Fishing and Football and Fun

I think we had the nicest day of the week with the weather Friday morning and it was great to get out on the water with two Georgia Bulldog fans - Lee Mathews and his buddy Vaughn -  who were visiting Amelia Island for the big game Saturday. We met early down at the City marina and headed north up to the Jolley River to fish the incoming tide that had already begun to cover the oysers. So the anglers went right to the float rigs, fishing live shrimp and mud minnows up near the bank. They had some early success,
catching some nice, hungry Seatrout. We moved further up the creek, picked up a Trout or two, then ran back to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the now flooded marsh grass. This was the same spot where we had some hot action the day earlier but today was exactly the opposite - no fish! After that we checked a few grass flats for Reds in the grass and even though it was flooded enough we saw  no tails. Our last stop was back at a grassy point. After we picked up a keeper sized Trout, Lee had a strong hookup and it was FISH ON! Did I say strong? This fish took off and didn't stop, ripping drag and taking the line right across a submerged oyster bed and, FISH OFF! Boy that hurt! But shortly after that, Lee, who was fishing a jig and shrimp along the edge of the submerged oyster bed, had another strong hookup. Lee forced the big fish away from the oysters then played it patiently. After the initial hookup at the bow of the boat, the fish took Lee to the Stern, port side, then around the engine, then to the starbord side. But Lee stayed with him and eventually landed the beast, a 33.5" oversized Redfish! Boy what a fish! And shortly after that the two anglers teamed up to catch another oversized Red (31.5")  that had a whopping 35 spots on it. These two fish smashed the Bragging Rights records, putting Lee in first place (and third) for the Anglers Mark Big fish catches (scroll down right side of this report for standings) Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island!

Trout Flash

The days have been getting prettier and prettier as the week has gone along and today was almost perfect. I had John Nuckolls and his friend Dick meet me down at the City marina just before sunrise and we headed up to fish Tiger Island as the tide was coming in. Although we got there with plenty of shoreline to fish, there wasn't much biting except a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum that Dick put in the boat (all fish were released today). We fished the area thoroughly but as the water got up we eased around to the outside of Tiger and found some flooding oyster beds with a ton of
bait moving through it. I think both anglers first casts produced fat, big, keeper sized Seatrout - around 18" each! For about another hour they had action, catching Seatrout from 14" on up to 18", all on live shrimp under a float. John had made a cast up to the marsh line and when his float went under and the drag began to rip, we knew this wasn't a Trout. He played the fish perfectly but today was not to be. The big fish got back into the current and BAP! the fish was gone. OUCH!  But he picked up another Redfish shortly after that and they had a couple of more Trout. The tide was high and in the grass so we poked the bow up into some likely flats and even though the water was high enough, we saw no tails. We hit one more flooded oyster bed and John landed another big Trout. After fishing one more spot we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Trout'n Reds

We waited for the bad weather to roll through this morning and met to fish this afternoon down at the Atlantic Seafood dock. Dennis Brizzi and his buddy Hal were ready to go so we headed north up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish some flooded oyster beds on a high and outgoing tide. The two anglers were tossing mud minnows under float rigs up near grass patches and things heated up fairly quickly. They put a good handful of Seatrout in the boat, along with a Bluefish and some baitstealing Perch. One of the Trout was of
keeper size, a nice 18"er.  We ran around and up to Jolley River to fish a large creek mouth and here the picked up a couple of Trout then they found some feisty Redfish to do battle with. We tried fishing back at the mouth of Jolley but the south wind was pushing the outgoing tide out creating a fast current that was a "pain" to fish. So, we ran around to Bell River, got out of the wind, switched to jigs, and picked up a couple of more Trout. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and although the tide was almost perfect we had no real bites. But the skies had cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island.

