Weather Swings

 

Yesterday we had high winds and dropping temperatures while today we had almost no wind, cooler, but real sunny- an ideal day. I met Henry Ross and his fishing crew Jon and Jeff, up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle ramp. We eased down Eagans Creek and made our way over to the river, then  up it to fish some docks on the first of incoming tide. We were getting good casts up into the pilings but the fish either not hungry or not there. We then made our way over to Tyger Island and fished the downed logs and this paid off. Henry "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder, caught out deep. Shortly after that Jon had a strong bite, his dragged ripped a bit and Fish On! Jon played it  perfectly and soon landed an nice slot Redfish. We eased along the island and Henry got hot, hooking and landing a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper size. 

We came out from behind the island and ran up to Jolley River where we made a stop on the outside ofSnook Creek. The anglers switched to float rigs and were getting good drifts when Jeff saw his float disappear and the battle was on! This fish was ripping some drag and I thought for sure it was going to be a nice Slot Redfish but as Jeff worked it to the surface we saw it was a huge Trout. Jeff eased it to the net and landed a big 21.5" Trout, a fish big enough to mover Jeff into 1st Place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament- Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We moved back down the river to Tyger Cut and fished that with the floats and had a good flurry of Seatrout catches, one of which was of keeper size. 

Our final stop was on the outside of Tyger, fishing jigs, in hopes of some more Flounder. We didn't get them but Jeff did hookup and land a nice 1lb Whiting to go in the box. And with that, we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Boy, Were We Wrong

 It was one of those "Chamber of Commerce" days with clear skies, sunshine, and only a slight breezewhen I met Jeff Key and his fiancé Sally down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. The gnats were bad at the dock but after we made our way up the river we never saw them again. Our first stop was up at Pumpkin Hill where we drifted float rigs and live shrimp with the last of the incoming current and it didn't take long for Jeff to hookup and bring to the boat a nice keeper sized Seatrout. He caught a couple more smaller Trout then he had a good hookup, one that was ripping some drag - I called "small Redfish" but as Jeff worked it to the net he landed a big 19.5" oversized Seatrout - big enough to move Jeff in to 2nd Place in the 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). But I wasn't done being wrong!

On another drift Jeff had a hard take and almost immediately a big dark form rolled up. Jeff and I called it a "Ray" while Sally called it a dolphin. It was ripping drag and digging deep and I thought for sure that, being a Ray, it would break off any minute. But Jeff kept the pressure on and fought it patiently -it rolled again but didn't actually show, but we new it was big! Jeff worked it around the stern of the boat, let it run, worked it closer, then I saw that it was a huge Redfish. After landing the fish we measured it (twice) as 27.5" - oversized but big enough to move Jeff into 2nd Place in the Redfish Category of the Bragging Rights Tournament! We added one more keeper Trout along here, and also had some small throw backs. 

We fished around a point and picked up another smaller Trout, then ran back to Seymore's Pointe where I just knew we'd be getting some more fish. Wrong again! We didn't get a real bite. Thru Horsehead we went and on the other side we set up and fished a drainage, to no avail. We went over and fished Poteat Point where Jeff did hookup and land another nice keeper sized Seatrout. Back over at Jackstaff we pulled up to fish a cut with jigs. The two anglers weren't getting any bites but then I saw Sally's rod bend and Fish On!  Sally played the fish expertly and slowly worked it up to the surface - a tale-tale sign- and sure enough as it came up we saw it was a nice Flounder. Sally brought it to the net and we measured it at 16.5", big enough to set the bar for 1st Place in the 2026 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. And shortly after that Jeff hooked and landed a smaller Flounder. 

We ran back thru Horsehead and down to Twin Creeks where we wrapped the trip up tossing jigs and minnows. We had some good fish in the boat, had thrown back some oversized ones, and had made a mark on the Bragging Rights board so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Boy That Was Some Wind!

 

Monday, Cancelled. Tuesday, Cancelled. Wednesday, Cancelled. Thursday, Cancelled. That was some crazy wind we had all week, but today it "calmed down" to 12mph at launch hour, rising to 16mph by the end of the trip. But my guests, visiting from (the windy city, go figure) Chicago were game to go fishing today, and so was I, so we met down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp, feeling Lonesome, Ornery, and Mean (not really - that's an old Waylon song) and we headed up the Nassau to make our first stop at a drainage near Spanish Drop. All four anglers were getting good casts and were working their jig and shrimp slowly on a tide that had been going out for a few hours, but we had no luck, other than a few nibbles from some baitstealers. We eased up the river and fished Twin Creeks with thsoe jigs rods and again, no real bites. Our next stop was over at Nassauville, fishing between two docks and boy was it nice - the land mass blocked the wind and made for easy fishing - it really looked good, but again, no bites. 

We then made a long run up the Nassau to a small creek and after arriving we worked along the bank. It was young Marty who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly played to the boat and nice feisty Redfish. We continued to ease down the bank and then it was Wes's turn to fight a good fish, and boy was this a good one - it was ripping drag and making runs and we knew for sure it was in the "Slot' - Wes kept that pressure on , worked it in, let it run, worked it in, and soon landed a nice 24.25" Slot Redfish. We hit a few more spots along there, fishing with a menagerie of birds - Red Winged Black Birds,, Herons, Egrets, etc. then we came out of there and made our way back down the river to Seymore's Pointe.

