Tarpon vs Mudminnow

Beautiful day today! It's a good thing those thunderstorms are holding off until the afternoons! I met Steve Frost and his son Blair up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp and we made a short hop over to Tiger Island to catch the last few hours of an incoming tide. You know the best way to "knock the skunk off" is to catch a nice Slot Redifsh? Well that's what Blair did, just a few short minutes into the trip. Tossing mud minnows on jig, Blair hooked up and played him patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot fish. He put a few more fish in the boat and I don't think Steve had

quite woken up when BOOM!

I saw Steve's line tighten up and when he set the hook, the big fish headed to deeper water, ripping the drag.  I was thinking "huge Redfish" when out of the water came a high flying 100lb Tarpon! And, fish off - he threw the jig. It happened that quickly - both Steve and I were watching and I'm sure it woke the both of us up!  Steve began to catch fish!

We added a nice 18" Flounder to the box then ran around to Bell River to fish some flooding oysters with float rigs. Steve was on fire. He added a keeper sized Seatrout and another Flounder to the catch. We came back to the outside of Tiger and found that there was a ton of large mullet hanging around. We got a few bites, no taker for a while, then Blair hooked up and landed another keeper sized Flounder.

Our last stop was up at the Jolley River. The tide had started out and we drifted slowly with it, pitching float rigs to the grass, and the two anglers burned through bait, catching one Seatrtout after the other. Although most were in the 14" range, they added one more of keeper size. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Father Daughter Fishing Machine

I had the pleasure today of fishing again with Steve Foss and his daughter Katie, meeting them at the Eagans Creek boat ramp early this morning. We went to Bell River first, to catch the last of an incoming tide. Steve was on the stern, tossing mud minnows under a float and in short order he picked up a keeper sized Seatrout. He followed that up with a Flounder and another couple of Trout.

We ran through Tiger and made a stop at the logs and here Katie
got on the board with a Redfish and small Flounder. We then moved around to  "manatee creek" and sure enough, we fished with the manatee hanging all around us. Katie picked up the pace and began to get one Trout after the other. Steve joined in and we had a good flurry of Seatrout catching action. There were a couple of times where a manatee swam alongside the boat!

After running up to the Jolley River we made our next stop at the "bank". I've been going past it all this week, waiting for the tide to get down. It was a good move! After catching a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper the two anglers landed a good handful of Trout and feisty Redfish.

Our last stop was up the Jolley and a deep bend and Steve wrapped things up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. The sun had gotten up and the heat was on, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Lot's of Fish

Folks ask me if the we're catching fish and I can honestly say, "yes, bunches...bet they're small". Today was the more of the same when I met Greg Adams, his son Chris and their friend Kent up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp. We headed over to Tiger Island, specifically "manatee cove", and set up fishing with float rigs and mud minnows on the first of an outgoing tide. It wasn't long before all three anglers were putting Seatrout in the boat. One after the other. Trout, Trout, Trout.

We were fishing out one size of the boat and watching manatee

lolling and rolling around behind us. The entire time we fished we had manatee coming up and blowing and rolling. How cool! But we had no keeper sized Trout so we ran up to the Jolley River, all the way to Snook Creek and began to fish some oysters that were beginning to show. We picked up a couple of small Redfish then, shortly after Greg switched to a jig, he hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder.

We ran further up the river and set up outside a large marsh outflow and really got into the small, but feisty Redfish. One after the other. Then Kent landed another keeper sized Flounder and Chris wrapped things up with a surprise, keeper sized Trout. We caught a bunch of fish and even though they weren't real big, we counted it as another great day to be fishing out on the Amelia Island waters.

Two of Four Hot Spots

We're having beautiful mornings for fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. Today I met Mike McClane and  his granddaughter Gabby up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp and we headed out of the creek with a live well full of mud minnows (no live shrimp at any bait shop). We ran over to the outside of Tiger Island, fished some flooded marsh grass just as the tide had started out, and had good nibbles, but no takers.

We bounced over to fish a large creek mouth and BOOM! Abby had a hookup. She played the fish perfectly and soon landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. From then on it was Trout bite after Trout bite. Both Mike and Gabby took turns reeling in fish and although there wasn't a whole lot of size to them, they were fun to catch. While we were fishing we were treated to some manatee sightings, lolling around just 20 feet away.

We ran out and around and up to the Jolley River and all the way to Snook Creek, fished it thoroughly, but had no real bites.

Our final stop was back at the mouth of Jolley. Working a now exposed oyster bed, the anglers were tossing there float rigs and minnows up near the shore and they began to get Redfish. One after the other. Some minnows caught three fish. They didn't have a whole lot of size to them either, but they were fun to catch, too. Switchign to jigs, finally, Mike had a strange bite and he reeled in a keeper sized Flounder. Gabby added a Croaker and they wrapped up the day catching feisty Redfish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flurry of Feisty Redfish

Happy July 4th! A day late! Back fishing, today with Chris Giella and his son Hunter, meeting them down at City marina early. We headed north and made our first stop outside of Tiger Island and began fishing the high and outgoing tide with float rigs and mud minnows. The two anglers were making excellent casts and we had a few bites, but none big enough to take the hook.

