Oversized Reds Keep Coming

 

I fished with the Hill trio today -Rob and his adult sons Alex and Robert -meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We headed up the intercoastal, turned up the Nassau, and made our first stop at Spanish Drop. We were tossing float rigs and live shrimp to the flooded marsh grass on a high and incoming tide.

We worked along that first bank and in just a few minutes when Rob hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout to "knock the skunk off" then Alex had a hook up and battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to the boat. Later he had made a good cast to a pointe of grass, saw his float slowly go under, set the hook, and reeled in a hungry Flounder.

A

fter a run further up the Nassau we pulled up at another grass bank and drifted our floats long with the incoming current. These anglers stayed pretty busy catching smaller fish, then Rob fought a big Jack to the boat then Alex had a strong bite and, Fish On! This fish was digging deep but then came back to the grass line and rolled and we knew - nice Redfish! Alex played it perfectly and after a good battle landed 21" Slot sized Redfish. We worked that area really good - fishing a pointe, fishing some grass islands, then we moved on.

Our next stop was along a grassy bank, the oysters still covered on a now outgoing tide. They got some good drifts but no takers then all of sudden we had Fish On! One rod went off and the big fish began to rip drag, heading north. Alex was on the rod and keeping the pressure on and....BAM! Rob had a big hookup - we had a "double" both anglers were battling big fish and it was Pandemonium! They were having to duck under each other, cross their lines, cross back, go to the bow, go to the stern, work around the trolling motor, work around the stern, all the time with their drags ripping! But it all worked out  - Alex landed his first - a 28.5" oversized Redfish, then Rob landed his, a 29" oversized Red. We quickly snapped pictures and released them. Boy what a battle!

Our last stop was back at Seymore's Pointe where we rounded out the day catching Mangrove Snapper, with a good handful of them being of keeper size. As we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Banner Day and Busted Bragging Rights

They only come around once in a while but when you have one of those Banner Days, you have to make the best of it, and that's what this trio of anglers did today. I had met Jay Mathews and two of his adult kids Will and Becky down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. The tide was still coming in, especially way up near Broward Island. so we made the run up the intercoastal, turned west and cut thru Back River and made our way around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up drifting float rigs and live shrimp with the incoming current. It only took a few  minutes and we were on fish! This trio  caught one fish after the other - fat keeper sized Seatrout, hard fighting Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, more Trout, more Jacks, Flounder, and more Ladyfish. I think we were there for an hour and a half!

We finally moved around and fished some grassy patches and here Becky, after making an excellent cast, hooked up, battled and landed a nice Slot Redfish. Will followed that up with a hookup and battle with a large Bonnethead Shark. 

I had planned to head over to Jackstaff where we did pretty good yesterday but as we were passing a spot that I have had my eye on, I pulled up, turned into the current and we again went with the float rigs, drifted up by the grass. I knew that there was plenty of oyster shell submerged and we had the first of an outgoing tide and....BAM! They began to catch Redfish. All three anglers put Slot sized fish in the baot - Will, then Becky, then Jay. They kept going back to the same spot - BAM! Fish On! Will had a hookup and this one was BIG - it was ripping drag and heading north, so much so that we speculated it might be another Shark. But it came back, went to the shoreline, and finally boiled - Big Redfish. Will played it perfectly and after a long battle, landed a oversized 30" Redfish! This fish moved Will into First Place n the 2022 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

Not minutes later it was Becky's turn for the big fish. After hooking up her fish too ran like a freight train. But Becky applied the pressure and slowly worked it in, fought it thru multiple runs to the bottom, worked it up and after a good battle landed another oversized 28.25" Redfish, boy what a fish! We added one more Slot Redfish to the  catch and had a good handful of smaller "feisty" Redfish. caught.

After a brief stop down at Spanish Drop we headed back to the ramp and counted it as an outstanding day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish at Every Stop

 

It looks like the whole week is going to have pretty mornings, and today was one of them. I met Tommy Gray and his grandsons Alex and Henry down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We headed up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff, then into a small creek and began tossing live shrimp under a float on a high tide that had just started out. Just like yesterday, it started slow - Henry had a hookup and brought to the boat hard fighting Jack Crevalle, then he landed a feisty Redfish. We eased along the bank and could see some large wakes and sure enough, Alex, after making an excellent cast to the grass, had his float slowly ease under. He tightened up his line, lifted his rod, and let the circle  hook do it's thing and, Fish On! Alex played it expertly, let it run when it wanted to, kept the pressure on, and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish. Then Henry had a strong hookup - another Big Fish one - he fought it to the boat and landed a nice 18" fat Seatrout. Then Alex hooked up  and battled another Slot Redfish to the boat.

