Lucky Shirt, Big Red, and Almost a Shark

The breeze had picked up today, which wasn't such a bad thing, and coupled with some overcast skies, it was somewhat pleasant to be fishing the back waters of Amelia Island. I had met David and Nance Skroko up at the north end ramp early this morning and we headed up and over to the outside of Tiger to catch the very first of an outgoing tide. We had both live shrimp and mud minnows and we deployed them both on float rigs, up near some sparse grass. After losing our shrimp a couple of times to "baitstealers" David

had a strong bite and his drag began to rip as the line came off the reel, FISH ON!  And in the first 20 minutes of the trip!  David played the big fish patiently as it made run after run and after a good battle landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish.

We fished that area, bounced across a creek and fished the opposite side, then ran further up the north/east side of Tiger to fish a large outflow with jigs. No bites. We ran around to the Jolley River,

fished some still flooded oysters with float rigs but didn't get anything for 100 yards until David found a fat but hungry Seatrout.

Our next stop was further up the Jolley and we now were fishing exposed oysters. David was tossing the float rig but Nancy was throwing jig/shrimp combo. We had very few bites until, BAM! Something took Nancy's bait and ran with it. SHARK ON! The reel was screaming and Nancy kept the rod up and the pressure on and

just as I was thinking turn the boat and give chase, BAP! Fish off.
Boy what a fish!

We made one more stop around the corner, again fishing some exposed oysters and wouldn't you know, David's lucky fishing shirt paid off.  He hooked up, played, and landed another Slot Redfish. Then Nancy put two Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. And just as we were about to leave we had another strong bite. BIG FISH ON! Nancy was on the rod and she fought it and fought it through the multiple times that it made it's deep runs. But she was  up to the task and after an extended battle, landed an oversized 27.75" Redfish. Now that's a nice fish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Jolley Good Fishing at Amelia Island.

I'd have to day that the week ended above average with today's catch being the best of the week. I had met Rick Guyer and his two grandsons Riley and Tim up at the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp early this morning and boy was the river calm - it was like glass! We headed north and towards St. Mary's, makin gone stop on the outside of Tiger Island.

Two anglers were tossing jigs and mud minnows while a third drifted a float and minnow. Just when I thought we would be

skunked at our first spot, Riley hooked up with his jig and quickly reeled in a rather large Flounder. Skunk off the boat! Whoohee!

We bounced around to Jolley River, found a nice shoreline and began to work along it with Float rigs. Riley again had a hookup, his float disappeared and he easily landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Then Rick got on the board. He said his float disappeared with a vengeance and then his drag began to sing, FISH ON!  I was real impressed how patiently Rick worked the big fish and after a good battle it paid off - he landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish. As we finished that drift we hit a mouth of a small marsh run out and all three anglers put small but feisty Redfish in the boat.

Our next stop was further up the Jolley - we fished another bank and by this time the oysters were exposed with the dropping tide. We had a mix of float rigs and jigs working. Again, just as I thought we might be skunked at this spot Tim had a good bite and again, BIG FISH ON!  He fought the fish valiantly, working the fish up with his rod and reeling down as he took in line. The fish went from starboard to port and back then got back in the current. But Tim was up to the task and eventually landed a big 24" Slot Redfish. Nice fish!

We bounced around to the MOA, picked a small Trout, then Rick made a pinpoint cast to some skittish bait and BOOM! Fish on. I was guessing Redfish the way it was ripping drag but as it got close to the boat we saw it was a big Trout. After netting we measured it to be 20"+.  We made one more adjustment across the river and Riley wrapped things up with the biggest Flounder of the day, and with that, we called it, another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Flounder Flurry

I headed back to the south end today, meeting Trey Dennard and his friends Maria, Anne and Mark down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, located at the north end of Big Talbot Island Park. We launched at 7:30 and ran up the Nassau River - the water was smooth as a pond - and stopped at Twin Creeks to fish an outgoing tide with float rigs and mud minnows.

It didn't take long for the anglers to get bites. Maria was first in the water and I think it was her first real drift when, BOOM! Fish on!  It fought ferociously but she played it perfectly and after a good battle, landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. Then Trey got in on the action and landed a feisty Redfish. Mark followed that up with a keeper sized Flounder that bit his minnow as it floated over the back side of a submerged shell bed. From then on the anglers were getting bites, picking up a keeper Flounder now and then.

We bounced down to Spanish Drop and fished another run out and here both Mark and Maria put some big Flounder in the boat, then Maria added a nice Slot sized Redfish.   We made a stop up at Seymore's Pointe to fish for Mangroves but had no luck, bounced around to some docks where Trey proved adept at catching the Mangroves on a jig and minnow - and he found another Flounder, then we bounced over to Bubblegum Reef where Trey picked up a few more Mangrove Snapper.

