Wisconsin Boys Catching Some Fish!

 I wrapped my week up and it was a beautiful day to do it! I met Peter Brown and his Wisconsin fishing buddies Shawn and Jeff - down at Sawpit as the full moon set. We ran up the Nassau, all the way to Broward Island and the water was slick as ice, not a rippled. We set up at the island and tossed jigs and live shrimp on a tide that already been coming in for about 2.5 hours, but we made it in time. That first stop didn't produce but we eased down about 50' and that did the trick - Shawn "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. He built a commanding lead in the "fish catch total", catching one Trout after another.  We worked down and up that bank and added a good handful of Seatrout to the catch. 

After running way up the Nassau we dipped into a small creek and worked the bank and boy did this pay off. All three anglers began to get Redfish -Shawn on the bow, Peter in the middle and Jeff off the stern. These fish were just undersized but real feisty and fun to catch. Then it got even better!  They hooked up with four Slot sized fish -that fourth being over the limit and was released. They also added another Trout catch or two.

We then came back and fished Pumpkin Hill, switching to float rigs and drifting long. Shawn was up on the bow and handicapped trying to fish backwards but he made it work and caught some more Trout. We fished a large drainage at Seymore's Pointe, had no real bites, then ran thru Horsehead to troll along Jackstaff "bank" and here the trio wrapped up the day with one more Seatrout catch. We had beautiful sunny skies, almost no wind, and the temperature had warmed enough to shed jackets and with fish in the box, as we headed back, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Bar Setting Trout

 I had the Mathe Fishing Team this morning, Jerry, his son Greg and grandson Henry. We met down at
Sawpit late morning with the sun already up and clear skies to greet us on a high tide that was just about to start out up at Nassauville. And that's where we made our first run to, easing up at a large drainage to break out some float rigs and live shrimp. I think first cast got a bite, 2nd cast got a bite, and on the third, Henry had a strong hookup. He was cranking it in and it was fighting back but Henry had the best of it and soon landed a 19.75" Seatrout - the biggest of the year and good enough to kick off the Anglers Mark 2025 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

The trio picked up a couple of more Trout, floating their baits over submerged oysters, then Greg had the big bite. I was hoping it was another big Trout but it was just as good - a hard fighting Redfish. We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where Jerry got on the board with a Seatrout catch. After working a bank thoroughly there, we crossed over and fished a beautiful outflow, but to no avail. Back thru Horsehead we came and up to Back River Point where we drifted the floats, but again, no bites. 

We then made the tactical decision to switch to jigs and fish deep and this paid off, Fishing between two docks with the jigs, Henry padded his lead on the catch total, getting another Trout or two. We finished the day down at Broward, fishing under a Bald Eagle. We got another Red there and another Trout before we headed back to the ramp, and we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Catching Dinner

 We're having a beautiful week of weather this week and today was no exception when I met John
Fredericks and his fishing buddy Dan up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased out of Eagans Creek then made the run over to the outside of Tyger Island and set up with float rigs and live shrimp with plans to fish the marsh grass as the tide started out. Both John and Dan were getting good casts and good drifts but we didn't get a bite.

We bounced around Tyger, moving up towards Jolley and fished a large drainage with jigs and shrimp and again, no bites. We then ran up the Jolley to Snook Creek, eased inside, drifted floats out the back to no avail, then tossed jigs across the creek, again to no avail - no real bites.

If you've followed the last few days of fishing reports you may have seen that this has been the norm - no fish for the first couple of spots. But following Rule #4 - "if you're not catching fish, MOVE" - that's what we did - we made the run around to Bell River and anchored out from some docks and tossed the jigs up-current  and let the jigs bounce down the bottom and this did the trick. Dan, fishing off the stern picked up a couple of Seatrout and a small Black "puppy" Drum. And when we moved up a couple of docks John got in on the action and caught a few of those hungry Trout. We dropped back about 4 docks and fished the pilings and this strategy paid off when Dan hooked up and expertly played to the net a keeper sized Black Drum. 

We then made the long run back to Amelia, ran down the Intracoastal and found some more docks to fish. I was expecting Redfish but John found some Seatrout out in the middle of the creek. He landed a good handful, one of which was of keeper size and there were at least three that were just 1/16" shy of being legal - we tossed those back. Our final stop was further down the Intracoastal, fishing  deep and on the first cast John hooked up and landed another keeper Trout. That was the only fish we caught there! But these two anglers had some fish in the box for dinner so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Rock Fish at Amelia?