Fishing the incoming tide now, but exposed to the 16mph winds, it was tough! But these guys persevered. We ended up working down the dock line, buffeted by the wind, but it paid off - they had a hookup - Jack was on the rod- he fought it valiantly and brought to the net a nice fat Seatrout to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Black Drum, Red Drum and Seatrout.  The wind curtailed fishing at some of the sports I would normally like to fish, but we did get a few nice  ones so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here aat Amelia Island, Florida. 

Breakout Day

 The way the bite has been non-existent lately I was even more worried when I stepped out this morning
and saw an almost full moon. But I've been thinking that the bite has to turn sooner or later and why not today? When I met Steve Locke and his fishing buddies Jason and Todd out at Goffinsville Park I did give them the sad news of poor fishing lately, but they ignored it, thankfully! We made our first run down the Nassau and pulled up at some structure on a tide that had been coming in for about an hour and we went with jigs and live shrimp and minnows.

Todd was new to the boat but he didn't waste any time - he hooked up with a hard fighting fish and expertly landed a Slot Redfish. Steve hooked and landed a keeper sized Seatrout and Jason added a
feisty Redfish to the catch. Then it was Todd's turn again - he said it was "just a nibble" but when that drag started ripping he knew it was a Big Fish. That fish dug deep and headed south - Todd followed it to the stern of the boat keeping that pressure on it - he went from starboard to port and back again, working it up as it dug deep time and again. Finally, after a good battle, Todd brought to the net a nice 26" Slot Redfish, boy what a fish! We fished that stretch for a while, picking up another couple of smaller Reds, then we moved on.

Our next stop was way up the Nassau, where we pulled  into a small creek and worked the bank. We got a couple of small Reds then Jason hooked up and expertly battled a nice 5 spot Slot Red to the net. Steve then had the big battle - he was working in smaller confines as his fish ripped drag-I was worried that it would surely find a log to wrap itself, but Steve kept that pressure on and worked it out away from the bank and soon landed a fat 25" Slot Redfish, another big fish for the day!

Our final stop was back down at Seymore's Pointe as the tide was ebbing, fishing floats. All was quite until a strike almost snatched the rod out of Todd's hands. It ripped some drag a bit and I was thinking "small Redfish" but as he brought it to the boat we saw that it was a big Seatrout, one that measured right at 20.5",and with the new regulations, had to go back. But it was big enough to move Todd into first place in the 2026 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). After a few weeks of poor fishing, we had caught some quality fish today so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Under the Eagles Eye

I gotta be honest - It's kinda of a tale of two opposites: Absolutely beautiful weather, but terrible fish "caching" in the back waters, for the last couple of weeks. And today was no exception - clear skies, sunshine, very little wind (at first), but the fish have lockjaw. I had met Jimmy Miller and his two sons James and Henry down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we ran up the intracoastal, and up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop where we went with float rigs and live shrimp. All three anglers were getting good casts and good drifts but we had no takers. We backed down the bank with the incoming tide and eventually switched to jigs and this did the trick when Jimmy hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout - skunk off the boat!

We moved down to Twin Creeks and fished it with the float and jigs, then ran down to Pumpkin Hill
and fished it with the floats. At every stop we'd get what we thought were some good bites - the float would disappear but they must have not been big enough to hook. We ran down to Broward Island and fished the north end on that high and incoming tide, something I don't normally do, but I was trying to mix it up. When we pulled up we were treated to a pair of Bald Eagles watching over the fishing effort. Unfortunately they were left disappointed - we had no luck. 

We came back to Nassauville and fished between a couple of docks, then made our way around to Seymore's Pointe on the first of an outgoing tide. Fishing the floats - I think it was Henry's first cast and BAM! Big Fish On! I was thinking it was going to be a small Redfish - it ripped the drag a couple of times - Henry worked it and kept the pressure on as it dug deep under the boat - he worked it up and landed a nice 18.75" Seatrout - almost too big with the new regulations! Boy what a fish! We fished that area for a bit, then ran thru Horsehead and fished a drainage with the floats, then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

But that Big One...

 Those "Chamber of Commerce" days just keep rolling on..just in time for the Spring Break visitors to enjoy their time here at Amelia Island. We had clear skies, mild temperatures and only a slight breeze (yes, the gnats were a problem) when I met Allison Olguin, her father Larry and her son Anderson up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased out of Eagans Creek and made a run over to the Bell River, ran up it a ways and then set up at a point on a tide that still had about an hour of coming in. Allison struck first when she hooked and landed a feisty Bluefish - it thrashed back to the boat all the way. We then made our way over to Lanceford Creek and fished a few spots (5 to be exact) and came away with only a few nibbles. 

After running down the intracoastal and dipping in behind Piney Island on a tide that had just started out, the action heated up a bit. Allison hooked an expertly landed a hungry Flounder, one of a few that we have caught the last couple of months. Then Anderson hauled in a foul hooked Stingray that made for a fun catch. Anderson was fishing jigs and live shrimp and being patient with letting it lay for a while, and it paid off, big time. Actually, too big! That fish hit his bait and immediately started running north, under a gangway, and between the floating dock and fixed dock - there was nothing we could do. It eventually ran that line alongside a piling and broke it off, and it's still heading north, boy what a fish!

But Anderson was not to be deterred. We ran further down the river and pulled up at some structure and stayed with the jigs and shrimp. In short order Andeeron had a hookup - he played it patiently and soon brought to the net a nice keeper sized Seatrout. And his grandfather followed that up with a Seatrout catch of his own. As we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

If you've read the last few reports you may be able to tell that the fish "catching" has been slow the last week or so. I checked my notes and LAST year the first of April we had some "banner" days of catching, so I think sooner or later it's going to pick up. We gotta keep fishing!