Pat’s Wildways: Fishing Bridge

In my world, one thing always leads to another, prompted most often by my insatiable curiosity. Recently my friends Susan and Flip joined me for a follow-up on my recent monarch butterfly tagging column. Ray Moranz, the butterfly expert, asked me to check the borders of the parking lot of Amelia Island State Park to see if any monarchs were still in that patch of wildflowers. And yes, we reported, they were there, about 10 of them, more than we found a week prior in the Egans Creek Greenway. Mission accomplished.

But not really. While looking for butterflies I couldn’t help but notice the sign along the highway, Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway A1A. As a longtime Buffett fan, I was delighted when our highway A1A, named after one of Buffett’s classic albums, became the official name of this road I often travel. And of course I needed to photograph myself with the sign and post it on Facebook for my other Parrotheads around the world.

And we weren’t yet done with our expedition. “Why don’t we walk over to the George Crady Fishing Bridge since we are already near?” “Sure.” And off Susan, Flip and I went to check it out. I pass this bridge a number of times every week and always briefly notice the various fisherfolk on the bridge, but it is just a passing glimpse. This day, finally, I experienced it myself.

To get there one must park in the Amelia Island State Park lot, then walk under the highway to gain access to the bridge on the other side, where there is also a clean and convenient state park restroom facility. But the real fun happens on the fishing bridge itself. People were spaced on both sides of the fishing bridge with their bait hanging off their poles and their comfortable chairs, umbrellas and coolers set up beside them.

Everyone we encountered on the bridge emanated a friendly, social vibe and seemed quite happy to answer my questions and to let me look at their catches. Even those with no fish in their coolers seemed quite content to sit in the sun among their fellows, enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We watched one man struggling to pull in a large stingray that was hooked but swimming rapidly away, dragging the line under the bridge, while another guy leaned dangerously far across the rail to guide the fisherman.  Further down the line, others were filling their coolers with weakfish, black drum, whiting and other fish I couldn’t identify. It was great to see people carefully measuring their catches and tossing back smaller drums to let them grow to bigger sizes. And some of the fisherfolk were already giving the legal fish they did not want to cook themselves to others in their vicinity who had a better use for them. It was a whole community out there on the bridge that I was happy to be a part of momentarily.

There was more than people and fish to look at, too. For one thing, the expansive views from the fishing bridge were soothing sights of beaches and vessels on the water and gulls and osprey in the air. Other birds — blackbirds and ruddy turnstones — were on the bridge, paying close attention to the fishermen and looking for discarded bait and other treats. We also found a discarded bright yellow sea whip coral that someone had apparently hooked from the water. I thought about bringing it home as a souvenir but my shelves of natural objects are already past full. As a biodiversity specialist, I was happy to see so many animal species around me.

Susan, Flip and I enjoyed our walk on the pier and it built up our appetites. Where were we going to have lunch? This was a no-brainer. Whenever I am south of Amelia Island, my thoughts stretch to the Sandollar Restaurant just a bit further down the road on Heckscher Drive. This place has been around for decades and always has the best, freshest, well-cooked shrimp and fish anywhere around. And the views from their windows, of the Mayport Ferry, the large container ships, and the often sighted pods of dolphins make a fine place to enjoy lunch.

What started out to be a search for monarch butterflies ended up as a half-day expedition. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com