Out of Nowhere

I wrapped my week up fishing south, meeting the Williams family - John and Mary Margaret and their kids Hadden and Ruth down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. It was a bit cool as we ran up the Nassau and I made beeline for a large drainage knowing the tide had just started out. Sure enough, were were on fish almost from the start. These anglers were tossing float rigs with about a 3' leader and circle hook up beyond a grassy point, letting it naturally drift and BAM! Fish On!  We caught a good handful of Seatrout, a couple were of keeper size, and Ruth reeled in an impressive 16" Sheepshead. We also had a few Bluefish caught, and few good fish that threw the hook. 

Our next stop was around at some docks at Nassauville and here things started slow, but boy did they heat up. John found rhythm and began to feel the "bump" and set the hook and landed a number of Seatrout, one of which was right at 19.5", a fish big enough to move him into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). They also caught a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper sized. Then, as the fished deeper John hooked up and we both thought it may just be a clump of oysters, but then the rod bounced and the jigs ripped a

bit and we knew it was a big fish!  Hadden jumped in and worked the rod - they fought it valiantly together, and after a good battle brought to the surface and to the net a Big 22" Doormat Flounder, boy what a fish. This fish moved John and Hadden into first place in the Bragging Rights Tournament. 

We finished up fishing down at Broward Island on a tide that was still going out and here Mary Margaret put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat to wrap things up. We had a good handful of fish in the box, some Bragging Rights and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

:Handicapped from the Start

After I got the boat ready and was having a cup of coffee I saw AIBT's Facebook post that they were out of live shrimp and minnows and I knew we'd be a bit handicapped from the start. But I luckily I had some fresh frozen shrimp in the freeze, which I grabbed, and I loaded up with a quart of fiddler crabs at the bait shop and then met Doug Massey, his son Mark and grandson Evan up at the Old Town boat ramp.  And then Capt Jesse Scruggs gave me a dozen mud minnows, so we were set!

We headed out of Eagans and over to Tyger and set up off a point to fish float rigs and drifted the mud minnows across an oyster flat with the outgoing current. The trio of anglers were getting good drifts but if we had a nibble, it wasn't much.  We crossed over the creek and fished a corner of grass with the floats, but again, no bites.

After coming out of Tyger and around to the outside we did pull up at a drainage and switched to jigs and the minnows and worked it pretty good, to no avail.  The wind was supposed to start picking up and sure enough, it was as we headed around to the Jolley River and fished another drainage, this time with the floats, and again, no bites. Ouch.  We were two hours in to the trip and the skunk was still on the boat!

But our next stop was around at Bell River, fishing the jigs with everything we had -live minnows, fresh dead shrimp, and fiddler crabs and this did the trick. Just a few minutes in Evan "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. He followed that up with a small Sheepshead caught on one of the fiddlers, then Mark got in on the action and expertly played a keeper sized Trout to the net. After a good cast up into a pocket behind some pilings he had another good bite, a hookup, and fought to the boat a nice Slot sized Redfish

We were getting bites now with the tide down and we were blocked from the growing wind.  Doug found a couple of Trout that were almost legal, Evan garnered a type of Slam with a Black "puppy" Drum catch (Trout, Sheepshead, Drum) and then he wrapped things up with a Whiting catch. As we headed back to the ramp, and out from the land mass, we soon found that the wind was howling, but with some good fish catches, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Making the best with Fiddler Crabs

 The last thing I expected when walked in to the bait store this afternoon was for them to be (temporarily) out of live Shrimp AND Mud minnows. Oh lordy!  But they did have some fiddler crabs so I purchased a pint and a few packages of artificial baits and headed out to Goffinsville Park thinking we may be in for a long afternoon of fishing. I met William and Dara Blalock and their friends Brian and Janet Roach and we headed over to Broward Island to fish a tide that had been coming in for about an hour and half.

 I did have have some left over mud minnows so we used them and the crabs and it didn't take long before Janet "knocked the
skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. And just minutes later Dara had tossed back to a large drainage, had a bump, set the hook, and landed a keeper sized Flounder. 

