Tournament Red Big Trout Keeper Flounder

We squeezed in a fishing trip this morning trying to beat the bad weather that is supposed to roll in this weekend. I met Todd Johnson, his son Oliver and his brother-in-law Jeff down at the City marina and we headed up Bell River to fish some oyster beds as the tide came in. There was  no live shrimp on the island today so we tried our hand at live mud minnows. Although we had a few bites, there were no takers so we ran around to Lanceford Creek and set up at "Millies Spot" and here things heated up somewhat. Jeff got the ball rolling when he landed a hungry Seatrout. Todd and Oliver
were getting bites then Todd had a strange bite up near some grass and when it boiled I thought for sure "Redfish". Todd played it patiently and when he got it to the boat we netted a nice keeper sized Flounder! That's the second one in two days so they must be moving in. I think we had another Trout or two then we moved on, running over to the outside of Tiger Island to fish some now flooded oysters. Oliver landed a Bluefish and Jeff did too, then when we moved Oliver made a good cast up to some grass and FISH ON! This was a nice fish and Oliver played it perfectly. After
a good battle he landed a big 18" Seatrout. We hit a couple of points then ran over to the tower, fished some flooded oysters, and Jeff went to the grass and pulled out a feisty Redfish. After working the area for a while we saw a nice calm area with sparse grass growing. Oliver tossed his minnow up near the grass and when his float disappeared it wasn't long before his drag was singing! BIG FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag but Oliver kept the pressure on. It took him from the bow back to the stern and half way back. The big fish boiled a few times and we knew it was a large Redfish. Oliver worked it to the boat and his uncle Jeff netted it - a "Tournament sized" 26 3/4" 14 spot Redfish! Boy what a fish!  After fishing one more spot where Jeff added another Seatrout, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Three Errors On My Part

I had the pleasure of fishing with Paul Haber again today. This time he brought along his daughter Ann and grandson Sam, meeting me out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp at noon with plans to fish the outgoing tide. We ran over to Horsehead and fished a couple of marsh run outs and we quickly found that Sam had the "hot rod" early. He boated a couple of small Trout then landed a nice fat one. Later, while fishing the corner of a run out, his float suddenly went under and his rod bent. He had a nice fish on. I thought for sure it
was going to be a keeper Trout but when he brought it to the net we saw that it was a nice keeper sized Flounder! (My first error).  We crossed a creek, fished that bank with jigs and shrimp, had very few bites, then ran around to the Nassau River and fished some still flooded old oyster banks. Sam again found a good Trout down deep. We began to think that if their buddy Chamberlin were here there would be some lessons being taught! We tried to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe but the wind was really buffeting us. Ann had a float rig out the back, drifting with the wind and current
and when it went under I just knew she had a nice Trout (my second error) She worked the fish in and after a good battle, landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Shortly after that Paul, who had been persistently fishing the dock pilings with a jig and shrimp, had a hookup. This was a nice fish! He played it patiently and landed a keeper sized 19" Seatrout! This puts Paul in second place in the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament - Trout category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings) We finally had enough of the wind and ran down to Broward Island and when we got there it was like an oasis, a port out of the storm! The trio began tossing jigs and shrimp to the bank. Ann put a nice Trout in the boat and Sam added a keeper sized Sheepshead. Then Paul's line went tight, and stayed tight, and I pronounced he had a "log". My third error. Every once in a while it acted like a fish and pulled a little, but I felt sure it was just the "log" drifting in the current. Paul worked it up from the deep as we drifted a 100 yards down the river and eventually we saw that it was huge Stingray!  It was a day of surprises but a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slamming a Variety

We waited for a lower tide to fish today, when I met Gardner Knight,  his son-in-law Ronnie, and their friend Dan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We thought it was a good idea to fish the lower tide to improve our chances at catching a Redfish but the wind wasn't cooperating, being low early in the morning and picking up as the day progressed. But we had sunny skies and mild temperatures so we headed up the Nassau River, eased into Horsehead, and fished some docks on the north end of Seymore's Pointe. The anglers had a few bites here and there, picked up a
small Sea Bass and a small Flounder, then we decided to run down to Broward Island and sure enough, out of the wind! We worked the bank of exposed logs with jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and soon Dan found a nice keeper sized 17" Seatrout and hooked 'em up!  We continued to fish and after Gardner had made a precision cast to the shoreline he had a strong hookup and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Working the logs, Dan saw a nice pocket and pitched to it and BOOM! Fish On!  He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice Slot Sized 21" Redfish.  Then Gardner caught a hungry
Sheepshead (making it a Grande Slam of Flounder, Seatrout, Redfish and Sheepshead) and Ronnie got in on the action when he picked up a Trout. We ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some exposed oysters beds, and the anglers picked up a couple of more Trout with one of them being a keeper size. Ronnie added a Whiting and then to wrap things up with a "Super" Grande Slam, Gardner put a rare Weakfish in the boat!

