Fly Casting 101 Group Casting Lesson

 I finished up a 2nd "Fly Casting 101" casting session last week and it went pretty good! 

We covered the equipment - the rods (their different configurations, weights, actions), the reels (the
weights, need for spare spools), the backing (the reasons for it), the fly line (the different types and reasons for them), the leaders, the tippet and the flies - Saltwater, freshwater, trout flies.

After going over the casting stroke and the idea of "loading your rod with the fly line", we moved on to a good horizontal practice drill that you can do in your yard. While doing that we talked about the "5 principles to a good cast".  We then broke out into 3 groups where everyone got to try their hand at the horizontal casting drill. 

From there we moved over to a pond and went over a Roll Cast - easy to learn and it will have you catching fish in just a day of practice. Again, we split up into groups and everyone worked on that Roll  Cast.

Finally, we moved back to the grass and practiced a basic Pickup and Lay Down cast.  I advise all "students" who want to learn to fly cast to "Take a lesson, Read, Watch a Video, Practice.  Then, Read, Watch a Video, Practice. Then Read, Watch a Video, Practice!  Hah!  Just like learning to play golf, or tennis or any other "sport", you gotta practice! But you CAN learn to fly cast.

I provide the equipment for the casting and bring samples of line, leader, and flies and will bring handouts for reading at home. 

Can  you pull 10 people together for a group fly casting session?

$35 per person, 10 people minimum/maximum Contact me  lwpiper@comcast.net  904-557-1027

Recipe of the Month: Blackened Fish with Cajun Cream Sauce

 The recipe calls for blackened red snapper, but I've been using blackened Red Drum - those Snapper are hard to find in the back water!  I picked this recipe up off of Facebook, specifically, the page Cookery Gems:

For the blackened Redfish: 

Melt a stick of butter in a pot                                                                                                                      Pour a few tablespoons of blackening seasoning onto a plate.                                                                          Cut your Redfish fillets in quarters (or thirds, depending on size of fish) pat dry with paper towel               Get a cast iron skillet "white hot" - no Oil in the skillet  

Drag the fillets thru the melted butter, coat with the Cajun seasoning and place in the white hot skillet...        Sear the fillet - you will see the fish cooking, changing from opaque to white. When it is halfway cooked, flip it over and sear the other side. If your guests don't like a lot of seasoning, you can sprinkle the blackening rather than coating it. Remove from skillet and set aside, keep warm.

For the Cajun Cream Sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil                                                                                                                                                     2 cloves garlic, minced                                                                                                                                      1 small onion, finely chopped                                                                                                                          1 red bell pepper, finely chopped                                                                                                                      1 cup heavy cream                                                                                                                                          1/2 cup chicken broth                                                                                                                                         1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning (be careful about the amount of salt in it -you don't want too much)                       1/2 tsp paprika                                                                                                                                                     Salt and pepper to taste (again, watch the salt)                                                                                                 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese                                                                                                                                    2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley                                                                                                                                    

In the same skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Saute' the garlic, onion, and red bell pepper until softened, about 5-7 minutes. 

Add the heavy cream and chicken broth. Stir in Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.

Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese until melted and combines.

Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley

Plate the blackened fish and spoon Cajun cream sauce over the top. 

NOTE!  With the Blackenening Seasoning, the Chicken Broth, the Cajun Seasoning and then the suggested Salt, this can get TOO Salty!  Keep tabs of how much salt is going in - you may want to use some salt-free ingredients.

She's On Her Way!

 Evidently Hurricane Helene is headed to Florida, hopefully passing us by as she hits over near
Tallahassee. But we were able to squeeze in one more fishing trip today when I met the Ahrens, Bryan and his sons Henry, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We headed up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau and made our way around to Back River where we set up to fish float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out a few hours - the oysters were just beginning to show.

All three anglers were getting good drifts up near the grass and it paid off - they began to get feisty Reds, one after the other - they put up a good battle and are fun to catch. I mentioned that every once in a while we'll get a keeper "Slot" fish and shortly after Oscar had a stronger than normal bite. He lifted  his rod and let the circle hook set and when it ripped some drag with thought it might be a bit bigger, and it was. Oscar played it perfectly and brought to the net a 18"+ Slot Redfish.  Not too long after that, after we had moved up to where he could toss between two oyster beds, Oscar and another big bite, this one was even bigger! Oscar played it patiently as it ran deep and back to the stern and after a good battle he landed a nice 24.5" Slot Red.

