Florida's Finest Fishing

I see that we've got some weather coming in the first part of next week, but today was an outstanding time to be out fishing Amelia Island's back waters. I met Jeff Parks and his daughter Tori down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp around 8am and we headed up the Nassau River to fish the marsh grass on a high tide with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. Both anglers were making excellent casts and Tori "knocked the skunk off" early when she landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. But after that we had no
takers on the floats so we switched to jigs to fish the bottom and this did the trick! Jeff hauled in a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum then Tori put one in the boat just a tad bigger. They caught a handful of small Seatrout then Tori notched an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when she landed a feisty Redfish. We continued to fish the area and when Tori went back up to the grass with her jig she had a strong hookup, FISH ON! She played the big fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a 23 1/3" Slot Redfish! The two anglers picked up a few more fish then we moved back down the river, fishing Twin Creeks then an oyster outcrop with no luck. We made the run to Broward Island and almost immediately Jeff put a Redfish in the boat.  Both anglers caught Reds and Trout and just before we called it a day, Jeff had a stronger hookup and he too put a Slot Red in the boat. This was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day to be fishing here at Amelia Island.

December Grand Slam

We had such a good time fishing yesterday....we decided to do it again today! This time Didier De Bruyne and I headed south, leaving the Atlantic Seafood dock and running down the intercoastal waterway to cut in at Jackstaff Creek and fish the exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. Didier was tossing live shrimp and mud minnows on a jig up to the oysters and making excellent casts, but we had no takers. The weather once again was beautiful and it was just a pleasure to be out fishing. We made a run through Horse Head and fished a dock on the other side. Here, we picked up a keeper sized Flounder and a Slot Redfish. We then made the run down to Broward Island, set up about 40' from the bank and began jigging up current and down the river bottom. It wasn't long before we were landing fish - feisty Redfish them some hungry Seatrout to complete a Slam. We moved up and down the bank and picked up a few more Reds and Trout. Our last stop was at Bubblegum Reef. We fished a little then tried our hand at some waking fish over in a slough, then moved out deeper to jig the bottom. Didier had a strange bite and even commented that he may be hung on the bottom, then his drag began to rip, FISH ON!  This nice fish made some hard driving runs but Didier was patient and after a good battle, landed a nice 20" Sheepshead to round out an Amelia Island Grande Slam of Flounder, Redfish, Seatrout and Sheepshead. We picked up a couple of more Sheepshead before calling it a day.  Now that's the way to wrap up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip!

Redfish Still Hot

Boy what a cool, clear morning we had today!  I met Didier De Bruyne down at the City docks and although it was a bit chilly, the forecast called for temperatures rising to the mid 70's. We headed out of the marina and decided to fish some dock pilings the last few hours of an outgoing tide. We had live mud minnows and shrimp and a good handful of jig rods and it didn't take long to begin to catch fish. Didier landed a number of small but feisty Redfish, then he had a stronger hookup and, FISH ON!  The big fish tried to run back into the pilings but Didier kept the pressure on and worked it out. After a couple of strong runs and a good battle, we landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish! We continued to fish the area, catching a bunch of Reds that measured in at 17 3/4", just under the legal limit, then we made  run up Bell River to fish another dock. And right off the bat, we had Redfish hookups. Didier also put a nice 16" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. We began to work deeper and deeper and were getting some "bumps" and soon found out the Seatrout were there to be had. We caught Trout after Trout after Trout measuring to 14 3/4", again just under the legal limit, but had a good time landing fish.  Continuing on around to the Jolley River and a pit stop at the MOA to find no fish, we then made our last stop at Tiger Island.  Before I could get the trolling motor' GPS set, Didiear called, "fish on"! Another Redfish!  He landed about 6 more fish here. We repositioned, picked up a couple of more feisty Reds, then another strong bite. We new that this was a keeper sized fish by the way it fought and sure enough, we netted a 23" Slot Red to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island.

Amelia Island Slam on a Fly

I think Mark Thibodeau and I were the only ones out fishing today. It was a little cooler than the what the forecast called for, at least as windy as predicted, and it stayed foggy the whole day. But Mark was game and I was ready to fish the Amelia Island back waters with the long fly rod. As it turned out, Mark was one of the better fly casters that I've had all year and it paid off because you needed to have a good cast to catch fish today. Our first stop on the first of an outgoing tide, up Bell River, turned out to be not so good of a call. We fished some flooded oyster beds briefly then headed over
to Eagans Creek to fish some marsh run outs. It took a while but Mark figured out that he could let and intermediate line, cast upcurrent, sink down thru the water column, and find a Seatrout. He hooked up with the first one with a black Troy James Fly red dumbell eyes and then picked up a few more on different paterns, including a Trout Candy and a baitfish Clouser pattern. After fishing the area until the water got out of the grass, we made a run thru the fog up and over to fish the logs of Tiger Island. The wind
was blocked here and the conditions were right, but Mark had to work for fish. He finally had a good hookup and a strange fight, and after a good battle, landed a nice 18" keeper sized Flounder.  A little while later, from the same spot, Mark put a feisty Redfish in the boat to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder and Redfish. We fished the bank thoroughly then made a run back to Bell River, fished an outflow, but again were bucked by wind, then made a run back to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings. And boy did things heat up! Mark was tossing a shrimp-like pattern on is sinking tip line in about 5 foot of water and nailing feisty Redfish, one after the other. Then he had a stronger hookup but the big fish was having nothing to do with coming out from around the pilings and BAP, broke itself off. This happened a second time but on the third the big fish made the mistake of running away from the docks and Mark had him! He played the fish perfectly and patiently and after a good battle landed a big 23" Slot Redfish! After putting one more Slot fish of the same size and a good handful of smaller Reds, we called it a day,m another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Hot Spots

