High Tides Make It Tough

 ..but the Trout did come thru for us this morning. I had met Sam Brown, his father Dennis, and Sam's girlfriend Tanley up at Old Town Bait and Tackle early this morning with a tide that was high and still coming in. It was a beautiful morning as we eased out of Eagans Creek then made our way up and around to the Jolley River where we eased into the "bank" to toss float rigs and live shrimp. 

Each stop we made today we tended to get a Trout, but only one, or maybe two at each location. Dennis had the hot hand early and picked up a few to jump out into a lead but then Tanley began to press him when she caught one deep on a jig over in the Bell River. Back towards Fernandina we were back fishing floats and when Tanley put the biggest Trout of the day in the boat to tie up the standings, Dennis got back in the action and caught a couple to re-assume the lead!

Over in Lanceford Creek the tide had finally started out and after much perseverance, Sam got oni the board with a nice Seatrout catch. That high tide had made it difficult, but we had a beautiful day and we'd put a few 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.

Big 'un Right Off The Bat

 I was back down at the south end today, fishing with the Soper Team - Larry and his sons Garrett and Dustin. We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp as the sun came up and made a long run up the Nassau to make our first stop at Broward Island. The tide still had a few minutes of going out so we set up on the south end and began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the edge. It wasn't long before Larry "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up an landed a feisty Flounder. We were thinking that was pretty good! We saw some bait getting smashed over by a drainage so we worked over that way - Garrett had made a good cast to a point and BAM!  That drag was ripping!   Garrett kept the pressure on but all he could do was hold on to that 6'6" rod with the Florida Fishing Products size 1000 reel, spooled with 10lb braid. The big fish rolled a couple of times then dug deep out into the river but Garrett stayed with it and worked it to the boat to land and Oversized 29" Redfish, boy wat a fish!

After moving up north and fishing a couple of spots, and right before we left, Larry had a good "bump" and set the hook on a nice feisty Redfish.  We then made our way back down the Nassau to Twin Creeks where we stuck with the jigs and shrimp. Larry stayed with the hot hand when he hauled in a keeper sized Flounder to go in the box. We moved down to another drainage, fished it for a bit then moved further down to Spanish Drop and switched to float rigs. We had some good action at a point of grass, getting a small Red, a keeper sized Seatrout that Dustin hauled in, and a couple of Ladyfish.

Back  up the river we went, staying with the floats and this paid off. Dustin had a strong hookup after

getting a good drift along the grass and patiently worked to the boat a nice Slot Redfish. Garrett battled a Bonnethead Shark to the boat for photographs and release, and Dustin had another battle with a big Red, but alas, it was not to be! Fish Off! We wrapped the day up over in Jackstaff, working the bank with the floats, and fiddling with baitstealers and Ladyfish. But we had a good morning with great weather and had a few fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Working Up a Grande Slam

 I wrapped my week up fishing with Rick Payne and his fishing buddy Pedro, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early this morning. We eased out of Eagans Creek and made our way up and around to the Jolley River where we turned into the current along the "bank" and worked back tossing float rigs and live shrimp on the last of an incoming tide. Not much action along there, we may have had a bite or two. 

We then moved down to Tyger cut and fished the point, drifting with a current that was almost at a standstill, and again, not much happening. Further up the river, just past Snook Creek, we worked the bank as the tide came to a standstill. Pedro was on the stern and fishing long and it paid off when he hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout to "knock the skunk off".

After coming back to the outside of Tyger we set up and fished the first of an outgoing tide. I was expecting big things but was soundly disappointed. But as we eased around the corner of some grass, Rick had made a good cast up alongside it and when his float slowly went under, he tightened up and let the circle hook set. This fish was pulling deep and not running much and sure enough, when Rick brought it to the net he had a nice Flounder. They also picked up one Bluefish here that was busting bait.

We then ran thru Tyger, over to the Bell, then down the intercoastal were we set up alongside some rocks.The duo caught a handful of Seatrout (one of which was of keeper size) and Pedro hooked up and battled a feisty Redfish to the boat to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder and Redfish. After hitting one more dock up behind Piney Island Pedro topped off a "Grande" Slam when he reeled in a keeper sized Sheepshead. We had started slow but had some good action later 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. 

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. 

High Tides and Low Tides

 It's amazing how different the fishing can be depending on the tides. This morning I met Warren Hearn and his brother-in-law Dave up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We had a tide that was already high and still coming in so we went with float rigs and live shrimp as the tactic. Our first stop was over on the outside of Tyger and almost immediately Warren had a hookup and after expertly playing it, landed a big Bluefish. Then Dave had a hookup, one that pulled a bit of drag, and he brought to the net a big 18" Seatrout. We bounced around all morning, drifting edges with the float rigs  and this duo caught a good handful of Seatrout and another nice Blue.

This afternoon we were fishing a tide that had been going out for a few hours. I had met Kay Hartinger and her partner Sue at Old Town and we made a long run up the Bell to fish some docks with jigs and shrimp. The first spot produced no fish but we got in closer between a couple of more docks and fished back to the pilings. Kay and Sue began to catch fish - hard fighting and feisty Black "puppy" Durm, some feisty Redfish, then Kay put a Slot sized Red in the boat.  We came back to the Eagans Creek area and fished some more dock pilings and  for two hours we caught Redfish, one after the other! Kay added a keeper sized Black Drum, then patiently played a 23" Slot Red to the net. Sue followed that up with a nice 21" Slot fish of her own. When the dust had settled I guestimate we had caught at least 25 Redfish, four of which were of legal size.  But not a single Trout, like this morning! Hah! As we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.