Facebook Trout Blows Away Bragging Rights

I got my boat out of the shop just in time to keep the scheduled fishing trip today with Kyle and Amy Hess, meeting them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning. We ran up the Nassau River and began fishing an incoming tide with live shrimp under a dock. It didn't take long for Kyle to "knock the skunk off" when he battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, and won! We moved around to another spot and got into some hungry Mangrove Snapper with a couple of them up to 14" in length which makes for
some nice fillets.  Kyle had put a couple in the boat when we saw Amy's float begin to wobble and when she hooked we thought for sure she had another big Snapper. The fish zipped from bow to stern and back again but Amy kept the pressure on. It ripped the drag a couple of times and we all wondered how big this Snapper really was. But when it broke the surface we saw that it was a huge Seatrout! Amy landed the big fish and when we measured it we found it to be 24.5" long, a "Facebook Worthy Fish" and it literally wiped out the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament trout, giving her first place to date! Boy what a fish! Scroll down the right side of this report for standings.  We continued to fish, picked up another few keeper sized Snapper, then ran down to fish Broward Island, even though it was almost completely high tide. We fished the downed logs with no luck but just as we were about to leave, Amy had another strong hookup and landed a nice 17" Seatrout. We made the run around and through Horsehead to fish Jackstaff as the tide started out and here Amy did battle one more time, landing a 22" Jack Crevalle. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Shark Fight!

The water was like glass this morning as the sun came up with not a cloud in the sky. I met Jason Stallings and his team of anglers Trevor and Nicole, down at the City boat ramp and we headed  north to fish the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs as the tide was going out. Both anglers had bites right off but then Nicole's float went under for sure and she had a fish on! She reeled the fish in expertly and landed a nice Flounder to "knock the skunk off" the boat. We fished the area briefly but the oysters were already showing so we ran around to Jolley and up to a larger marsh run
out. Again we had some bites then Nicole had a strong bite, this time it was ripping line off the reel. Her dad jumped in to help then both kids were coaching as Jason played the fish as it ran down the river deep. He kept the pressure on and soon had the fish under control but  not subdued. After and extended battle, though, he was able to land a big 4' Bonnethead Shark. Trevor added a feisty Redfish to the catch before we picked up and ran back to the mouth of Jolley. Within a few casts both Jason and Trevor had a fish on at the same time - Ladyfish - the Poor Man's Tarpon. Jason's tossed
the hook but young Trevor stayed with his and landed it for a picture. We made our last stop at Bell River and here Trevor put both a Black Drum and a bigger Red Drum in the boat. This rounded out the trio's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Flounder, Redfish, and Black Drum, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Fish Catching Day

We just can't beat the weather we've been having lately. Cloud cover in the morning, a slight breeze and the thunderstorms hold off until late afternoon. I fished today with Chip Wildman,  his wife Bernie, and his daughter Maddie, launching from the south end boat ramp and running up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff with the tide going out but the oysters still covered. The anglers started with float rigs and live shimp, tossing it to the marsh grass and letting it drift along with the current. It took a while but finally Chip had a
 good bite and a good fight, landing a nice Black "puppy" Drum. We had a few more bites, but no real takers, so we crossed over to fish a flooded sandbar and here the action picked up. The Seatrout were out deep on the other sided of the bar and the anglers found them - first Maddie reeled one in then Bernie caught one too. Chip had a strong bite that  took him from stern to bow and back to stern. I thought it was surely a shark but after a good battle, Chip landed a nice Jack Crevalle. They picked up a couple more Trout then we ran through Horsehead to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe.
Almost immediately the fish were biting. All three anglers caught Mangrove Snapper, a few were over 12" long, and they picked up a couple of more Puppy Drum. Our final stop was down at Broward Island and again they found some Seatrout out deep. Although there were fish busting bait up near a creek mouth, we couldn't get them to eat what we were offering, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing With The Grandparents

