Race with an Osprey

I fished with Michael Fuhrman and his two sons, Zachary and Austin, yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon as we left the South end of Amelia Island at 2pm. We stopped at the docks of Longpointe and with his first cast, Zachary hooked up to a fat trout and then shortly after, another. We eventually pulled anchor and ran up the intercoastal where we got into a race with an Osprey just off his perch. We clocked him at 33mph! We stoppped at Jackstaff Creek and fished a couple of spots then ran to "Bubblegum Reef" and were joined by a Crane fishing for his early dinner. Austin and his dad got in some action catching a few croaker and a neat Sail Catfish. All of our fish were released to be caught another day. We visited Broward Island, then wrapped up the day at Middle Marsh to try our hand at some big Drum fishing. What a great day out on the water with two polite young men!

Times Union Redfish Spot Tournament results

Don Hughes and I fished the Times Union Redfish Spot Tournament this past Saturday. Should have been a trout tournament! We ran up the intercoastal to get to some of our "home" waters and at the first stop picked up (3) trout. We fished a number of spots throughout the day and picked up more trout and eventually a flounder, but no Redfish. The weather was beautiful with very little wind. The winning fish was brought in with 17 spots; second place had 9 spots with 3rd and 4th place each having 7 spots.

Rodney Mills and Roy Carter Trip

I fished with Rodney Mills and Roy Carter who were staying with their families at The Addison House this past weekend. We had moved the start time of the trip to 9:00am to let a storm front pass through that morning; the weather cleared but we had wind of 15mph from the south west so we headed up Lanceford Creek to get in behind the trees. The trick worked and we were able to enjoy some pleasant fishing. Rodney and Roy fished hard, picking up about 7 trout, a small redfish, a blue, a black tip shark, a small drum and a spanish mackerel. Rodney did me a favor and initiated the new "custom" rod I made down at Mudhole a few weeks ago. We tried a couple of spots after leaving Lanceford but the wind kicked our butts!

Boaters World Sale now at 20-50% off

The Boaters World at S.R. 200 and C.R. 107 in O'neal that is going out of business now has posted their prices at 20-50% off. FYI!

North Florida Fly Fishers

I've been invited to speak at the April 20th meeting of the North Florida Fly Fishers in Gainesville, Florida. I'll be speaking on Fly Fishing Opportunities on Amelia Island (and nearby!) The club meets at the Westminister Presbyterian Church, 1521 NW 34th Street, Gainesville. Their socializing begins at at 7:00pm with the meeting starting at 7:30pm. Our Tourism Department has put together packets of information and I've added a number of brochures from Bed and Breakfasts, the Museum, Fort Clinch State Park, etc. Hampton Inn and Suites has donated a 2-night stay for the club to raffle off! If you've thought about joining a fly fishing club or are just interested in learning more about it and live near Gainesville, plan to join us that Monday evening.

Recipe of the Month: Scallops with Fennel and Bacon

This is an easy recipe, taken from The Cook's Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking by Joanna Farrow:

(2) Small or (1) Large Fennel bulbs

(1/2) Cup Mascarpone cheese

(8) Large Scallops or 1/2lb medium scallops

(4-6) Pieces of bacon

Trim, halve and remove center root of fennel. Slice fennel, reserving and chopping 1/2 cup of the feathery tops. Blanch the slices of fennel in boiling water, 3-7 minutes, until soft. Drain.

Preheat the broiler oven to medium. Place the fennel in a shallow flameproof dish and season with salt and pepper. Dot the Mascarpone cheese on the fennel and broil for about 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the fennel is lightly browned.

Meanwhile, pat the scallops dry on a paper towel and season lightly with Konriko. Cook bacon in a large, heavy skillet until crisp. Drain and keep warm. Cook the scallops in the bacon grease 1-2 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Transfer the fennel to serving plates. Chop the bacon into bite sized pieces and sprinkle over the fennel. Pile the scallops on the bacon and garnish with the reseved fennel tops.

Boaters World going out of business

If you've passed the local Boaters World store at the intersection S.R.200 and C.R.107 you've probably seen the large "Going out of Business" sign. First West Marine Express and now Boaters World! Liquidation prices are set at 10-30% off by the liquidation team and store employees do not have any authorization to change them. However, inside sources tell me that management is monitoring sales three times a day and have replacement signs with 50-60% off ready to go up as soon as they see sales volume drop during the liquidation, which is scheduled to last through June 20th. After they close, don't forget that long time local dealers such as The Boat House, Chelsea Marine, Ocean Outboard and Deonas Boatworks stock a variety of boat supplies and you can still rely on Amelia Bait and Tackle, The Bait House, and Leaders and Sinkers to have all of your fishing supplies. Another inside source tells me that West Marine is still considering opening another store in the Fernandina Beach area.

Windy Trout Trip

Ed Wisniewski's friend Larry Burns was visiting from NE Georgia so they decided to take in a backcountry fishing trip. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as we left the dock at 8am, but the wind was already blowing at least 10mph, and probably more so we headed directly for the Rayonier warehouse to get out of the blow. Throwing jigs with live shrimp, Ed quickly picked up a nice keeper sized trout. We moved around to the pipeline, staying behind the retention pond island and picked up a few more trout, then we headed to Tiger Island to stay out of the wind, which had picked up considerably. Ed ended up hooking up to a fat 18" trout and then he and Larry both caught a few more, along with a couple of Sheepshead and some "baitstealers". With the island blocking the wind, we had a great time as the sun warmed us and made it very comfortable. In addition to seeing a dozen porpoise's, we also saw a sea otter, shore birds and an Osprey with his fresh caught fish. We all noticed that there weren't any boats out and we knew why as we turned the bow of the boat into the wind as we headed back to the dock!

County Ponders No Wake Zone

The Nassau County Commission considered an ordinance last Monday that would create a no-wake zone around the North End Boat Ramp (Dee Dee Bartels). Check out the story by Ryan Smith in the Fernandina Beach News Leader

Sheepshead fishing trip a success

I fished with Mr. Bill Gass and his sons Chuck and Billy today. Our plan was to specifically target Sheepshead, the "thief of thiefs". I had purchased some nice fiddlers so we got an early start, leaving the north end boat ramp shortly after 7am. Our first stop was at the south jettie where we ended up trolling the rocks, jigging our fiddlers down to the bottom. Mr. Gass picked up the first Sheepshead of the day, a nice 22" fish that put up a ferocious fight. We moved back inside as the water began to crash over the jetties and found some marker pilings that we could back up to and sure enough, not 5 minutes after getting in postion, Chuck picked up a nice "thief" and then another, this one the largest of the day, a 27" fish. We moved on to behind Tiger Island where Billy got in on the action with another nice Sheepshead. They also caught a number of pinsfish, sea bass, mudfish, and even 12" shark during the day. We fished Landsford Creek for awhile then ran back out to the range markers, found a spot, and anchored up to finish the day catching whiting. On a personal note, Mr. Gass hired me to work at Hardee Brothers Hardware (now Fantastic Fudge) during Christmas breaks from college back in the late 70's and it was my pleasure to get to hook up with him and his sons to go fishing.