The fog blew off during the night and today turned out to be a really nice fishing day. I had met Dan Moyle, his wife Mary and his dad Bill down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at sunrise and we headed up the Bell River to fish the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp. Our first stop looked really good but we had no real bites. We ran around to the outside of Tiger Island and eased along another grass line. Eventually Mary "knocked the skunk off" when
she hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. But after working the area thoroughly and getting no more bites, we made the run up to Jolley River to fish a larger creek outflow, but again no bites! Ouch. We made a move up the creek and here Mary again put a fish in the boat, a nice feisty Redfish. Our next stop was back at the mouth of Jolley, fishing the "bank" and the anglers had a quick flurry of hookups.  Both Dan and Bill put Redfish in the boat then Mary added another one, too. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and now that the tide had gotten down, the fish catching heated up.  Dan began to put Redfish in the boat one after the other and then both Mary and Bill began to get hookups. But Dan had the "hot spot" and continued to catch the feisty Reds. We worked the area back and forth and each time we moved the anglers caught fish. We found that the Seatrout were out deeper and I noticed when I de-hooked them they felt really cold. Bill landed a Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Drum. We fished to the very last shrimp, catching fish the whole time, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Tarnation Good Day of Fishing

I had the opportunity to fish this afternoon, this time with Sarah and Jason Lindshield who were in town for a short visit to celebrate Jason's birthday with a fishing trip. They were staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites which is just across the street from the City marina and the Atlantic Seafood dock, where I met them this afternoon. We made a long run up Bell River, around Tiger Island to fish "manatee creek" on a high and outgoing tide with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. The water was still way up in the grass and the bite was slow but both anglers were able to put a Seatrout in the boat. We moved around to fish the deep water behind Tiger Island and again picked up a Trout or two. We adjusted our position, and had a few nibbles here and there. I even commented that it just felt like we were going to start catching some fish. And boy did we!  It was like the flood gates opened because both Sarah and Jason began to catch feisty Redfish, one after the other, and sometimes they both had one on! Jason had a stronger fish on that ripped his drag out, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently but this big fish had been around the block once or twice and eventually found its way into the tree branches and broke itself off, OUCH! But then Sarah had another strong hookup and her fish ran deep, thankfully. She played the big fish perfectly and after a long battle landed a big 24" Sot Redfish! Jason followed that up with a 22" Slot Red of his own! And the fish just kept on biting. The two anglers fished different areas and put more feisty Reds in the boat, 3 keeper sized Seatrout and a handful of smaller ones, then Sarah landed a keeper sized Founder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam then added to that by putting a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat - a Grand Slam! We fished the area until sundown then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Cold But On Fire

Fishing the day after Thanksgiving is always fun and today we had clear, sunny skies, but a strong wind blowing and the temperature reading 39 degrees at launch time. I met Nestor Hernandez, his wife Monica and their kids Christina and Michael down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at sunrise and we made a run to Eagans Creek to fish the docks and get out of the wind. The tide was low and coming in and we had a bait well of mud minnows to do some jig fishing. The anglers began tossing the jigs and minnows to the pilings and they eventually began to get bites. The bite gradually built to red hot! Christina got the catching started by landing a couple of feisty Redfish then all four anglers got in on the action, catching one Redfish after the other. We had a couple of strong hookups and tried our best to dig them out of the pilings but they were having none of it and broke themselves off. But Nestor was patient and after hooking up to another big one, he pulled it out and played it patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot 25" Redfish! We continued to fish the dock and landed a good handful of Redfish and maybe another Slot or two, one of which had 12 spots, a "money fish" in the Jackonville Spot Tournament.  We made a run around to Tiger Island, fished the deep water and caught a handful of small Reds. Monica put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat and then Michael hauled in another big Slot 23" Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Thanksgiving Eve Fishing at Amelia Island

