Van and Carol Tilley

Van and Carol Tilley were visiting Amelia Island on business and took some time to get out in the backwaters of Amelia Island. The tide was very high so we fished with live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. They caught a number of Vermillion Snapper up near the marsh grass. We also trolled some in Jackstaff creek where Carol hung a nice 3' shark - she's pictured here about 3/4 way through the battle! Van also had something BIG on his line but it broke off after a 5 minute battle. We did have a treat at the end of the trip when an Osprey decided to have it's mullet lunch on a nearby dock pole.

Sure Catch Jigs

I've mentioned using jigs with live bait in some of my past newsletters and postings. I've been using the Sure Catch Jig brand and have pictured a package that you normally see at one of our local bait and tackle stores. I know Jim Johnson at Amelia Island Bait and Tackle is carrying them and the Bait House up at Eagans Creek has them also. These are great for chunking up near the oyster beds and then slowly bouncing them back.

If you're using shrimp, pierce the shrimps tail from the top - all the way through. Then swivel the jig around and come back up through the belly until the point of the hook is pointing away from the shrimps head. Some people even pinch off the tail before putting the jig through the shrimp.

Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament

I fished with friends, Charlie Jones, Leon Freeman, and Anthony Evatt in last weekends Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament. We left the Fernandina Beach checkout at 6:30am and ran up to Cumberland Island and caught pogies for bait. We then ran to south Amelia Island and trolled our baits. We caught a few sharks then we decided to anchor up, begin to chum and set out some lines. We caught a few more sharks and then had a small King to the boat -but it got off. On day two, we ran up to Cumberland for bait but couldn't find the pogies; but we did find large schools of pilchards so we filled our baitwell with them. This time, we anchored at the north jettie and chummed. We caught a few sharks and finally a nice 22lb King. Leon was on the rod so he posed for this picture later on in the ICW.

Personal Journal finished

I"ve finally completed my personal fishing/boating journal. I've kept a journal since 1989 and I ran out of pages in my old one. It took a while to decide what I wanted to carve on this one, but I eventually went with my favorite image - the tailing Red Fish. I did some traditional floral carving on the back.

There are inside pockets and I lined it with some soft leather that Mrs. Hanna had found. The pages are pre-printed with "Date, Tempature, Tide, etc.". I also use the journal to note boat maintenance. These journals are hand cut, hand carved and stamped, dyed and sewn.
I sell them at art shows and fishing shows for $125 and they make
a great gift! Check out my http://www.theanglersmark.com/gallery/leather for examples of other pieces.

Andrew and Jessica

Andrew and Jessica were visiting from the Orlando area and staying at the Addison on Amelia Bed and Breakfast and wanted to take in a boat ride/sightseeing tour. We cruised Old Town Fernandina, Fort Clinch and then crossed over to the Cumberland Island seashore. We cruised up Beach Creek on Cumberland and saw some porpoises crashing bait on the bank. We crossed the channel and quickly found manatee at Tiger Island inlet. I shut the engine, dropped the trolling motor and we eased up into shallow water and dropped anchor. The manatee rolled and played for 30 minutes around and under the boat; they appeared to be courting as one seemed to be pursuing the other and a "teenager" tagged along. They poked their snouts out numerous times and inspected us. We eventually eased out of there and went in behind Tiger Island to see a flock of Roseatte Spoonbills roosting and an Osprey cruising the tree line. We crossed back over the channel and spotted a herd of wild horses on Cumberland. This was a great trip!

Daron Carter trip #2

We had such a good time the other day, Daron, Lindsey and Mike decided to go fishing again with me. This time we launched from the south end of Amelia Island at 7:30am. Although I had a livewell full of live shrimp, we stopped and picked up about a dozen finger mullet with the cast net. We first tried the docks at Longpointe and had a few nibbles from "bait stealers" then we headed up to Jackstaff and immediately started getting good bites on the shrimp. The tide was still going out (low at 10:45am) and we fished the oyster beds, catching trout, reds, jacks, and sharks. We caught a "mess" of fish and ended up with an inshore Slam - Redfish, Trout and a Flounder. Lindsey boated a 3' shark that really gave her a battle -and - chewed my net up! We had a great time and I look forwarded to seeing them next year.

Dodson Family

Scott and Ileene Dodson, along with their two sons Mitchell and Phillip, fished with me July 10th. We left Atlantic Seafood dock at 3pm. The tide peaked at 3:45 so we were able to fish the outgoing tide most of the afternoon. We did some sightseeing first -cruising Old Town Fernandina, Fort Clinch and the Cumberland Island seashore. There was a small group of wild horses in the marsh and I dug out the binoculars. We ran to the mouth of Jolley River and began to get bites almost immediately -most at a small runout that we named "Dodson Creek". We caught Ladyfish, small trout and a couple of small croakers -all on live shrimp. Later in the day I was able to pickup some finger mullet with the cast net and as the sunset Phillip wrestled in a 22" trout (probably the biggest I've had on The Anglers Mark). A little later he pulled in another large trout - a 19"er. I netted this one with a pair of pliers tangled in the net - and my hat got knocked off during the battle! Unfortunately, I somehow deleted all my pictures of this trip - and they were some good ones! Ouch.

Daron Carter, his fiance Lindsey, and her father Mike

These folks were visiting from the Tifton, Georgia area and were out to experience fishing on Amelia Island. In addition to fishing with me on July 9th, they had also done some surf fishing at Ft. Clinch and gone off-shore with another Captain. The tide had started back in so we ran up Bell River to fish and picked up a small trout. We then ran around to Jolley River to the "Mother of All" spots where they began to pickup some good bites, landing a few larger trout, a couple of croaker, and a few sharks. Further in to Jolley Mike landed a nice 20" trout and we also had some more sharks - one 3'+.

Joe Warwick and son, Tanner

Joe Warwick and his son, Tanner (6yrs), fished with me the first week of July. Joe and his wife, Diane, own the Florida House Inn, a Bed and Breakfast located in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. The tide was low at 2:30pm -we launched at 3 - so it was just coming in. We tried a spot on Lanceford Creek but had no real bites so I ran up to Jolley River and anchored at the mouth of a small creek. We immediately began to catch Bonnethead Shark, landing two and losing a few others. We also caught Ladyfish. Tanner proclaimed that his dad was "the best fisherman in the world!" We also fished behind Tiger Island and came across a small manatee munching on some grass. The was a great treat for the 6 year old to see. We also spotted a Sheepshead tailing up in the grass.