This is NOT a Tall Fish Tale

It was almost dead low tide when Jay Gyer, his father-in-law Fred and I left the City marina this morning to head over to the Tiger Island logs.  We began ease along the bank from the south end of the island, pitching jigs and live shrimp to the fully exposed logs.  Fred hooked up with a hungry Seatrout and shortly after Jay's line went taught and even though it appeared he had an oyster clump or loose tree limb - it pulled back!  He fought the fish to the surface and we netted a keeper sized Flounder. 
Then Fred hooked up and it too stayed deep -didn't fight too much at first-but when the fish got close to the boat it began to bull deep down.  Fred had a huge fight on his hands as the fish went around the boat and pulled deep again and again.  But Fred was patient and eventually we landed a 7 1/2lb 24" Sheepshead!  Boy what a fish-the biggest I've had on my boat in long while.  We made a run up to Jolley bank, fishing the first of an incoming tide and Jay picked up a Puppy Drum while Fred landed another couple of Seatrout.  We fished further up into Jolley with no real luck then worked our way back to fish a small creek.  This time Jay had a strong hookup and his line ripped from one direction to another then went deep and then ripped back again - SHARK ON!  He played the big fish patiently and a after a lengthy battle on light tackle gear, we netted a 36" Bonnethead Shark.  We made one more stop then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Trout Makes the Trip

Chris and Talitha Foster had arranged a fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning so I met Chris and their two kids Jacob and Rebekah at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Harbor marina at 7am and headed up to the Jolly River, getting there about two hours after the tide had been coming in. We started fishing Jolley bank with the oysters still showing, tossing jigs and shrimp and Temptation Bait Ribbed Shrimp.  The young anglers were fishing the shrimp and picked up a couple of hungry Croakers then Rebekah thought she had an oyster clump but it started pulling back!  She worked the fish in and we netted a cool Stingray!  Then Chris started getting hot with the Temptation Shrimp, catching a small Trout, a big Croaker and then a nice keeper sized Flounder.  Rebekah picked up a hungry Trout then Jacob's rod bent over and his drag zipped and we had a battle on our hands.  The feisty fish made a run under the boat so his dad held the line out as I lifted the trolling motor...and the fight was on again!  Jacob played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Bonnethead Shark.  We made a run on further up Jolley, fished a large creek mouth, then ran back to the Tiger Island logs. Here Rebekah  was fishing deep with her jig and Shrimp and had a good bite.  She quietly played the fish as it made strong runs behind the stern of the boat but Rebekah kept the pressure on and we netted a nice big 19" Seatrout!  She landed one more Trout before we ran outside of Tiger,  tried some float rigs, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Recipe of the Month: Susan's Amelia Island Seatrout Cakes

This from Amelia Island resident Susan Hitchcock..."This recipe is derived from Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes from when I
lived on Tilghman Island, Maryland.  I used Striped Bass in the original recipe but thought Sea Trout would work fine, and it did!"

Sprinkle Lemon Pepper seasoning on two large Seatrout fillets
Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until the fish is flakey.

Roughly crumble in bowl when cooled.  Do not mash - you want to have some large lumps.

Indgredients:
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1 Tblspn Horseradish
1 Tblspn Honey Mustard
2 Tblspns Italian Bread Crumbs
Salt, Lemon Pepper seasoning to taste

Saute  first three ingredients in oil until soft and slightly browned Add to fish.  Add next six ingredients to fish.  Mix together to form 3 cakes.  Dredge cakes in more bread crumbs just to coat  Sautee in Canola oil until brown and crispy.

Serve on French Hamburger roll browned under broiler with Romaine, Tomato and added mayonnaise or remoulade sauce.

NOTE:  Susan is currently the leader in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout category, see the big fish HERE!  She also is an artist and her work can be seen at Wings Across the Water.

Bragging Rights Claimed

Capt Steve Hair and his wife Wanda of Ye Ole Pirate set me up with a group of young men today to fish the back waters of Amelia Island.  We left the marina this morning with the wind already blowing and headed up Bell River to get loosened up with some float rigs and  live shrimp on an extremely high tide - and it was still coming in!  These were tough conditions for back water but these anglers were game and were enjoying just being out on the water.  With the wind blowing, fishing the
float rigs was tough so we made a move to the Tiger Island logs which blocked the wind but we had a half a dozen boats for company.  Using jigs and shrimp, young Michael got things started off fairly quickly by landing a hungry Flounder to get the "skunk off the boat".  A little later his brother Roy hooked up with another fish which turned out to be a keeper sized Flounder.  Although the anglers were getting a few bites we decided to make a run on up Bell River to fish the docks, thinking that maybe the land mass would block the wind.  It didn't.  But we settled in
to fish anyway tossing both the jigs and float rigs.  Justin was using one of the jig rods and he briefly snagged on a submerged oyster bed but then it came off and when it did, ZZZZZZZ, FISH ON!  And boy was it a big one!  Justin played the fish perfectly and patiently as it made bull runs, one after another.  The wind was rocking the boat and I finally gave up on the trolling motor and let the wind push us right up into the grass as Justin fought the fish.  Roy was on the net and as the fish tired he scooped it up to be measured, photographed and released because this big boy was too big to keep - 31" long!  This vaulted Justin into first place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  This fish is also beating last years big Red by 1/2"!    We fished a few docks, caught some "bait stealers" and a small Trout (giving the anglers an Amelia Island Back Country Slam) then headed up to the Jolley River. Fishing a large marsh run out, Chris developed the "hot rod" and picked up a handful of Seatrout jigging on the bottom and eventually landed a nice fat 17" Seatrout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