We fished that area pretty good and caught a good handful of fish with William adding a keeper sized Seatrout to the box. The fiddler crabs were getting fish - Reds, a small Sheepshead, and even a Seatrout hit 'em.  We then ran way up the Nassau and dipped into a creek and fished the bank, alternating between the minnows and crabs and both caught fish. They added another keeper Flounder, another keeper Trout, and three small Slot Redfish to their catch. 

The wind had picked up as we came back down the river and fished Seymore's Pointe with float rigs, which produced nothing. But in behind the land mass, we were out of the wind and  it was pleasant fishing so we decided to work the docks with those crabs and it paid off. They caught Trout, a couple of feisty Redfish, then Brian topped things off with a good bite, and better fight, and he eventually landed the biggest Red of the day, a nice 23" Slot fish. We had made do with what we had and we had a nice box of fish so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Dara's Super Duper

 Back at it today, fishing south early this morning. I had met William and Dara Blalock out at Goffinsville as the sun came up and we made a quick run down the river to fish between two docks on a tide that still had a few hours to hit bottom. The two anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and makjng excellent casts and it paid off. 

Dara kicked things off with a nice, keeper sized Seatrout catch, then added another, then another with each betting respectively bigger, the biggest measuring right at 19". All fish caught today were released. Dara also added a keeper sized Flounder to her catch total. 

We moved around the corner and fished some dock pilings and here William hooked up and landed  Sea Bass. We moved over to fish Bubblegum Reef, a spot I hadn't fished in years, and it was a good move. William caught and landed another, bigger, Sea Bass, then Dara put a small Sheepshead in the boat, then hooked up and landed a respectable 17.75" Sheepshead to give her a Slam for the morning. But She wasn't finished!

After running down to Broward Island we fished a spot on the last of the outgoing tide, really just killing time, and boy did we get into some fish. Dara found some nice Seatrout deep, then William began to get feisty Redfish off the stern. Then Dara's drag went off and the battle was on!  Dara played the big fish patiently, let it run down river, then worked it back slowly, let it run, worked it back, and finally brought to the net a big oversized 28.5" Redfish, boy what a fight, boy what a fish!

The duo continued to catch fish - I lost count at 8 keeper sized Seatrout, but Dara did add a couple of Black "puppy" Drum for her Grande Slam, then later, fishing a jigs and Gulp minnow, added a keeper sized Weakfish to get her Super Duper Grande Slam for the day. The Redfish, Trout and Sheepshead put Dara on the Bragging Rights list in three Categories - maybe a first! (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We had caught a bunch of fish, had a beautiful day, and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Recipe of the Month: Butter Beans and Shrimp

I saw this recipe pop up on Facebook and thought it looked like some real "comfort food"!  It was at a really cool site, boudreauxsrbackyard.com  I cooked it, it was outstanding!

Butter Beans and Shrimp

Ingredients:

2   tbsp oil

2   tbsp flour

1    lb large lima beans, cleaned and soaked (I used frozen, follow directions)

2    lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (save tails to make shrimp stock)

1    onion, chopped

2    stalks celery, chopped

4    cloves garlic

2    chilis (optional)(you won't taste 'em cooked), chopped

2     quarts of water (make shrimp stock out of tails)

1     cup cream

2    tbsp vegetable base

1/2   bunch of green onions, chopped

1    tbsp parsley, chopped

2    tbsp shrimp dust (I tried three stores and couldn't find this, hence the shrimp stock)

2    tbsp Creole seasoning (there was enough salt in my seasoning that I didn't need to add any)

      White Rice

      Sausage

Directions:

1.   Wash beans and soak them overnight

2.   Heat oil over med. heat and whisk flour, cook until light brown in color

3.   Add in trinity, garlic, chili's, stir and cook until soft

4.    Add in beans and water (shrimp stock)

5.   Stir in Creole seasonings, vegetable base and shrimp powder

6.   Simmer for 3-4 hours until beans are tinder. Add liquid as needed( I cooked the frozen beans          for about 30 minutes. The package called for about 25)

