Back In Action

I had scheduled my boat to be in the shop for a week to get it's 100 hour service and to get the tilt and trip motor fixed but I was back at it today, fishing with long time friends Alex and Laura Winter, their daughter Kelly and her boyfriend Keenan.  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the intercoastal and began fishing the mouth of Jackstaff with float rigs and live shrimp on the last of an incoming tide.  It didn't take long before all four anglers were making excellent casts and getting good drifts along the marsh line. They had a few nibbles here and there and finally it was Keenan
who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. But it didn't get much attention because Kelly had a strong bite and she was battling a Shark at the stern. But it made a quick rush and snapped the leader. We fished that bank fully and had a couple of Trout, another Shark bite and we picked  up one two small but feisty Reds.

We ran thru Horsehead and down to Pumkin Hill, still fishing an incoming tide and here Laura was the one with the big bite! Fish On!  The big fish took here bait and headed deep but Laura was up to the task and kept the pressure on, battling the fish around the stern of the boat and working it up to th surface for the catch, some quick pictures, and release. An epic battle!

Both Alex and Laura landed another couple of Reds then we headed over to Christopher Creek to catch that high tide and we switched to jig rigs, with shrimp on the bottom. Kelly put a huge Blue Crab in the boat as we worked along some docks but when we got over to small lagoon things really heated up. Kelly had a strange bite and after she gave it a second or two, she set the hook expertly and had a hookup. She worked to the boat patiently and soon landed a nice 18" keeper sized Flounder. Only a minute later, Alex had the same bite and he too put a 17" keeper flounder in the boat. Alex worked the area thoroughly and landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum and another Redfish or two.

We made another couple of stops but the sun was up and it was getting rather warm, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

2nd Biggest....so far

Things are heating up in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. It was just this past Monday when Bob Blalock moved in to 2nd place with a 31" Oversized Red, but it was topped today, by a smidgeon, just four days later!  I had met Bart Mathews and his buddy Steve down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with the tide low and still going out. We ran west and up the Nassau River and made our first stop along some shell beds and began to pitch jigs and mud minnows up current. We slowly worked the bank, had a few bites and picked up a small fish or two. After
hitting one more marsh runout, we moved on to some docks at Seymore's Pointe.

The two anglers were making excellent casts to the dock pilings and right off, Bart had a strong bite and, Fish ON!  But the fish quickly wrapped around a piling and, Fish OFF! Ouch, boy that hurts! They kept fishing and Steve hooked up and landed a large Croaker. We fished a few docks up the way and after Bart had one of his minnows stolen, he went back to the same spot, felt the bump, set the hook, and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder (all fish caught today were released).

Our last stop was down at Broward Island and here, with the tide still going out, both anglers landed a handful of small but feisty Redfish. Bart was fishing a pocket between a stump and some limbs and his bait had gotten out deep when , BOOM! Fish On!  He worked it out from the trees and kept the pressure on as it made some deep, hard runs. It turned out it was bigger than we initially thought! But Bart was up to the task and eventually landed a big 31.5" Oversized Red which put Bart squarely in 2nd place in the Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  Boy what a fish! 

We fished up and down the island and not too long later Steve had a good hookup. He fought his fish to the boat and landed a nice Red that was just a tad bit undersized, but a beautiful copper color.  The sun was up, it was hot, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

You know it's summertime when you catch just about every species that could be caught. That was today's highlight when I fished with the Smith Fishing Team - Mark and Katie and Zach. I had met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we ran up the intercoastal and began fishing the mouth of Jackstaff with jigs and live shrimp on the last of an outgoing tide. Mark started things off with a WHITING catch, then Katie landed a big CATFISH, then Mark hooked up and landed a SEATROUT.  We crossed over the river and fished a sandbar point and here Katie landed a STINGRAY,
mark added a keeper sized FLOUNDER the Katie successfully fought a BONNETHEAD SHARK to the net.  Mark added another couple of hungry Seatrout to the catch.

We ran thru Horsehead and around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and fished some pilings with the jigs. Zach got on the board when he landed a feisty BLACK DRUM, and at the same time, Mark landed one, too.

