Big Reds Quick

Wow! What a way to start a fishing trip! I had just met Patrick Verner and his sons Bryan and Patrick up at the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp and after we had crossed the river we began to fish with live shrimp under a float rig with a short leader and BOOM! Young Patrick had a hookup! Big fish on! He worked it in patiently and we had the first fish of the day, a 25" Slot Red with some big shoulders!

All three anglers went back to the same spot and BOOM! Another big Redfish on - almost identical is size. BOOM! Another big Redfish
on. BOOM! Another big Redfish on!  BOOM!  This one was a big Black Drum - big for our light tackle - it was 24"+ in size, but it was no match for Patrick.

I was thinking, man this is going to be an awesome day of fishing, and it was, but the fishing fell off after that. We had a bite here and there, caught a couple of Rays, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Customer Cook Off: Flounder Ceviche and Green Egg Smoked Flounder

These Maryland boys know how to do it! Kevin Pride, Mike Linynsky and Ryan Aikens fished with me the other day and took home a "Maryland Cooler" full of fish, a few of which were Flounder. They took the small pieces, chopped them up, covered them with lime juice,  and made Ceviche. Here's the ingredients they used:

2 avocado, peeled and cubed  

2 tomato, cubed 

1 half onion, chopped

Splash olive oil

1 lime squeezed 

Salt/ pepper 

1/2 lb of Amelia Island fresh caught Flounder!

Combine, cover and chill 30 min



They took the rest of their catch and grilled it on Mike's Green Egg. Man that looks good!

 

Double Jack Finale

Thankfully the wind had died this week and with sunny skies we're having some outstanding Amelia Island fishing weather. Today I met brothers Mike and Tim Dillon down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the Nassau River and over to Pumpkin Hill Creek to set up outside some flooding marsh grass with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp. I think it was the first cast when Tim hooked up, landed a hard fighting Bluefish and "knocked the skunk off" real quick!

But although these anglers were making excellent casts and getting good drifts, we had no more bites there, and around the corner. So we picked  up and ran over to Christopher Creek and fished some jigs on the bottom, between dock pilings. Although not much was happening there, we did have one good bite and a hookup. Mike worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish.

Our next stop was around at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, back to float rigs drifting live shrimp over some oysters on the first of an outgoing tide, to no avail.

We then ran east in the Nassau and began to fish some marsh runouts and this did the trick. Mike felt a good bump, set the hook and caught another Slot Redfish then Tim felt the subtle bump-bump and  picked up a keeper sized Seatrout.  We had another strong bite and Tim reeled in a keeper Black "puppy" Drum (which was released) then as we were about to wrap up, BOOM! BOOM! We had a double hookup, and they were some hard fighting fish. Tim was battling his on the bow while Mike was battling his at the stern. Both fish were digging deep but these two anglers kept the pressure on, stayed patient and in the end won out, landing two almost identical Jack Crevalle. Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Warm Start Hot Finish

I fished again with Kevin Pride and his friends Mike and Ryan, but this time we met up at the north end. We made our first stop over on the outside of Tiger with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp over flooded oyster beds. The anglers were tossing up current up near some grass and it was only a few minutes when Kevin had a strong bite. When it boiled up we knew it was a Redfish. Kevin worked it patiently in and soon landed a nice 8 spot Redfish. Shortly after that Mike too had a hookup. He played the fish perfectly and landed another Redfish, this one Slot siazed. We may have picked up one more Red before we crossed over the river,  fished a marsh line, and Kevin put another Redfish in the boat.

After that, It was slim pick’ns! We fished a run out further up Tiger with jigs, went back to floats along Jolly Bank, fished the mouth of Snook Creek, bounced around to the MOA (Mother of All) but had no real bites for a good timespan. OUCH! But these guys were game and their perseverance paid off!

After coming back to Tiger we fished deep with jigs. Ryan’s rod had been quite all day but he warmed up quickly. He caught a nice Red, then a keeper sized Flounder. Then all three anglers got hot, landing a couple of more keeper Flounder, another Red, a keeper sized Seatrout, then Ryan hooked and battled a big 24” Black “puppy” Drum. This was a big fish on light tackle but Ryan was up to the task and soon put ‘em in the boat. It was a great way to wrap up another fine day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Floeida.e caught

Flounder Are Here

I met Kevin Pride and his fishing buddies Mike and Ryan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning, and boy was it a pretty morning! We ran up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff with plans to fish a large outflow with float rigs and live shrimp. Although we had a nibble or two, we had not takers, so we crossed over and fished a flooded oyster bank with jigs and the shrimp, but again, no luck.

After running thru Horsehead we stopped at some docks at Semore's Pointe, fished 'em thoroughly, then continued on down the Nassau, heading east, to some more oyster banks. Ryan finally kicked things off when he landed a nice keeper sized Flounder, then he picked up a keeper sized Seatrout. Kevin joined in and picked up a couple of nice Trout.

We made the run down to Broward and although the water was
muddied up from the west wind, Kevin did hookup and land another fat keeper sized Flounder. We worked the bank for a good 45 minutes, then headed back to the ramp. But we decided to fish the now exposed oysters along the bank south of the boat ramp and first cast, BOOM! Mike hooked up and landed our third keeper Flounder. Then we had a an explosion of fish catching - Ladyfish! - the first we've caught this year - and they were fairly large, in the 2 lb range, caught on jigs, deep. It was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Young Eagles Checking Us Out

I had the pleasure of fishing again with Russ and Adrienne Futrell today, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early on a clear and sunny day. After some bad weather days it was good to get back on the water!  We made our first run around to Eagans Creek and fished some marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp but we didn't get a bite.

Our next stop was at some dock pilings and after a few casts Russ had a hard bite and a good fish on. He applied some pressure and
got the fish out from the pilings then worked him in patiently, to land a nice 22" Slot Redfish. Skunk off the boat!  The couple added a few more fish, with Adrienne putting a hungry Seatrout in the boat, Russ added a feisty Red, then Adrienne did the same. The fish catching wasn't "on fire" but we did get some good catches before we left.

We made the long run to Bell River and fished a few more docks with not much luck.  We then continued on around to the Jolley

River where Adrienne caught a small Flounder-which gave her an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  Our final stop was at Tiger Island and here Russ added a nice keeper sized Flounder and the duo picked up another couple of feisty Reds. We were under the watchful eye of a couple of young Bald Eagles. It was a beautiful morning, we had a few fish in the box, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

First Trip Fishing

..."Remember when, someone took you fishing?"  If  you're like me you still remember that fishing trip that you Grandad or Mom or Dad took  you fishing as a kid. I remember when I was 7 or 8 my Grandfather took me Crappie fishing on Lake Sante Fe over in central Florida and thinking "boy, this is great!  All I have to do is drop a minnow over the side, let it go to the bottom, and wait for a fish to bite!".  The last conversation I had with my father before he passed away was about a great fishing trip we had on Lofton Creek, catching big 'ole Bluegill.
We all have great memories of fishing with friends and family.

Today was Wes and Mary Beth's first trip out with their 2 1/2 year old future angler Jack, and we had a great time.  The weather was outstanding (just before tomorrow's blow) and after we met at Sawpit Creek boat ramp we ran up the Nassau River and over to Broward Island to fish the first of an incoming tide. Jack jumped right in and was picking up and handling the live shrimp and the few mud minnows that we had on board.

Mary Beth was the first to strike when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. She may have landed one more before Wes got on the board with a Redfish catch. Jack was game for touching each fish to feel their scales and even swiped his thumb over the rough bottom lip of a Redfish. We fished up and down the island, landed another Red or two, then, as the wind started to blow, we came back to the Seymore's Pointe area.  Jack was hanging in there, playing with the bait and finding his sea legs around the boat - with Mary Beth's close supervision.

We fished some docks with no real luck then ran thru Horsehead and to the mouth of Jackstaff. The water was  up so we switched to float rigs. Although our fish catching around the oyster beds has been slow lately, Wes was able to catch a Blue fish then a few hungry Seatrout. By this time Jack was sorting the plastic grub box, but he took time out to feel the sliminess of a Trout. Just as he was getting a little bit restless, it was time to go, so we called it a day, another great "first time" fishing day to be on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slight Upward Tick In The Fish Catching

Oh what a beautiful morning...we had today!  Sunshine, just a slight breeze, and comfortable
temperatures greeted me and my guests David Roberts and his son Robert when I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide had started in about an hour earlier so we made straight for Broward Island to take advantage of that "first of the incoming", and it paid off a tad.

Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp to the bank, bouncing it back slowly and it was Robert who "knocked the skunk off" early with a hookup. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a big 19.5" Seatrout - we'll take it! We
worked down the bank and got into a "hot spot" -David had a strong bite, set the hook, and his line took off like a rocket! But David kept the pressure on and brought to the boat a nice feisty Redfish.  Then both he and Robert added another couple or three Redfish to the catch.

When things slowed we ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks with float rigs and live shrimp, then bounced around to fish some docks and flooded oysters - no bites.

Our final stop was back at Christopher Creek. David was in the bow, I was in the middle and was tossing a jig, and Robert was at the stern. David and I both worked a good pocket over but I guess the fish liked Robert's presentation better because he had a good bite after he'd made a perfect cast to the pocked and, Fish On! We could tell it was just a bit bigger than the earlier fish caught and sure enough it turned out to be in the Slot!   David tossed the fly rod for a few minutes as we wrapped up the day, and with a few fish in the boat, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Pompano Surprise

We had high winds forecast today, blowing out of the SE so I thought I'd take my crew - Wes Methaney, his nephew Evan, and his friend Nick and son Milan - out towards Nassau Sound and fish the mouth of Simpson Creek. It was a rock and rolling ride out there but sure enough, the wind was blocked a tad and the anglers began tossing live shrimp under floats to the marsh grass and within a minute or two we had some bites.

It was Wes's float that went under and when he hooked up it seemed to be a pretty nice fish. I was thinking "Seatrout" but when it flashed Wes said "Jack", but we were both wrong. It was a keeper sized Pompano - the first I've ever had on the boat. I googled them and see that they are typically found in the surf and cuts near the ocean, which was where we were!  But we had no real bites after that. We dipped into Simpsons, fished some jigs, then ran west and up into the Nassau.

We tried jigs and shrimp on Christopher, Shrimp under floats at Seymore's, and finished up back at Sawpit Creek tossing jigs on an outgoing tide. Each stop was made in an effort to stay out of the wind and although that helped, the fish just were not cooperating. But we got friends and family out on the boat so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Tough Fishing Continues

I know I'm not the only one to say that we've had some tough fish catching lately. Yesterday I fished with experienced angler Bob Blalock and we struggled to find a fish. He did land seatrout under a float rig caught on live shrimp as the tide hit high then we picked up a couple of Black Drum fishing the DnW but that was about it for a half day of fishing...ouch!

Today I fished with John Faison, his son Will, his brother in law Tom, and friend Carl, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made the run up to and into Christopher Creek and fished some structure thoroughly and although we had a few good bites, we had no takers.

We bounced out and fished some docks at Seymore's Point to no avail, then ran down to fish Broward Island. Here, Tom was able to connect with a feisty Redfish  which he landed handily. Then he had another strong hookup and it was a big fish, ripping drag as it got out deeper. But alas, it found a log and broke itself off - the fluorocarbon leader was roughed up severely. We "milked" that island to stay out of the ever increasing wind but eventually we had to leave.

Our next stop, after we ran thru Horsehead, was around at the mouth of Jackstaff. We fished an entire oyster lined bank with no real bites - but John did tangle with a Catfish - and then ended up fishing the pointe of a sandbar where Carl put the last fish in the boat - a hungry Seatrout.

As Will said, "it was a beautiful day", and he was right! Although the fish haven't been cooperating, we still counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.