Late Season Shark

After a front came through the last couple of days, we had somewhat cooler weather to fish this morning. The skies were overcast, there was some fog and mist, but the forecast called for clearing skies later in the day. I had met the Pullen family, Ken and Kathy, their son Josh and his wife Julia, down at the City marina right at the peak of a high tide. We ran north to the outside of Tiger Island and the anglers began tossing live shrimp and mud minnows under float rigs to the flooded marsh grass. I think the first couple
of casts caught Seatrout, with Julia "knocking the skunk off" the boat with the first one. They picked up a couple of more before the baitstealing Perch moved in. We crossed the river, fed the baitstealers, then Ken had a strong hookup, FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag and running straight away from the boat, just like a Shark, which we haven't caught in a month or so. Ken played the big fish expertly and after a good battle, landed a 2'+ Black Tip Shark. We ran up to the Jolley River after that and fished a large creek mouth and here things heated up. They began to catch
Seatrout again then Julia put a feisty Redfish in the boat. Kathy got on the board with another Seatrout and she quietly caught one after the other. Julia was on fire with the feisty Reds then when we switched Josh to a jig to fish the bottom, he began to catch them, too. After one excellent cast to the bank he had a stronger hookup. This Redfish was somewhat bigger and after patiently playing the fish, Josh landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. We fished the area thoroughly, picked up a good two handfuls of Seatrout, a couple of more Reds, then we made one last stop back at Tiger Island to fish
deep around the logs. The anglers had a few bites then Ken landed a small Flounder to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Red Drum and Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wrapping up a week with Reds and Trout and Snapper

I fished this afternoon with Michael Bresler, meeting him down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp with plans to run up the river to fish the Horsehead area. But our first stop was all the way down to Broward Island to catch the first of the incoming tide. Michael was tossing a fly rod early, an 8w set up with an Intermediate line and a shrimp like pattern. He was getting excellent loops and nailing shots up to the bank, in and around the logs, but we got no takers. After fishing the area thoroughly with the fly rod, we switched to mud minnows on a jig and BOOM!  Michael picked up
a Seatrout then a feisty Redfish on the first two casts! We worked up and down the logs, caught another Trout, then Michael put a nice Slot sized Redfish in the boat. Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe and with the oysters flooded, we eased along the marsh grass, going back to the fly. Again we had no takers, and when we went to the live bait we found a couple of Seatrout. Our next stop was around the rocks of Seymore's and here Michael found big (for our backwaters) Mangrove Snapper. We ran through Horsehead, fished another marsh line, caught the biggest Trout of the day, then we wrapped it up as the sun was going down and counted it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Second Day of Trout Bite

Boy what a pretty morning we had today! I met Tandy Morton and his friend Tommy Zachary down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we headed way up the Nassau River to Broward Island to fish the last of an outgoing tide with live shrimp and mud minnows on jigs. It didn't take long before these two experienced anlgers were catching fish. Both of them found feisty Redfish and at least once they had a "double" hookup. They picked up a couple of small Flounder and a couple of more Reds before we ran back to Seymore's Pointe to fish a dock at the bottom of the tide. After working through some "baitstealers" and a small Mangrove Snapper, Tandy picked up a nice Black "puppy" Drum then Tommy found a keeper sized Seatrout (garnering the duo a "Grande Slam"). I think they caught another Trout or two there then we made our way over to Bubblegum Reef thinking that we'd fish some structure on the incoming tide. But the tide had never gotten down low enough so both anglers started tossing float rigs up near an old oyster bank and BOOM! FISH ON!  They caught Seatrout after Seatrout after Seatrout, most being undersized but every once in a while they landed a keeper sized one, with the biggest being 18". We fished until we ran out of bait, switched to jigs and plastic grubs, caught one or two, then called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Black Drum Make and Appearance

We had an outstandingly beautiful morning today to fish a low and incoming tide. I had picked Terry and Bonnie Hancock up at the Oyster Bay dock and we then returned north to fish Tiger Island with jigs and live shrimp as the tide stalled and came back in. On the first cast, BOOM, FISH ON! Bonnie reeled it in, a nice feisty Redfish. That's a great way to start a fishing trip! From then on it was working through the "baitstealers" with the shrimp. Every once in a while one of the two anglers would hookup and reel in another
feisty Red then Bonnie had a good hookup and this fish stayed deep. After a good battle she landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We continued to fish out some "freshly dead" shrimp I had then ran back to the bait shop to pick up a few dozen mud minnows. Back at Tiger we had a few more Reds then Terry put another keeper sized Black Drum in the boat, this one on a minnow. Our next stop was up at the Jolley River and with the oysters covered on the incoming tide, we switched to float rigs. Bonnie landed a hungry Seatrout which rounded out the anglers Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Black Drum, and Trout then they began to get bite after bite and landed a good 15-20 Trout. It didn't matter whether they used minnows or live shrimp. About every 5-6 fish they landed (up to 14"), they got a "keeper" sized one with the biggest being 17".  There were also some nice Bluefish caught in there, too. It was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Sunset Red-Fishing

My guests this afternoon, Mary Haskell and her nephew Bryan, were coming in from the airport and to save time, we met out at Goffinsville Park with plans to get in a late afternoon fishing trip. We had a high and outgoing tide so I made the run around and through Jackstaff to fish a still flooded oyster bank. I think it was one of Mary's first casts and she had a Trout hookup to "knock the skunk off" the boat. We fished the entire bank with shrimp and jigs and found one spot where some feisty Redfish were holding. Both Mary and Brian put a handful of these hard fighting fish in the
boat and once they had a double hookup and catch. Our next stop was back around at Seymore's Pointe and here it seemed the baitstealers had set up house. As  the sun was setting we made our way down to Broward Island and just as we thought the baitstealers had a second home, Bryan had a strong hookup and FISH ON! He played the big fish perfectly and even though it made its way back into the current, he took his time and eventually landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. We fished a while longer but it got so dark we could no longer see the bank, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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.