OK Folks It's Time To Go....

FISH ON!  That's the way our fishing trip ended today - with Kelly Marsteller and her boyfriend Jeff Woodall fishing on  The Anglers Mark in the back waters of Amelia Island.   Kelly and Jeff were staying at The Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Fernandina Beach so all they had to do was step out and meet me just across the street at the Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning.  We headed up the river and made our first stop on the outside of Tiger Island.  Jeff was tossing a topwater lure and Kelly was fishing a live shrimp under a float.  Jeff had a couple of hits at his lure and Kelly
picked up an angry Jack Crevalle. We moved on around to the mouth of Tiger and Kelly picked up a couple of undersized but hungry Seatrout.  We made a run to the Jolley Bank and here Jeff got on the board with a keeper sized Seatrout, now fishing the shrimp under a float. We ran further up into Jolley and trolled a good looking bank and it paid off when Jeff's float disappeared and he had a good fight on his hands.  He played the fish patiently and we soon netted a big 19.5" Seatrout!  We moved on up into a creek, picked up another Trout or two, then ran back to the mouth of Jolley and fished the first of an outgoing tide.  Kelly caught a larger Jack but other than that, not much more was biting.  The sun was getting hot and just as I had said, "OK folks, it's time to go",  Kelly yelled "FISH ON! and it was a big one!  She fought the fish from stern to bow and back to stern and patiently worked the fish into the net - a big 20.5" Seatrout!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Rusty Hook Trout

George Bowlin was back fishing Amelia Island back country waters with son-in-law Jerry and their friend Ray, all from the Lake Butler area.  We met early at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Beach city marina and headed up to the Jolley River on the very last of an incoming tide.  The water was high and up in the grass but it was a still as a lake and these anglers were eager to catch some fish.  Ray was the first to hook up catching a high flying Ladyfish and then a hard biting
Blue on live shrimp under a float.  Then Jerry worked a mullet-like topwater over a submerged oyster bed and BAM!  FISH ON!  The Trout had hit the lure furiously and put up a good battle but Jerry brought the keeper sized Trout to the net.  George had been fishing with a red-headed Zara Spook Jr. and wasn't getting any bites so he also switched to a float/shrimp setup and landed a couple of smaller Trout and Ladyfish.  Jerry landed another keeper sized Trout, this one
a little bigger than the first, then we moved on up the Jolley to fish a marsh run-out, but we had no real bites.  We hit the MOA and although there was some fierce feeding up near the bank we had no bites we moved back around to Snook Creek and as we reached a grassy point, BOOM!  George had a ferocious blast at his topwater lure (that may have had some rusty hooks).  This was a big Trout and George played it patiently.  He soon landed a nice 21.5" Seatrout - his first saltwater fish on a topwater lure - and a fish that puts him in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  Seconds later Ray hooked up and brought 18" Trout.  We moved back down to the mouth of Jolley and now the oysters were showing.  Ray had good strong hookups fishing the float rig and shrimp - had nice Trout to the boat and then and even nicer Redfish to the boat but they threw the hook as I began to net them. But Ray persevered and when his float disappeared a 3rd time he worked this fish in smoothly and we netted a nice 18" Redfish - the only Red in the boat all day.  We continued to work the bank and the anglers picked up a couple of more Redfish, small Trout and a Jack Crevalle then we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Slot Red Makes the Day

Derek Johnson and his son Dallas along with friend Zack fished with me this morning.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City marina at 7:30 this morning and we all commented that the river outside of the marina looked like glass.  The tide had been going out for about an hour so we headed up to the Jolley River to fish a creek run out.  Although we had a couple of nibbles, we had no real bites.  We then fished Snook Creek and Zack picked up a high-flying Ladyfish,  then made the run back to the mouth of Jolley and fished a still flooded oyster bank and here the action heated up.  Zack hooked up with a Seatrout and so did

Derek.  Then all the anglers were catching Blue fish, Ladyfish and an occasional Seatrout.  Then Dallas's rod bent double and his drag began to rip out, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good fight we landed a nice Slot Sized Redfish!  We continued to fish the stretch and the anglers added a few more Trout and Ladyfish then Derek hooked up with a hard bite and landed a good-sized Whiting.  We ran up to the MOA spot and although the tide and conditions were perfect, we had no real bites.  We stopped back by Jolley Banks, caught a few more Ladyfish, then headed in,  counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