I don't normally stay at one spot more than about 20-45 minutes but we were getting bites so we made another pass. Henry had a BIG bite, had him on for a while, then the fish tossed the hook - when Henry reeled it in we saw that the hook was bent! We picked up a few more feisty Reds, had few other big bites, caught some keeper Manrove Snapper, and when we left I noted that we had fished that spot for 1 hour and 45 minutes!

Our next stop was around at Seymore's Pointe where we stuck with the float rigs and played cat and mouse with some more Mangroves. All three anglers soon got the hand of it and boated another handful, some of which were of keeper size. Moving down the way, we fished between two docks and again - Mangrove Snapper and then Henry had a good bite and reeled in a keeper sized Flounder. We caught a good handful of smaller Flounder there, too.

The last stop was down at Spanish Drop and just when I thought the heat had run off all of the fish - BAM! The trio of anglers began to get hookups. Alex got hot on the bow of the boat and landed one feisty Redfish after another. Tommy was fishing off the stern and picking up Flounder and Jacks and Seatrout. Henry, fishing mid ship, began to catch the feisty Reds, then he had a good bite, set the hook, and Fish On! Henry kept the pressure on and fought a nice Slot Sized Redfish to the net, to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slam In The Box

 We had a beautiful Sunday morning when I met the Huffman group down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp-Jacob and his father Kevin and brother Gunner. We headed up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and then into a creek and set up fishing with float rigs and live shrimp. The anglers tangled with some small Ladyfish as I worked the bank, picked up a small Jack Crevalle, then Kevin, after making a nice cast to the grass line, had his float disappear. This fish was giving a weird fight and we should have known it - as it got to the boat it began to thrash and we saw it was a large Flounder. Kevin kept the pressure on and eased it to the net, and landed a nice 19.5" Flounder.- big enough to move Kevin in to third place in the 2022 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. (scroll down the right side of this report to see standings).

Then to top that, just another 30 feet down the bank, Kevin hooked up again and, Fish On! This fish was ripping drag and when it boiled up quick we knew it was a big Redfish. Kevin was working it in slowly and it made a couple of drag ripping runs but it was no match for Kevin as he patiently played it to the boat and landed a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish1

We crossed over to the other side of Jackstaff and fished that stretch and picked up a couple of Seatrout, a couple of smaller feisty Redfish, then it was Jacob's turn to fight the big fish. His hit with a BAM and was off - heading east to England, but luckily the 10lb braid held and then we settled in for a long, long battle. This fish took Jacob from the stern, up the port side to the bow, around the trolling motor, back around the trolling motor, back to the stern, and back again. Jacob stayed with it and after a long battle landed a 4' Bonnethead Shark. Now that was a battle!

After running thru Horsehead we made our way down to Twin Creeks and fished those two drainages, again catching a few small Seatrout and Redfish and Jacks, then we moved up to Seymore's Pointe and lost the battle to Mangroves and Pinfish - they're getting sneakier! But Gunner added another fish to his "catch count" when he hooked up and expertly landed a Stingray.

Our final stop was down at Spanish Drop, fishing with mud minnows and shrimp. Both Jacob and Gunner caught some fat "almost legal" Seatrout and Kevin rounded out his "Slam in a box" when he hooked up and landed a legal Seatrout. The sun was up and it was getting hot but as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Puffer Fish, Multi-Spot Reds and Slot Reds

 I wrapped up my week today fishing with Eddie Byrd, his son-in-law Mike and grandson Bobby, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made the run up the intercoastal, dipped into Jackstaff, and eased into a side creek to set up fishing float rigs and live shrimp to the grass on an outgoing tide. Mike got off to a hot start with a feisty Redfish catch and then he tangled with a Ladyfish. We backed over to the other side of Jackstaff, fished the bank for a stretch and here Bobby got on the board with a Redfish and Flounder catch. 

After running thru Horsehead we pulled up at Eddie's favorite dock and fished it thoroughly, putting a good handful of Mangrove Snapper in the boat with a few of them rather  nice size, and keepable!  We then motored down the Nassau to Spanish Drop and worked thru a large drainage pitching jigs and mud minnows. We had no real bites until we came along the shell bank and then it was a light had switched! 

