Big Fish Rally

I fished this morning with the Prophater family, Kristen and Zach and their kids Wilder and Sawyer, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours so when we made our way up the Nassau River, we fished with float rigs and live shrimp to the bank. Zach struck right off when he hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout, then Wilder followed that up with a hungry Flounder.  Sawyer decided to go to a jig and shrimp on the bottom and it paid off with a couple of Catfish catches, one of which was pretty big!

We moved further up the Nassau and here Wilder put another Catfish in the boat and Sawyer added a keeper sized Whiting (all fish caught today were released). We then made our way on up to Seymore's Pointe and fished a marshy pointe. Kristen got hot, landing a couple of Mangrove Snapper, one of which was fairly large, then she tangled with high flying Ladyfish and brought it to the boat. Wilder had gone to the jig and shrimp, pitching back to some dock pilings, and here he caught two feisty Black "puppy" Drum.

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill. We had caught a good handful of fish all morning long and as the team fished their floats up near the bank I was thinking that things "looked right" and, BOOM! Kristen's float had disappeared and when she tightened up on the line, the drag began to rip,and, Fish On!  This was a big fish! The fish boiled up near the bank a couple of times in shallow water but Kristen kept the pressure on and we worked it out to deeper water where the battle ensued. Although the fish ran deep a number of times it was no match for Kristen as she applied the pressure and slowly worked it to the net for landing. The fish measured right at 31.5", way oversized, but a great fish for a family picture.

We were about to wrap things up when Kristen was drifting her float across some submerged oysters and again, BOOM!  It wasn't quite as big and I was calling "smaller Redfish". Kristen handed the rod off to Sawyer who brought it to the boat, a BIG 23.25" Seatrout, boy what a fish. And with that ,we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

New Lure Finished

Just completed, handcrafted out of Heart Pine, $35 includes handcrafted stand:

Hot Morning Good Fishing with Friends

After an early morning run to St. Mary's, Ga to haul a kayaker participating in the Cross The Line Foundation fundraiser, I met Todd Johnson and his fishing buddy at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp for a mid-morning start. It was already getting warm but these two anglers were eager to get out on the water and enjoy spending some time fishing the back waters of Amelia Island.

We made a quick run over to the outside of Tiger Island and fished some marsh grass on the first of an outgoing tide with live shrimp under a fixed float. Although we didn't catch anything big we did "knock the skunk off" with a few hungry Seatrout catches. We then buzzed thru Tiger, around to Bell, and up the Lanceford to fish a small grassy island. Here, Brady hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder that went in the box.

After that we came back to Soap Creek, fished a run out, BOOM! Trout on!  It wasn't big but boy did it happen quick. We moved up the bank and both anglers found a small Redfish to tangle with, then Todd had a stronger hookup, one that pulled some drag, and after a good battle landed a Slot sized Redfish.

Back to Lanceford, fishing some docks and here Todd got into some small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum. Being a weekend there were tons of boats and anglers out on the water so we decided to make the long run up the Bell River and have the area to ourselves. We had just been fishing one set of dock pilings when Brady felt a "bump", set the hook, and hooked up with an even bigger Flounder to go into the box!

Our final stop was around in the Jolley, fishing the MOA. There was ton's of bait getting "popped" but they didn't like what we were presenting, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Redfsh On Beautiful Day

It was an absolutely gorgeous day this morning when I met Phil Nichols, his sons Sam and Ben and father-in-law Doc down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a long run up Middle River and around to Pumkin Hill and set up with float rigs and live shrimp on the last of an incoming tide. The guys were making good casts to the bank and letting their baits drift with the current and Sam quickly "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. He followed that up with another then as Doc drifted his bait off the stern, his float slowly disappeared and BOOM! Big Fish On! This fish was ripping drag, boiling up shallow, then it headed north, headed south and headed deep. Doc kept the pressure on and slowly worked it to the boat and finally, after a long battle, landed an oversized 31.5" Redfish, big enough to move him into a tie for third place in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a fish!

We continued to fish the marsh grass and Phil and Ben got in on the action by catching and landing a Seatrout of their own. We then fished Spanish Drop for a while, move up and fished some more, then ran thru Horsehead to fish the entrance for a bit before calling it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Redfish Blow Out at Amelia Island

The cool morning temperatures continued today, but the wind had died a bit making for some great fishing weather here at Amelia Island when I met the Yeager boys, Keith and his sons Reece and Reener, up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park. It was a high tide and just started out so we buzzed over to the outside of Tiger and fished a shallow area with oysters underneath. It didn't take long for Reece to "knock the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  We fished a bit of that stretch and picked up a high flying Ladyfish before we moved across the way.




We trolled along a marsh line, tossing float rigs with live shrimp and
BOOM! Renner had a strong hookup. This fish was ripping drag and boiling up near the shore but Renner kept the pressure on, played it perfectly and brought a big 23" Slot Redfish to the net. From then on we were catching fish.  Reece put a Slot Red in the boat then Keith followed that up with one of his own. When that slowed we moved across a creek and Keith found another Slot Red up near the grass. We moved back across to the previous spot and, Fish ON!  Another Redfish or two!  Things finally slowed so we made the run thru Tiger, down the Bell, up Lanceford and into Soap Creek.

We had just set up and began tossing to the mouth of a large runout and the anglers had hookups. Seatrout this time, small, but fun to catch. After working up the bank to a small grass/oyster island, Keith had made a cast to the back side of it and Boom! Fish On - Another Slot Redfish. Both Renner and Reece had hookups and caught fish, too. We dropped back and fished the runout and here Keith hooked up and landed a big 18" Seatrout.

Our final stop was back at Bell River, working a bank, and here Renner took a turn and battling a Ladyfish to the boat. Reece had a brief encounter with a Shark before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

That Log Is Shaking His Head

I fished yesterday afternoon with the Blalock's, William and
Dara, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp on a low and incoming tide. We scooted across the river to Tiger Island and began fishing the logs with jigs and shrimp and mud minnows. The first fish caught was a small Flounder and as we worked along the bank, both anglers were tossing tight to the pockets, risking a hang up, but covering every nook and cranny. William had already snagged rather large limb and we pulled it in, hand over hand to dislodge the jig. Minutes later he went back to "V" in a log, let the jig and minnow drop, and felt a snag. He began to ease it towards the boat and the "log" began to shake it's head! Fish On!  William slowly worked it to the boat and we saw it was a huge Flounder. William took his time and eased it to the net - it was shaking its head the whole way - but we netted and brought it to the boat to measure at 23" - boy what a Flounder and big enough to take the lead in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament -Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings)

We worked along the bank and picked up another small Flounder, then it was Dara's turn to tangle with a nice Flounder. She worked it to the boat and landed a good 17" Flounder.  We fished up to a large oyster bed and we all noticed that the water was sweeping thru a cut and as the two anglers began to toss their baits forward, they had hookups.  Dara landed a feisty Redfish and William landed another couple of Flounder.

We fished across the way for a bit, then headed up to the Jolley. The wind had died as the afternoon waned and the conditions seemed almost perfect to be fishing. We fished 2-3 marsh lines, found some Brook Trout sized Seatrout, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

More Handcrafted Lures Finished

Black Drum Under the Docks

Back to "work" today, fishing with Trip and Rona Huey when I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. It was a tad bit chilly this morning as we ran up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to fish some flooded marsh grass on a  high and outgoing tide with live shrimp under floats.  We had a few nibbles and some good bites and Rona caught a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  We fished a couple of lines of marsh then we made the run back to Seymore's Pointe where we set up fishing some rocks with the float rigs. Rona landed a Mangrove Snapper then Trip had a good hookup, played it perfectly to the boat, and had a keeper size Flounder out of the water when it threw the hook! Ouch!

We moved around the corner and fished some docks  and again, had some good bites. Then finally, we had a strong hookup. Rona was on the rod and patiently worked to the boat and landed a nice 18" keeper sized Black Drum. We added to the catch another Mangrove, this one of keeper size.

Our final stop was down at Spanish Drop - again we had bites -then, as Trip drifted his float up near the grass, boom! He had a hookup. Trip worked it to the boat and landed a hard fighting Redfish, one that was just slightly under the slot size. The weather had warmed just a bit, we had caught some fish, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wildlife Spotting's Top The Morning

I wrapped my week up yesterday fishing with David Barnett and his son Brahm, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early with plans to fish the last of an outgoing tide. We made a run over to Soap Creek and set up along some exposed oyster beds and began pitching jigs and live shrimp upcurrent.  Both anglers were making excellent casts but we had no real bites.  As the sun rose we had a beautiful view of a Rosette Spoonbill working the bank. We then moved around to Lanceford Creek and worked some docks. Brahm did "knock the skunk off" when he outsmarted a feisty Sheepshead.

Our next stop was around at  Tiger Island. We had 2 dozen minnows also so we deployed them  and it paid off when Brahm hooked up and landed 3 Flounder, one of which was of keeper size(all fish caught today were released).  Switching back to shrimp he also was able to catch a couple of Black "puppy" Drum to round out a different kind of Amelia Island Back Country Slam - Sheepshead, Flounder and Drum.  It was here that David spotted something swimming in the water - a Salt Marsh Mink. It was making the journey from the island, west to the marsh and was swimming on the top of the water - made me day!



We fished the Jolley River on the first of an incoming tide, picked up a fish or two, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

The Hegler Fishing Team notched an "Amelia Island Backcountry Super Grande Slam" this morning when they boat a Black Drum, Seatrout, Flounder, Sheepshead and Redfish during the trip!  And they added to that catch a whole bunch of other species for a Marine Wildlife education for young Nolan.
We had met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and headed up the Nassau River to make an early stop at Spanish Drop. Although all three anglers were making excellent casts, we didn't have much more than a nibble.

We then ran up to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here things picked up. Robert's first cast produced a drag ripping run  that continued on thru the pilings....and kept going!  Then he and Rob boated a couple of feisty Black "puppy" Drum, then Rob had a hookup that ripped some drag. Luckily the fish stayed between the pilings and although it was on the other side of the dock, Rob worked it out. The fish made some high flying jumps and we both questioned "Black Bass"?  Hah!  No, when Rob worked it to the net we saw that it was a huge Blue Fish, big for the backwaters of Amelia Island. We fished a couple of more docks then made the run down to Broward Island where the tide was still going out.

Things picked up. Rob and Robert teamed up to land a handful of Seatrout, then they caught a keeper sized Flounder, a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper and a feisty Sheepshead.  Robert finally hooked up with something that would "rip some drag". He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a Slot Sized Redfish. Nolan had been patiently fishing, hanging in there for a 7 year old, and it paid off. He was baiting his own hooks and making his own casts and, BOOM! Fish On! Nolan played the fish perfectly and worked it to the boat to land beautiful copper colored Redfish, boy what a fish.  I think the final fish caught for the day was an ugly 'ole Toad Fish, but with a good variety caught, we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.