First Cast, Slot Red

Johan Falkman and his Father-in-law Warren Phillips took in a Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip while visiting from the Atlanta area. We left the boat ramp early and ran up Nassau River. The oyster lined bank has been looking good all week and I usually make it the last stop, but on a hunch, made it our first stop today. Johan cocked the Stradic 1000 and fired away with a 1/4oz jig tipped with shrimp making a good cast to the base of the oyster bed and BOOM, fish on, first cast!
We knew right off that it was a nice Redfish because it rolled two or three times near the bank then Johan had a battle on his hands, playing the fish perfectly, and bringing it to the net, a 22" Slot Redfish! For an hour or so the guys caught Redfish, hooking up with one after the other, first Warren, then Johan. Warren hooked up with a hard fighter - I first thought it was a Bonnethead Shark, but it never really ran far, so I changed my guess to a big Red, but after Warren played the fish like a pro, we netted a 20" Jack Crevalle, a beautiful fish! After catching more Reds and two Flounder, we moved on to the mouth of Jackstaff to catch more Redfish; most were small, but fun to catch on a great day to be out on the water!

Youthful Slam

Steve and Tana Storey were in town with their kids, visiting from the Tallahassee area, and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip. We left the south end boat ramp early and headed up the Amelia River to the Horsehead area to anchor at a runout in Jackstaff Creek. With Steve, Tana and I helping with the casting of the jig/shrimp combo, we were soon hooking up with fish. Conner, the oldest was reeling in his own fish, catching Redfish and Croaker and with some help, 3 year old Bryce joined in to catch a few too. Conner even began to pickup casting the spinning reel and Bryce overcame her fear of sharks to proclaim that she had caught one! Steve and Tana got in some fishing of their own: Tana caught the only Seatrout, catching a couple at the mouth of Jackstaff while Steve caught a few Bonnethead Sharks, some Redfish, and Croaker. We moved around to Bubblegum Reef where the kids manned a couple of bottom rigs, catching Croaker after Croaker with a Redfish added also. Steve completed the Inshore Slam by catching a nice keeper sized Flounder. The sun was up by now, the clouds had moved on and there was no breeze so we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Every Fish in the River!

Clear skies, no wind and a livewell full of shrimp, what else is there to do but go fishing?! William Pleasant and his family were in town, visiting from North Carolina, so he and his two sons, Ben and Alex, took in a Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip. We left the South end boat ramp at 7am and headed up the Amelia River to Jackstaff to begin fishing our jig/shrimp combo during the last of the outgoing tide. It wasn't long before we had hookups, catching feisty Redfish and Croaker, not very big, but fun to catch. Then Ben had a rod-bending hookup and the fish took him deep, then around the stern of the boat, but Ben played him beautifully and soon brought to the net a slot-sized 20" 4lb Redfish! We continued trolling the bank and soon Alex's line took off with a zing and we all guessed "shark", but we were wrong. The fish ran like a shark at first but then hunkered down like a Redfish, but never rolled. Alex went around the boat a couple of times then finally worked the fish to the surface, a 22" Jack Crevalle! We ended up catching more Jacks, Reds, some Puppy Drum, a Ladyfish, a few small Bonnethead Shark, Trout, then Ben dangled his hook over the side to a circling 4' Bonnethead and soon the fight was on! The shark pulled the drag but Ben worked 'em in and we soon were getting pictures of the beast. We moved around to Nassau Sound, caught a few more Redfish and Jacks, then Ben and his dad, William added a couple of keeper sized Flounder and Alex picked up another Drum. We were still getting bites when we ran out of shrimp, but the sun was high overhead so we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

More Manatee Pictures

Here's a few more pictures of the Manatee herd that surrounded the boat yesterday. There's one where four snouts come out of the water together and also one where three manatee were swimming with the one in the middle on its back. Neat,huh?

What does a Manatee's Breath Smell Like?