That's a Slam

Overcast skies and a chance of rain this morning didn't deter the Bloom family - Michael and Leslie and their adult children Jordana and Warren.  They met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina early this morning and we pulled out of the marina under grey skies but with very little wind.  The tide had been falling a couple of hours and we made our way up to the Jolley River to fish an oyster lined bank with jigs and shrimp and minnows and crabs and Temptation Baits - basically any thing we could throw at them!  The
fishing started off really well with Leslie hooking up with a hungry Seatrout then Warren caught one, too.  The "Poor Man's Tarpon" - Ladyfish were cruising the bank and Jordana hauled in one, hooking up at boat side.  Both Warren and Leslie caught Ladyfish then Warren had a strong hookup and good battle with a feisty Redfish that we netted, photographed, and released.  Michael was kept busy snapping photographs for a good while there.   We ran up to the MOA spot and although the conditions looked perfect, we couldn't get any fish to eat, not even a 3' Bonnethead that continued to cruise the oyster bed and mock us!  We fished the outside of Snook Creek then headed over to Tiger Island, had no real bites, then made a run to fish the docks of Lanceford where Leslie ensured an Amelia Island Backwater Slam by reeling in a nice Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Trout Come on Strong

It's amazing how the weather can change from morning to afternoon. 
Yesterday morning's trip was beautifulwith very little wind but the afternoon threw a challenge at the Thompson family anglers - Jerry and Karen and their son Steve.  Although it was a beautiful afternoon the wind  had picked up and the tide was high with water still up in the grass and still rising a little.  But these optimistic anglers were glad to be out on the water and fishing as a family and that outstanding attitude paid off in the end.  We fished outside of Tiger Island with lived shrimp under float rigs and although there wasn't much biting,
Steve did pick up an fat and still hungry Seatrout.  At our next stop, on further around the island, again not much biting, tough to cast with the wind, but Jerry hooked up with a keeper sized Trout.  We then made  run up to the Jolley River and fished a run out as the tide started out and again found one loan Seatrout.   We moved up into Snook Creek and fished the bottom with jigs and had a few nibbles with no real bites then we made the run back to the backside of Tiger Island with the tide dropping and the logs exposed.  Karen had been feeling left out but she

persevered and worked her jig and shrimp combo slowly on the bottom and FISH ON!  Boy what a strong hookup!  She played the fish patiently and we soon netted a nice 20 1/2" Seatrout!  This fish put her in 3rd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Trout category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  This started things off because the fish bite turned on.  These anglers figured it out and they all began to fish their jigs slowly on the bottom in the deep water and began to land Trout after Trout. Jerry was fishing out the stern of the boat and landed a number of fish and Karen put a couple more 17-19" fish in the boat.  Then she hooked up and put a nice keeper sized Flounder in the boat.  Steve got back in the action and caught another 19" Seatrout.  I've always noticed that those anglers who persevere, remain optimistic and have good attitudes tend to have the better fishing trips and this family proved the point!  With a great day of fishing behind us, we called it a day,another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout Finder

Amelia Island resident Kimberly Syme had pre-arranged a gift certificate for her husband Brian's birthday yesterday morning and he brought along his son Nicholas and their friend Mason Baker.  Boy was it a pretty day!  With the tide falling and the oysters already showing, we headed straight to the Jolley River to fish the MOA (Mother of All) spots and it wasn't long before these anglers were hooking up.  Mason got it started off early and picked up a hungry Seatrout then the Birthday Guy hooked
up with few that fell in the "keeper" sized range!  Nicholas warmed up his rod and landed a feisty Jack Crevalle.   Then Mason's rod bent over and his drag ripped out on a long run, FISH ON!  This hookup grew into an extended battle with the big fish bulling desperately to the bottom but the very light rod/reel combo held it's on as Mason patiently wore the fish out.  It took me two tries but we finally got the  3 1/2" Bonnethead Shark netted and in the boat for pictures - what a battle!  We moved back down the Jolley,  had few bites then moved further down to Jolley Bank where we worked the oysters thoroughly.  Brian
proved adept at finding the Seatrout but Nicholas had been making some good casts and now it paid off because he was targeting the waters edge where we had seen some movement and had a strong hookup.  This fish put up a good fight and ripped some drag before we landed a nice 19"+ Seatrout for the box!  Both Brian and Mason had hookups with Seatrout, Jacks and Ladyfish - the Poor Man's Tarpon and Nicholas added a keeper sized Flounder.  We made  our last stop at the Tiger Logs and on his last cast Mason patiently worked his jig down along side a log and HOOKUP!  This fish wanted to hug the bottom and turned out to be a really nice 17 3/4" Flounder which placed him tied for first in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder category (scroll down right side of this report for standings.)  With that we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!