Mike began to catch one feisty Redfish after another, a few of them had multi-spots, and one had 29 spots! He then added a keeper sized Flounder to the catch. As we reached a bend where the water was deeper Eddie went to the bank, had a hard bite, set the hook and, Fish On!  Eddie played it perfectly and soon brought to the boat a nice 21" Slot Sized Redfish. And just a short time later, Bobby, on the bow of the boat, made an excellent cast up current with his jig and a large minnow and BAM! The fish hit so hard it came out of the water! But Bobby was up to the task, kept the pressure on, and after a good battle, landed a chunky 21" Slot Redfish.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Nassauville, fishing the jigs, to no avail. It was getting hot! We came back around to Horsehead, fished a shell bank and here Eddie put a neat Puffer Fish in the boat! Boy was it now hot! We headed back, getting some breeze blowing, and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Getting In Some Birthday Fishing

 

I fished with the Millers today, Robert and Lindsey, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early for a half day of fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island. It was Roberts "birthday trip", and time away from the kids, so we were under pressure to catch some fish!  We ran up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau, and made a short run to our first stop at Spanish Drop. I had a bunch of live shrimp and had caught a dozen mud minnows at the boat ramp - we went with the minnows and jigs to a large drainage on on outgoing tide. Lindsey had the first bite, played it perfectly, and landed a......Catfish!  But as we worked along the two anglers began to get into some fish and landed one feisty Redfish after another. They were all small, but fun to catch.

We then ran up to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings and here they caught a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, a few which were of keeper size. After a nice run down to Pumpkin Hill, we worked a shell lined bank for just a bit, then continued on down to Broward Island where we drifted with the current. I don't think we got but one fish, but it was a nice one! Robert had made a perfect cast to the bank and I saw that he might be "hung up", but he pulled it loose and, BAM! Fish On!  Robert played it patiently and brought to the net a nice Slot Sized 21" Redfish. 

We fished the rest of Broward and with time running out, made the run back to Seymore's where we set up  along a shell bank with the tide now coming in and drifted float rigs with live shrimp. Both Lindsey and Robert were getting excellent drifts. Robert had gone long and when we both saw his float slowly go under an move against the current, Robert tightened down, lifted his rod and let the circle hook do its thing and, another Fish On!  As Robert thought this fish I was expecting a nice Seatrout or Jack Crevalle but when he got it to the boat to be netted we saw it was another Slot Redfish - what a great way to wrap up a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Two Fish Kid

 Luckily those thunderstorms are holding off until late afternoon's.  Today met Sean and Kathy Higginson and their son Judah down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp - we had clear morning skies that greeted us. After running up the intercoastal and into the Nassau, we made our first stop at Spanish Drop to fish a large marsh drainage, and then a shell bed. I gave Kathy and Judah a quick tutorial to refresh their casting and in just a short time, Kathy had a hookup on her jig and live shrimp. She patiently brought to the boat a nice Flounder. Shortly after that Sean hooked up and brought another Flounder to the boat. We eased along that bank and as we worked along that shell bed Judah had a "bump", set the hook, and had hookup. As he fought it to the boat Kathy hooked up and we had a "double". Both anglers landed their catch -Judah a Seatrout and Kathy a feisty Redfish.

We moved up the river to Twin Creeks, fished it for a bit, then made a run over to some docks at Nassauville.  It didn't take but a few minutes for me to see that this just wasn't going to work - the current, albeit almost dead low, was still ripping and any cast to the bank would result in a sweep into some dock pilings. So we moved on, making our next stop around at Seymore's Pointe.

Again, Kathy had gone in with the first cast and it paid off with a tremendous bite -Big Fish On!  But this fish was already up in the pilings and ripping drag, it pulled further thru and, BAP! Fish Off! Ouch!  But these anglers weren't to be deterred - they went back to the pilings and began to catch keeper sized Mangrove Snapper (all fish caught today were released). Eventually some small ones moved in so we moved on.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing deep with the jigs with a tide still going out. We drifted with the current, working the bank and Kathy, who seemed to have the hot hand all day, hooked and reeled in a nice Mangrove then she caught and expertly landed a nice 18" Seatrout.

