Bite From The Start

I think today was the prettiest morning we've had all month! It was cool, clear, and we had just a tad bit of wind when we left the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. I had met Freya and Dan Phillips early and we headed north and west to make our first stop up the Jolley River and after we unlimbered our float rigs, baited them with live shrimp, we began to toss up current and it was Game On! The two anglers began to catch one fish after another - a mix of Seatrout and Redfish with the Reds up near the still covered oysters and the Trout out just a bit.  Although most of them were small, we did get one keeper sized Trout then Ray hooked up, battled, and
landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish.

We moved up to Snook Creek, fished the now exposed oysters, then made the jump around to the MOA and here we caught another good handful of Trout, now fishing with jigs and live Shrimp. Our next stop was around at soime docks in Bell River and it was Freya who found that pitching the jig up current would catch the Trout. I even picked up a rod and all three of us were catching fish.  Freya put the biggest Trout in the boat - a 18" fish, and Ray put a keeper sized Weakfish in the box. We hit two or three docks, added a keeper Flounder, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Batttling the Breeze for the win!

We did an afternoon trip today when I met Mike Baker and his dad Larry up at the north end ramp at 1pm.  There was a NE wind blowing at 13mph, but it was clear skies and just a tad bit cool so we decided we'd take on the challenge.  Our first stop was up Bell River just a ways and the "demo" cast produced a nice Seatrout catch - "where'd the float go"!  We were drifting live shrimp under a float rig on a high and incoming tide - not necessarily my favorite - but we caught a few Trout on either side of grassy pointe.

We then ran around and up into Lanceford Creek
and fished a grass patch. Larry was drifting his float right up to the grass and we both saw it slowly go under, Larry lifted his rod and the circle hook set and, Fish On!  Larry worked it expertly to the boat and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Mike was fishing out beyond the grass and picked up Seatrout. We worked it pretty good and got a good handful of Trout and Reds.

After moving down just a bit we fished a seawall with some grass along the edge and really got into some fish, many which were of "keeper" size. Larry was working the grass and found a honey hole and Mike was fishing up near some tree branches and was catching is share,too.

We then ran down past Rayonier and fished "Temptation Cove" and picked up another few Trout of keeper size.  Our last stop was back at Tiger Island, fishing the logs with jigs and here Larry caught our final keeper Trout and then put a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum in the boat.   The sun was heading down and we had some fish to clean so we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big and Bigger at Amelia Island

I fished again with Steve Locke and his fishing buddy Jason, meeting them down at the  south end
ramp on a cool, clear and sunny morning. We made a short run up the Nassau River and made a stop along an exposed shell bed on a tide that was still going out with about 2 hours until it hit bottom.
(Note, there were anglers at the ramp fishing jigs and white grubs with chartreuse tails and they were tearing up the Trout!).  We were pitching jigs and shrimp to the bank and these two were making excellent casts, but we didn't get even a hard bite, which surprised me.

But after running just a couple of hundred yards up the river and hitting the Spot Lock, Jason caught fire, bumping his jig/shrimp down the bottom, and began to catch one Seatrout after another. I followed him in with a grub and jig but didn't have a decent bite. Jason when go back in and pick a fish up. Go figure.

We then ran up to Seymore's Pointe and set up current from some dock pilings. Steve got on the board with a strong hookup and after working the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice 16" Black 'puppy" Drum. He followed that up

with a keeper sized Seatrout, then Jason reeled in another keeper sized Drum.

Our next stop was even further up the Nassau where we fished some exposed oysters, still on an outgoing tide, and things got busy! Jason landed a Slot sized Redfish then it was Steve's turn on the stern to catch Seatrout. Between the two of them, they put two more keeper Trout in the boat with Jason's being the biggest, measuring at 18".  The wind was picking up but we were so close to Broward Island as the tide began to turn we decided to give it a try and it paid off.  This was where Steve got on the Bragging Rights board with a big oversized Redfish catch last month and sure enough, BOOM! Big fish on again. He fought it to the boat after several "boils" and Jason netted the 28" oversized Red for pictures and release.  After putting a keeper sized Sheepshead in the box, Steve had another strong hookup - another oversized Red we were thinking? But no, after an excellent fight, Steve landed a "Tournament Sized" 26.5" Slot Redfish.

By now the west wind was really howling and the river was white capping so we ran back to the safety of Seymore's Pointe, fished some docks, picked up one more Trout, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

(Grande) Slam Before the Storm

We were luck today to be able to squeeze in a back water fishing trip before the rain and winds hit this afternoon. I had met Jeff and Lori Stuart up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning. We had sunny skies and just a light wind which made for a great morning to get out on the water.

Our first stop was over at the outside of Tiger Island, fishing float rigs and live shrimp and I think it was first cast that we hooked up. Lori reeled in a hungry Seatrout. But we didn't get much after that.  After buzzing thru Tiger and
around to Bell River we set up and again, we picked up a Trout or two, and a Bluefish.