Surprise Fish

Although the temperature dropped and was in the mid-40's when we launched, the sun was shining and there was almost no wind, so another beautiful day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. I met Steele and Nicole Clayton and their son Cade down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp mid morning and we ran north to Horsehead to fish the first of an outgoing tide. It was only minutes after these anglers began tossing float rigs and live shrimp when they started hooking up and landing hungry Seatrout.  We were able
to stay in one spot and catch fish for a while, then I began to work along the flooded marsh grass. When we got to a nice marsh runout, they began putting fish in the boat again. Then Cade had a weird bite, one that slowly took his bait and float under, then he had a good fight. When we netted the fish we found that it was a hard fighting Tripletail, only the second caught on The Anglers Mark. I checked my archives and saw that the last one was caught in 2011 down at Broward Island. We moved over to the banks of Jackstaff and began easing up current and again we found fish. Nicole and
Steele were still using the float rigs and Cade had switched to a jig rod and all three put fish in the boat. Our next stop was over at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here the bite was slow but we did pick up another Trout or two. We made the run down to Broward Island and although we found no Redfish, Nicole put a couple of Trout in the boat. Although all fish were released today, the trio tallied about 6-7 fish that were of "keeper" size, another great day to be fishing Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Galore

I had the pleasure of fishing again with Dennis Collins and his buddies Rich and Ed, this time launching from the south end boat ramp. There was absolutely no wind as we cruised up the Amelia River to dip into Jackstaff and fish a small creek on the very first of an outgoing tide.  Two of the anglers - Rich and Ed - were tossing Cajun Thunder float rigs while Dennis set up on the bow to toss a 8w fly rod with a shrimp pattern on a floating line, fishing about 5' of water.  The shrimp guys started catching Seatrout immediately, trading catches as they floated their bait from up near the grass out
and over a flooded oyster hump. They caught one after the other for a good while. We eased up closer to a marsh run out and they still were catching fish. Dennis continued to throw the fly and had a couple of "bumps" but no takers. We ran over to the mouth of Jackstaff and began working the bank and every once in a while the bait fishermen picked up a trout. We had switched Dennis to an 8w Intermediate line but stuck with a shrimp pattern and soon Dennis was getting in on the action. He picked up a handful of Trout and even landed a "baitstealer" or two, proving that perseverance pays
off! We ran around to the Nassau River, fished some points in the marsh, picked up a Trout now and then then finished up fishing some docks and again, finding a Trout or two. It was a great two days of fishing with these guys, and always a great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish Catch'n Day

We came back north today, fishing out of the Atlantic Seafood dock. I met Denis Collins and his two friends Ed and Rich this afternoon with plans to fish the first of an incoming tide, we ran around to Tiger Island and began tossing jigs and live shrimp to the shoreline. our two areas produced nothing but "baitstealers" so we bounced down and hit a third and boy what a move! BAM! Dennis had a strong bite. BAM! Rich had a strong bite. We had a double and they were big! There were drags ripping and fish running and it
was ....pandemonium! But these two anglers were up to the challenge with both playing their respective fish patiently and they soon began to tire the fish out. Rich's came to the surface first and we netted a 23" Redfish and shortly after Dennis brought his to the net, a 25" Red. We continued to fish the area and Rich landed a hungry Seatrout then Dennis had another big bite. This was the biggest fish so far and it put up a huge battle. Dennis worked it to the surface slowly and we eventually netted a nice 26" slot Redfish. Later, we ran around and fished Jolley Bank, caught a nice whiting
and a Seatrout, then moved further up Jolley to fish Snook Creek where we found no takers, We continued on around to Bells River and within minutes of arriving the trio began to catch fish. We stood out a ways and they tossed their jig/shrimp combo up to the docks and as the current swept their bait back they'd get a bump and a bite and a hookup on Trout. Many were of keeper size (all fish caught today were released) and all three were catching fish. I believe Ed put the biggest trout in the boat, and Rich had the biggest variety catching, in addition to his Trout and Redfish, a small Sea Bass, A Stingray, and a Blue Crab! Dennis added a small Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Black Drum. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Third Time is the Charm