7.   Add in heavy cream and simmer 20 minutes

      It was about along here that I cooked my rice

8.   Add in shrimp, green onions and parsley and cook 15 more minutes

      It was about here that I cooked the sausage

9.    Serve over rice with a side of sausage

We Made The Run

 I wrapped my week up fishing with the Conforti guys today, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. The weather had cleared from yesterday and it was a bit cooler, but winds were expected to pick up as the day went on. We made our first stop over at Tyger Island, fishing the logs with jigs and live shrimp but the first area produced nothing.  After moving down the way Fred(the middle) hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. Then Fred(the younger) had a strange bite, a hookup, and he landed a nice Flounder. 

The wind was already picking up as we ran thru Horsehead over to the Bell and down to Lanceford where we headed up the creek to fish some docks with the jigs. We were somewhat sheltered here but after fishing a couple of docks we had no real bites, so we moved on.

I had intended to run way up the Bell River and fish those docks but I figured it was about the same distance as running south  to where we had some good action yesterday, so we made the run. We did stop off at one spot to fish a deep hole, but again, no bites.

Reaching Seymore's Pointe we all switched to float rigs and tossed them up wind to get good drifts across a shallow oyster pocked flat and here we had some action. Leo put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat, then Fred(the senior) had a strong hookup, one that ripped some drag. He fought it valiantly and after battle landed a Slot sized 21" Redfish. Fred(the middle) had the same kind of fight, played it perfectly and put another Slot Redfish in the boat. The anglers added another couple of smaller Reds, smaller Trout,and a Bluefish before Leo topped things off with another keeper Seatrout. 

We were a long way from the ramp and running into the wind but as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Big Bang at the End

 I was wondering who was crazier, me or my guests for wanting to fish this morning, especially when I
stepped out of the house and it was pouring rain. I got the boat ready to go, came in for some coffee, and as I headed to the bait shop it was still raining, and they were surprised to see me or anyone else heading out to fish. But the forecast called for the rain to stop mid morning, so when I met Steve Locke and his fishing buddy Jason out at the Goffinsville boat ramp we all had on our rain gear, and we headed out.

The first stop was down at Broward Island, fishing jigs on the very last of an outgoing tide. The water was a bit muddy, which had me worried, but Steve soon knocked the skunk of when he hooked and landed a feisty Redfish. Jason followed that up with a keeper sized Seatrout, then added another feisty Red to the catch total.  We picked up one or two more Reds and a Blue, fishing under the Bald Eagles, and we missed a couple of fish, too. 

We made our way around to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings, got a few nibbles, and Steve put another Trout in the boat.  After heading back around to some docks at Nassauville and here the water was calm with the wind blocked by the land mass. It took a few minutes but eventually both anglers began to get bites, and hookups. Steve took his chances up near a submerged log and caught another Red, a hard fighting Blue Fish, and then both he and Jason got in to some Flounder, catching and landing 5 of them with two being of keeper size. And we missed a few. 

Back Seymore's we switched to float rigs and they caught another Red, another Flounder, and another Blue Fish. On further around we fished a large drainage at the last of an incoming tide and this is when we had the Big Bang!  The duo began to get Seatrout of nice size, the biggest was 18.5" caught by Steve.  After Jason had made a cast that got him up alongside a grassy point, his float drifted and, BAM! Fish On!  He worked the fish out fairly quickly and we were thinking maybe a small Red, especially when it boiled, but then it began to rip drag with a vengeance and we knew it was big. There was a chance it may cut off on the shallow oysters but Jason stayed with it and finally brought to the net a big 26.5" "tournament" sized Redfish, boy what fish. They added a few more Trout to the boat, 6 keepers in all and of course there were a few that we missed. But as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as a wet fishing trip that turned out pretty good!

