Oversized Red Fish Starts Us Off

The winds slacked off this morning which made for a beautiful day for Jeff and Julie Bachler to get out and experience the back country waters of Amelia Island, Florida. I met them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River to fish some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide. The bait shop was out of live shrimp today so the anglers were tossing live mud minnows on a jig to the pilings. We had a few bites here and there but no real takers until about 30 minutes into the fishing, then BOOM! BIG FISH ON! This fish ran straight for the pilings

(just like yesterday) but Jeff kept the pressure on and luckily the fish didn't make any sharp turns on the other side! About when I think it as out from the pilings it would make another run. But we were in luck because each time Jeff was able to work the big fish out and soon the battle was at the stern of the boat. After numerous plunges, Jeff subdued the beast and we netted an oversized 27.5" long and super thick Redfish! Boy what a fish to get the excitement going! Later, we made a run down to Broward Island where Jeff put a feisty Redfish in the boat and then a fairly big Ladyfish. Our next stop was in Jackstaff, tossing float rigs with the mud minnows to the flooded marsh line. Jeff found another Ladyfish then a roe-laden keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today).  Julie was making great casts but must have forgotten her lucky hat because she just wasn't getting the bites that Jeff was...until she  had a hookup and a high flying Ladyfish launched itself. Julie played the fish perfectly and soon had her first fish of the day!  And shortly after that her and Jeff shared catching another fat Seatrout to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Jack Fight

We had to postpone yesterday afternoon's fishing trip but I was able to meet Dennis Brizzi and his buddy Hal out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp this morning to squeeze in some fishing before the winds picked back up. We hit Bubblegum Reef first but the tide had already been coming in for an hour so the fish bite was lite. Hal did pick up two hard fighting Catfish and we also landed one fat Seatrout. We hit some docks at Seymore's Pointe and after a few minutes the fish catching picked up. Hal had two consecutive strong bites with his drag ripping out, but to no avail. Both fish went straight through some pilings and after a tense battle, broke themselves off. Shortly after Dennis had a strong hookup. But this fish stayed near the boat, pulled hard, but Dennis kept the pressure on. After a good fight he landed a 5lb Jack Crevalle. And then both he and Hal had hookups - we had a double! Hal got his in first, a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, and then Dennis worked his in, another big Jack. We had good bites there for a while, then moved around to another dock, this time fishing float rigs, and although we had a few bites, no real takers. We fished Broward Island briefly but the wind was too strong so we returned to Christopher Creek where Hal found a plump Seatrout. With that, we called it  day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

One by One

I fished this afternoon with Lou and Kathy Gauci who were visiting Amelia Island to celebrate their anniversary, and what a great way to do it, fishing the back waters of Amelia Island! Although we were buffeted by strong winds the entire day, these two anglers made the best of it and put fish in the boat. We made a run around to Bell River, fished one dock with a slip float rig, had no bites, then moved up to another and switched to jigs and shrimp.  The bite was slow but Lou finally had a hookup and landed a keeper sized Sheepshead. A while later he had a strong hookup and we knew that
this was a bigger fish when it ripped the drag out. But Lou fought it patiently and after a good battle landed a  nice Slot Redfish. We hit one more dock and even though we were getting some bites, we had no more takers so we ran into the wind and around to Tiger Island, and this really helped as the wind was partially blocked. The bite was still slow but Lou and Kathy's persistence paid off as they boated a Black "puppy" Drum to tally an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Sheepshead, Redfish, and Black Drum, but then they added a Seatrout to make it a "grande" Slam. One Croaker, a Bluefish, and a couple of more Trout rounded out the catch. As the day neared an end, Kathy had a good hookup, FISH ON! Then FISH OFF! Ouch! But she went right back to the same spot with a cast and FISH ON! She played the fish perfectly and landed her first ever Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing on Fire