We eventually moved across the river and fished a big bend, letting the floats drift around it and again, we caught umpteen fiesty Reds. Bryan went long and picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout and when Henry followed him he picked up a small Flounder. There was a commotion up ahead of us so Henry moved to the bow, made a long toss forward and BAM! Big Fish On!  He fought it expertly, let it run, worked it in, let it run and eventually landed a beautiful golden copper 22" Slot Red - they had their limit!

After running down the Nassau we worked a large drainage with jigs and shrimp and caught more Reds, a Catfish, a couple of Jack Crevalle and then Oscar put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat. We fished a dock at Seymore's where Oscar added a Croaker to the catch, then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Punching Above Their Weight

 Another beautiful day, maybe the last before this next storm hits!  I met Glenn and Patti Langford up at Old Town Bait and Tackle this morning - the high had just hit bottom as we eased out of Eagans Creek and made our way up and around to the Jolley River. I turned into the "bank" just as the tide line moved past us and the two anglers began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the exposed oyster beds. We worked along for just a bit before Patti "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. She added a couple of more then Glenn began to get in on the action. When we reached the "hot spot" they really began to put fish in the boat. Most of the Reds were about 16", feisty and hard fighters - they were "punching above their weight" as Glenn described it! 

Lately, when we get into these schools of Rat Reds we'll eventually get one in the slot and sure enough, Patti had a strong hookup and, Fish On!  This one was ripping drag and digging deep but Patti kept the pressure on, worked it to the back of the boat and around the engine and back, and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We worked further up the bank, then dropped back down and again put a few smaller Reds in the boat, then Patti hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.

We left the fish biting and ran further up the river, just past Snook Creek, turned into the current and switched to float rigs. Both anglers were getting good drifts and again, when we reached the "hot spot", they began to get fish. There were at least three times when I yelled "we got a double" with both anglers fighting fish. Glenn had made a good cast up to a gap in some oysters and after just a few seconds we began to see his float bob, then move up current, and GONE!  Glen reeled in the slack, lifted the rod and let the circle hook set and, Big Fish On! It was ripping and digging and ripping!  Glenn played it expertly, worked it in, and eventually landed a big 25" golden copper Redfish, boy what a fish!

We left 'em biting again! We ran back down the Jolley, fished a point with the floats to no avail, then made our way around to the outside of Tyger and worked the bank on a higher incoming tide with jigs, in hopes for a Flounder. Unfortunately we caught no Flounder but Patti did battle a big Jack Crevalle to the net for release. Our final stop was around at Bell River, fishing another point and here Patti finished things up by battling a 4' Bonnethead to the boat. 

We had had a beautiful day of fishing, had caught a bunch of Reds, had two in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

What A Start

 After last week's high tides and slow fishing I have to admit I was a bit worried about today's fishing but I had to "council" myself - we had good weather forecasted and we had a good tide so we surely would catch fish!  I met William and Dara Blalock out at Goffinsville Park early and the forecast was correct - it was a beautiful morning. We made a very short run across river and set up on a wide bend to fish the last of an outgoing tide and as we pulled up we could see bait moving down the bank and getting busted. We had a live well full of Shrimp and a about two dozen finger mullet to "toss at 'em". 

Dara and William made their first casts and BAM! BAM! They began to get hookups. Feisty Redfish were gobbling their shrimp and we stayed catching for about an hour. We did try a couple of the mullet but they didn't seem to want them. We moved up and down the bank and the fish seemed to be in shallower water. Eventually the bite slowed and we moved on. 

Our next stop was down the Nassau where we eased up to a large drainage, switched to jigs, and fished the bottom. William was fishing a shrimp and Dara was fishing a finger mullet and when she felt a "bump" she let the fish have it for a second or two, set the hook and....we thought she had a fish...YES! Fish On!  Dara worked it to the boat patiently and landed a big 18" Flounder. Up on the bow, William switched to mullet and began to fish out deeper and when he got that tell-tell "bump", he set the hook and reeled in a hungry Seatrout. He stayed with that strategy and hauled in another one.  After Dara reeled in another Flounder, this one small, we moved on. 

After making our way up to some docks at Seymore's we fished the pilings. Right off William had a strong bite - he set the hook, had 'em on for just a bit and BAP! Fish off. Ouch. William did hook up and land couple of Mangrove Snapper, one of which was of keeper size. We then made our way down to Broward Island and fished the north end for a bit, then we moved down to the south end and began to work our way north. Just as we reached the "hot spot" Dara put a cast up to the edge of the bank (Note:she had another finger mullet on) and BAM! Right up next to the shore sat a big fish and it took her mullet (and hook) and began to rip some drag. Dara kept that pressure on - it boiled a couple of times and knew it was a big Red. It made it's way to some tree limbs but Dara pulled it out and worked it in and we netted a beautiful golden bronze 25" Slot Redfish, boy what a fish. The duo added another smaller Red to the catch total before we move on. 

We finished up drifting floats at Pumpkin Hill - William got his Slam when he put a feisty Black "puppy" Drum in the boat, then we headed back and called it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

At Least One Picture Worthy Fish

 Finally, some beautiful weather! I met Brian Roach down at Sawpit Creek this morning early. We had some store-bought live shrimp and we cast netted about a dozen finger mullet then we headed up the intercoastal then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. We turned into the current and began to toss float rigs on an incoming tide that had only been coming in for a couple of hours but the oysters were already covered. Brian was getting good casts and good drifts and picked up a small Jack Crevalle and a hungry Seatrout. 

We bumped down to Twin Creeks and fished it pretty good with the floats, caught a small catfish, then moved on. Our next stop was up at a dock at Seymore's Pointe where we switched to a jig. Brian worked some pilings good and I made a few tosses, but we had no nibbles. After making the run down to Pumpkin Hill we drifted live shrimp long. This produced a couple of crabs!  But Brian went real long with a drift and when his float disappeared he lifted and let the circle hook set and fish On!  Brian played it patiently and we could tell it was a good fish. I saw it come out of the water once - Brian worked it in and landed a big Seatrout that measured right at 19" - a "picture worthy fish" for sure! 

We fished that area pretty good, then made our way over to some docks at Nassauville where Brian caught a feisty Mangrove - we had more nibbles, caught another Catfish, then moved on. We tried our hand at Seymore's Pointe, fishing the rocks with floats, got some nibbles, then switched to jigsaand got more nibbles. and another......Catfish! Ouch!

We had had a beautiful day and had caught some fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Jacks Galore and Tasty Mangroves

 

It had to be the prettiest day in a long time that we've had here at Amelia Island - clear skies, sunshine, only a slight breeze, and temperatures below 70 when I met Tim and Laura Wolfe down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide was high and coming in, so we made quick run over to the intercoastal and up the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up to drift float rigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good casts and good drifts and even though we had a bite or two, we had no real takers. I keep waiting for this spot to turn on, but it wasn't today. We fished the point and had not takers, but as I used the trolling motor to take us down to a grassy island, we could see fish feeding on the surface.

I eased the bow around into the current and Tim put his bait up above the commotion and within seconds he was on, and boy was it ripping some drag!  He fought it from the bow, followed it to the stern, then battled it from around the engine, eventually to land a nice hard fighting Jack Crevalle. For a good while there the fishing were boiling on the surface and we could see the Jacks backs as they raced thru the water and it was a good time as both Laura and Tim hooked up and caught the Jacks.

We then ran around to Seymore's and fished a pointe on the first of an outgoing tide, then ran thru Horsehead and fished a creek off of Jackstaff with the floats, to no avail, then back thru Horesehead we came.

Our final stop was between two docks at Nassauville and here, like yesterday, the Mangrove Snapper were hanging out. You had to be within a foot or two of the rocks with your float, but they'd bite almost immediately. Laura got hot fishing off the stern (the tide was STILL) coming in here) and she hooked up and landed some nice keeper sized fish. Tim was on the bow and caught a couple of smaller Mangroves until he switched back to the jig then he too was getting keepers. It didn't take long before they had their limit of 5 apiece and then we caught some more, culling smaller ones and keeping the bigger ones.

We had a nice fish in the live well, it had been a beautiful day, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Streak At The End

 Crazy weather but we squeezed in a fishing trip today - the forecast called for very  little rain chance but winds hovering around 12mph, and overcast - it wasn't very pretty but we thought, fishable. So I met Robert Stettner, David Vice and his friend Bhavna out at Goffinsville Park and with a very high tide still coming in, we made our way over to Pumpkin Hill where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp to drift the marsh grass. I was optimistic when Robert hooked up on his first drift but before I could even grab the net, it was off. And after that, we struggled to get a fish. We had a few bites here and there as we moved around the point until David finally hooked up and battled to the net a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. 

We then ran over to Seymore's Point and drifted the shrimp again, this time with absolutely no bites.After running thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and fishing that stretch, up and down, we did manage another Jack Crevalle catch which Bhavna expertly reeled in. 

The wind had picked up a bit and the floats just didn't seem to doing it, and I could hear whispers of mutiny, so we ran back thru Horsehead and down to some docks at Nassauville where we switched to jigs and the shrimp, with David sticking with the float rig. Luckily, we began to get fish. David got a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, then when he began to go to some rocks he began to get bigger, keeper sized Snapper. Bhavna switched to the float and after making an excellent cast, hooked up and battled to the boat another keeper sized Mangrove. Robert was fishing the stern, sticking with the jig, and it paid off when he had a good "thump". After setting the hook we could tell that it wasn't a Mangrove - he played it patiently to the net and landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. 

Bhavna and David stayed at the stern and reeled in a good handful of those keeper sized Mangroves, the biggest being about 13" while David stayed at the stern. He had baited up with a huge live shrimp, good an "excellent" cast to the rocks and BAM! The minute it hit, Fish On!  He fought it expertly and soon landed a nice 18" Seatrout. Robert also added a keeper sized Mangrove to his catch total. We finished up down at Spanish Drop, fishing a couple of drainages and wrapped things up when Bhavna hooked up and landed another hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amela Island, Florida. 

PLEASE Turn The Spigot Off!

 

Forget turning the spigot off, someone stick a finger in the dam!  Boy have we had some rain this past week - the streets and fields and driveways and garages are flooding. I was three trips go down the drain before I was able to squeeze in today - cloudy, overcast, but no rain and no real wind to speak of.  I met Jeff and Cindy Patrick up at Old Town Bait and Tackle early and we made the run up and around to the Jolley River to fish a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. The oysters still were not showing when we dropped the trolling motor and began to ease along the bank and toss float rigs and live shrimp and minnows up current to get good drifts along the marsh grass. It wasn't long before Cindy 'knocked the skunk off" with hungry Seatrout catch. We worked that "bank" good and both she and Jeff put a good handful of small but feisty Redfish in the boat. Finally, though, Cindy had a strong bite and it was taking drag. Cindy kept the pressure on, worked it out from the bank, then played it patiently to land a nice 22" Slot Redfish. All of these fish were a beautiful golden color. 

We finished fishing out that stretch then ran up the river to a large drainage and drifted it with floats.
Again, they caught a good handful of the feisty Reds. At one point something big boiled at the stern of the boat and shortly afterwards Cindy had another one of those drag ripping takes. The big fish took her from bow to stern, from starboard to port, and then it dug deep. Cindy worked it in, let it run, worked it in, let it run, then eventually brought to the net an oversized 27"+ Redfish, boy what a fish!  In addition to the Redfish, Jeff added a fat Seatrout to his catch total. 

We fished Snook Creek for a bit and added one Redfish, moved up and around and fished some exposed oysters with jigs where Jeff put another Red in the boat, then we made our way around to Bell River where we fished some docks. The bite had slowed considerably as the tide reached bottom but Jeff did manage to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he outsmarted a keeper sized Sheepshead and brought it to the net. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

In Between The Storms

 

You've probably heard, "be careful what you wish for" - just a month ago we were begging for rain and now it seems someone forgot to turn the spigot off! And last night the forecast called for 47% chance of rain today so we thought we'd be getting wet if we fished, but we were going anyway! Luckily when I got up to get the boat ready the forecast had changed to just 15% chance and that held, we didn't get a drop while fishing. 

I had met David Prezzano and his fishing buddies Jay and Mike down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with a live well full of shrimp, and before they got there, I had casted for a few dozen finger mullet. We ran over to the intercoastal, up it, and then turned into the Nassau and made our way up for a short bit before turning into the current on the first of an incoming tide. I noted that even though it had been only coming in for an hour, it was already covering the shell. All three anglers began tossing jigs and shrimp and in just a few minutes Mike "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. He followed that up with a golden colored Whiting catch. 

The trio of anglers caught a couple of small Seatrout, a Catfish, a couple of Jack Crevalle, one of which put up a good battle for David, then Jay had a strange "thump" and, Fish On!  Jay played it patiently, worked it to the boat and when it came to the surface, we saw that it was a big Flounder. He eased it slowly to the net and we brought to the boat a nice 18" Flounder, boy what a fish!

We then made our way down to Pumpkin Hill, fished a stretch with float rigs, then moved around to a point and drifted that. David had gotten a good cast that took his bait along the grass and BAM! Another Big Fish On!  He kept that tension on and worked in, let it run, worked it in and I was thinking "Redfish" but when David got it to the boat and netted, we saw that it was a 20.5" Gator Trout, boy what a fish!

Jay added one more keeper sized Seatrout to the box and although we had a few bites after that, we had no takers. That tide had gotten up to flood stage and the fish must have been up in the marsh. But we had caught some "picture worthy fish", had a few in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.