Chased Off

 I fished this morning with Glenn and Patti Langford, knowing we might get wet. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and  headed up the Nassau, all the way to Broward to fish the first of an incoming tide with jigs and live shrimp. The first spot we stopped at didn't produce anything but nibbles, but as we moved down the way we began to get bites. We had a good bite, a hookup and Glenn battled to the boat a nice Slot sized Redfish. Patti, fishing off the stern, and a good hookup and landed another Red, then Glenn hooked up and fought to the boat another Slot Red.  We put a couple of more feisty Reds in the boat before we moved on. 

Down on the south end of the island, fishing under the Bald Eagles, Patti found a hungry Seatrout to bring to the net. After fishing the mouth of Pumpkin Hill with float rigs and feeding a handful of "bait stealers', we moved on. Our next stop was way up the Nassau, into a creek where we fished some downed logs. Again, Glenn had a hookup but this time his line got wrapped around his reel - as I worked to get it unwrapped, Glenn brought to the boat another feisty Red, brought in hand over hand!

As we were heading back to the Nassauville area we could see the rain heading our way but we were prepared with rain jackets. Unfortunately we were not ready for the lighting!  We could see flashes of the lightning and when it began to crash closer to us we decided to "pull the plug" and make a run back to the ramp. But we had had a few hours of fishing and had a couple in the box so as we pulled up to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

It Began and Ended With a Flurry

Boy what a wind we had yesterday! I had to cancel the trip with winds 17-20mph plus, but we thought we could get one in today. I met Derek Poon with his two sons Zach and Tylge down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and the wind had died down to a comfortable 8mph so we made the run up the Nassau and around to Broward to try and catch the incoming tide before it got too high. I think first cast we had a hookup - Zach was on the rod and he played it perfectly to the net - a feisty Redfish and first fish of the day!

Shortly after that "dad" got hot -Derek caught and landed a Slot Red, then a nice keeper sized Seatrout. We moved down the way and fished back a little bit, under a Bald Eagle, and here Derek hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder - he had a "Slam" in the box!

We then came back up to Pumpkin Hill and switched to float rigs. The wind had picked up and it was making it difficult to cast into the wind but we did our best and caught a couple of small Seatrout. After fishing a grass patch for a bit we moved on. 

Our next stop was between two docks, back to fishing the jigs and shrimp and although we didn't have much action, Tyler did put another Flounder in the boat. We now had some high winds AND a high tide and I was thinking we had probably did all we were going to be able to do but we tried one final spot around at Seymore's, still tossing the float rigs and boy was I wrong All three anglers began to get bites - Seatrout. They had a handful of smaller Trout but Derek added 4 more keeper fish to his tally, Zach added a keeper Trout to his count, and Tyler put a big Blue in the boat. 

When we got back to the ramp we had a mess o' fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Killing of an Industry

Years ago while growing up in Fernandina we could go down to the City docks and purchase fresh shrimp right off the boats. Shrimp boats would be tied up two and three deep, stern to bow. There was a seafood market that ran perpendicular to the wharf that also sold fresh shrimp and seafood. And then, the shrimping industry dwindled.  A city that once proclaimed itself as the “birthplace of the modern shrimping industry” now showcases those same old time shrimpers as “Grande Marshals” in the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival. But even now, you can see river shrimpers trawling their nets out in our rivers, and you will see the glimmer of lights of bigger shrimp boats off shore at night, dragging the waters.   But why are they no longer at the City docks? What happened to the shrimp industry? Surely higher gas prices hurt. Labor and insurance costs had to have gone up. Margins had to have gotten smaller trying to compete with the imported farm raised shrimp. But did City’s policy’s adversely affect the shrimp industry? Did they raise the dock prices and make it unaffordable to keep their boats there?