After running through Jackstaff we fished the edges of a sandbar with Anne wrapping things up with a nice Jack Crevalle catch. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Dave's Lucky Purrito Fishing Shirt

Back to the north end today, launching from the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp. I met Aaron Self and his two sons Isaac and David early this morning at the last of an outgoing tide. We ran around to Eagans Creek and set up current from some dock pilings and pitched mud minnows on jigs. Isaac's first cast produced a small but feisty Redfish, knocking the skunk off quick! Thanks Isaac! We fished the docks thoroughly and later Aaron had a good bite and landed another feisty Red - this one bigger, but not quite "Slot".

We ran around and fished the mouth of the Bell River for just a few minutes at the very last of the outgoing tide and although the conditions looked ripe for some fish, we had no luck. We came back to Tiger Island, fished the logs just as the tide started in, but again, no real bites.

Out and around we came to run up to the Jolley River where we found a likely oyster bank with the incoming tide line visible. Young David had been "taking a short break" which involved a

quick nap but he finally decided to join in, this time tossing a float rig and minnow. When his float disappeared he was quick to lift the rod and make contact with the fish and he quickly reeled in a nice keeper sized Flounder. Later, his dad topped that fish with a Slot sized Red caught on the jig and minnow.  Then Isaac got in on the action and he too put a Slot Red in the boat.

David had on his "lucky shirt" - a Purrito - and it paid off. He hooked up and landed an even bigger Flounder then just as we were

about to call it day, he had a strong bite and, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed the biggest fish of the day, a nice 22" Slot Redfish. Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catch'n a Mess at Amelia Island

It was  kinda nice today to have some cloud cover and just a slight breeze - it made for some pleasant fishing. I met Clay Thomas and his sons Carter, Grady and Logan down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we decided to try the mouth of Jackstaff as our first stop.





All four anglers were tossing live shrimp on a jig to the exposed bank on the last of an outgoing tide. Although we had one good hookup, it shook the hook and that was it. We crossed over the creek and fished a point and this did the trick. Clay "knocked the skunk off" when he found a fat and hungry Seatrout. Minutes later, he picked up another one. After one or two more bites, we moved on.

Our next stop was over on the Nassau River and within minutes of working an exposed oyster bank Clay had a strong bite and, FISH ON! This was a big fish and was ripping drag. I instructed the young anglers to get their lines in because the fish was running. We chased him with the trolling motor as it went from stern to bow and around and back to the stern. Clay kept the pressure on and after a good battle landed a big Jack Crevalle, boy what a fight!



We jumped down the river and began to fish float rigs up at some structure and all joined in catching Mangrove Snapper. Just like yesterday, they started small then got bigger and into the "keeper" sized range. All four anglers put keeper sized fish in the boat. Before the day was over, we had a good "mess" of fish and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mangrove Bonanza at Amelia Island

After the long holiday weekend it was good to get back out on the water with some anglers! I met Greg Clody along with his son Sean down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we headed up the Nassau River to fish some very exposed shell banks on the last of an outgoing tide. We had some live shrimp  and the two anglers started off pitching jigs and shrimp to the oysters.


Although they both had some good "bumps", we had no real takers until we had just about finished our first pass. Later, Sean said he thought he'd hung up on the bottom but when his drag began to sing he knew he had a big fish on. And boy was it big! He played the fish perfectly and patiently worked it to the boat and while I took pictures his dad netted a big Jack Crevalle.

We moved on up the river, fished Bubblegum Reef to no avail, jumped over to fish some docks  and although the bite was slow, they did land a hungry Flounder and a small Mangrove Snapper. We made the run down to Broward Island and fished a perfect incoming tide, but we had no real bites, other than another Mangrove.


Our last stop was back at Horsehead and as the tide was half way up, we began to pick up some keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. And the bite turned in to a frenzy - these two anglers caught one after the other. Some were small but many were big and fat and well over keeper size.(all fish were released today). We worked through the bait and caught fish down to the last shrimp, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish'nTour

We waited for the tide to start out today, beginning our trip at 11am and launching from the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp. Boy what a crowd. The entire lot was packed so I had to put my truck and trailer around at the back lot.  And boats were still piling in when Ross and Lindsey Goldstein and I left the ramp to head over to the outside of Tiger to fish some flooded marsh grass with float rigs and mud minnows.



We had a few nibbles and made casts to one tailing Redfish, but had no luck so we headed up and around Tiger to make one more stop at a large outflow, targeting it with mud minnows on a jig. Again, no real bites. We continued on up to Snook Creek in the Jolley River and switched back to float rigs, easing along the bank and working the grass. Finally, we had a good bite and Lindsey reeled in a nice hungry Seatrout.

We had been working it pretty good and it was getting hot so we made a run over to Cumberland Island, eased  up into Beach Creek and cruised along the hammock, then came back out and along the southern point. There were some wild horses in the distance but not close enough to get a good look. After passing by Fort Clinch we made one more stop at Old Town before we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Manatee More Manatee and Submarine

We thought we'd try and squeeze in a fishing trip today before the high winds hit us, and barely did we get one in. I met Josh and Melissa Daniel up at the Dee Dee Bartel park and boat ramp early and we headed up to the outside of Tiger with the hopes of targeting some tailing Redfish with fly rods. We had an hour or so before the tide got up so we set up off some flooded marsh grass and Josh tossed a shrimp fly while Melissa used spinning gear and mud minnows. Josh commented that he saw something in the water and when it came to the top we saw that it was a cruising Manatee! Cool! As they continued to fish  I noticed off in the channel a submarine was being escorted in. Super Cool!

We had no bites so we ran up into Tiger Basin and checked some marsh flats and saw that it was pretty evident that they were not going to flood with the increasing west wind. We hit one spot in Bell River with the spinning tackle while we were buffeted by the wind - had no luck - so we cruised around to Lanceford Creek and it was like a pond there!  Just as the two anglers began to fish we could see a commotion going on up near the grass. More Manatees!  There were two big "amorous" manatees and what looked like three toddlers. We watched them as they eased by the  boat, oblivious to us, then we worked around to a dock and fished it with the minnows and a sinking shrimp fly - still no luck.

Our next stop was further up Lanceford and here Josh "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hungry Seatrout. The tide was dropping now so we hit one more dock and after thoroughly working it, Josh had a strong hookup and, BIG FISH ON! It was pulling deep and hard and I thought for sure it would wrap around a piling but Josh applied just the right amount of pressure and pulled him out of there. We moved out to deeper water and after that it was just a matter of patience before Josh landed a big 20" Black "puppy" Drum, boy what a fish!  Although it was a slow day of fish caching we had a very eventful day, making memories here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Uptick In Fish Catching

We switched to mud minnows and fished north today and there was a slight  uptick in fish catches. I had met Ray Shannon and his brother-in-law Doyle up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early this morning and we headed up to the outside of Tiger to fish some seriously flooded oysters on the very first of an outgoing tide. The two anglers worked the marsh grass with float rigs and minnows and had a couple of good bites before Doyle had a strong hookup. This fish was pulling some drag so we knew it was a decent fish. Doyle kept the pressure on and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish. (All fish were released today).

Then, moments later, Ray had a hookup. His rod was bouncing and the drag was ripping - I was thinking big Trout - but after he expertly worked it to the boat, we netted a fairly big, hard fighting Bluefish.

We jumped over to Manatee Cove, eased along the bank and both anglers put a couple of hungry Seatrout in the boat. After running through Tiger and over to Bell, we fished  marshy point and again, caught a couple of Seatrout. 

We fished the Tiki hut at Oyster Bay, caught one Sea Bass, then headed over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings. This did the trick. Both Ray and Doyle were tossing jigs and minnows and both had good hookups with Slot Sized Redfish. We caught 2-3 of those, then a small "rat" Red, then made one last stop at the mouth of Bell before calling it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Making a Day Out of It

I did two trips today, the first with long time customer Bob Blalock. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp under beautiful skies and with just a slight breeze and headed up the intercoastal and into Jackstaff and around to a small marsh runout to fish float rigs on the very first of an outgoing tide. I had a bait well full of live shrimp. Bob was making excellent casts but we had  not a nibble.

We bounced over to the bank of Jackstaff and fished it with jigs, hitting the marsh run outs and even though we had some good hard strikes, no takers. Our next stop was over at some dock pilings and Seymore's Pointe where we had a couple of nibbles - then down the Nassau to fish some exposed oysters beds. Again, we had a good bite, some drag ripped, and off it came! Ouch!

We fished some rocks along Seymore's Pointe and Bob weeded through a handful of Mangrove Snapper to get a couple of keeper size, then we made a final stop down at Broward Island. We hadn't fished it long before Bog had a strong bite, a good hookup and after a good battle, he landed a 18" Flounder, big enough to put him in first place in the 2017 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  I think we  had one more good bite but no takers, so we called it a morning, another great one to be out fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

After eating a packed lunch and stretching my legs, I met Scott Hamilton at the same boat ramp. This time, we headed straight for Broward Island to fish the first of an incoming tide. The wind had picked up, blowing out of the south east, and the island blocked it perfectly to make for some easy fishing. Unfortunately the fish didn't cooperate, other than one feisty Red that we put in the boat.

We fished it thoroughly then ran back to the Seymore's Pointe area and even though the wind was blocked somewhat, it was still kicking us around pretty good. We fished a couple of docks, had some bites, moved to another and played cat and mouse with some Mangroves. Just as we were about to leave, Scott had a strong hookup and his drag began to rip, FISH ON!  But this fish was in some shallow, oyster infested waters and within seconds it had burrowed down and cut itself off, darn it.

We ran around Seymore's, heading back towards Christopher and ran smack into a wall of thunderstorms and rain - so we did a U-turn and headed back to the boat ramp, lighting chasing us all the way. Still, we had a good few hours of being out on the water here at Amelia Island.