and stocked with toilet paper. They got the water spigot working and provided a water hose for rinsing off your boat. They installed a fish cleaning table down at the dock and installed water, a hose, and nozzle for use by anglers. THIS PRIVATE BOAT RAMP IS THE ONLY RAMP THAT HAS A CLEANING TABLE IN OUR AREA.

When you get your tax bill this November and you're looking at how much you pay in tax's, note that The County has NO cleaning tables at their ramps(Dee Dee Bartels, Goffinsville, Holley Pointe). The City has not cleaning table at the Marina ramp. The State has no cleaning table down at Sawpit Creek. Heck, it's been "closed" for the last 5 months! 

This ramp and dock also has a true "NO WAKE" zone - you don't have to worry about your boat getting waked and dinged up. Try that at Dee Dee Bartles, Goffinsville or Sawpit Creek - you're boat hull will look like the Anglers Mark's- dings and dents and scratches. Why don't they enforce the No Wake at these ramps? My gut tells me it's not "politically" viable. Every one they write a ticket to is a voter. 

Old Town has installed some new signage to try and manage the parking. Up front at the door you'll see a sign "Old Town Customer Parking" - you can pull up there and park and go in and make a purchase with no parking fee. 

If your launching a boat, pull out and park over by the bridge incline/14th Street, but PULL IN DIAGONALLY!  There's a sign. If you're in a car with no trailer, park over by the boat yard fence. DO NOT PARK IN THE BOAT TRAILER PARKING. There are few spots up near Eagans Creek where you can park.  Make sure you pay for your parking or launch fee. The Old Town Bait and Tackle staff will give you a parking permit. 

I know everyone hates to see a new fee, or prices to go  up, but for what we get - the improved Bait and Tackle store, wash down hose, restroom, cleaning table, a real No Wake zone, and parking...then I'll gladly pay the fee (NOTE: I purchased the annual permit). When I meet customers there, they will need to pay the $5 parking fee. Thanks, see you out there fishing. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide and US Coast Guard licensed Charter boat operator in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

The Flounder Boys!

 

I fished with Justin Palmore and his two sons Will and Bentley this morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made a long run up the intercoastal and made our way over to Poteat Cut to set up along some exposed oyster beds on an outgoing tide that still had a few hours to hit bottom. We had good action early catching a couple of small but feisty Redfish, a Seatrout, and a big Catfish. 

We then made our way over to the mouth of Jackstaff and worked that bank with jigs and live shrimp and here Will hooked up and expertly landed a nice 17" Flounder to go in the box. And just a bit up the way Justin had a hookup and he too put a 17" Flounder in the box. 

After running thru Horsehead we made our way down to some docks at
Nassauville and fished jigs and minnows, dueling with the Mangrove Snapper. Both Will and Bentley had hookups and Will put a rather large one in the box. Justin outsmarted a good handful of those Mangroves and the trio added a couple of small Flounder. But then Bentley, fishing on his own, had a good "bump",  set the hook like a pro, and reeled his own keeper sized Flounder.

We finished the day down at Spanish Drop, fishing a bend of oysters on the first of an incoming tide and had good action from Redfish bites. Will had a strong hookup, played it patiently, and landed a Slot sized 13 spot Redfish to wrap things  up, and as we headed back to the dock, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide and Charter boat operator in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Shark Attack!

 We fished out of Sawpit Creek today after I met Bob Kossman and Dale Bullard early. I had a live well of shrimp and had caught some mud minnows. After running a little bit up the Nassau River we began to fish a shell bank on the last of an outgoing tide baited with the live shrimp. I was a somewhat surprised that we didn't get a bite, not even a Jack or Ladyfish and unlike yesterday, none of the "feisty" Redfish. 

After moving up a few hundred yards we fished a large drainage, then moved on up to Twin Creeks and worked that area and Dale did manage to get "barely legal" Flounder to the boat. Needing some action, we ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished float rigs around some docks and that did the trick - we dueled with Mangrove Snapper and won out a few times to add a handful to the box. Once the tide started in we moved around to fish some docks, back with the jigs, and again caught a handful of keeper sized Mangroves.

The final stop was down at Broward Island, just as the tide was changing, and here Bob put a feisty Redfish in the boat. Dale added one, then Bob had a strong hookup. He played it expertly and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We worked just a little down that bank and then it was 
Dale's turn to battle the big fish. He played it patiently, worked it up, and landed another nice Slot sized Redfish. Fishing on, Dale again had a good bite. He fought it valiantly and had it right to the boat when a big Shark came by and took most of it!  Dale had yelled "Shark"! and I thought that was what he had on the line until he lifted what was left of the Slot Redfish! Ouch.

We fished a bit more - Bob hooked up and landed a big Mangrove Snapper, then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Bragging Rights Blowout

 Our weather pattern has been holding the last few weeks...great early morning, sometimes even overcast like today, with just a slight breeze, then some sunshine, then the heat comes on by about 10am.  And the fish bite has been similar. I met Grant Gressman and his son Colton along with Grant's dad Charlie out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and we headed down to Spanish Drop to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. We baited jigs with live shrimp and began pitching to the exposed shell bank as we eased into the current. And it wasn't long before we were catching fish, First a couple of Jacks, then we got into some feisty "Rat" Reds, and caught one after another. Grant had the hot hand initially but the other two anglers joined in on the catch. Grant caught a Seatrout and a Black Drum to round at his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam.