The boys from Kansas were still in town and today was the third trip Chris Pyle had lined up a trip to fish with his friends John and Byron. We had a pretty good day yesterday fishing the south end so we elected to do that again today. But this time we wanted to try our hand at catching a big bull Black Drum so we brought along some heavy tackle and some large dead shrimp and clams (the bait shop was out of crabs).  We ran up to "Middle Marsh", dropped an anchor and began fishing the outgoing tide with three rods in the water. But after over an hour of fishing we only had a nibble or
two. So we eased across Nassau River and broke out the light tackle and live shrimp. It was Byron's first cast and almost immediately he got a big bite and FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle that took him around the stern and back he landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. All three anglers began to get in on the action, tossing their jigs up stream and slowly working it back in. Slowly!  Chris got the the hot rod as he got the hang of how they were biting and put Trout after Trout after Trout in the boat. And so did John and Byron. We hopped up to the next jut of land and oysters and repeated the catch rate. And then we move a third time and caught a few more. Our next stop was over to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here the trio picked  up a feisty Redfish and a hungry Seatrout. We went back to Bubblegum Reef, picked up one Trout deep then worked the old oysters west. For a second day in a row this turned out to be a good move as we found plenty of Seatrout holding on the drop off.  We slowly built a sizable well of keeper Trout. With just a short while to go, we made the run down to Broward Island and got there just as the tide started back in. And when it started in, the fish began to bite. They caught a couple of small Black "puppy" Drum, a couple of feisty Redfish and a good handful of Trout. We worked some logs and BOOM! Fish ON! Chris hooked, fought and landed keeper sized Slot Red and as we netted it Byron yelled, "FISH ON" then John yelled "FISH ON" -they both had fish. Byron patiently brought his fish to the boat but Johns was having none of it. It ran deep then long and from starboard to port but John kept the pressure on, letting the light tackle rod do all the work. After a good battle we netted a big 26" Slot Redfish - boy what a fish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Variety With Some Keepers

We fished out of the south end again today, meeting Chris Pyle and his buddies Byron and John early and heading up the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff and fish the exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. These anglers were making excellent casts to the edges of the oysters but we had absolutely no bites on our jig and shrimp and mud minnows. We ran through Horsehead to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe and after a little "incentive" the action heated up!  Bryon "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and caught a
feisty Black "puppy" Drum, then he added a nice keeper sized Sheepshead.  They added a couple of more of those small Drum then John put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  We worked a stretch of docks thoroughly and the trip caught 3-4 more Redfish and a good handful of Seatrout. Most of the Trout were caught out a little deeper. We ran over to Bubblegum Reef and fished it for a while. John picked up another feisty Drum then we eased down an old oyster bed and found another good handful of Seatrout. The wind had picked  up and was really rocking us so we went back to
the docks as the tide started back in. Chris put another feisty Redfish in the boat then he had a strong bite back up in some pilings and sure enough, the wiley fish wrapped itself quickly around a piling and BAP! Fish Off.  We fished those docks again then hit Black Hammock docks before heading in, counting it as another great day to be fishing hear at Amelia Island.

Fishing Heats Up With the Morning Temperature

I fished the south end today, meeting Chris and Teresa Gohlke down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. We had an outgoing tide so I made the run around to Broward Island to fish the bottom of the tide. The two anglers were tossing live shrimp and  mud minnows and making excellent casts but we had no real bites other than the ever present "baitstealers". We ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished a dock on its east side, then the west, and finally Teresa "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a hungry Seatrout. We eased back to another dock and here things heated up. Teresa
landed a feisty Redfish then Chris got into the action when he had a strong hookup. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 19" slot sized Redfish. Shortly after that he tossed up near a piling and almost immediately had a bite and FISH ON! He worked the fish away from the piling and brought it to the boat - a keeper sized Sheepshead!  These two anglers had tallied an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  But they were not finished. After they teamed up to get another Red or two, Teresa had a good bite and landed small (but hard fighting) Black "puppy" Drum to make it a "Grande Slam".  We ran over to fish Bubblegum Reef, had no bites down deep, then began drifting float rigs over near an old oyster bed. Chris picked up a Trout so we switched Teresa to a float rig and then both were getting bites and fish. They caught a good handful of Trout and a couple of Blue fish to round  out another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Start With Big Redfish

At least we can say that!  I had met Chris Pyle and his longtime friends John and Byron down at the City marina and we made our first run up to Tiger Island to fish the downed logs as the tide started back in. We had only fished for about 30 minutes when John had a strong hookup. He said he thought he was hung on a log at first but when it started pulling back he knew he had a big fish!  He played it perfectly and after a few good runs, he landed a nice 24" slot sized Redfish. Another angler was fishing ahead of us and
catching Trout on a slip float but we had no more luck (other than pesky baitstealing bites) so we made a run around to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings (and to get out of the increasing wind). The conditions were perfect but I don't believe we got a real bite. We fished Oyster Bay and here Chris landed a small Black "puppy" Drum but there were no other takers. The baitstealing yellow tail perch were robbing us blind so we ran over to Eagans Creek and stocked up on some mud minnows before heading up Bell River to fish the docks, and again be out of the wind. Things heated up somewhat with a handful of Seatrout caught then Byron put the last fish in the boat, a nice feisty Redfish. We fished a couple of spots in Jolley River but the wind was really whipping us so we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water at Amelia Island.