Fast forward to 2024.  City Commissioners Bean, Antun, Ayscue and Ross just voted to approve funding for the Waterfront Park, ignoring their own strategic planning that stresses keeping the area a “working waterfront”.  Only Commissioner Sturges voted to not approve the funding.  This vote, and moving forward with the Waterfront Park will be the death of your local Charter Boat industry at the Marina.  The Park plan squeezes the parking lot and will make it difficult to maneuver a boat trailer. The expanded Pentanque courts take up more

space that could be used for parking. The proposed new restaurant to replace Atlantic Seafood will require 75 parking spaces. The Plan already suggests combining Tour bus parking with boat trailer parking. But far worse than any of this, proponents of the Park are already promoting moving all City events to the waterfront – events that close boat trailer parking. Already the Pentanque Tournament closes the parking lot. The Shrimp Festival closes the parking lot.  Other events such as Sounds on Centre, the Chili Cookoff, and the Saturday Farmers Market have been proposed to move here. How can they have a thriving Farmers Market AND boaters maneuvering their

trailers at the same time? They’ll close the lot. If you are a boater, you need to realize, A CLOSED BOAT TRAILER PARKING LOT IS A CLOSED BOAT RAMP!

There are over 50 Charter boat Captains operating out of Amelia Island. When someone proclaims the economic impact of the 3-day Pentanque Tournament, ask yourself, “what about the economic impact of those 50+ small Charter Boat businesses to our community?” They’re operating year-round, day in, day out!  They are purchasing gas, ice, bait, tackle, trailer tires, boats, engines, office supplies, maintenance and repair supplies, and hiring deck hands and paying taxes on their homes and purchasing tags and licenses – just like any other small business on Amelia Island, off-island, and down Centre Street. They represent Amelia Island to visitors and locals and when they get them out on the water they see the REAL Florida – not the fake, manufactured fun that your Main Street organization is promoting. They get those folks out on the water and introduce them to the wonders of our ocean and back waters and make REAL memories for families and their friends. At least one Commissioner has voiced his disdain for YOUR Charter boat captains. Three others have voted on a Waterfront Park that will mark the beginning of the end of that industry.

That same Commissioner seems to blame those Charter boat captains for the costs of the Marina. The Marina has raised their slip prices. They’ve inferred that they would like to raise them more.  The City could double, even triple the Charter Captain’s slip rates and the Marina Enterprise Fund STILL would not be making a profit. It’s not the Captain’s fault that the City built the Marina in the wrong place and it needs to be dredged annually. It’s not the Captain’s fault that the City has made bad deals with lease holders over the years. It’s not the Captain’s fault that the City has retained very little upland property -property that the Marina could have used to make a Marina profitable.  And you have to ask yourself, “why, out of 50+ Captain’s, are there only 8-10 Charter Boat operations down at the City docks? Are City policy’s keeping them away?

That same Commissioner has let it be known that recreational boaters (you) and the Charter Boat Captains are selfish. They want parking for themselves and their customers. Would you say downtown Centre Street business’s are selfish for wanting parking for their customers? Somewhere their employees can park? Are you selfish for wanting access to OUR public waters? Somewhere deep down in the City’s planning documents they suggest that the City should provide one boat ramp for every 12,000 citizens. We are now over 13,000 citizens. When you think about it,  Fernandina residents have access to a 13 mile beach;  they have access to a 1400 acre State Park;  we  have access to volleyball courts and a skate park at the beach and  multi-purpose Recreation Centers at Atlantic Avenue and Elm Street, with swimming pools and gyms and gymnasiums. Our residents have access to the  playground and Park behind the Atlantic Rec Center, a miles-long 300 acre Greenway, a playground and Park at Eagans Creek, and a huge Central Park with Tennis, Pickleball, softball and baseball fields and the SUMMER courts for the Pentangue club. Their WINTER courts are at the waterfront! Not to mention outlying City parks, beach access’s, soccer and softball fields. Yet we Boaters are considered selfish for wanting unhindered access to the ONLY City boat ramp.

In the last Park plan it was suggested that the City put up a memorial plaque in honor of the Shrimping Industry.  With the new Park plan, the plaque should read,  “On March 5, 2024 Commissioners Bean, Antun, Ayscue and Ross voted to build this Park and to kill a once thriving Charter Boat industry here in Fernandina Beach”.