Perseverance Leads to Big Trout

We had a late high tide today so I met Emee Herbert and her friends Sarah, Ryanne and Meagan down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at noon with plans to fish the outgoing tide. I think the temperature got up close to 90 today so I may be going to shorts from now on! We ran up to the outside of Tiger and began fishing with float rigs and even though the anglers were making excellent casts, we had no real bites on our live shrimp and mud minnows. We ran up to Jolley River and fished the mouth of Snook Creek and again, no real bites. We dropped back and fished the mouth of the Jolley
and....no bites. OUCH!  These ladies were getting their baits in the right spot but the fish just were not biting. Our next stop was back at Tiger Island on the very last of an outgoing tide and we fished it and fished it and fished it. Finally, Meagan had a hookup and landed a hungry Seatrout. Skunk off the boat! Then Ryan reeled in a rather large Perch. I was thinking, "here we go", but the fish just weren't cooperating. We bounced up and down the island and when Emee made a perfect cast to a fishing looking spot she was rewarded with a strong bite and FISH ON! She worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a big 20" Seatrout. Now that's perseverance! Emee picked up one more Perch before we called it a day. Although the fish just weren't biting much, the girls had a lot of laughs, learned a few things, and enjoyed a beautiful day out on the waters of Amelia Island, Florida.

Slowly Building a Mess of Fish

I had a three generation group of anglers today - Steve Buckley, his son-in-law Dave, and his grandson David. I met them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park at 10:30am with plans to fish the first of an outgoing tide. We made our first run over to the outside of Tiger Island (it's been good to me this week!) and set up within casting distance of some sparse marsh grass. The three anglers were tossing float rigs and mud minnows - no live shrimp today - and they were making excellent casts to the edge. it took a while but then Steve
had his float disappear with a vengeance and, FISH ON! He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 20" Slot sized Redfish. We fished the area thoroughly then crossed over to fish another flooded grass line, trolling along the edge and tossing our floats. Although the conditions were right with the water coming out of the marsh, we had no real bites. We picked up and ran up to the Jolley Rive and worked another shoreline. The anglers had a bite here and there but not takers. I switched young David to a jig and shrimp and he promptly picked up a nice Whiting to add to the box. We then ran further up the river to "Snook Creek" and within minutes Steve was putting another Slot Red in the boat, this one a nice 23" fish. He later tangled with a large Gar Fish that we got to the boat and broke off intentionally. We worked up the bank, tossing float rigs and then it was David's turn to tangle with a Slot Red. His float went under and he laid a gentle hookset on and, BOOM! FISH ON! The big fish was ripping drag but David was up to the task - he worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish. And shortly after that we had another hookup, an even bigger fish, but this one must have been slightly hooked because it threw the hook just into the battle. We made one last stop back at Tiger Island, picked up a small Redfish and a keeper sized Trout, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Slots In A Row

I don't know who dialed up this beautiful weather but please keep it coming! I fished with Greg Bancroft today and the weather forecast predicted "calm" for the first few hours, and they were right! We left the north end boat ramp and headed over to Bell River to fish an oyster outcrop. Greg started with a fly rod and was making excellent casts to the spots that I suggested, but we just couldn't buy a bite. We switched to live shrimp under a float and picked up a small Trout and a keeper sized Flounder, then another small Trout. We ran through the marsh and over to the outside of Tiger and
fished the very last of an incoming tide - in fact it had come to a standstill. Just as it started out Greg's float disappeared and, FISH ON! It was a big fish and his drag was ripping. Greg kept the pressure on, played it patiently, and eventually landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish. Boy what a fish. After pictures, Greg went back to the same spot, got a good drift with his float, and BOOM! Another big fish on! He worked it expertly and after a good battle landed a bigger 25" Slot Red. He picked up a few more Reds, one more just in the Slot, then we eased over to another flooded marsh line. Although the conditions were perfect with the water come out of the grass, we had not bites. We then ran back through the marsh and over to the mouth of Lanceford Creek and fished a grass patch where we picked up one keeper sized Flounder. Our last stop was at some dock pilings up Lanceford and although we had one good bite that broke my leader off, our fish catching was over and we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Oversized Redfish Followed By a Tourney Red

The water was like glass today and even though we had almost no breeze, the bugs really didn't become a factor, thankfully! I met David Traul and his son Andrew at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp and we made a short run over to the entrance of Bell River to fish some flooded oysters. Although the bite wasn't automatic, David picked up a keeper sized Seatrout, then Andrew hauled in an even bigger one. Then David had a weird bite that "bobbed" his float a few times and then he set the hook gently and
reeled in a hungry Flounder! We ran around to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded marsh grass on a tide that was beginning to rip out. David hit the outside of some sparse grass and BOOM! BIG FISH ON!  This fish was ripping drag and had no intentions of being landed, but David kept the pressure on, handed the rod off to Andrew who worked it in a while, then they switched off again and wore out the beast. After a good battle the anglers landed a nice oversized Red Drum that measured in at 28.5". This fish put David squarely in 2nd placed in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings) We got some good pictures and released it to swim off. Boy what a fish! David went
back to the same area and within a minutes, BOOM! Another big fish on! He fought this fish patiently and young Andrew helped his dad by netting another big Red, this one "tourney sized" at 26.5". It was getting so shallow that the skeg of the engine was scraping bottom so we eased out of the area and bounced over to another shore line to fish the floats. After getting no bites, we picked up and ran over to Eagans Creek, fished some dock pilings and fished with both float rigs and jigs. Andrew was working a slip float on the outside of a dock and after picking up a couple of smaller Trout he hooked up a with a big one. He patiently worked the fish to the boat and landed the biggest Trout of the day, an nice 18" fish. David picked up another Slot Redfish, a smaller Red then a big 20" Black "puppy" Drum to round out the anglers Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of  Seatrout, Red Drum, Flounder and Black Drum. After hitting one more spot where Andrew kept the  hot hand catching a couple of more Trout, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Buggy Slow Start Leads to Big Fish

We had a nice morning today, albeit somewhat "buggy" with the sand gnats present. I met Andy and Gracie Wakeford along with their kids Victoria and Christian up at the north end boat ramp and we made run over and up Eagans Creek with plans to fish the flooded marsh grass on the very first of an outgoing tide. All four anglers were tossing live shrimp under floats and making excellent casts but we had absolutely zero takers. However, the gnats were having a field day at our expense. But these anglers were game and at our next stop at some docks pilings we began to get some fish.
Christian started off when he hooked up with a  nice fish that was ripping some drag. After playing the fish expertly, he landed a nice 19" Slot sized Redfish. Victoria picked up hungry Trout, Gracie added one, too. Then Andy hooked up. This fish was big too and wanted to get back in the pilings but Andy hauled him out and worked him to the boat, another 19" Slot Red. We continued to fish, picked up a keeper sized Trout, then it was Victoria's turn at a big Red. She fought it valiantly and after a good battle landed the biggest one of the morning, a nice 21" Redfish. When the bite slowed we made the long run around to the Jolley River and began fishing a deep bend with slip floats and live shrimp. By this time the breeze had picked up and blown the gnats away. Although the bite was slow, the ones we caught were big! Andy had his float disappear and after patiently working it to the boat, he landed a nice 21" Seatrout. And after moving to another dock, Victoria copied him - hers was just a tad over 20"- both nice Trout. We made one more stop back a Tiger Island where Christian got hot catching feisty Black "puppy" Drum and Gracie wrapped thing up when she landed a keeper sized Seatrout using a jig and shrimp fished slowly on the bottom. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Trout Beginning To Bite

We did a double boat group this morning - myself and Capt. Brian Soucy- with each of taking four guests out to the back waters of Amelia Island. I had Duane and Kim Drape and their kids Madeline and Jackson and we made our first run down the Amelia River with plans to fish some dock pilings on an outgoing tide using the traditional "slip float" Trout rig. We arrived after a cool run and began to drift our live shrimp off the stern of the Anglers Mark. It only took a few passes before the anglers began to have hookups-
Jackson put the first one in the boat then all four were catching fish. A good handful were of keeper size. When the bite slowed we switched to jig and shrimp and began to catch fish again. Jackson had a strong hookup and this one was really bending the rod. He valiantly fought it and eventually landed a nice 21" Seatrout, a fish that puts him squarely in first place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report to see standings).  Kim put a couple of nice fish in the boat, Duane had Trout and then a really nice Sheepshead and a Whiting and Madeline, who was baiting her own hooks and making excellent casts, persevered and put a not-so-common Weakfish in the boat. As always, the fish quit biting so we made a run up to the Jolley River and fished some exposed oysters but the west wind was making things difficult so we dropped back to Tiger Island to wrap the day up. Kim came alive with a Bluefish and Trout catch then Duane wrapped things up with a the first and only Redfish catch of the day. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Spring Fishing

Although the mornings are still cool, it's warming up nicely as the day progresses. Today I met Jeff Dees up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and we made a quick run over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings with another outgoing tide. Jeff quickly landed a hungry Seatrout then I picked one up out deep. Then Jeff had a strong hookup and BAP! The leader broke. Darn it! But he went back to the same spot and within minutes had another good bite and FISH ON! Jeff expertly worked the fish away from the pilings and after a good battle landed a nice 20" Black "puppy" Drum. Now
that will wake you up! He went back to the same spot and BOOM! Another nice fish on. Another good battle and another 20" Drum in the boat. We picked up a couple of small Trout, then a keeper sized one then moved around to the other side of the dock and immediately picked up a feisty Redfish - there's the Slam! After catching a couple of more Trout we ran around to Bell River and fished some structure. We quickly picked up a small Sheepshead (Grande Slam) and a few Trout on the jigs we had been tossing all morning. But we experimented with a Trout Slip Float rig and got some live shrimp drifting near the bottom and Jeff began to pick up a Trout on almost every pass. And he began to put keeper after keeper in the boat. He reached his limit with the biggest being at 18" and we threw back a good handful of keeper sized fish after that. There was a Bluefish caught somewhere in that stretch.  We made one last stop over at Tiger Island, caught another feisty Redfish, then boom, boom, boom - three small but hard fighting Black Drum to finish off another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Cast Redfish Leads To Slam

It was another outstandingly beautiful day today! I met Jean and Mike Ryan-Fry up at the north end boat ramp and we made the short run around to Eagans Creek with plans to fish the last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp - hitting the dock pilings. I did a couple of demo casts then handed the first rod over to Jean and BOOM! Fish ON! She worked it patiently to the boat and after a good fight, landed a nice 19.5" Slot Redfish! Now that's the way to start a fishing trip. Mike was tossing out into deeper water and
found a "honey hole" of hungry Seatrout. After wading through a good handful of them, he landed  nice keeper sized one. When the tide hit bottom the bite stopped so we made the run around to Tiger Island and began to fish the logs. It took until the tide started back in but then the fish began to bite. We picked up a couple of more Redfish and again, Mike found the Trout and had a good flurry of catches. After working the bank up and down we were just about to wrap things up when Jean had a strange bite. It didn't put up much of  fight until it got to the boat but by then it was too late - we netted a 16" keeper sized Flounder to round out he duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. After that we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Black Drum Are Here

Boy, what a pretty couple of days we've had since that Nor'easter blew thru. Today was really nice, with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and just slight breeze. I met Patrick Verner and his friend Paula down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at Noon and we headed up the Bell River with plans to fish a flooded oyster bar. But I miscalculated and the bar wasn't flooded, so we kept on going and around to Tiger Island and even though I don't like to fish it on a high tide, we made a stop and began tossing jigs and live shrimp. Wouldn't you know it, first cast, BOOM! Fish On!  It was a hungry Seatrout and it wasn't the first. Patrick began making excellent casts and we found that the Trout were hitting out deep in 25-35 foot of water. We caught a few good handfuls with a number of them of keeper size. At one time both anglers caught and landed keeper sized Trout. Paula landed a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum and later we found couple of feisty Redfish. When the bite finally slowed we made a tour of Cumberland Island to see some wild horses, crossed over to historic Fort Clinch, and cruised by Old Town on the way to our next fishing spot. We fished the mouth of Bell for just a while but the wind had picked up so went further into the back water and found some docks to fish. We caught another keeper sized Trout then Patrick put his bait right up into some pilings and had a strong hookup. This was a big fish. He worked it out of the pilings then kept the pressure on and eventually landed a nice 20" Black Drum. He went back to the same spot and a few cast later hooked up and landed an even bigger one. Not that's the way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Two Slams Make A Grande Slam

Or, Big Sheepshead Tops the Board.  We could give this report a number of titles. It was my first day back since the big Nor'easter blew thru, canceling four of my trips due to high winds. But today was beautiful, and only a tad bit cold. I met Bill Pepe and his son Dylan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we made the run up the Nassau River with plans to fish some docks on the very first of an incoming tide.  Both anglers were making excellent casts to the pilings and it wasn't long before Bill had a subtle bite
and a hookup. He worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice feisty Redfish. We worked the docks and both Bill and Dylan added a Redfish then we begin to bounce up and down the docks. Again, Bill had a subtle bite and as he tightened the line this one put up a fight, FISH ON! Bill applied the pressure to get him away from the pilings and after a good battle landed a big 19.25" Sheepshead, the biggest on the Anglers Mark this year (see Bragging Rights standings by scrolling down the right side of this report).  All fish were released today. We hit another dock, had a
good bite, but this fish was smart and made quick dash around the pilings threw the hook. Our next stop was down at Broward Island as the tide was coming in and worked some downed logs. We had no real bites so we began to slowly work up current and this did the trick. Bill found some Seatrout out deep and about half of them were of keeper size, and then some. This rounded out Bill's own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of a Redfish, Sheepshead and Seatrout. Dylan was  not to be outdone. He picked  up some nice Trout, too ( a couple of these were in the 17-18" range) then as we were preparing to leave, he had  "bump" on his bait and after waiting patiently, Dylan set the hook. It was a weird bite and a weird fight a sure enough, the fish turned out to be a nice keeper sized Flounder. Dylan had his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Flounder. Together the two anglers could claim a "Grande Slam". We made one more run over to and through Horsehead where we worked a now flooded marsh line. After adding one small Trout Bill hooked up.
He slowly worked the fish to the boat and just as we were about to net a big Flounder it threw the hook! OUCH! But we'd put a good handful of fish in the boat today and it was beautiful one at that so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.