We ran down to Broward Island and fished the logs and here Zach

hooked up and landed probably the biggest Redfish of the day. Then Katie caught a sneaky SHEEPSHEAD and Zach followed that up with one of his on. Katie finished that spot off with a Redfish and Trout catch of her on and Mark added a couple of Redfish.

Our last stop was along some flooding shell beds on the incoming tide and here Mark caught another Red and tangled with a high flying LADYFISH.  Although we didn't boat any real big fish, we had a good variety and it made for another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Biggest Fish Ever

It's great to do a "father/daughter" fishing trip and today I had Gary Krantz and his daughter Madison meet me down at the south end ramp, early.  After tossing the cast net for finger mullet, we made the run up the intercoastal and then into Jackstaff, turned into the incoming tide, and began to fish the bank with jigs and dead shrimp.  It only took Madison a few minutes and she was then making excellent casts. I saw that she had made one about 5 feet from the shore and it seemed like it had just hit the water when she had a big fish on!  She fought it to the boat an landed a big 18" Seatrout - the biggest fish
she'd ever caught!

We fished down the bank and both anglers landed a couple of feisty Redfish then Madison reeled in a small Flounder to claim and "Amelia Island Back Country Slam" of Seatrout, Redfish, and Flounder. She also netted some of her dad's catches.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island to fish the first of the incoming tide there. We didn't get a whole lot of bites until Gary had made a pinpoint cast to the bank, let it sank, then slowly worked it back and, BOOM! Big fish on!  He played it perfectly and soon landed a big 20" Seatrout. (All fish caught today were released).  We moved down the island, fished some logs and caught a couple of more Redfish. The sun was up, the island was blocking the breeze and with some nice catches under our belt, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Where's Your Rods?

There was only a slight breeze when Bob Blalock and I left the dock at Goffinsville Park and headed down the Nassau River. Although there was a bit of overcast skies, when we eased the throttle down on the north end of Broward Island I could tell that even the breeze was blocked by the island and I had this contented feeling that we were going to have a great start to a fishing day until Bob raised the question, "where's your rods?"  Oh lordy. I had left them in the truck. Ouch. We buzzed back to the ramp, I ran up to the truck and retrieved the rods - we surely needed them- then we headed back to Broward and set up outside an outflow to fish

with jigs and shrimp.

We had pretty good action, catching small Reds, small Trout, a small Black Drum and a small Flounder to quickly garner an "Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam". We worked the bank with jigs and caught a fish here and there, but nothing of any size.  The tide finally started back in so we moved up to the north end and within a few casts Bob had a good bite. This one was pulling drag and sure enough, when landed, turned out to be a nice 19" Slot fish.  We had few  more smaller fish before we headed back down the Nassau.

Our next stop was along some flooding oysters and here we had  short flurry of fish catches - a Red, a Croaker and a Catfish. After that we buzzed thru Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff. Bob was getting good drifts with a float rig and shrimp and it paid off. He landed a good 18" keeper sized Seatrout and a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle. All fish caught today were released (even the bloody Red - it lived in the live well for 3 hours and then swam off when released) We caught a bunch of fish once we had our rods and it made for a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Stroke of Billiance

We had a beautiful day this morning when I met Bob Blalock up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp - the weekend was over and the crowds diminished so I thought it'd be fun to fish "north" today. The tide was low and coming in so we made the quick run over to Tiger to fish the logs and we got some good bites right off fishing jigs and live shrimp - catching a couple of small Reds, small Croaker, a small Black Drum..and so on. We were about to leave but made one last effort at the north end of the island and BOOM!
Bob had a strong hookup, a good fight, and landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. He went back to the same bank and BOOM! Another Slot Redfish, this one at around 21".  Hanging around paid off.

After a short run up to the Jolley to fish the "bank",  turned in to the current (what little there was) and began working back with float rigs and live shrimp. Although we had a few nibbles, we had no real takers until we were back at the mouth and here Bob hooked up and
landed a couple of small but feisty Redfish. He also reeled up a corroded spinning reel!