The next stop was at in Lanceford Creek to fish a "grass patch" - Millies Spot to be exact, and again, we caught some small but fun-to-catch Seatrout.  We moved over a seawall, still floating the live shrimp. Jeff was freelining his back around some tree branches and commented that a fish should be there and sure enough, BAM, Fish on!

We moved back to Soap Creek and again, caught a few Trout. Our last stop was back at Eagans Creek, fishing some dock pilings. The oysters were just starting to show on the outgoing tide. We were pitching jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and also drifting a slip float out deeper. A big Trout took that and Lori worked it in to the net -fish in the box! Lori also hooked  up and caught a feisty Redfish. Then Jeff got in on the action after making a perfect cast up between two pilings. His rod bent double and he had a big one on!  Jeff worked it out from the pilings, applied the pressure, and brought to the net a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. He went back to the same spot and pulled out another one, this one even bigger!  Lori added a Drum to her resume then followed that up with a small Sheepshead to round out her Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Seatrout, Red Drum, Black Drum and Sheephead. We fished until we were out of shrimp then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. EDIT, Lori and Jeff sent this pic of their catch after it was cooked! Sure looks good!

Trout, Trout, and More Trout

I think it was Sue who had purchased a gift certificate last year for her husband Lewis Welch as a gift and today that redeemed it and what a glorious day did they pick! I met them down at the south end ramp and we then made along run up Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up at a grassy island with plans to fish float rigs and live shrimp. The duo began to catch Seatrout and it was Fish On! for quite a while. I was a tad bit surprised as we had a high tide and it was still coming in and flooding the grass.

Sue battled a nice 3' Bonnethead Shark to the net and the couple slowly built up a nice mess o'
keeper Trout in the box.  We fished both sides of a grassy pointe and as the tide came to a standstill, the bite fell off to nothing.

So we buzzed back to Seymore's Pointe where Lewis quickly picked up a Seatrout, then Sue drifted her float back a ways and picked up another couple herself.  That died off so we made the short run down to Spanish Drop and began fishing back thru the current and again, the fish turned on. Sue caught and landed a couple of nice Redfish, one of which was of Slot size and both she and Lewis landed more Trout, and a couple of nice sized Bluefish.  I know thru out the trip we had at least two "double hookups".

The temperatures were just right, the fish catching was almost non-stop, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Redfish, Seatrout, Flounder, Jacks, Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel- the whole shebang!

We beat a front coming thru by a day when I met Ed Brown and his fishing partner Scott down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp today. After making a short run up the Nassau River we made a stop at Spanish Drop and began fishing a flooded shell bank on a  high and outgoing tide with float rigs and mud minnows for bait.  Scott "knocked the skunk off" with a Redfish catch and Ed followed that up with a Seatrout catch. Then Scott had a bite and a fish that stayed up at the bank - a Slot sized Red for sure! He worked it to the boat and landed a nice 20" fish. 

We worked that bank then moved up a few hundred yards and fished a large marsh runout with jigs and minnows  and it was like fishing in a barrel!  The two anglers traded back and forth, putting 14.5" Seatrout in the boat one after the other. Then Scott hooked up, had his drag rip, and battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net. He followed that up with a nice keeper sized Spanish Mackerel that had lost its way, then it was Ed's turn to fight a big fish, which he did admirably - and landed a big hard fighting Blue fish.



Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's

Pointe, pitching jigs and minnows to the pilings base. This duo was making excellent casts but I think we should have had some shrimp, because we had no real bites other than one lone Seatrout.

After running down to Pumpkin Hill, we made stop just past it and fished a bank where the oysters were just beginning to show and for 15-20 minutes it was Redfish On! Ed battled another Sot Redfish to the boat, the Scott hooked up and landed an even bigger one. Then they both hooked up and we had a double!  Our final stop was down at Broward Island and here Scott wrapped things up with a couple of Flounder catches that were of keeper size. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. Follow up reports that the two anglers were able to treat their ladies to some fresh caught fish at one of our fine local restaurants!

New Spot

I got a 2nd trip in today with the Blalock fishing team, this time with William and his fishing partner Bryan and we met out at the Goffinsville Park as the sun came up. We headed over to Broward Island and fished the north end...but the tide was still going out so we headed to the south end and this did the trick.  Bryan commented that we had good action right off - catching Seatrout, Redfish, and Flounder. We even had a big one on that was wiley enough to play "possum" until it got under the boat, then it made a dash for the bow, went around the trolling motor and, BAP! fish off! But we fished that area for a while and added another Redfish or two.

We then came back around to Spanish Drop and fished some flooding oysters, first with jigs, then with float rigs and basically caught Ladyfish, the "poor man's tarpon".

I thought about heading back to Pumkin Hill so I cut across from Spanish to Middle River and started up it but the bank with little grassy islands was looking so good we pulled up and began to work along the shore. Both Bryan and William hooked up and landed Seatrout, then William had a strong hookup and, Fish On!  This one was ripping drag and made it's way up into the marsh grass and sure enough, locked down tight.  But William played it delicately, I backed down towards the grassy, the fish came out and the battle was back on!  William worked it slowly to the boat and landed a nice 25" Slot sized Redfish.  Boy what a battle! 

We worked along that bank for a while, picking up another Trout or two, and a hard fighting Jack Crevalle before the water got way up in the grass, and with that, we called it a day, with a new spot in our back pocket, and another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Hookup With a Backwater Redfish

The Georgia Bulldog invasion is here!  I met Bob Blalock, his son William and his in-laws Tommy and Martha up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early - before the sun came up - with plans to get in some top water lure action as we hit our first spot, which happened to be up at the Jolley River on an tide that had been coming in a few hours.

Bob and William were on the bow tossing the topwaters while
Tommy and Martha fished the stern. The top waters did have a "spit" or two at them but no takers. Tommy knocked the skunk off with a Seatrout catch and shortly after that Martha hooked up and reeled one in.

We ran up the river and fished another marsh line. Now, every one was fishing a float rig with minnows. We had only been fishing just a short time when Tommy, after making an excellent cast, had a big bite, and Fish On!  We could tell right off that it was a big fish - the
drag was ripping and the fish stayed close to shore for a while. Then Tommy worked it to the boat and I was thinking, "well, not so big" but then it saw the boat and off it went. From then on it was a battle  But Tommy was up to the task and worked it patiently to the boat and finally landed a big 26.25" Slot Redfish. Boy what a fish! 

Our next stop was back towards the mouth of Jolley and although we didn't have a whole lot of action, William did land our first keeper sized Seatrout.  We fished the outside of Tiger where we caught a couple of more Trout, then poked around some flats looking for tailing Reds. Our final stop was over in the Bell River where we had some bites here and there and then Bob hooked up and boated a big 19" Seatrout.  Although it was unseasonably warm for October ( I heard on the radio it was approaching record highs) it was a beautiful day and a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament 2019 Results

The Amelia Island Guides Association wrapped up the 2019 Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament this past weekend, with a record turnout of 94 entries!  Participants attended the Captain's Meeting on Friday evening, hosted by the Amelia Island Marina and enjoyed food and beverages provided by newly opened Kitchen 251.   Ms. Kallie Santos was representing the Folds of Honor Foundation and gave a heartwarming story of how she became involved with the Folds of Honor.

After AIGA President Capt. Brian Soucy thanked all the Sponsors, the rules were briefly reviewed, raffle tickets were drawn, and then anglers went on their way to prep their boats and tackle and get their game plan together for an early morning start to fishing.

On Saturday, anglers were allowed to begin to bringing their catch in by 11am. The most Spots on a legal Redfish would take home over $1600 in the adult division and it was a close race that went down to the wire.

The Adult Winners were:
 4th Tonia Hamlin       11 spots
 3rd Clint Davis           12 spots
 2nd James Cadell        13 spots
 1st Traveler Kolletar   15 spots

The Youth Winners were:
 4th Tyler Gillette         2 spots
 3rd Eli Smith               3 spots
 2nd Jace Lacosse         4 spots
 1st  Wesley Keen        6 spots

Florida Fishing Products representatives Cael Wilson and Robby Lacey  manned the first annual Casting Competition while displaying some of their new reels and products. There was fierce competition right up to cut-off time and it was Cooper Pinckney who took home the winner honors - a Florida Fishing Products Osprey 3000 spinning reel AND Bragging Rights for a whole year!

The tournament wrapped up with awards (and check) presentations, closing of an outstanding Silent Auction, final raffle drawings, and a big ticket raffle of a 2 night stay at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation.

The Net Floats!

It's Florida/Georgia week and Greg Brown and his fishing partner Eddie were in town to take in the festivities and game and had pre-planned an Amelia Island back country fishing trip for this morning. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a short run up the Nassau River to make our first stop at a flooding marsh line. 

The duo began pitching jigs and shrimp (and a few minnows) at a bend in the river. We had some bites, but no takers. As we approached some flooded oysters we switched to floats and drifted our baits over the top and this did the
trick. Greg put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat then they began to catch some Trout.  About the time I'd think about moving, they'd get another fish.

We finally buzzed down to Pumpkin Hill and fished a grassy island and here Eddie put a nice keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  Greg added another keeper then Eddie added one more.  Then Eddie's float slowly went under and I was thinking a Redfish had nibbled it but after Eddie had expertly worked it to the net, we saw that it was a nice keeper sized Flounder.

We fished around the corner to no avail, tried Christopher Creek with jigs, poked into some flooded marsh flats, then came back around to Seyomore's Pointe. Eddie picked up a Trout on a float rig at "One Trout Hole", then we fished some docks with jigs, but only got some "baitstealers". It was a really nice day to be on the water and a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.