We moved up to a large drainage and fished it and here Charlie hooked up out deep and landed the firstkeeper fish, a nice Seatrout. Colton had a strong bite and fought it expertly to the boat to land the largest Jack Crevalle of the day. Then, when Grant's rod bent over, we questioned what he had on the line. I was thinking a big Catfish but when it came to the surface I saw that it was a HUGE Flounder and it was all I could do to get the catch net under it's nose and bring it to the boat - a 22" Flounder, the biggest of the year and big enough to smash into First Place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings. 

We fished a dock at Seymore's Pointe briefly, added a Mangrove Snapper to the box, then made a run down to Broward Island where we added another Flounder to the catch. Our last stop was back at some docks at Nassauville where Colton hooked up and landed a nice 16" Flounder, a keeper, then all three anglers dueled the Mangroves, winning a few and losing a few, but adding to the box another good handful of keeper fish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Over in Tallahassee They're Laughing

 We had a bit of wind today which kept things cooler for most of the morning. After meeting Jacob Jones, is fiancé Lexi, and his father Lawton, up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp, we made a long run up and around to the Jolley River, and continued on around to the MOA to catch the first of an incoming tide before the oysters covered up. I think the first "demo cast" produced a nibble, and a hookup. Lexi was on the rod and expertly brought it to the boat - a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. 

From then on for about 45 minutes we were getting bites. Lawton hauled in a pair of huge Catfish and the trio landed a handful of Jacks, a couple of small Redfish, a couple of small Seatrout, then Lexi had another strong bite. She played it perfectly and brought to the net a keeper sized Black Drum.

We moved around to Snook Creek and worked along those oysters. We had numerous bites but no real takers so we moved on down the river. After fishing the "bank" with float rigs and again, no real bites, we moved back up the river and fished a pointe with the floats. And this did the trick. Right off the bat, Lawton picked up a couple of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. Then we were "on" again, catching fish We had a whole bunch of Seatrout caught, almost all right at 14", and if you listened close, you could here the FWC guys and girls over at Tallahassee laughing, "another 14" Seatrout caught!"

Our last stop was around at the outside of Tyger, tossing jigs again, now baited with mud minnows, in hopes of catching some Flounder. But we picked up a couple of.....14" Seatrout!  The sun had come out and even with the wind, the heat was getting up so we headed back and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Fishing The Nassau

 I thought I had the day off today and had a long "to-do" list ready but luckily the Coffey's saved me! One of my regular customers who was set to fish today called in that he'd had to have an emergency medical procedure so the day was opened when Tracy Coffey contacted me yesterday afternoon. I met him, his son Tracy B, and his daughter-in-law Maggie down at  the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and after a short run up the Nassau we turned into the current and began to fish jigs and live shrimp on the very first of an incoming tide.

I think the first cast produced a small Redfish that Tracy B hauled in and then we had good hookups catching the small Reds, a couple of keeper Seatrout, and a good handful of Jack Crevalle.  We then moved up the river to just past Twin Creeks and fished back. Here, Tracy B hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder then his dad had a drag ripping bite, fought it valiantly, and after a long battle, landed a 3' Bonnethead Shark.  And shortly after that it was Tracy' B's turn to battle the Shark. He patiently played it and brought it to the boat for pictures and release. Maggie got in on the action, catching a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a small Trout, and a Trout that was right there at keeper size.

We floated some shrimp at some rocks at Seymore's Pointe and landed a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, then moved down the way and switched to jigs and picked up a handful of Snapper, again small, then we wrapped up down at Pumpkin Hill drifting float rigs up. Stacy B wrapped things up with a final feisty Redfish catch and as we headed back to the dock, we counted  it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

One Had To Go Back

 I was fishing south today after meeting Brad Lanier down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. And I was feeling pretty good about my choice for the first spot to hit, so we ran up the intercoastal and peeled off when we got to Poteat Cut and began to fish some expose oyster beds with jigs and live shrimp on the first of an incoming tide. We worked that area good, then moved around a point and fished it with jigs and float rigs but we didn't get what we could claim as a good nibble! Ouch. 

After running thru Horsehead I slowed at some docks at Seymore's but there was a boat where I wanted to be so we kept running all the way down to Spanish Drop and began to work another shell bank with the jig and this did the trick. Right off the bat, Brad picked up a couple of small Jacks, a small but feisty Redfish, and then he had a strong bite deep, set the hook, and Fish On!  Brad played it patiently and brought to the net a big 19.25" Seatrout, boy what a fish!