With rain and wind forecast for this morning, Joe Ekhaml and I decided to postpone our scheduled fishing fishing trip to later this afternoon, after the front moved through, and it turned out to be a good call. I met Joe and his adult children, Jake, Joey and Kelsey down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at noon and we could see the skies clearing off to the north west.  Although the wind was still blowing 13mph, we launched and headed up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff to fish the first of a very high and outgoing tide. I set up the anglers with float rigs and they baited up with live shrimp
and mud minnows and began to toss up to the marsh grass. We eased along the shoreline and after a pretty good while Kelsey finally had a hookup and boated a small Seatrout. But that was it for that particular area. We dropped back to another grassline and again fished it thoroughly but again, no real bites. We made a run through Jackstaff to the Nassau River side and fished Twin Creeks, this time with both float rigs and jigs, and again, no real bites! OUCH! But this crew were anglers, both optimistic and persistent and at our next stop they began to get good hookups. First Kelsey had her float disappear and after a good battle, landed a feisty Redfish. She may have landed one or two more then we all noticed that something was nudging Joe's bait and his float began to ease up current! Joe patiently let the fish take it and when the float went under he reeled in his slack and lifted his rod tip firmly, FISH ON!  And it was a big one!  The big fish made a run up the grass line then back and then boiled up- a big Redfish - but Joe kept the pressure on, letting it fight his bent rod. After a good battle, Joe landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  We continued to fish the area and had good action with Joey putting a nice Red in the boat and both Joe and Kelsey keeping up the pace with fish of their own. We made stop at Bubblegum Reef where Kelsey caught another Red then we made a run to Broward Island.  The wind was still kicking and the current was running pretty hard but the anglers worked tree lined shoreline with jigs on the bottom. The first area produce no fish but the second was on fire for a good while. All four anglers caught fish with Jake landing the only keeper Seatrout of the day and he also put a few Reds in the boat.  Joey had a strong hookup and we knew right off that this was a big fish. He played the fish patiently and perfectly as it fought out deeper and into the current. We both saw the big Redfish a couple of times but it was not to be. After what seemed like a 10 minute battle, the hooked pulled, and FISH OFF! But Joey was not to be deterred and later had another strong hookup and soon landed another Slot 20" Redfish.  It was a good way to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island!

Eight Spots No Spots Equal Money Fish

Steve Pautler was visiting Amelia Island for a conference and squeezed in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip this afternoon before getting down to business.  I met him down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Amelia River to fish a creek off of Jackstaff with float rigs and live shrimp on the very first of an outgoing tide. We had a a few small bites but no takers so we dropped back to Jackstaff "bank" and began to ease
along the marsh grass.  It wasn't long before Steve began to get bites, hookups and landings. He had a good variety of  hungry Seatrout, hard fighting Bluefish and feisty Redfish. One of the Redfish had eight spots which surely would have placed and won money in the local Redfish Spot Tournament. Later, one bite was really strong and when it bent his rod over and the drag began to rip, we knew it was a big fish, FISH ON!  Steve played the big fish patiently as it ran to deeper water then back again. After a long battle Steve landed a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark, which we released after photographs. We continued on up the bank and when we switched to jigs and fished a larger marsh run out, Steve landed a nice Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, and Flounder.  We made a run around to Nassau River to fish Twin Creeks and in just a short time Steve landed a couple of more Redfish.  One of these had NO spots, which is a $500 prize in the previously mentioned Spot Tournament!  After getting a couple more Trout here, we made a final run down to Broward Island as the sun was setting.  We found a handful of Redfish here, a Trout or two, and then Steve wrapped up the day with one more Redfish as the sun set on another great day of fishing at Amelia Island!

What's a Little Bit of Wind?

I had met Dick Miree and his friend Katherine down at the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning with the weather forecast calling for 12-15mph winds by noon. But they hadn't picked up yet so we headed north to fish the logs of Tiger before the incoming tide got up too far. The two anglers were tossing jigs with live shrimp or mud minnows up to the bank and fishing it slowly down the river bottom.  The first area we fished produced no real bites so we adjusted our position and within a few minutes both anglers hooked
up, almost at the same time! We had a double! Katherine worked her fish in gradually and soon landed a feisty Redfish, then Dick patiently landed his, which turned out to be a keeper sized Slot Redfish. We fished that spot for a while longer then made another adjustment and it turned out to be a good one. Dick hooked up and landed a keeper sized Trout, and then he had an even stronger hookup and a battle on his hands, FISH ON!  Hep played the fish perfectly and after it ran from one side of the boat to the other, landed a very nice 24" Slot Redfish!  After he landed another keeper sized Trout, Katherine got back into action and after getting a strange bite (we both thought she might have been hung on the bottom), BOOM! The drag began to rip and we then knew she had a nice fish on!  Katherine worked it to the boat and landed a fine 18" Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. She followed that up with a keeper sized Seatrout. We made a run to another spot, this time fishing with float rigs, and found a handful of smaller Trout. At our last stop Katherine found one more keeper sized Trout, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!
 Here's a video of the Shark Fight: