Hot Handed Angler

I was fishing north for a change today, meeting the Pelletiere boys - Len, his son Scott, and grandson Kevin - early and heading quickly over to the Tiger logs to catch that first of an incoming tide. We began by pitching jigs and live shrimp to likely spots and it was Scott who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up with a keeper sized Seatrout.  Kevin matched that with a feisty Redfish that was just slightly under the Slot then Scott upped that with a keeper sized Flounder. Kevin stepped up an put a big 20" Seatrout in the boat and for about an hour or so it was all Kevin. He caught and landed two Slot sized Redfish and we picked up another fish or two (one was a small Black Drum - they had a "Grande Slam already!) then we headed up to the Jolley River.

Although the conditions were great - calm water, incoming tide, and little wind we didn't get a whole lot of fish here, other than a nice keeper sized Flounder that.....Kevin put in the boat.

We made the run back to the outside of the boat, set up at an ambush pointe over some shell bottom and all three anglers began to catch Seatrout. Scott had a big 19" Trout, Kevin added another keeper, and granddad Len landed a few Trout, manning the stern. It was getting slightly hot and the tide was getting high so after hitting a couple of quick spots, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

  

Quick Start to a Beautiful Day

What a great way to wrap up a great fishing week here at Amelia Island, Florida. I had met Jack Ciapriani out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and we made the short jump down to Broward Island to catch the first of an incoming tide. The water was like glass, the sun was coming up and nature was coming alive at the island. Jack was tossing jigs and live shrimp and in short order he had a keeper sized Sheepshead in the boat. He caught a couple of feisty Redfish as we worked the bank and later put a big Seatrout in the boat.

We eventually made the run back to Seymore's
Pointe and fished some dock pilings and flooding oyster beds, but we had no real bites - unless you count the Catfish and Toad fish! We dropped down the Nassau River and began fishing oyster beds with a float rig. Jack had tossed up into a shallow area and when his float slowly disappeared, he tightened his line and set the hook and, Fish On!  Sure enough, the unique bite signified a Flounder, and a keeper sized one at that!

We made one more stop down at Pumpkin Hill, tangled with a Bonnethead Shark, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

A Fishing Day Filled With Action

Even though there was some dark clouds hanging over south Georgia early this morning, our side was clear when I met the Jones group - Chris and his two son's Alex and Andrew, and Alex's girlfriend Susanna. The water was like glass as we made our way up to the Jolley River with plans to fish the incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. We picked a bank with an oyster shell bottom and began working up current, tossing the floats and baits up near the grass. Alex "knocked the skunk  off" when he
landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout, Chris pulled in a feisty Redfish, then young Andrew, manning the stern, hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

After running further up the river, we fished another flooding marsh line and the action got hotter. The anglers were catching Bonnethead Sharks then Susanna found another keeper sized Seatrout to reel in. Andrew and Alex had a "double" hookup with Seatrout and the group battled another couple of Sharks.

We came back to Tiger Island and got into some keeper sized Flounder. Susanna landed two, Andrew landed another, and Chris landed one, all of keeper size. After Chris tangles with a high flying Ladyfish, we moved on, running thru Tiger and around to Bell River.

We'd had a great day of weather - just a slight breeze and the Georgia clouds had crept over the state line and kept it overcast for most of the trip and even though it was almost mid day, the fish were still biting!  Alex and Susanna had a double up on Seatrout with Susanna's measuring to be the biggest of the day then both Andrew and Alex battled Shark to wrap the trip up. We caught fish at every spot and all four anglers put keeper sized fish in the boat, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Jack Be Nibble

Today marked my last trip out of Sawpit this week! I had met Chip Lobeck, his son Sullivan and his father-in-law Ron early this morning and we headed up the Nassau on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours. We made a quick stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and pitched the pilings with jigs and all three anglers "knocked the skunk" off, individually. Sullivan got on the board first with a nice Catfish catch, and while he was reeling it in, Chip boated a Croaker, and later Ron put a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum in the boat.

We crossed over to the mouth of Jackstaff, fished it thoroughly, then rounded the corner of the Nassau to fish some rocks. Young Sullivan had a few nibbles that took his bait, but he went back to the same spot and hooked up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. We then headed up the Nassau to fish Pumkin Hill. It took while, but finally Ron found a hungry Seatrout then we had some good action. Chip had something big swipe at his live shrimp on float a couple of times, then on the third attempt Chip hooked up. We

could tell right off that this was a bigger fish and sure enough, after a patient fight, Chip landed a nice 19" Seatrout. Shortly after that Ron, drifting his float long, had it disappear and he hooked up. It was a long haul but Ron worked it in and landed another big 19" Trout.