Further up the Jolley we made a stop along some flooded grass and the conditions looked ripe for fishing catching!  Sure enough, after Bob had made an excellent cast with his float rig and live shrimp to a grass clump, he picked up a small but feisty Red, then another, then a Seatrout, then a Red. We worked up the bank and held at a point and I think it was Bob's first drift when his float disappeared with a vengeance and, Fish ON! He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a fat keeper sized Seatrout. He went back to the same spot and something took his bait and kept going and going and GONE!  It only took a drift or two and BOOM! Big Fish On!  Bob fought it expertly and soon landed another Slot Red, this one measuring in at 23" - a very nice fish.

We made one last run back to Tiger, thru Tiger Basin and around to Bell River and set up alongside a point. Bob was drifting his shrimp up near the grass and picked up a feisty Red right off the bat. After that, he got one nibble after another, feeding shrimp to a "bait stealer" and just before we left Bob had a "Stroke of Brilliance". We had some mud minnows in the well and hadn't used them all day so Bob baited one up and pitched it close. He had a nibble again, reeled it up, tossed it back and WOW! Both Bob and I saw a huge copper flash come up and engulf his minnow and BIG BIG Fish on!  We couldn't believe that what we saw was a Red- it seemed so big. Bob took his time, fought it to the boat, after working it around not one, but two crab traps, and landed a big 31" Oversized Red - the 2nd biggest of year caught on the Anglers Mark and setting Bob up in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. Boy what a fish and a fight!

Action Packed Fishing

I met the Gasparini crew - Robin, Kathleen, Wendy and Harriet - down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning early and we made the quick run up the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff on a low but incoming tide. We had three anglers forward tossing jigs and live shrimp while Harriet fished the stern with a float rig. I think it was first cast when Harriet's float disappeared, she hooked up, and landed a nice Redfish. Meanwhile, Robin had set the hook on a fat Seatrout. Now that's the way to start a day of fishing. It seemed we had non-stop action for over an hour fishing just one stretch of

water. There were two or three Bonnethead Shark hookups, battles, and "quick releases" at boat side. We had a couple of more Seatrout catches, a couple more "feisty Redfish" catches, then finally, after Kathleen had made an excellent cast to a grass pocket, BOOM! Big Redfish On!  She played it perfectly and soon landed a nice Slot sized Redfish.

We buzzed thru Horsehead and down to Pumpkin Hill and set up along a flooding marsh line, the tide still coming in. All anglers

were now tossing float rigs, Kathleen out the back and sure enough, after a nice drift along the shoreline, BOOM! Big Trout in the boat! Robin was fishing the bow and picked up a couple of smaller Reds, Wendy and Harriet were getting good drifts and picked up a couple of smaller Reds, then again, Kathleen out the back, BOOM! A bigger 20" Seatrout caught and landed. After Wendy put a hard fighting Bonnethead in the boat, we headed back but made one more stop along down the Nassau River.

Robin was on the bow and got a good cast up to a marsh point and as it drifted by her float disappeared with a vengeance. She took up slack, lifted the rod, and let the circle hook do its job - Fish ON!  Robin played it patiently  and when it boiled up we knew it was another Slot Redfish. She fought it perfectly and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish. Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

One Last Stop

I was back at it today, fishing with my cousin Ryan Garner, his father-in-law Brian, and brother-in-law Blake, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made a short run up the Nassau River and made a stop alongside a flooding shell bank and began to toss float rigs up current.  It took a few minutes but finely, Blake "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Brian quickly added a Catfish, then all three anglers got into some small but fun-to-catch Redfish.  The boated and released a good handful.

We ran further up the Nassau, stopped at Seymore's rocks, drifted them thoroughly, had not bites, and moved on.  Our next stop was down at Pumkin Hill and even though each angler was making excellent casts we only got a few nibbles, then Brian, fishing the stern, had his float disappear and , Fish ON!  He played it patiently and soon landed a big 20" Seatrout.

Our next stop was up in Christopher Creek where we switched to jigs and fished some docks....and found one feisty Redfish. We came back out, made a quick run down to Broward Island and fished with jigs and float rigs and I think we picked up one small Seatrout.  "If you're not catching fish, move!" So we did, back to Seymore's Pointe, with the tide just staring out. I'm pretty sure we saw at least two big boils from Redfish feeding but they wouldn't take our bait. The sun was up and it was getting hot but we decided to run thru Horsehead and over to Jackstaff.

