What would YOU rather have to eat? A piece of watermelon or a chocolate covered steering wheel? That was one of he questions posed by young Ava as her parents Chanterelle and John and her older sister Alexa fished the back waters of Amelia Island this morning. I think I picked watermelon.
We had met up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early this morning and then ran over to Lanceford Creek and then up into Soap Creek to fish an outgoing tide with mud minnows (no shrimp today). It was a gamble - we do it every day - but it turned out not to be such a great one. These anglers were making excellent casts but we didn't get much more than a nibble.
We then bounced around to fish some docks and this paid off. Chanterelle had put her bait out deep, between two pilings and she finally had a hookup, and, Fish ON! This fish was pulling some drag and at first wrapped itself around a post. But Chanterelle kept the pressure on and when the fish came around we moved out to deeper water where Chanterelle played it expertly to the boat and landed a nice 21" Slot Sized Redfish. We fished some more there, moved up a couple of docks, then moved on.
Our next stop was around at Tiger Island where we had to creep in to the mouth at the last of an outgoing tide. But we got around to the logs, still fishing jigs, and here had a hookup. Young Alexa reeled it in patiently and landed a keeper sized Flounder. We then ran around to the Jolley River and fished the oysters as the tide started back in. John got on the board with a Flounder catch and a couple of Redfish catches. Chanterelle had switched to a float rig, drifting it along the edge, and picked up one more keeper sized Flounder.
We had seen dolphin, Rosette Spoonbills, Blue Heron's, Egrets, Osprey and wild horses on Cumberland Island and as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I was back down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp today, meeting the Gross family early - David and Kerry and their kids Madeline and Drew. We met early and ran up the Nassau River to make a quick stop at Spanish Drop. There was bait getting popped everywhere and as soon as these anglers got their jigs and shrimp in the water they were catching fish. Ladyfish, Ladyfish, Flounder, Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Flounder, Ladyfish, Flounder...boom, boom, boom! Madeline contributed one of the keeper Flounder, Drew put the only slot Redfish in the boat, then David added a couple of more keeper sized Flounder. Kerry got in on the action with a nice Jack Crevalle catch, a feisty Redfish catch, and a Seatrout catch. We
lost track of all the fish we caught!
We moved up to Athens Drop with the tide still having about an hour or so to the bottom, fished jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and here, David hooked up with something big, patiently fought it to the boat, and landed a big 22" Seatrout, a fish big enough to force a 2nd place tie in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We picked up another couple of fish before we moved on.
After catching some nice finger mullet to supplement our bait, we fished Seymore's Pointe with float rigs for the Mangrove Snapper but had no luck. We then motored down to Broward Island with the tide still going out. We saw a Bald Eagle (to add to the numerous birds we'd seen today) then fished the bank, drifting backwards and slowly working our baits. David put another 20" Seatrout in the boat (released) then had a strong hookup out deep, and FISH ON! This was a big fish and luckily it came out deep where David gently applied the pressure, worked it up, fought it as it ran, then Drew netted the big Oversized 30.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!
We'd had good weather all morning, a slight breeze, some cloud cover, but it was serious sunshine now, so we called it a day and counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. Edit...and the family had a great fresh cooked fish dinner at Kitchen 251!
We didn't catch anything real big today, but if you added the variety of fish caught, it was almost like a marine biology class! Flounder, Redfish, Seatrout, Jack Crevalle, Mangrove Snapper, Croaker, Stingray, Catfish...I may have missed one! Laura and Lane Outler and their son Landon fished with me this morning and after running over to Tiger Island we set up and pitched jigs and live shrimp to the downed logs on the last of an outgoing tide. Laura got things started off early and pulled into a commanding lead on the "fish count" - she caught a keeper sized Flounder and a feisty Redfish.
Then Lane took over and caught a Jack Crevalle and a Croaker. Then all three began to catch fish - Mangrove Snapper, feisty Redfish, more Flounder, another which was of keeper size. We fished the island thoroughly then ran up to the Jolley and fished the "bank" as the tide was coming in. Lane put a healthy Seatrout in the boat, we caught a few Croaker that were keepable, then we continued on up the
river.
Our final stop was fishing some cut-bait and that paid off with another Croaker or two, a Stingray caught by Laura, and a Catfish caught by Landon. The clouds had blocked the sun most of the trip, we had a slight breeze and it made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
Back to "work" today, fishing out of Dee Dee Bartels Park where I met Mark and Jen Woodard and their daughter Lilli early this morning. We had a dead low tide so we scooted across the river and dipped into Tiger and fished the logs with jigs and live shrimp. Lilli's casting had improved since last month and she was really getting her bait up to the right spots. But it was her mom Jen who "knocked the skunk off" when she put a hungry Flounder in the boat, then added to that with a small Black "puppy" Drum.
We fished up and down the bank and the three anglers caught more Drum, some small but feisty Redfish, a couple of Croaker, and a couple of more Flounder, one of which was of keeper size. Then Jen made it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when she hooked up and landed a keeper sized
Sheepshead.
Our next stop was up at the Jolley where we ran way up the River and stayed with the jigs. We picked up another Redfish and a Whiting before we moved on to Snook Creek where we finally were skunked.
Coming back to the outside of Tiger, we fished some now flooded oysters to no avail, then buzzed thru Tiger and over to Bell where we setup for the final challenge. Lilli was vying for another GPK but it was dad who put the bigger fish-a Seatarout- in the boat to take home the prize and bragging rights for another year. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
If fished with Suzanna Braun, her friend Garland and her son Michael yesterday morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had low tide up at Seymore's Pointe at 7:30am so I made that our first stop to fish float rigs with live shrimp and mud minnows up near the rocks and the decision paid off with a good handful of Mangrove Snapper catches. All three anglers put fish in the boat but it was Garland who had the biggest of the year, one that measured right at 14".
I know that these fish don't compare to a Slot sized Redfish, but their a challenge to catch on a 3/0 circle hook and when you do get one over "keeper" size of 10", they put up a pretty good fight. You can keep 5 a piece (which we rarely do) and can get some palm sized filet's off of each to make for a good dinner.
Our next stop was down at Broward Island where we pitched to the logs on an incoming tide with jigs and shrimp and minnows. We
picked up a couple of feisty Redfish and Michael hooked up with a hungry Seatrout. After easing up to Pumpkin Hill we switched back to floats and tangled with a high flying Ladyfish. Although the morning started with some good action on the Mangroves, the latter part of the trip was a struggle to find some fish. But we had a good breeze blowing and were treated to flocks of birds taking off from the marsh as we passed by so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
(1) 9" Graham Cracker pie shell
(1) 14oz can condensed sweetened milk
(3) Egg yolks - the whites are not used
1/2 Cup Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice
Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice and blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes then refrigerate. Just before serving, top with whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.
I wrapped a five day stretch up fishing with Bob Howe, meeting him down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We ran up the Nassau River, stopped at Spanish Drop and Bob began casting a topwater gurgler with a 7w TFO BVK fly rod. Bob was making excellent casts as we worked along the flooding marsh grass but he had no takers. We fished up to a large marsh run out, switched to spin rod and live bait and BOOM! He had a hookup. Bob played it perfectly, worked the fish to the back of the boat, let it run, then landed a nice hard fighting Jack Crevalle. We fished down the bank with the spin gear and picked up a couple of high flying Ladyfish.
Our next stop was around at Pumpkin Hill. We stayed with the spin/bait combo and fished the flooding mud flats with live shrimp but had no luck. After fishing a couple of spots at Pumkin, we motored back and into Christopher Creek where Bob switched back to the fly rod, this time using a 8w TFO BVK with a slow sinking shrimp fly pattern. Again, Bob was making excellent casts to the marsh grass and rocks and had one fish chase his fly as he stripped it in, but it just didn't take it.
Our final stop was over at Seymore's Pointe, fishing the rocks for Mangrove Snapper but they just wouldn't cooperate. We tangled briefly with a Ladyfish then moved on around the corner. After fishing an outflow, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water and fishing hear at Amelia Island, Florida.
We had another absolutely beautiful morning today when I met Kip McNeil, his dad Stephan, and their buddy mark up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. The sun was out, we had a slight breeze, and a high and incoming tide. We made a quick run over to the Jolley River and set up to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp. Right off, Stephan hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish up near the bank then Mark followed that up with a large Bluefish catch. We worked along the bank and caught a couple of small Seatrout.
After moving further up the river with the tide we stopped and fish a small cove and Stephan tangles with a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark which he landed expertly. We moved on up the river to Snook Creek and here Mark got in on the Shark action when he too hooked up landed a Bonnethead. As we eased along the bank we had bites here and there, caught a couple, then when Kip spotted a Redfish tailing up near the grass he made a pin point cast, waited patiently for the float to disappear and, BOOM! Fish on! This fish boiled so we knew it was a Redfish then it went from bow to stern and out to deeper water. But Kip was up to the challenge and worked it to the boat to land a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish.
We came back to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded oysters, caught a few Trout, then came back up to Tiger and landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then a whole lot of Trout. Our last stop was back towards Jolley, fishing a marsh run out and here, after Mark had put a winning Stingray in the boat, Stephan found a few more Trout, one of which was of keeper size. We had a caught a whole bunch of fish and had a few keepers so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
I fished with Doug Mackle, his granddaughter Montana, and her friend Thomas this morning, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early with plans to fish the very last of an incoming tide, then the outgoing. We made a quick run over to the outside of Tiger and set up to fish the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp, and minnows. We had pretty good action with Thomas "knocking the skunk" off the boat early with a hungry Seatrout catch. The trio of anglers caught a good handful of Trout, a nice Jack Crevalle that Montana put in the boat, and a Mangrove Snapper.
We then ran around to Bell River and set up alongside a point as the tide began peak and picked up one more Trout. After running up Lanceford we fished a grassy island to no avail, then dropped back and fished some dock pilings. Thomas landed another Seatrout and a Mangrove Snapper then Doug had the strongest hook up for the day. He played it perfectly but the fish had some smarts and found something to wrap
around on the bottom and, BAP! Fish Off. Ouch.
It was an absolutely beautiful day but there wasn't a lick of breeze out there today!
Our next stop was around in Soap Creek, fishing a large marsh runout where we had no luck. We fished along some oyster bars that were beginning to show, had some good bites, but nothing to show for it. After one final stop outside Tiger where we picked up one more Trout, we called it a day, another great on to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
I fished with the Mitchell family today, Ryan and Christina and their kids Lucy and Ryan IV, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early with plans to fish the last of an incoming tide in the marshes of Amelia Island. We made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill and set up alongside a flooding marsh line to drift float rigs and live shrimp along the edge. Lucy "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Catfish! This angling family then put a couple of high flying Ladyfish in the boat, then a Croaker, then young Ryan reeled in a nice keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught
today were released).
Then, after Ryan Sr had made an excellent cast to get a drift across a flooded oyster flat when, BOOM! Big Fish On! Ryan kept the pressure on as the fish ripped across the flat for deeper water then handed the rod off to Christina and Ryan IV. They battled it up close to the boat then handed it off to Lucy to finish it off. Lucy worked it patiently to the boat and landed a big 4' Bonnethead Shark! It was true teamwork and it paid off with a nice fish, some pictures and release.
After a brief break back at Goffinsville, we moved on down to Seymore's Pointe and tossed the float rigs to some rocks and sure enough, the Mangrove Snapper were In House. All four anglers caught and released the sneaky Mangroves, all of which were released. We then fished down at Spanish Drop where Ryan and Lucy battled a Jack Crevalle to the net, then Ryan IV finished it off with a Catfish catch by trolling a minnow out the back. We had a good variety of fish caught which made for a great day of fishing with kids here at Amelia Island, Florida.
What would YOU rather have to eat? A piece of watermelon or a chocolate covered steering wheel? That was one of he questions posed by young Ava as her parents Chanterelle and John and her older sister Alexa fished the back waters of Amelia Island this morning. I think I picked watermelon. 
