Newspaper Page Text
Friday, March 1,2013
Tribune & Georgian
3B
Submitted photos
Rick Harris (above) is with a 10-pound sheepshead he boated while fishing with charter
fishing captain Benny Hendrix. Sheepsheads are plentiful in Amelia Island waters year-
round. Nolan Barry (right) prepares to net Brandon Barry’s sheepshead during last Sat
urday’s annual Jacksonville El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament. The Barry brothers
launched their canoe from the Fernandina Harbor boat ramp and fished nearby at the
many barnacle-clad pilings.
Anglers battle high winds in sheepshead tourney
Terry Lacoss
Special to the Tribune & Georgian
A.J. Proescher brought in
an 11.7-pound sheepshead
for first-place honors in last
weekend’s El Cheapo
sheepshead fishing tourna
ment. The first-place prize
was an 18-foot Carolina skiff
powered by a 60-horsepower
Mercury outboard, and
loaded on an aluminum
trailer.
Clinton Milstead was sec
ond with an 11.3-pounder,
and Alton Robey third at
10.7. Dylan Roller claimed
Junior Angler honors with an
8.6-pound catch.
Windy weather greeted
the estimated 450 boats en
tered in the tournament Sat
urday, Feb. 23. Many of the
winning sheepshead were
caught either at the St.
Marys or Jacksonville rock
jetties.
However, because of the
high winds that gusted more
than 20 mph, few contestants
were able to fish the near
offshore sheepshead havens.
The popular tourney was
once again held from May-
Jen Boyer caught this 27-inch redfish while fishing in a mud creek recently with husband
Rusty Boyer.
port, Fla., and some 14
sheepshead eclipsing the 9-
pound mark were weighed
in. For more information,
visit ww.jaxfish.com.
The 15th annual Nassau
Sport Fishing Association
(NSFA) Drum Tournament
will be March 8 to April 21.
The popular event will get
under way with a mandatory
captain’s meeting March 8 at
7 p.m. at Ten Acres. The
entry fee is $40 per angler.
After the meeting, competi
tors can begin fishing, with
April 21 as the last day. Read
ers & Sinkers Bait and
Tackle, located on Egan’s
Creek at the foot of 14th
Street in Fernandina Beach,
Fla., will once again be the
official weigh-in site. Con
testants may weigh in their
black drum from 7 a.m. to 5
p.m. daily during the tourna
ment.
Junior angler competition
will be held for fishermen
ages 16 and younger.
The T-N-T competition
will also take place once
again this year with a $10
entry fee per angler. Fisher
men will receive a weigh-in
slip for each black drum they
weigh in. A bonus slip will be
given for black drum that are
released alive. At the end of
the tournament, all of the
slips will be placed in a hat
and the lucky ticket winner
collects all of the money. For
more information, visit
www.fishnsfa .com.
Fort Clinch will again host
the annual Kids Fishing
Clinic on Saturday, March 9.
Fort Clinch will partner with
Friends of Fort Clinch Inc.,
and the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Com
mission to conduct the clinic.
NSFA members will also
team up to help make this
year’s event a success. Youth
will receive their own fishing
rod and reel, lunch and great
instruction on how to be
come successful fishermen.
Also, admission to Fort
Clinch is free for the youth
clinic. For more information,
call (904) 277-7274.
The Northeast chapter of
Heroes on the Water will
hold an event in Fernandina
Beach on Sunday, March 10,
at Readers & Sinkers Bait
and Tackle located on Egan’s
Creek at the foot of 14th
Street. Twenty kayak fishing
guides have donated their
time to take an expected 24
north Florida veterans out
kayak fishing.
Sponsors are being sought
to help promote the event.
For donation information,
contact Craig Van Brocklin
at (904)877-0762 or email
cdvanbrock@gmail.com.
Egan’s Creek is the perfect
location for staging the out
ing. Kayak fishing in the pro
tected waters of the tidal
creek offers excellent winter
action for redfish, sea trout,
flounder, puppy drum and
more.
However, you don’t have
to catch fish to enjoy kayak
ing on any of Amelia Island’s
tidal creeks as kayaking has
proven to be one of Amelia
Island’s most relaxing sports.
State DNR
More than 20 anglers were
recently recognized by the
Georgia Department of Nat
ural Resources’ Wildlife Re
sources Division with a 2012
angler award for reeling in an
outstanding catch. The award
program recognizes those
who catch fish that meet or
exceed a specific weight or
length for that particular
species.
“These awards spotlight
the fact that Georgia has
great fishing opportunities
across the state,” said John
Biagi, chief of fisheries man
agement for the Wildlife Re
sources Division. “Award
winners reeled in everything
from a 56-pound striped bass
to a 7-pound walleye. And the
winners ranged in age from
10 years old to 69 years old.”
The Wildlife Resources
Division presented 2012 an
gler award recipients with a
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources recently hon- certificate and a hat embroi-
ored more than 20 anglers for their catches in 2012. dered with the angler’s name
Nature photos sought for contest
Wild Amelia is accepting
entries for the fifth annual
Wild Amelia Nature Photog
raphy Contest.
The goal of this contest is
to recognize outstanding pho
tography that celebrates the
wild places and wildlife of
Amelia Island. The event is
open to adults and children,
beginning and advanced pho
tographers. The entry dead
line is Friday, April 5. Cash
prizes will be awarded for the
winning images, and those
images may be included in
Wild Amelia’s nature photog
raphy calendar and brochures.
All photographers inter
ested in entering should re
view the rules and submission
process outlined on the web
site, www.wildamelia.com.
Winners will be announced
at 3:30 p.m. on haturday, May
18, during the Wild Amelia
Nature Festival Eco-Expo.
The seventh annual Wild
Amelia Nature Festival will be
Friday, May 17, through $un-
day, May 19, at venues on and
around Amelia Island. In ad
dition to the announcement
of the photography contest
winners, the festival will in
clude exhibits for adults and
interactive exhibits for chil
dren, ecotours, photography
classes, music, live animal ex
hibits, a huge silent auction
and a sea turtle release.
The festival website,
www.wildamelia.com, will be
continually updated with in
formation and schedules.
recognizes outstanding anglers
and the species and weight of
the fish caught.
Qualifications for angler
awards include:
• Catching the fish by legal
hook and line sport fish
methods in Georgia,
• Meeting or exceeding the
minimum weight or length
requirements,
• Taking the fish to a divi
sion fisheries biologist for
positive species identification
or including a clear, side-view
photo of the fish for identifi
cation purposes,
• Completing and submit
ting an angler award applica
tion to Wildlife Resources
Division/Angler Award Ap
plication, 2070 U.S. Highway
278 S.E., Social Circle, GA
30025. The application is
available at www.georgiaw-
ildlife.com/fishing/angler-re-
sources.
Other fishing recognition
programs
• State records: In addition
to the angler award program,
the division also maintains a
freshwater fish state-record
program for anglers who land
a catch that exceeds the exist
ing record catch weight by 1
ounce or more.
• Kids First Fish Certifi
cate: The division wants to
recognize children across the
state for catching their first
fish with the online kid’s first
fish award certificate available
at the site www.georgiaw-
ildlife.com/fishing/kids-fish-
ing.
To view the complete list of
2012 award winners and learn
about award criteria, visit
www.georgiawildlife.com/fish
ing/angler-resources or con
tact the nearest Wildlife Re
sources Division Fisheries
Management office.
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