After pulling up and putting the bow into the current, Blake had made an excellent cast to a shallow pocket and BOOM! Big Fish On!  He fought it perfectly and after a good battle landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. Brian went to the same area and BOOM!  Another nice Slot Redfish. Ryan went to the same spot and BOOM! Another nice Slot Redfish! There were definitely a few smaller Reds caught in between and after the "trio".  It made for a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flounder Man

It would probably sound better if it was pronounced with an Arnold Schwarzenegger
accent...:Flounda Mann"....Mike's new name after today's fishing trip! I had met Steve Frost and his brother-in-law Mike down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. There weren't too many clouds in the sky, we had just a slight breeze, it seemed like the temperature was somewhat cooler, and there was definitely less humidity in the air -a perfect day to do some backwater fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

However, after we had run up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and fished for about 45
minutes, we only had a couple of small, but fat Seatrout to show for our efforts. We ran thru Jackstaff and fished a point of grass that seemed to be the perfect ambush pointe, but again, no real bites.

After dropping down the Nassau and fishing some flooded shell beds on the outgoing tide, Mike finally had a subtle bite, hooked up, and landed a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder. Steve got busy catching  some small but fun-to-catch Redish then Mike landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. At least we were getting some action. We moved up a ways, switched to jigs, and caught another couple of the small Reds. Steve was pitching forward on the stern and had found that he was getting his bites deeper as the bottom dropped off and after an excellent cast to his edge, BOOM! Big fish on! He fought the fish from the bow and down the starboard to the stern, around the stern, and back to the bow, keeping the pressure on, and after a good battle, landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish.

We fished the rocks at Seymore's and here Mike put another keeper Flounder in the boat, along with a small Redfish. We wrapped up fishing some docks, tossing jigs, and when Mike felt a strange bump, he reeled tight, set the hook, and landed his biggest Flounder of the day, a nice 18" fish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Big Three

The Blalock's, William and Dara, are heading home, but not after squeezing in one more fishing trip in the backwaters of Amelia Island. I met them early this morning out at Goffinsville and we quickly made the run over to Pumkin Hill to fish an outgoing tide along some shell banks with float rigs an live shrimp. Both Dara and William were making excellent casts, the water was beautiful, the sun was coming up, there was a nice breeze, but the fish didn't cooperate, at all! We had no real bites.

Being in the area, we decided to bounce down to Broward Island. The current was ripping, which I don't much care for at that spot, but William took the bow and pitched a jig and shrimp to a large marsh run out while Dara fished a large stump with the jig. William "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hungry Seatrout. Dara was just getting a nibbler or two so she switched to a float rig and cast to some calm water next to the bank and that was all it took. She began to catch one Redfish after the other. While she was doing that William picked up a Sheepshead, and maybe another Trout, then as he let his jig bounce along
the bottom with the current, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Except Dara and I didn't think it was of much size, but when William said it was a nice fish, we made room for him. He fought the fish to the stern, kept the pressure on, and soon landed an oversized 28" Redfish!  After photo's, he went lowered him over the side and he was gone with a thrash.

Our next stop was back down the Nassau River, fishing some marsh runouts, and boy how things changed from yesterday. Although Dara landed a feisty Red or two, it was nothing like yesterdays dozens.  We moved up and fished some more shell beds off of Seymore's Pointe, then fished some docks at Seymore's where Dara caught some Croaker -on of which had some size to it - then we dropped back and fished an abandoned dock. Both anglers were working their jigs along the pilings when William had a strong hookup and BAP, fish gone! Ouch! We worked around to the other side, and just as we were about to move on, William was reeling his bait up
when a big fish hit and went deep. This fish was fighting hard and making hard lunges deep. But William was up to the task and after a good battle landed a big 19" Triple Tail! Whoo Whoo, we don't see those too often!

The sun was up and it was getting late in the morning but we decided to fish a few more docks and it paid off. Dara had just made a perfect cast along some free-standing pilings and had no takers but when William followed her in he had a hard THUMP, and a big Flounder came thrashing to the surface - it was BIG! William fought it to the boat and landed a 22" Doormatt Flounder - the biggest caught on the Anglers Mark this year and it places William squarely in the lead in the 2018 Bragging Rights Tournament -Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.