I still remember fishing with my Grandad, down at Lake Sante Fe north of Gainesville. We'd motored out into the middle of Little Lake, anchored, and dropped some minnows down to the bottom and caught some Crappie. Today I had Allen and Ann Richardson who had brought along their grandkids, Anna Claire and Walker and we met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. Another nice day greeted us, just a little overcast and a nice breeze as we headed north up the Nassau River. We made our first stop at Twin Creeks and tossed both float rigs with live shrimp and jigs and live shrimp.
Ann Claire had one strong bite that broke the line, but other than that we had no takers. Our next stop was at dock at Seymore's Pointe and boy, it wasn't long before the two young anglers were catching fish. Walker "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hard biting Mangrove Snapper then Anna Claire hooked up with a big fish, fought it to the boat, and landed a nice 16" Sheepshead. From then on we had numerous bites, and catches! More Mangrove Snapper, and that seemed to get bigger as the morning wore on. We had a hungry Seatrout to the boat, and landed a couple of more Sheepshead and Black "puppy" Drum. Our next stop was down at Broward Island and I think it was the first casts when the two anglers had a double hookup! Walker put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat (all fish were released today) and Anna Claire had another Sheepshead. There were some thunder clouds sweeping towards us so we ran back closer to the boat ramp, made one more stop where Allen put another Black Drum in the boat, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slow Start BIG Finish

We had an outstandingly beautiful day today, with just a slight breeze and some nice clouds overhead to keep the heat off. I met Russ and Denice Kesel and their two sons Noah and Sam down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we ran north up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff on the very last of an outgoing tide. The anglers were tossing live shrimp and jigs and even though the conditions seemed just right for fish, we had only a few bites and no takers. We moved across the creek and fished a still flooded
sandbar and this heated things up just a little bit. Noah did the Captain a favor and 'knocked the skunk off" when he landed a nice Seatrout then his dad put one in the boat then Noah followed it up with another. Russ tangled with and landed a small Bonnethead Shark and Denice caught a Stingray. We then ran through Horsehead and to Bubblegum Reef where again, the conditions seemed right but  we found only one Seatrout. We fished Twin Creeks briefly, had no luck and even though we had put a few fish in the boat up until now, it wasn't what I'd have called a "fish
catching day". But our last stop made all the difference. We had not been fishing some dock pilings for about a minute when Noah had a strong hookup, and FISH ON! He fought the fish in and out of the piling and after a good battle, landed a big Jack Crevalle. Then BOOM! FISH ON! Russ had a good hookup. His fish fought hard a deep and went from stern to bow and back before the crew landed a Tournament Sized 26.25" thick Redfish!  And shortly after that, FISH ON! It was Denice's turn at a big fish and she played it like a pro. Her fish ripped back and forth and fought doggedly but Denice kept the pressure on and landed a big 21" Sheepshead, big enough for her to squeeze into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament -Sheepshead Caterogy (scroll down right side of this report for standings). Sam got in on the action, catching Black "puppy" Drum, and Sea Bass while Noah answered with a big Blue Fish and Redfish of his own. The anglers already had an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Red Drum and Black Drum, but Russ capped it off when he put a small Flounder in the boat. We left 'em biting, calling it a day, another great one here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Fish Are Scattered

I fished this afternoon with Kevin Hagan and his friends Cole and Johnny, fishing out of the Atlantic Seafood dock. We met mid- afternoon and headed north to fish outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp on a high and outgoing tide. It didn't take long for Cole to find the "hot" rod - he was on the bow and tossing to the flooded marsh and began picking up small but feisty Seatrout. The others had bites but no takers so after fishing the area thoroughly we ran further up to Jolley River and to Snook Creek. The wind was at our backs and even though the anglers were making
excellent casts, we had no takers. We eased up into Snook Creek, fished some jigs and shrimp on the bottom, had a few bites, then ran back to the mouth of Jolley and back to the float rigs. Again, bites but no takers. Our final stop was around at Bell River and here we finished with some action. Johnny had stuck with the float rig and landed a Seatrout and then a feisty Redfish. Cole hauled up a Stingray then we bounced to another dock where Cole put another Redfish in the boat. The wind was whipping but the sun was out and even though the fish catching was scattered, it was another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Slot Reds