We fished Christopher Creek with no luck and made one final stop heading back down the Nassau. Ron boated a high flying Ladyfish, Sullivan put his second Jack Crevalle in the boat, then Chip hooked up with something big. I was calling "shark" as it headed deep, ripping drag, and dashing under the boat.  Chip worked it out from under the boat, played it perfectly, and landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish! Now that's the way to wrap up another day of fun fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Head Shaking Big

The perfect summer weather just keeps on coming! We've been having clear mornings with just a slight breeze and the thunderstorms hold off until later in the day. I met Frank Wytiaz and his long time buddy John down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a quick run up the Nassau River on a tide that was still coming in for a couple of hours. No shrimp today for bait! But as you will see, the mud minnows did just fine! 

We made quick stop at a oyster covered shoreline and began to work back against the current. Both Frank and John picked up a small Redfish each, then Frank added a hungry Seatrout and later, John tangled with a high flying Ladyfish.  The tide was still coming in so we buzzed down to Pumpkin Hill and set up along a bank to fish the float rigs and minnows. Again, the duo picked  up a couple of feisty Redfish, then Frank hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

John was drifting out of the back of the boat, letting his float and bait work along the shoreline and when his float disappeared, he tightened up, set the hook, and landed a very nice 19" Seatrout. That got things started! Frank followed his lead and he put a 21.5" Trout in the boat. Then John hooked up, successfully fought, and landed a Slot Redfish. Then, when Frank's float disappeared and he set the hook, he commented, "this is a big fish and it's shaking it's head" - and ripping drag, I might add. But Frank kept the pressure on and after a tense fight, landed a 24.25" BIG Gator Seatrout. Biggest of the year on the Angler's Mark and it lands Frank squarely in first place in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). The two anglers added two more 19" keeper Trout to their catch before the bite fell off.

We fished Seymore's Pointe briefly, had no real bites, then fished an large outflow where John wrapped things up with another Seatrout catch. It was a fine catching day, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Doubling Up

It seems like I've made Sawpit Creek my "home port"!  I met David Ehrler, his son Jack, and his dad Rich down at the south end ramp early this morning and we headed up the Nassau River and made the slightly longer run around to Pumkin Hill to set up with float rigs and minnows while David cast the fly rod off the stern. Neither live minnow or imitation shrimp fly picked up anything until we worked our way around to a point and BOOM! Both Rich and Jack had simultaneous hookups. They both reeled in a feisty Redfish to "knock the skunk off" and get a double, to boot!

We worked and edge in Pumkin, then ran over to Christopher Creek and switched to jigs. David had made an excellent cast to some rocks and after hookup, his drag began to sing. We knew it was a nice fish. David kept the pressure on and patiently worked it to the boat and landed a good Slot Redfish - his first. The tide was already going out so we skipped out of there and around to Seymore's Pointe.

I had made a "demo cast" and I as I handed the rod off, the float disappeared. Young Jack was on the rod and he fought the fish valiantly. The fish made a run or two but it was no match for Jack and he soon landed another nice Redfish.

We fished the Nassau River where David added a keeper sized Flounder to the catch, then he landed a Seatrout to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then Rich and Jack wrapped things up with another "double" this time hungry Seatrout. Everyone caught fish and we had some nice ones, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Out of the Park

After a day off and a good day of rest, I was back at it today, meeting Dana and Julie Simmons down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made the 15 minute run up to Jackstaff and began tossing float rigs and live shrimp with the tide still coming in. The first stretch of marsh didn't produce much but the second did. Between the two anglers, they caught a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a couple of Bonnethead Shark, and a Catfish.

We buzzed thru Horsehead and around to Pumpkin Hill and stuck with the float rigs for while. But when we got to a stretch of clear
bottom we switched to jigs and shrimp and within minutes, BOOM! Julie had a big fish on. She played it patiently and when we saw it flashed we all thought, "Slot Red", but as she worked it to the net we saw that it was a huge Seatrout, which we landed. It measured at 22", the biggest Trout caught to date on the Anglers Mark, knocking the competition "out of the park" to garner 1st Place in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  And shortly after that, Dana had a strong hookup. Again, I was thinking big Red, but when it never "boiled", I had some doubts. Dana fought it valiantly and eventually landed a massive Jack Crevalle. We worked the bank thoroughly, then headed out.

Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe, floating shrimp along some rocks and although we had nibbles, we had no takers.  We finished pitching jigs to dock pilings but were feeding the bait stealers, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Pick'n Up One Here and There

We fished an afternoon trip yesterday, meeting down at the south end ramp at 1pm with a tide that was about to hit bottom. I met George Youmans and his buddy William and we made the long run around to Broward Island on the Nassau. When we got there the SW wind was still pushing the water out but it was really low so we began to toss jigs and live shrimp and minnows up to the bank.  I don't think we got a real bite until the tide changed, but when it did, these two anglers picked up some fish. We didn't count the Toad fish as "skunk off the boat" but George's Seatrout sure counted! We worked up
and down the bank and caught a small Red or two, a small Sheepshead,  then William put a nice sized Seatrout in the boat -keeper size - but all fish caught today were released.

Our next stop was back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, pitching up to the dock pilings with jigs. The two anglers landed a couple of Croaker, a couple of Black "puppy" Drum and another small Redfish. We worked some oyster beds in the Nassau then came back to fish some rocks at Seymore's Pointe, here fishing a float rig.  George was working the float good and soon hooked up with what I thought was going to be our first big Mangrove Snapper of the year. When his drag began to rip, I thought surely it was just loose, but it turned out that this was a bigger fish! George worked it patiently to the boat and landed a Slot sized 22" Redfish!

We ran thru Horse head, fished the "bank" with float rigs to wrap things up. William tangles with a high flying Ladyfish and George put a couple of more Trout in the boat. Even though it was in the middle of Summer and in the middle of the day, we caught fish, and we weren't working! So we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

A Plethora of Fish

We had a pretty day that greeted us this morning when I met Drenner Tinsley and his adult sons Miles and Blake down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. There was a slight breeze blowing as we headed up the intercoastal with plans to dip into Jackstaff and then further up a creek. The three anglers started out tossing float rigs and live shrimp and mud minnows to some large marsh outflows on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours already. I don't think we had a nibble at that first spot so we moved across the creek and fished a marsh line. Drenner stayed with the float off the stern
while Blake and Miles began to fish jigs off the stern and we may have had a nibble or two then Blake hooked up and "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a fat Seatrout.

We crossed over to a submerged sandbar with all three anglers tossing jigs and it wasn't long before both Blake and Miles had hookups - we had a double!  Blake reeled in a feisty Redfish while Miles landed another Seatrout.

After running thru Horshead we made a stop at a likely dock and

here the action picked up.  Drenner got on the board when he landed a couple of Black "puppy" Drum then he put some rather large Croaker in the boat. Miles added a Drum then Drenner put a wayward Seabass in the boat.

We made a brief jaunt down to Broward Island. Miles hooked up with another Seatrout on his first cast - it hit just as his bait hit the bottom, but he wind was picking up, the current was still strong, and the fishing was really difficult. So we ran back to Seymore's Pointe and out of the wind and finished up when Miles caught a Flounder. We had a good variety of fish caught so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Fish Oversized!

We squeezed in a late afternoon trip yesterday, Mike DuBartell and I, meeting down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. At the time, we had partly cloudy skies and still some serious heat, but, it was time to fish! We headed up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff, first checking to see if the tide was going to get up for tailing Redfish (no) so we eased into a smaller creek and set up fishing with float rigs and live shrimp. The tide high and still coming in and even though Mike was getting excellent drifts, we had no real bites.

After running thru Horsehead we made a stop at some rocks at Seymore's Pointe, drifted the float, and again, no bites. Knowing that we had high water for a while, I thought it'd be a good idea to try Christopher Creek. After the short run we were tossing jigs and shrimp to the dock pilings and rocks. Mike noted that he had a bite or two, then he had strong bite and BAP! Leader broke!  But Mike kept at it and finally, BOOM! Big Fish On!  I thought it was odd that the fish boiled to the surface in 10" of water so quickly and even as quickly as Mike worked it to the boat. But when we saw that it was a huge Redfish I knew that the battle had just begun! Sure enough, the big fish began to make some surges to the bottom, but Mike kept the pressure on, working the fish left to right to left and he soon wore him out and landed an oversized 27.25" Redfish, boy what a fish! After pictures the fish was gently released to swim back to the depths. (All fish caught were released).

We worked the banks for a while, had some bites, landed another Slot Redfish, then moved on out of there before the tide dropped too much. We made another pit stop at the rock of Seymore's, had a few nibbles, and caught one "baitstealer" then we moved on down the Nassau River to fish some banks that were now beginning to expose oysters.

Mike was still tossing the jig rod, up current, and after one particular cast,  hooked up and landed a fat Seatrout.  He later tangled with a high flying Ladyfish. We had been keeping our eyes on the dark thunderstorms to the north of us and had having sprinkling rain for the last hour, but we never did get really wet, so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Islands, Florida.