Brandt Kessler was in town with his family for a much needed break as a small business owner, visiting from the Atlanta area, and was eager to take in some backwater fishing. I picked him up at Elizabeth Pointe Lodge (they were staying at the Captain's House) and we headed for the North end boat ramp, launching just a little after 7am. The tide had hit bottom at around 6:30am so we had the entire incoming tide to fish so we ran up to the Jolley River to get away from the weekend boat traffic and began a troll of the oyster lined banks. It wasn't long before Brandt was picking up small, but feisty Redfish, a few Croaker, and even a small Snapper.
It was great fishing, then BOOM, Big fish on! The drag ripped, the pole bent and Brandt settled in for a long fight. We knew it wasn't a shark because the fish hunkered down deep then it rolled a couple of times at the surface, signs of a Big Redfish! Sure enough, after Brandt battled the fish expertly, we brought to the net an out-of-the slot, 28" 8.5lb Redfish! We snapped some pictures, eased the big fish over the side to swim off to the depths. What a fish!
We went further up into the river, caught a Red at the MOA (Mother-of-All) spot, then came back around to "Snook" Creek and anchored. Brandt caught a couple of more feisty Redfish, a couple of Trout and then hooked up for another battle with a drag ripping Bonnethead Shark. We got it to the net and I tossed him into the floor of the boat to be grappled with for pictures. The tide was up so we headed back to Tiger Island with the intentions of fishing the outside marsh grass but as we eased up to the area with the trolling motor we were greeted by a herd of Manatee lolling and cavorting in the shallows. I eased the river anchor over the side and soon Brandt and I were surrounded by the herd. They were coming up to the boat, laying their snouts along the side; we watched as the rolled and lolled and nuzzled each others snouts, only a foot away from the gunwale. Fishing was forgotten for the moment as we both grabbed cameras and snapped away. At times they were so close we got a whiff of their breathes - my first impression - was the smell of "fresh cow manure"!
After about 30 minutes we eased out of the area, with a small group chasing us, and went around to a grass patch to finish up the day with a few more Redfish, Trout and finally a Flounder. What a great day of fishing and spending time out on the water!

Bait House Closes

I spoke with Knute and Rose Douglas this morning and it looks like I may have bought my last shrimp from them as they were shutting down their business, the Bait House. The Douglas's have been long time owners of the bait shop and have been a great asset to the fishing community. They'll be sorely missed. I wish them all the best as and hope they get some needed rest from the rigors of operating a bait shop.

Left 'em Biting

I fished with Jeff Haskins and his sons Lucas and Jacob again today and the guys picked up where we left off Monday...catching fish! Knowing that temperatures were predicted to hit 100 today, we got an early start from the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp on the north end of the island, and headed up to Jolley River to fish the very first of the incoming tide. The anglers were making pin-point casts to the base of the oyster lined banks and immediately began to get bites and fish! Jeff got it started off with a feisty Redfish then the young men began to hookup as well, catching Reds and Trout and then Jacob thought he was hung up but no, it was a keeper sized Flounder! We made two passes of the same bank, catching fish on both passes, then we headed upriver to "Snook Creek" where they caught a few more Redfish then Jacob hooked up and expertly fought what we think was a Shark. He had him on for about 5 minutes then the beast pulled loose and went on his way. We moved around to the MOA spot, caught a Red and a Trout, then headed in to get some live shrimp. We fished the mouth of "Manatee Creek" and sure enough, we were treated to a visit from a "herd" of Manatee. The guys caught more Redfish and Croaker then we moved around to the front of Tiger Island where they completed the Inshore Slam when Jeff fought to the net a keeper sized Redfish. Lucas made sure of it by putting in the boat another keeper sized Flounder and a keeper sized Trout.

All three were catching fish - Reds, Trout, Croaker, and "baitstealers" when we ran out of shrimp and called it day, another great one to be out on the water!

Fast and Furious

Jeff Haskins was in town with his family, visiting from Tennessee, and scheduled to take in an Amelia Island backountry fishing trip for him and his two sons, Lucas and Jacob. We met at and left from the south end boat ramp at 7am this morning and ran up the Amelia River to the mouth of Jackstaff. I had been kicking around where to fish this morning with the tide coming in and expected to peak at around 10:30am. The oysters were still showing so we anchored up at the mouth of Jackstaff and began to fish the 1/4oz Sure Catch jigs with a live shrimp attached. After only a few casts the guys were hooking up. Jeff caught a feisty Redfish then Lucas had a major battle on his hands with something big that he fought expertly for 10 minutes. The fish went from bow to stern and back again then under the anchor rope.
Lucas passed the rod to me and I threaded the rod under the rope and then back to Lucas...and then I slipped and almost went overboard with one leg in the water and one around the trolling motor! Luckily, Lucas was there to lend one hand, with the rod in his other, and we got me back on board! The fish eventually broke itself off, but it was good practice because it wasn't long before Lucas had on a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. He fought this one to the boat and the waiting net.
While all this was going on, Jacob hooked up with another Redfish and battled it to the boat, then Jeff had a Bonnethead Shark take his bait and the fight was on! After playing the fish like a pro, we soon boated the 4' Shark for pictures and release. This went on for about two hours with Sharks, Jack Crevalle, Redfish, Trout and Flounder being caught, photographed, and released. It was a beautiful morning and the fish were biting! We eventually moved around to the Nassau River, fished Bubblegum Reef briefly, then headed down the Nassau to troll the marsh grass. They guys continued their catching ways, pulling in more Redfish, Trout and another Flounder. We left them biting, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Quality over Quantity

Trevor Ruble has been visiting Amelia Island for years - has done some offshore fishing here - but wanted to do some backcountry stuff. Trevor is Founder and Executive Director of Hooked for Life Ministries and is an accomplished angler, teaching classes on fishing at his local Community College. We left the south end boat ramp at 7am with an incoming tide that would peak at 9:30am. With the water already up to the marsh grass, we started a slow troll along the banks of the Nassau River, tossing live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. It wasn't long before Trevor hooked up with and fought to the boat a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. While we paused at a runout, Trevor made an excellent cast to the mouth of run out; the 10lb braided line drifted over a stalk of marsh grass and while Trevor eased the line over it, he hooked up with something that started its pull slowly then increased to a strong tug! We soon netted an 18"+ Flounder! We did see a small Redfish tailing up near the marsh grass but it wouldn't take our bait, so we headed up to Bubblegum Reef, anchored, and pitched the float rig up to the marsh grass. Something was chasing bait fish near a point of grass and Trevor got his bait in position; soon he was hooked up and in a major battle! The fish pulled and ripped drag then ran to the stern of the boat and back to the bow. When it rolled 30 yards from the boat we knew we had a big Redfish on and it was confirmed when Trevor worked 'em to the boat and net. Wow what a fish, measuring 26+"! We tried our luck at Broward Island just as the tide turned, picking up a small Redfish, then headed back to Jackstaff to fish the banks as the tide started out. Trevor caught a few more Redfish then hooked up to a BIG fish. Line ripped out, drag hummed, and the rod bent double. After what seemed like forever, we boated a 4' Bonnethead Shark for pictures and release. We had a few more of those, but they broke off and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Red and Jack

Greg Barbaree and his family squeezed in a quick vacation to Amelia Island and he set up an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip with his son Brooks and friends Brett and Trey. We left the South end boat ramp at 7am with the tide expected to peak at it's highest at 8:30am. Our first stop was the mouth of Jackstaff where we anchored up and unlimbered the spinning rods. Greg hadn't cast but once or twice when he hooked up to a hard fighting fish, one that bent Greg's rod for sure, and we had a slot-sized 21" Redfish in the boat right off the bat! The rest of the guys joined in with Brooks pulling in a nice Jack and then Brett and Trey hooking up with Redfish. Brooks had a fat Trout take his jig and put up a good fight; it looked bigger in the water, but when measured was just under the size limit. Then Trey hooked up with something big that didn't run like a Shark so we thought it must be a Redfish. After a long battle he brought to the boat and Greg's waiting net a huge Jack Crevalle. We moved into Nassau River where Brooks hooked up and fought a 4' Bonnethead Shark on 10lb test; they went around the boat for probably 15 minutes until Brooks won out, bringing to the surface the worn out Shark. We broke it off then headed back to Jackstaff where the guys all caught more small Redfish and a few more Jack and with the sun getting high, we headed in, counting it as another great day on the water.