I fished this morning with Dennis Brizzi who had brought along his friend Hal. We met at the City  marina and headed up to Eagans Creek to fish the very last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. The anglers were getting pecks at their bait by bait stealers but  no much else until Hal had a strong bite and FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We switched to another dock and Hal picked up another feisty Red. Our next stop was at Tiger Island where we had to ease over the sandbar at the entrance as the tide had just started back in. We fished the logs up and down picking up a small Black "puppy" Drum and a couple of Lady Fish. After running up to Jolley River to fish the "bank" we found a small Snapper, some pinfish, another Ladyfish and Dennis caught a nice, but small, Seatrout. Our last stop was over at Bell River and here we found another couple of puppy Drum and Dennis worked in one more keeper sized Redfish to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Flounder Getting a Tad Bigger

We had a beautiful morning today when I fished with the Nickel family - Eric and Ali and their young angler, Tanner. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff Creek on the first of an incoming tide. The fish bite was kinda slow but every once in a while we'd have a good bite - first what I thought may have been a Shark, then another that seemed to be a Redfish. Then Eric knocked the skunk off when he landed a nice Seatrout. Ali tangled with a high flying Ladyfish before we made the run around to fish a dock at Seymore's Pointe.

We worked the pilings pretty good with jigs and dead shrimp and minnows then picked up and ran to "pirate island" and here things heated up. We had a strong hookup and young Tanner was on the rod quick then his dad jumped in to help. The fought the fish patiently and soon landed a slightly undersized Redfish. Then both Ali and Eric had hookups - we had a double! Ali got her fish to the boat and just before I netted a nice Sheepshead, it through the hook, OUCH! But Eric still had his own and it was big. He eventually landed a nice 18" Flounder that puts him in First Place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).Shortly after that the Eric landed another keeper sized  Flounder and then young Tanner reeled in a small Flounder of his own. We made our last stop back at Seymore's Pointe and did battle with some small Mangrove Snapper and Ali's perseverance paid off when she put one in the boat! With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Afternoon Trip Beats The Storms

I fished this afternoon with Tim Flusche and his dad Tim Sr. and his mom Peggy. We had scheduled to meet down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and although we had a good tide, we were somewhat concerned about the forecasted thunderstorms. But the skies were clear so we headed up the Amelia River and turned into Jackstaff to fish a flooded bank with the tide going out. I had all three anglers tossing live shrimp under a float and it was only a few minutes before Peggy "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a
nice Flounder. We continued fishing and Tim Jr. tangled with a high flying Ladyfish before we crossed the creek and fished a sandbar with jigs and shrimp. We had no real bites so we ran through Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe where all three anglers were getting bites. It took a while to get the hang of it but soon they landed a handful of hungry Mangrove Snapper. Our next stop was around the corner and here Tim Jr. picked up another Snapper on the jig. Our last stop was down at Broward Island. The wind was blocked which made for some very pleasant fishing conditions. The anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp and although they had some bites, we caught no fish. We did see a big Redfish smash bait up near the shore but it wouldn't take what we were offering. We eventually called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Shark Frenzy

I fished this morning with Jim Jeffers and his wife Becky who brought along their niece Hannah. We met at the City marina and headed north with clear skies and almost no breeze. Our first stop was on the outside of Tiger Island and I had the anglers tossing float rigs with live shrimp over flooded oyster beds on the last couple of hours of an incoming tide. It didn't take long before the trio began to get bites and soon Jim knocked the skunk off when he landed a hungry Seatrout. We had a good flurry of Trout catches with both Jim and Hannah reeling in a few each. Then Becky had a
good bite and a good battle which she soon won, landing a hard fighting Blue Fish. We fished the area a while longer then ran up to fish Jolley "bank", easing along the shore line tossing the float rigs. But the fish weren't home and we had no real bites. We ran further up into Jolley and into a large creek where we tossed the anchor into the marsh grass and began fishing the bottom with jigs and shrimp. Within minutes the angles were into Bonnethead Sharks! Jim was on the port side of the stern and was getting a bite almost every cast. The light 14# test just wasn't doing the job so I switched one of the float rigs to a jig setup, tied on a 17#lb leader, and this did the trick. After a good battle Jim patiently landed a nice Shark. We had a few more hookups then Becky put her Shark in the boat. In between both Hannah and Jim caught a couple of Black "puppy" Drum, then Hannah wrapped the trip up when she too landed a Shark. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!