 

Although it was a bit cool to start out with the day ended up being beautiful and the temps warmed nicely to make for some comfortable fish catching! I had met David Vice and his fishing buddy's Gary and Lee out at Oyster Bay dock early and we made a long run back down the Lanceford, up the Bell and thru Tyger basin around to the outside of Tyger to set up and toss float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that had just started out. We had not a bite. No luck at all.

We then made our way over to Eagans Creek and set up current from some dock pilings and it didn't take long before these guys were catching some fish. Lee got hot early and put a couple of Redfish in the boat, one of which was Slot size, and David picked up a Trout out deep. We then made our way over to Lanceford Creek and fished a grass patch, then a bulkhead with the floats and again, no bites. Those float rigs fished in shallow water are just not producing!

After making the run back down Lanceford and then down the intercoastal we made our way to another set of docks Kee got hot again and pulled a couple of Reds out from underneath, and David, fishing off the  bow, worked a drainage and caught a good handful of Seatrout, two were of keeper size. Then Lee, who had been quite for most of the morning, began to get hookups. He put a couple of feisty Redfish in the boat and a few of those Seatrout. Between him and David, they caught bunch of those Trout that measured 14 7/8" .

David worked those dock pilings again and BAM! Big Fish On!  This fish was putting up a crazy battle and digging deep and ripping drag. I was thinking the battle looked different and sure enough, when David brought it to the boat we saw that it was a 23.5" hybrid Striper, boy what a fish. This is only the 2nd Striper landed on my boat in the 18+ years of guiding. But then topped that fish when he battled and brought to the net, a big 25" Slot Redfish. Gary wrapped things with another couple of Seatrout catches before we headed back to the dock and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Big Fish Right Off The Bat

 

I wrapped my week up fishing with Murray Bonitt and his son Dan and friend Gavin...and some dude named Darron that nobody knew. We met early down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp under cloudy skies but we had very little wind (but enough to keep the gnats away) so as we headed up the Nassau River we had high hopes of catching some fish. I haven't fished the shell beds in a long while but they were exposed on a tide that had been going out a few hours so as we approached Spanish Drop we decided to give it at try - we'd be pitching jigs and live shrimp to those oysters. Gavin and Dan were up at the bow while Murray manned the stern. We had been fishing for about 10 minutes when Murray put an excellent cast up near the oysters and he had a big hookup, Fish On!  This fish was ripping drag and when I saw it wasn't wanting to come in I knew it had some size to it, and then it rolled and I knew it was a big Redfish. Murray played it perfectly, worked it in, wore it out, and soon landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish - first fish of the day!

We worked that bank thoroughly then made a run the Nassau and fished a large drainage with the jigs.
Here, Dan got on the board with a couple of Seatrout catches and Murray added a couple, too. That Darron guy picked up a Baitstealer.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island and here the "catching" picked up. The trio caught a good handful of fish. Gavin had persevered, stuck with it, and picked up a few hungry Seatrout. Dan caught Trout and a couple of feisty Redfish, and Murray added a few more fish to the catch total. We had had only a light sprinkle from the forecasted Sunday rains, had caught some good fish, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.   

Oversized One, Two and Three

 That was some wind we had the last two days. 20mph plus winds so I was off. Carol and I walked the dog downtown and then down to the Marina and boy was it ugly out there! But those winds dropped last night and this morning greeted us with only 3mph, sunny and cool temperatures in the high 40's, boy what a pretty day! I met Dick Conley and his crew, David Gray and Henry Ross, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early on a low and still outgoing tide. We eased around to the Sawpit bridge, anchored with the I=Pilot and David and Dick began drifting slip floats out the back baited up with live shrimp. They had a good number of drifts and did see some action - both hooked and landed legal sized Weakfish. (All fish caught today were released). Henry was  up on the bow tossing a DOA shrimp and picked up the loan Seatrout at that spot.

We then ran up the Intracoastal, up the Nassau and made our way to a drainage between two docks, where I thought it would be a sure thing to catch Seatrout. Dick and David were fishing jigs and live shrimp, Henry stayed with the DOA and...we didn't get a real bite. Ouch. We then ran down to Broward Island to fish it on the last of an outgoing. Here, we did get some action. All three anglers caught Seatrout tossing jigs or the DOA. Actually, the DOA produced pretty good. Throwing the shrimp though, David and Dick caught a feisty Redfish each. But then David had a strong bite, one that dug deep and ripped that drag. I must losing my touch - I didn't think it was going to be HUGE - "just" a nice Slot Red. But David proved me wrong. He worked it in patiently, brought it to the net, and landed an Oversized 30.75" Redfish. 

As we eased down the bank, drifting with the current, these three anglers put a good mess of Seatrout in the boat. There were a handful of keeper size, but we tossed them back. Then it was Dick's turn to battle the big fish. He had tossed up into a shadow, hooked up, and BAM! Big Fish On! Dick played it expertly - kept the pressure on, let it run, worked it in, let it run, worked it in, and eventually landed another Oversized Red that measured right at 28".  Boy what a fish!

We came back to fish a dock at Seymore's Pointe where Henry quickly put a Seatrout in the boat, but we were looking for Drum or Reds so we moved on. The final stop was at Spanish Drop, fishing some shell beds with the jigs and shrimp. Just when I thought the fish had had enough, Dick had made a coast up behind a shell bar and BAM!. There went the drag ripping again!  Another Big Fish on!  Dick battled it valiantly and soon worked in another Oversized Red, this one measuring in at 29". What a great way to wrap up a fishing trip! e had had beautiful weather and had put some big fish in the boat so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bragging Rights Bust

 Today's planned "fun" fishing trip turned in to a busting of the Bragging Rights! Needing some fish for my Amelia Island Life Long Learning class's fish fry, I planned to fish this morning with my wife Carol and our neighbor and friend Wade Kirkland. We got an early start, picking up bait at Amelia Island Bait and Tackle then making our way out to Goffinsville Park. After launching and easing out of the No Wake Zone, we ran down the Nassau to make our first stop at Seymore's Ponte with plans to fish some dock pilings on the last of an outgoing tide.  The good news is that we had zero wind. The bad news was that the Sand Gnats (no seeums) were out in force. But we had bug spray and head nets so there was no whispers of mutiny, that I heard. Although I liked the spot and liked the tide we had hardly any nibbles except a small Seatrout that Carol caught before we moved on. 

I was killing time waiting for that tide to start back in so we stopped in at some docks at Nassauville and pitched the jigs and this gave us a good flurry of action. Both Carol and Wade hooked up and caught Seatrout and I got in a few casts, caught a few, one of which was of keeper size. We then made our way down to Broward Island and fished it as the tide began to hit bottom. We were treated to a Bald Eagle sighting and then a Salt Marsh Mink scampering along the bank - my first sighting of the year. Carol had a good cast up to the bank and in short order, BAM! Fish On! She played it perfectly and patiently brought it to the net - a nice 18"(maybe) Redfish. The measurement was so close we thought we'd have to debate the FWC guy so we tossed it back. Just as we were releasing it Wade had a strong hookup. This fish was heading north and ripping drag and digging deep and we knew it was a big one. But Wade was up the task and put up a valiant battle, working the fish in slowly, letting it run, working it in, letting it run and after about an 8 minutes fight he brought to the net an Oversized 32.5" Redfish. This fish moved Wade into First Place in the 2025 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  Boy what a fish!

We fished up and down the bank and picked up another handful of Redfish, one of which was of keeper size.  After fishing a small creek and getting two more Reds, we called it a day and headed back in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe of the Month: Black Eye Pea Stew

 We've made this three times during this past winter and taken to a party once and it received acclaim! Not
much to the recipe, just some good old comfort food on a cold winter's day! Sorry, no seafood in it...

Ingredients:

1   lb dried Black Eye Peas                                                                            2    32oz  boxes chicken stock                                                                  2-3 stalks celery, chopped                                                                          1  medium onion, chopped                                                                           1   lb bag frozen collard greens                                                                    1   lb ground or link smoked sausage                                                                  Creole seasoning                                                                     

Soak a 1lb bag of Black Eye peas - pour in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight in the fridge.

The next day, drain and rinse the peas and put in a pot.

Cover with about one and half box of chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours

At about one hour take a potato masher or mallet and "smash" up some of the Black Eye Peas

Add bag of  Collards to pot

In a cast iron skillet brown the sausage, add to pot.

Brown the celery and onion, season with Creole seasoning, add to pot 

Season as needed again with Creole seasoning. Add Chicken stock to cover. Simmer covered for another 30 minutes. 

A Little Bit of Everything

 I last fished with Dennis Fritz, his wife Adele, and their visiting friends Jon and Jessica, meeting themdown at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We were supposed to go early but when the alarm went off and I got up it was pouring rain! Luckily this group was able to go later so we postponed the trip until 11am. After the "safety orientation" we eased just around the corner to anchor up current from the old Sawpit Bridge. I had the ladies drifting Slip Floats out the stern, back towards the pilings, baited with live shrimp. Dennis and Jon were off the Starboard side tossing jigs and live shrimp up current. Both Adele and Jessica were getting good drifts and let their floats slip right beside the pilings, but they had no takers. But surprisingly, Dennis had a good bite, set the hook, and brought to the boat a nice feisty Redfish. 

We then made the long run up the Nassau River and made our way over to some docks in Nassauville. All four anglers switched to jigs and shrimp and this paid off - they all began to hookup and land hungry Seatrout. They kept me busy! Most of these fish were in the 14.5" range, just under sized, but caught in 20-25' of water. 

After a run down to Broward Island and a Bald Eagle sighting, we fished the deep waters off of the island and picked up a couple of Trout and a Redfish or two. We then ran way up the Nassau and dipped into a creek and fished the deeper bank. This did the trick. This group landed another couple of Redfish and a Black "puppy" Drum to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of

Redfish, Seatrout and Drum. We had sunny skies for most of the day(after the morning rain), and very light winds - the temperature warmed enough so that we were shedding layers. If not for the "no-seeums" it would have been another outstanding day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Tale of Two Halves

It was forecasted to be a nasty day and it didn't disappoint!  Overcast skies, sprinkling rain on occasion, and cooler temperatures greeted us at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp when I met Mark Averbuch and his fishing buddies Gerry Mathe and Paul Clark.  The good news was that the wind wasn't blowing so we made our way up the Nassau to make our first stop at a large drainage at Seymore's Pointe. We baited up live shrimp under fixed floats and got Mark out off the stern with his cast then Gerry out behind him. I was getting Paul set up and when I turned around I only saw one float - the other was missing!  Gerry started cranking and had the hookup and Fish On!  Gerry worked it to the boat expertly and landed a nice1 16.5" Flounder! Skunk off the boat!

What a great way to start a fishing trip but he excitement was short lived. All three anglers were getting good casts and good drifts but we had no real bites at that spot. We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and drifted floats there along the marsh grass, but to no avail We came back to Jackstaff "bank" and switched to jigs and live shrimp. Again, we were getting good casts but had no bites.

Back thru Horsehead we went and down to Nassauville where we fished between two docks. I had high hopes for Seatrout here, deep on the bottom, but after a dozen casts and no real bites I was beginning to worry. But perseverance paid off - Mark, fishing off the stern, found a "honey hole" and began to catch Seatrout, getting a bite on almost every cast.  He had figured out to slow his retrieve to almost zero, just taking up slack as the jig bounced along the bottom and when he felt the "tap", bam, he had a hookup. Paul picked up on the technique and began to put fish in the boat, then Gerry caught a few, too. All of these fish were in the 12-14" range but we did have one of keeper size (released). We probably could have stayed there and caught fish until we ran out of bait, but we moved on to seek bigger fish. 

After running way up the Nassau River we dipped into a creek and worked the bank with the jigs. I was expecting Redfish but I was beginning to think they were going to let me down. But Paul, casting to the "palm and pine" hooked up and Fish On!  He played it patiently and brought to the net a feisty Redfish. He went back to the same spot and BAM! Bigger fish on. This one was ripping drag, a sure sign it was in the Slot, and sure enough, after a good battle, Paul landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We worked further down the bank until we hit marsh grass and with a little time to kill, we dropped back to the Palm and Pine and this did the trick. All three anglers began to get Reds. A couple were right at 17+", and one was in the Slot  at 20", and a couple were small but "feisty".(all Reds were released today) It was a good "grande finale" - the first half of the trip had started slow but the 2nd half we had finished strong so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.