Come'n On Strong

We had another morning where the winds had died down overnight to make for some decent fishing weather - if you got out early! I had met Matt and Beth Price and their two sons Thomas and Mitchell down at the City marina and we headed north to the outside of Tiger Island to fish some still flooded oyster beds with float rigs and mud minnows.  I think the tide had already fallen too much because we snagged a little more than usual on the hidden oysters, but Matt was still able to pick up a hungry Seatrout. But that was it so we headed further up river and into the Jolley, all the
way up to Snook Creek, and fished the edges of the oysters that were beginning to show. Even though these anglers were making excellent casts,  we only had one more Trout that Mitchell reeled to the boat and "quick released". Our next stop was back at Tiger, switching to jigs and minnows. Young Thomas found a "honey hole" and pulled out a nice feisty Redfish. Then Mitchell went to the same spot and found another one, and I believe Matt went to the same area and picked up one, too. We fished up and down the bank and every once in a while they'd pick up another Redfish and on occasion a Seatrout. Then Mitchell had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! He played this big fish perfectly and soon landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. Then shortly after that his dad, Matt, topped that fish with a 21.5" Slot Red of his own!  Thomas was putting Reds in the boat, too and seemed to have the hot hand (he won the Most Fish Award) and Mitchell wrapped things up when he hooked up with another big Red, landing this one to measure at 22.5".  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Reds Top The Trip

Finally the wind died down just a bit! I met David Niblett and his friend Vince Zappie down at the City marina early this morning and we headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some docks on an outgoing tide. The two anglers were tossing jigs tipped with live mud minnows or shrimp to the dock pilings and were making some excellent casts, but the only thing that bit was a small Grouper but we counted that as "skunk off the boat"!  We ran around to fish Tiger Island and here things heated up. After fishing just a short
while we had a strong bite and FISH ON!  Vince fought the big fish patiently and after a good battle with multiple deep runs,  he landed a nice, barely legal, 26 7/8" Slot Redfish! Boy what a fish. A little later Vince followed that up with a keeper sized Flounder. Not to be outdone, David got in the action and put a Slot Red in the boat along with another keeper sized Flounder. They picked up a few small Seatrout and another Flounder before we headed up to the Jolley River to fish the exposed oyster beds. After just a short time, David had another strong bite! When it rolled up near the bank I knew that it was a big Redfish. The big fish made some strong runs up and down the  bank then went deep and into the current. But David kept he pressure on and landed a  nice 23" Slot Red. Although we had a few nibbles after that, there were no real bites (other than 'baitstealers") so we went back to Tiger to fish the incoming tide. They picked up a another Red, another Trout, and another Flounder. Our last stop was up in Eagans Creek and we finished the day catching small but aggressive Seatrout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catching Fish Despite The Wind

We've had an entire week of windy conditions and there is  no end in sight! Today was my second trip in the wind and my two anglers, Harry Purnell and his friend Larry Levy were game to go fishing. So we met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and ran up the Nassau River to fish Broward Island with jigs and mud minnows on a low and outgoing tide. It didn't take long  to get bites (I had one on the demo cast, but missed 'em!) and soon they were catching fish. Harry picked up a couple of feisty Redfish and Larry added a hungry Seatrout. We worked the bank and found a few more Redfish, one which was of keeper sized, and also a keeper sized Flounder, to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam at the first stop! After fishing the island thoroughly, we ran back through the chop to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. Our first stop produced no real bites so we made a run back to the Nassauville area, sticking with the jigs, and found a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper and another Seatrout. Our last stop, back at Seymore's Pointe (and out of the wind) produced no bites so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Bragging Rights Flounder

I had a "ladies day out" today, fishing with Teresa Gaslin and her friend Kim Bates, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on a blustery day. It was a tossup whether to fish because of the win, but fish we did! Our first stop was over at the Long Pointe docks and after fishing a good stretch Teresa had a "thump" then her line went heavy. When she tightened her line and set the hook she was into a fish fight and after a nice battle, landed a keeper sized Flounder to "knock the skunk" off the boat! After fishing a 2nd dock we made
the run up Nassau River and found a dock to fish. I think it was the first cast and we had a hookup. Kim played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout. She went back to the same spot a few times more and when she thought she had snagged on the bottom, she stayed in "fish catching mode" and BOOM! IT WAS FISH ON! She played the fish like a pro and when it came to the top then made a mad dash to the bottom, Kim kept the pressure on and eventually landed a 21.5" Doormat Flounder which put here squarely in first place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament (flounder category-scroll down right side of this Report for standings). Boy what a fish! After hitting a second dock we moved around to fish Seymore's Pointe (and out of the wind). Kim put a feisty Redfish in the boat to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam then shortly after that Teresa had a strong hookup, and again, FISH ON! She played the fish perfectly and after a good battle and a couple of deep runs, Teresa landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish, another good fish! Our last stop was over in Jackstaff and although the tide was right for Seatrout, the wind was really buffeting us, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Quantity Counts

We had a beautiful crisp morning today, just a little chilly but sunshine and light winds and it was a great day to be out fishing here at Amelia Island. I met Victor Sherlock and his son Christopher down at the South End boat ramp as the sun came up and we headed up the Nassau River, making the long run to Broward Island to catch the first of an incoming tide. It was a good move because the two anglers began to get hookups almost immediately. Christopher knocked the skunk off when he landed a hungry Seatrout then both anglers put a couple of feisty Redfish in
the boat, including a 10-spotter that Christopher caught. They also had a good handful of Seatrout and Christopher rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he put two Flounder in the boat, and almost a third! We fished the area for a while then ran back to the Horsehead area, switching to float rigs. I think it was our first cast and Victor hooked up with a Trout. But it was Christopher with the hot rod - he landed 5-6 Trout in one spot then picked up a handful as we eased along the now flooded shoreline.  They added a high flying Ladyfish and a few bait stealing Pinfish and Perch before we headed around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe to wrap the trip up fishing some docks. Although the bite had slowed to a standstill, the two anglers had a good quantity of fish catches to make it a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island.

Snakes, Crabs, Birds, Dolphin and Big Fish

I had the opportunity to fish this afternoon, too. Deborah White was treating her boyfriend Trent and her two kids Zoe and Broderick to an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip so we met at the City dock, picked up some mud minnows, saw a handful of Osprey diving for fish and Dolphin cruising the tide line, then we headed up to fish the outside of Tiger on the first of an outgoing tide. After just a few casts Trent had a strong hookup and after working it patiently to the boat we saw that it was very nice 18" fat Flounder!
We worked the area thoroughly, picked up some baitstealers then Broderick landed a keeper sized Croaker and Trent put a feisty Redfish in the boat. We made a run up to Jolley River and fished some oyster beds both with the float rigs and jig rigs and even though the anglers had some good bites, we had no real takers. We also had a chance at netting a Blue Crab swimming by so we scooped it up, checked it out, then returned it to go on its way. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island but as we passing between Big and Little Tiger Trent spotted something in the water. We eased up
closer and saw that it was a HUGE Diamond Back Rattle Snake crossing between the two islands. We watched it slither up onto the mud and make its way towards the marsh grass. We fished the logs of Tiger and here things got hot! We had a strong hookup and young Broderick did an excellent job of working a big 23" Slot Redfish to the waiting net. Then Zoe caught not one, but two Slot Reds, 24" and 25" respectively with one of them having 11 Spots, a sure prize winner in any Spot Tournament. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Brute of a Redfish

What a nice day today! I fished this morning with Brent Berger, his son-in-law Ray, and grandson Caleb. We met down at the City marina and headed north to fish the logs of Tiger on an incoming tide, one that had been coming in for a few hours. The three anglers worked the entire island and only had a nibble here and there but just as we were about to leave, Brent had a strong hookup, and FISH ON! But it looked as if the fish had gotten off after the initial bite - NO, it was still on! Brent fought the big fish patiently and after multiple deep runs,  landed a thick 25" Slot Redfish, boy what
a fish! We fished the same spot a while longer then headed up to Jolley River to fish some flooding oyster beds. Caleb had a good hookup and landed a hungry Seatrout. We hit another area and had numerous bites, all small, landed a handful of baitstealers, then made our way back to the outside of Tiger. Here, the anglers had numerous bites, picking up a handful of small Trout, Needle Fish, and Perch, then Brent put two keeper sized Trout in the boat. We hit one more spot, caught a few more Trout, then headed back, counting at as another great morning to be fishing Amelia Island waters.