It was getting hot but we wanted to make at least one more stop so we went back to where the big fish broke off, fishing some dock pilings. We didn't catch any big Reds but we did get a few more Mangroves. Judah had made an excellent cast, felt the "bump", set the hook and, Fish On! This fish seemed to be pulling harder than one of the Mangroves and sure enough, when Judah landed it, it was TWO Manroves - he had caught two fish on one hookup - a first for the Anglers Mark!  And that made for a good way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Drag Ripping Redfish

 

I launched again down at Sawpit Creek this morning, meeting Garland Clark and his son Chris early for a morning of back country fishing. I'm still breaking in the new engine but we were able to cruise up the intercoastal and then in to the Nassau, moving thru different levels of RPM's, to get to the first spot at Spanish Drop. The tide was already high and still coming in so the anglers went with float rigs and live shrimp. We worked one flooded shell bank but didn't get much until we got to a drainage, switched to jigs and baited with some mud minnows I caught at the ramp. That did the trick - Chris hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. After we moved down the way, Garland had a hookup on the jig and had a Trout on.

We ran down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted floats long - Chris caught a Catfish, but then, after baiting up with another mud minnow and making a perfect cast to the grass line, his float disappeared. Chris tightened up and set the hook and, Fish On!  This fish made a couple of runs, all the time ripping drag, but Chris expertly brought it to the boat, and rather quickly and I was thinking, "Nope". Surely it had some more juice and sure enough, off it went again, ripping drag. But Chris played it patiently and eventually landed a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish. We added another Seatrout to the catch before we moved  on. 

After fishing Broward Island briefly we came back to some docks at Nassauville, switched back to the jigs and got in to some rather large (for the back water) Mangrove Snapper. Although these anglers released all fish today, they could have easily kept their limit of the Mangroves. Again, we added another Seatrout before we moved on. 

After fishing Seymore's Pointe for a bit we ran thru Horsehead and fished a large drainage. The sun was up and it was getting "toasty" and after Chris put a large Catfish in the boat we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Good To Be Back Fishing!

My first trip back from "bad engine nightmare"!  I met Len Pelletiere and his grandson Scott down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the intercoastal, turned west into Back River and cut around to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill to set up fishing with float rigs and live shrimp on a high and incoming tide.

First drift, BAM! We had a fish on! Young Scott was on the rod and he quickly dispatched the fight with a expert landing of a Jack Crevalle. We drifted that stretch for a bit and Scott caught a Catfish and a hungry Seatrout. After moving around the corner Scott had made an excellent cast to a grassy island. His float drifted out and just before retrieving it, he had a bite and a hookup. When the fish headed east knew it was a Shark. Scott followed it to the stern of the boat, then back to midship, then back to the stern before we netted a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark.

We buzzed back to Seymore's Pointe, fished a large runout and here we picked up a good handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then we fished back around at Nassaville and again put some Snapper in the boat.  After buzzing thru Horsehead and fishing a drainage and picking up one more Jack, we came back to the Nassau and fished a couple of drainages there. 

Scott ended up catching another Seatrout, another keeper sized Manrove, and then he put a feisty Flounder in the boat to rap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Engine Installed! The Anglers Mark is Back!

I picked up the boat with a new Yamaha 200 engine Saturday morning. It's a "left hand" engine and required a left rotation propeller which I ordered about a week ago. It came in late Monday afternoon and this morning Ken Supernor with Outboard Only LLC stopped by and installed it for me.

There is a 10 hour break-in period with the first hour running the engine up to only 2000rpm's, which is really just a slow crawl. Luckily, I was able to move my scheduled trip today to Friday. I launched up at Dee Dee Bartels and "puttered" out into the sound, then back behind Tyger, then around to the Bell.  After that first hour Break-in calls for getting up on a plane (about 2000rpm's), then backing off, but never letting the engine run at the same RPM's for longer than a few minutes. I did that for another hour, running it up, dropping it down, running it up, dropping back to idle, and son on. 

I picked up Carol at Atlantic Seafood and we went out for one more hour. Hours 3-8 calls for running the engine at all RPM's, but never holding it at one level for too long. We ran it up to above 4000RPM's and back and up and back and up and got in another hour. I've got five more hours of doing that but I feel like I can fish with customers and get to where we're going - I just will need to alter the RPM level throughout the trip, but that shouldn't be too noticeable.

I've got July 18, 19 open, then August 1, 8, 10-12 open. Give me a shout and we'll get us both out on the water! 904-557-1027