After a long Shrimp Festival weekend I was back to work this afternoon, meeting Lewis Welsh and his friend Stanley out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. We headed over to Horsehead, ran through Jackstaff and fished it's mouth, starting with float rigs and live shrimp. Stanley knocked the skunk off when he landed a nice 18" Seatrout. We continued to fish the bank, switched to jigs and shrimp and had a few good bites, with Lewis picking up another Seatrout and tangling with our first Ladyfish of the year. We ran
back through the creek and made a stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. It wasn't long and we picked up a 18" Flounder. The conditions were right but we just weren't getting the bites so we relocated onto the other side of the dock and this did the trick! Stanley caught another keeper Trout then started catching keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. Then Lewis began to get the Snapper and then BOOM! BIG FISH ON! It was ripping drag and trying its best to get up under the dock pilings but Lewis kept the pressure on and patiently fought the fish. After a good battle he landed a slot sized 23" Redfish. From then on the two anglers stayed busy caching fish. Stanley landed another Slot Red while Lewis added keeper sized Sheepshead and Black "puppy" Drum. They continued to pick up the Snapper and caught another keeper sized Seatrout. We made one more move, fished a bit longer then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Variety Of Fish

I fished this morning with Tim and Sally Lackey who met me down at the City marina for an Amelia Island back country fishing trip. We headed north and up to the Jolley River to fish a large creek mouth on an outgoing tide. The oysters were just showing and I had Tim on a float rig and Sally on a jig. Tim was the first to hookup, landing a nice keeper sized Seatrout. He had a couple of more bites but no takers so we moved on up into the creek. Here, we picked up a keeper sized Whiting then Sally had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! This was a big fish and it ripped line off the reel as it ran. Sally

went from the bow to the stern and from port to starboard as she chased the fish. She put up a good fight but the tackle was too light for what I think would have been our first Bonnethead Shark of the year, and it broke off.  We moved to the mouth of Jolley, fished an exposed oyster bank with jigs, and Tim put a feisty Redfish in the boat and Sally followed that up with a Bluefish. We ran around to Tiger Island, fished the logs, picked up a couple of more Trout, then Tim garnered the duo an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he caught a Flounder at the mouth of a Creek. We continued to fish the area, caught a couple of more Redfish, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Sheepshead Claims Bragging Rights

For the second time in two days the top spot in the Bragging Rights has been claimed! I started out fishing with Bob and Anne Owensby who brought along Anne's brother David and his wife Emily for an Amelia Island light tackle fishing trip today. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and ran up the Amelia River to fish the flooded oyster beds of Jackstaff. Emily claimed the first fish, a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, then she put another in the boat too. Then David felt a fish bumping his bait
softly - he waited patiently, and then set the hook on a nice keeper sized Flounder (but all fish caught today were released). Bob got on the board when he boated a Stingray that wanted to hug the bottom. After that, we had no real bites for about 40 minutes! The wind had picked up a bit so we ran around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and it made for some real nice conditions. The anglers weren't getting any real bites, though, until Emily had a strong hookup, and, FISH ON! She played the fish calmly and even though it wanted to run under the boat, she pulled it out and after a good battle, landed 
a huge 22.5" Sheepshead to capture first place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament - Sheepshead Category (scroll down the right side of this report to see standings). Boy what a fish! We fished the docks for a while and Bob picked up a couple of Redfish and then Emily had one, too. They already had an "Amelia Island Back Country Slam" of Flounder, Sheepshead, and Redfish, but when we moved over to Bubblegum Reef, David made it a "Grande Slam" when he put a couple of keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. Bob landed  a couple of more Sheepshead, one that was a very nice keeper size, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Birthday Trip Nets Big Trout

Tim Ayers set up an Amelia Island back water fishing trip for his son Andrew's birthday and Andrew brought along his buddy's Aiden and Drake to help celebrate. We met down at the South End boat ramp and after a  brief safety orientation, headed up the Amelia River to duck into Jackstaff to fish the last of an outgoing tide. Our first "demo" cast produced a bite and Drake was on the rod, reeling in a keeper sized Flounder! And not shortly after that both Andrew and Aiden followed it up with two hungry Seatrout. We had another Flounder along that stretch then ran thru the creek