We worked along the bank and picked up another big Jack, tangled with a couple of Ladyfish, then
when we got to a large drainage we paused and fished it. Brad reeled in a surprising keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then a keeper sized Flounder, then we had an even bigger Flounder throw the hook at boatside. We switched to float rigs and mud minnows and began to catch Seatrout. On one drift a big fish crashed the bait, then hooked up and again, Fish On!  Brad fought it expertly and brought it in to the net, a 22.25" Trout - big enough to move Brad into a tie for first place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). With fairly rules, only one Seatrout over 19" per boat is allowed, so one of those fish had to go back!

A short run down to Pumpkin Hill where we drifted float rigs produced a lone Flounder. We fished the bank pretty good, moved around the pointe and drifted long a few times to pick up some small Seatrout, then we finished up over at Seymore's Pointe trying to outsmart some Mangroves. If you were keeping score we "lost" the battle but Brad did put  a handful of larger Mangroves n the box. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

The Trip Got Better As It Went Along

 

I fished north today, meeting the Yeager boys - Keith and his sons Reece and Renner - up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We made a run up and around to the Jolley River and began to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that still had a few hours to hit high. Reece was on the bow and got hot quick catching a good handful of small but feisty Redfish. Keith was in the middle, Renner on the stern, and both tangled with high flying Ladyfish.

We ran up the river to Snook Creek, fished a very fishy looking bank, and again they caught a couple of small Reds, then Renner hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout and hard fighting Jack Crevalle. We moved up in the creek and here Keith won a hard fought battle with a 3' Bonnethead Shark. 

The tide was getting pretty high so we moved back down the river and fished a point with the float rigs and things really heated up. Renner put another keeper Trout in the boat then all three anglers were catching fish. We had some small Trout, another Jack or two, a big Gar Fish, another Red or two, then Renner hooked up and, Fish On!  He patiently played it to the boat and landed a huge 20.75" Seatrout, a fish big enough to move him in to sole possession of 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). By the way, that fish was caught on a mud minnow.

We finished the day fishing the outside of Tyger in hopes of picking up some Flounder. Reece did hookup and land a small Flounder, but he bettered that! As we worked along the bank Reece had made a pinpoint cast to a pocket and BAM! Fish On!  This fish was pulling hard to the grass line but Reece kept the pressure on, worked it out, then expertly landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. As we were dealing with that fish Keith went in to the same spot and BAM! Another big fish On!  This one bulled up into the grass to try and shake the hook but it was to no avail...Keith worked it out and landed a 22.25" Slot fish. The catch got better as the day went along so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

And More Trout

 Trout. They just keep coming. I had met the Dickens group, set up by Sparkle - her son David, son-in-law Domenic, grandson Chris and her brother Jack - early down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a short run up the Nassau River and turned into the incoming current at Spanish Drop and began to work the bank with float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that still had a couple of hours to hit high.  We worked along the bank, Jack and David fishing off the stern and drifting long while Chris and his dad Domenic took the stern. Although Jack and David did pick up a couple of Jacks and Ladyfish, the stern had the "game" fish - they hooked up and landed a couple of nice keeper sized Seatrout. Jack eventually joined them and landed a couple of those Trout, too. 

We moved down to Twin Creeks and fished it for a bit then made the run down to Pumpkin Hill and set up to drift long and this did the trick. Both David and Jack, still on the stern, picked up some good fish - Jacks and Ladyfish but Domenic sneaked in behind them and pulled out another keeper sizes Seatrout. After moving up to a point and fishing down the other side, Chris had a good drift, a hookup and expertly played to the boat the biggest Trout of the day. The group added another handful of small Trout, a couple of small Redfish, and another keeper sized Seatrout. 

We finished he day over at Poteat Cut, now fishing the very first of an outgoing

tide. The sun was up and boy was it getting hot but David hung in there and pulled out the "Big Fish", a 33" Bonnethead shark to take home the GPK! And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Those Trout

I was back to work today, fishing with the Ankney "boys",  Carson, Cooper, Christian and their brother-in-law Blake. We met early this morning up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and after easing thru the no-wake zone we headed up to the Jolley River and turned into the current (what there was) and began to toss float rigs and live shrimp up to the grass on  a tide that was high but still coming in. 

We tangled with  some Shark (one spooled Blake and is still heading west) we picked up a small Jack and a small Redfish. After moving up the river to a point we stopped and fished it and this was the "honey hole" of the day. Blake quickly put a nice Seatrout on the boat then it was a scramble to keep the lines out catching fish. These anglers ended up with 4 keeper sized Seatrout, the biggest being right at 19", one that Cooper and Carson teamed  up on. We threw back a good handful of  small Trout. They also caught a handful of small Redfish, a couple of Jacks, and a Bonnethead Shark. 

After running back to the outside of Tyger we fished one side of a creek and picked up a small Trout, then we crossed over to fill a spot where a boat had just left and had pretty good action catching small Redfish and a couple of small Flounder. We ran thru Tyger and around to Lanceford Creek and here Cooper found a good spot up by the grass and pulled out a few Redfish, all on the same beat up Mud Minnow.

We finished the day over in Soap Creek where Christian came alive, catching a high flying Ladyfish and the only Catfish of the day. We had a good box of Trout so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator