Thinning the Herd

We had a beautiful morning today with just a few clouds and a
slight breeze as the sun came up over Amelia Island. I met Rich Fairchild and his adult sons Travis and Troy down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River to make a quick stop at some marsh run outs on an incoming tide. We had a baitwell full of live shrimp and the three anglers began tossing them under floats up current and to the grass line. It was only minutes before Rich was hooking up with Seatrout. Then the tow younger anglers got in on the action and they were all catching. We weeded
through a good handful of smaller fish before we picked up a keeper sized fish and that's how it went for most of the morning. A handful of smaller fish then a keeper. Smaller fish, then a keeper. Once, Travis had strong bite and this fought differently and sure enough, when he landed it we saw that it was a feisty Redfish. We fished the Nassau for a good while then made a long run around to Pumpkin Hill and set up outside some flooding oysters. They immediately began to get bites then Rich had a super strong bite and, FISH ON! He worked the big fish patiently to the boat and
landed a nice, big, 20" Seatrout. This fish slid him into third place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category(scroll down right side of this report for standings)  Troy followed that one up with a big one of his own and again, a handful of smalls, then a keeper. We made one final stop in Christopher Creek and although the bite had slowed, Travis had one good one and again, FISH ON! He worked the fish slowly, letting the rod to the work and after a good battle landed another Redfish, this one in the Slot, making it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Almost Like February

A week or so ago we had warm enough weather for me to be wearing shorts and flip flops and the water temperature got up over 70. But we had some cooler temperatures move in and the water temp has dropped down into the 60's and it seems the fish "bite" has fallen off, kinda like what we had in February. My theory is that with the water temperature moving up and down the bait fish haven't decided to move in and the Reds and Trout are confused! They're out hunting something to eat and we're out hunting them! Today was similar to yesterday, we caught a few fish but not much to brag about, and it wasn't the anglers. I met Scott Carter, his two sons Sammy and Benny, and their friend Harrison down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp after lunch and we headed up to Jackstaff to fish an outgoing tide with the oysters already showing. The anglers were tossing live shrimp under floats and after hitting  a few runouts, Scott put a couple of hungry Seatrout in the boat. We ran through the marsh and fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here everyone got in on some action. Sammy picked up the first Mangrove Snapper up near the pilings then each of the boys were trying to get their jig and shrimp in the right place, and they each got fish if they were up close. We fished a second dock looking for bigger fish, found none, then ran down to Pumpkin Hill and set up along  a nice oyster bank. Rather quickly, Harrison put a nice Trout in the boat, but there were no more to be had. We fished Broward Island but the water was pretty murky, then we made a long run back to the Longpointe docks to get out of the wind. I rigged up some bottom rigs while the anglers pitched jigs to the pilings and when I got the bottom rigs finished we put them out and in quick succession, we landed a couple of Whiting. We had a handful of fish caught today, but we had to work for them, but it was still a great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mangroves Moving In

We fished the south end again today -John Alderman and his sons John and Sam. We met early at the Sawpit Creek ramp and headed up the Nassau River and straight to Pumpkin Hill to catch the last of an incoming tide. The three anglers were tossing live shrimp under float rigs and they got bites right off. John Sr. knocked the skunk off when he put a couple of hungry Seatrout in the boat. We fished a good stretch of flooded oysters with a few bites but no takers then ran over to Christopher Creek to fish deep with jigs. Although we had some nibbles, we had no fish so we made our next stop back ast Seymore's Pointe, fishing some dock pilings. There were light bites happening and finally we picked up a small Mangrove Snapper. Later, we had a strong bite and this turned out to be a nice fish.  Sam played it patiently to the boat and soon landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. One dock down, Sam made an excellent cast to the piling and picked up another Snapper, this one of keeper size.  After fishing Twin Creeks briefly, we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Like The Masters, The Leaderboard Tightens

Wow what a pretty day we had today! I fished with Steve Smith this morning, meeting him down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on the last of in incoming tide. We made a long run up the Nassau River and around to Christopher Creek and eased in thru the shallow entrance with plans to fish jigs and live shrimp to the shore line. I don't think Steve had cast more than a few times when he had his first hookup, a nice feisty Redfish. After pictures and release Steve made a pinpoint cast back to the exact same spot and BOOM!
Another fish on! He played this bigger fish patiently to the boat and we netted a nice Slot sized Redfish. We worked the bank thoroughly, had a couple of good bites, and after one that swiped his shrimp, he went back to the spot and had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! This was a big fish. Steve worked him out from some dock pilings then let him run, ripping drag. After a good battle he landed a 24"+  five spotted Redfish. Now that's a nice fish! The tide was changing so we worked our way out and got thru the cut before it turned to mud. The outside of Christopher was looking pretty good so we switched to float rigs and the live shrimp. We hadn't fished more than a few casts and when Steve placed his rig up near some sparse marsh grass the float disappeared with a vengeance. This was an other big fish. It took Steve from the stern to the bow and around and back to the stern and we both were thinking "Redfish" but when Steve worked him to the surface we saw that it was a large Seatrout. After netting the beast we measured it to 21.5", a fish that puts Steve in first place of the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We made a run over to Pumpkin Hill and fished some flooded oysters and first cast, BOOM! Fish On. Another nice 18" Seatrout. We worked up and down the bank and picked up one more keeper sized Trout and a couple of smaller ones, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Brother Fishing

The Nassau Sports Fishing Association hosted a group of Big Brothers/Big Sisters today and the Anglers Mark was one of the boats that took a few of the groups fishing. We all met at the Amelia Island Marina and got paired up with our anglers - I had Larry and Larrie along with their young Brothers Richard and Daniel respectively. We eased out of the marina and headed south, thru Horsehead and all the way down to Pumpkin Hill to fish some flooded oyster beds on the very first of an incoming tide. Young
Richard "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Daniel followed it up with a Trout of his own. Young guys 2. Older guys 0.  But we continued to fish and after a while all the anglers had put Trout in the boat. Richard added another keeper before we headed back into the Nassau River and fished a couple of nice marsh runouts, but to no avail. We then fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe then made our final stop over at the mouth of Jackstaff where Daniel wrapped things up with a keeper sized Flounder. With that, we called it a day and headed back to the Marina for some hotdogs and burgers making it a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

And After The Blow

We had strong winds and a bunch of needed rain the night before last and it affected the fishing just a tad. I met Wes Methaney again down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and he had his brother in law Steve and nephew Evan with him to round out the team. We made a quick run over to the docks at Longpointe and fished the dock pilings with jigs and live shrimp on an outgoing tide. The first thing I noticed was how muddy the water looked. The anglers had no bites so we ran up the Nassau River and made a stop at some marsh runouts and exposed oyster beds and we began easing along,
tossing to the shell. About halfway up we spotted a huge tail waving at us as a big Red nosed around in the oysters but he would not bite.  We saw it a couple of times, and it may have been a second fish, but they just wouldn't take. Evan finally knocked the skunk off the boat when he caught and landed an angry Bluefish. We ran up the river to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here both Evan and Wes put a couple of Redfish in the boat. We bounced down to another dock and Steve had a strange bite - he played it patiently to the boat, and landed a nice keeper sized 16.5"
Flounder. This fish put's Steve in first place in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings)  Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill and here Steve landed a hungry Seatrout. We jumped down to Broward Island and fished up and down the bank. Wes put a couple of Trout in the boat, another Redfish, then Steve caught one too, giving him his own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Flounder, Seatrout, and Redfish. I  noted that all stops the water was very muddy. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing Before the Blow

I met David Gaines, his son-in-law David and his grandson Braham up at the north end boat ramp this morning under overcast skies. One of my 5 "tips" to catching more fish here at Amelia Island is to have a plan ready the night before you fish - and we had a plan. The wind was blowing 8-9 but forecasted to pick up to 15-20 by noon so we made our first run over to the mouth of Bell River, put out a heavy rig in hopes of catching a shark, then tossed jigs and live shrimp to the exposed oyster banks on the last of an outgoing tide.
In short order young Braham put a Seatrout in the boat, then another one of keeper size (all fish caught today were either released or donated to a Veteran who's a neighbor of mine). Before you knew it, Braham had another hookup and landed a feisty Black "puppy' Drum. The adults picked up a couple of fish on their own then we pulled anchor and ran up the Bell to fish some docks. We were sheltered from the wind and  here Graham was drifting a Slip Float out the stern and found a nice keeper sized Whiting. The two David's each caught a Trout or two on the jigs. Our next stop was around at the MOA in the Jolley and again, a few more Trout on the jigs. The wind was picking up so we ran around to make our final stop behind Tiger and sure enough, the wind was blocked. We found that the Trout were holding out deep and the three anglers landed a good handful with a few of them of keeper size up to 18". To wraps things up, the trio had a good bite and, FISH ON! Graham was on the rod and he fought the big fish valiantly and despite the unwanted coaching from we three adults, he landed a nice 24" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish! When we came around the corner heading back to the ramp the wind had reached it's 20mph prediction and the river was kicking up, but with some good catches for the day, we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Fish Come Late

The pretty days just keep on come'n and today was no different. I met the Fazio family, Chris and Halen and their kids Dane and Ashlyn down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning and the water was like glass as we headed up the Intercoastal Waterway to dip in at Jackstaff on the last of an outgoing tide. I set the anglers up with jigs and live shrimp and they began to  pitch to the bank as we eased up current. They were making excellent casts but we had no real bites the entire stretch. We bounced over, fished a sandbar pointe, then ran through
Horsehead to the other side and found some docks to fish. Although they weren't big, both Haden and Ashlyn put some Mangrove Snapper in the boat (they're back!) then Ashlyn had a good tug and landed a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum. We jumped over to Bubblegum Reef, fished it briefly, then ran down to Broward Island. Haden hooked up with a feisty Redfish which Dane expertly reeled in. We let the current drift us down the bank an again Haden had a bite, but this was a bigger fish. They tagged teamed the fish and after a good battle landed a nice 18" fat Seatrout. Moving further down the bank we had another bite and this was an even bigger fish. Dane was on the rod and he patiently played the fish, letting the rod do all the work and after a good battle landed a 24"+ Slot Sized Redfish. Boy what a fish! We made one last stop over at Pumpkin Hill and broke out the float rigs on an incoming tide. Within seconds these anglers were getting bites. We had a good flurry of Trout catching, but he sun was up and it was getting "summertime" hot, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Found a Trout Hole

I had the pleasure of fishing with Wes Methaney again, who brought along his brother Mike and nephew Evan. The high winds from yesterday had subsided and we had a beautiful morning to greet us down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the Nassau River and fished an exposed oyster bed with jigs and live shrimp on the very first of an incoming tide...to no avail. No bites. Our next stop was up at Bubblegum Reef and with a perfect "first of the incoming tide", I had high expectations. But although the bite was
slow, Wes reeled in a hungry Mangrove Snapper (the first I've seen this year) then Evan caught a keeper sized Seatrout. We jumped over to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and after fishing briefly, hooked up with nice fish. Evan played it patiently and after a good battle that took him from stern to bow and back to stern, he landed a nice 18" Black "puppy" Drum. Then uncle Wes put a feisty 4-spot Redfish in the boat. We fished a few docks then ran down to Broward Island and began working back against the tide. Both anglers caught Seatrout then Wes put a nice 19" Trout in the boat.
He followed that up with a big, big bite and after fighting the fish valiantly for a good while, the fish found a deep log and broke itself off, OUCH! We then ran back up the Nassau River, found some oysters to fish, caught nothing, and were just about to call it day when we tried one more flooded oyster bank with float rigs and live shrimp. This did the trick. They caught Trout after Trout after Trout with many of them being of keeper size up to 18". Although the fish were still biting, appointments were needing to be met, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Tackling The "Breezy" Conditions

Anytime the weather forecasters call for "breezy" conditions I know that it's gonna be a struggle out on the water - and that's what they predicted for today, and accurately so. I met Lou Alvarado and his son Joe up at the north end boat ramp early this morning and when we saw that the south west wind hadn't really kicked in yet, we headed over to Tiger Island to fish an incoming tide with jigs and live shrimp. These two anglers were making pin point casts and even though the river was kicked up with mud, they picked up a
couple of nice Seatrout. As the wind picked up we decided to run over to Lanceford Creek and sure enough, we were protected. Joe picked up a nice keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today) and then he tangled with a nice Black "puppy" Drum. Lou had a strong bite and his drag began to rip and, FISH ON! This was a big fish. But it was up in the pilings and when the line "locked down" we know he was wrapped and sure enough, BAP! Fish Off. Lou is the leader in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament
-Redfish Category and this fish may have challenged it! After fishing Oyster Bay docks with no luck, we ran around to the mouth of Bell's River with plans to fish some flooded oyster beds but the wind was really kicking and there were white caps in the river. So we continued on around and found shelter up the river fishing some docks. Lou was on the jig still but Joe switched to a Slip Float rig and his first pass picked up a nice Trout. He continued with the technique and caught a few more Trout drifting a live shrimp deep along the bottom. Our last stop was around to the outside of Tiger but we had no more bites so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.