to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. Although the conditions were right I believe the tide was just coming to a standstill so we had no real bites. We moved over to Bubblegum Reef, fished for a while, then the anglers had a good flurry of fish catching. Tim hooked up with a hungry Jack Crevalle, then they picked up a Trout, and then another Jack, but this one was bigger. At the same time a Sail Cat was hauled in. The wind was picking up out of the south and making things difficult so we ran down to Broward Island and this did the trick. Drake reeled in a feisty Redfish, then we had

another Red then Aiden had a strong hookup, and FISH ON! We knew this fish was big when it came to the surface and thrashed around, but Aiden kept the pressure on and we soon landed a 22.5" Seatrout, big enough to put Aiden in the lead of the 2015 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category! Scroll down the right side of this report for standings. We continued to fish the area for a while longer, then called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Beautiful but Windy Day

I fished today with Charles Lynn and his buddy Julianne, visiting from the Columbus, Georgia area, and we met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. The wind was already kicking a little bit but we had sunny skies and a baitwell full of live shrimp, so we headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Bubblegum Reef.  We probably shouldn't have shook our fists at the wind when the two anglers both put nice fat Seatrout in the boat in just a few minutes! We move over to some docks, fished the pilings, had a
strong hookup, but had no fish, and the wind was now kicking our butts. We moved around to the east side of a land mass and it was like night and day  being out of the wind! Although the conditions were great, we only landed a mud fish. We fished the barge at Nassauville, had no luck, then ran down to Broward Island. Charles picked up a Sheepshead and then had another strong bite, but it broke the line at the leader, and that was the last of our chances there. Again, the wind was buffeting us to the shoreline, so we ran back to the lee side of a land mass, fished briefly, then headed in, counting it as beautiful day to be out on the water, albeit a very windy one!

Bunch of Fish

After being down for two days due to thunderstorms I was chomping at the bit to get back on the water today. I met Russ and Adrienne Futrell down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River, making our first stop at some docks to fish the first of an incoming tide. The two anglers were on the bow of the boat, tossing jigs and live shrimp to the pilings and it only took a few casts before both of them had a hookup at the same time! We had  double to "knock the skunk off"!  Russ landed a nice feisty Redfish and Adrienne put a keeper sized Black "puppy"
Drum in the boat. We continued to fish and the two caught a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper- the first of the year, then Adrienne had strong bite and the fight was on! She played the fish patiently and went from the bow to the stern. The big fish dove under the boat but Adrienne kept the pressure on and pulled it back out. After a long fight, she landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish! Russ landed a Flounder to tally the duo an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Black Drum, Redfish, and Flounder, then Adrienne upped it to a "Grande" Slam when she put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. We made run down to Broward Island where they caught another Slot Redfish and a Sheepshead. Our next stop was in Christopher Creek where they picked up a keeper sized Flounder and then we made one final stop in Jackstaff where they found a Seatrout and a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle. It was a beautiful day of fish catching to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Fighting Off Jack Crevalle

I had the pleasure of fishing with Wes and Mary Beth Metheney again, along with Steve Collins, Mary Beth's brother. We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock yesterday afternoon but elected to run south to the Horsehead area and the mouth of Jackstaff. Although we had what I thought was a good tide - the last of an outgoing, we had no real bites on our jig and shrimp combo. We crossed over, fished a sandbar point then headed around to fish Bubblegum Reef on the very first of the incoming tide. We got into some real action here!
Mary Beth had a strong hookup and battled what turned out to be a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. Then she landed another, and maybe another. The two male anglers were feeling left out until Wes got in on the action and caught a big Jack of his own. Then we landed a small Seatrout and had another strong hookup. Steve was on the rod and fought the big fish patiently and when it came to the surface we were glad to see a big 24" Black "puppy" Drum. We picked up another Jack or two then moved to some dock pilings where once again we found some big Jack Crevalle's. I know we had two on at one time, twice - "doubles" - which made for some excitement.  We gestimated that we had about 12 Jacks and after Wes picked up a Flounder, we ran around to Broward Island where the trio landed a few feisty Redfish, a Sheepshead, and another Trout. On the way to Broward we passed two Bald Eagles who had posted themselves on perches in the marsh. The sun was heading down,  they breeze was just right and we headed in, passing pod after pod of dolphin so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Flordia!