We ran up and around into the Jolley River and all the way up to Snook Creek and set up again with the float rigs. Again, no real

bites.  Our next stop was back at the mouth of the Jolley and finally, things heated up. Both Hunter and Chris began to get some feisty Redfish, one after the other, and the fish count climbed quickly. Hunter added a Croaker, Chris added a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, and Hunter followed that up with a keeper sized Flounder. We actually left the fish biting to see if we could find something bigger!

We ran around to the MOA and first cast produced a large Catfish! I think we picked up one or two more feisty Reds, then we made one last stop back at Tiger Island where Hunter wrapped things up with another, even bigger, keeper sized Flounder. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Shark Fights at Amelia Island

The Jensen boys didn't get enough Saturday so they went again today! I met Dean Jensen and his two sons Elijah and Tyler at the Fernandina Beach City marina and we headed north to make our first stop outside of Tiger Island with plans to fish float rigs and live shrimp on a fairly high tide, going out. The three anglers got bites right off, but they were nibblers. After being treated to a manatee sighting, we moved on and up the coast.

We found a really nice marsh drainage and fished it with jigs and shrimp but I don't think we had a single bite. We then ran around  and into the Jolley River and went back to the float rigs. We finally picked up a couple of feisty Redfish.

Our next stop was back at the mouth of Jolley, fishing "Jensen Bank" and this did the trick. Elijah and his dad picked up a couple of the Redfish, Elijah put a hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat, then he added to that with a 24" Bonnethead Shark catch - a nice fight. Tyler was feeling a bit left out so when his older brother hooked up big, he handed it off to Tyler and the battle began!

It was a big shark- ripping the drag as it headed to deeper waters, but Tyler was up to the challenge and stayed with him. He worked the big fish to the surface a couple of times - it looked five foot long to me - but then it would run and take line with it. Finally, after a long fight, we got the big shark to the boat and broke him off - boy what a battle!

This must have woken Tyler up because from then on he was catching fish! Elijah matched him fish for fish and they both caught a bunch. We hit a couple of more spots, the bite dwindled to nothing, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Keeper Slam at Amelia Island

I fished north today, the first time in a good while, meeting my guests Allen and Lavern Webb at the  Atlantic Seafood dock. The tide had been going out for a few hours so we headed around to the outside of Tiger Island to make our first stop at a large marsh runout. We went with float rigs and some nice lively shrimp, but to no avail. Not even a bite!

We bounced around to the Jolley River and fished a bank of oysters that were beginning to show. The first few casts had our shrimp

nibbled off and I was thinking, "oh no, a baitstealer infestation!"  But nope, Allen had a strong bite, his float got sucked under, and FISH ON! This fish boiled up at the shore line a few times then got back in the current and headed north. But Allen kept the pressure on even though the drag was ripping. He got the big fish slowed down, worked him in slowly, and we soon netted a good 22" Slot sized Redfish!

We continued to fish the bank, got into some small but feisty

Redfish, then Allen put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat. Lavern followed that up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle then she put a small Red in the boat, too. After we tangled with a Bonnethead Shark we moved on.

We ran up the river, fished snook creek, caught another couple of small Reds, then moved on around to the MOA. Switching to jigs, Allen got hot catching the small Redfish and just as we were about to leave, Lavern hooked up and expertly reeled in a fat keeper sized Seatrout. After one more stop back at Tiger Island, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Young Anglers Net Amelia Island Slam

After a day off I was back to "work", meeting Dean Jensen and his two sons Elijah and Tyler down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning. We had excellent weather - the slight breeze made it really comfortable to fish - and we made a quick run up the Amelia River and then ducked in at Jackstaff. We fished the bank with float rigs  with live shrimp and mud minnows on an outgoing tide.

Elijah got things started when he hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish then Tyler got on the board with a small Flounder. Dean added a hard fighting Jack Crevalle then Tyler went back to the well to get another Flounder, this one pretty big and keeper size!

We bounced across the creek and fished a flooded sandbar and within minutes began to get hookups. All three caught Seatrout, with Elijah putting a keeper sized one in the boat.  Our next stop was around at Twin Creeks and again, Elijah found a Redfish. We dropped down the river to fish an exposed shell bank and although it looked really good, we had no bites.

After a run down to Broward Island the anglers began to toss jigs and shrimp and minnows to the bank with the tide still going out. They picked up a couple of Mangrove Snapper, a small Redfish, and a hungry Seatrout.   We fished one more spot before heading in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Saving The Best For Last

We both agreed that it was an ideal day for fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island. I had met Jim Metternich down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning and as we headed out we had overcast skies, just a slight breeze, a baitwell full of live shrimp and mud minnows, and a good tide to fish.

We headed up the Nassau River and made our first stop at Twin Creeks, starting with a float rig and live shrimp. And although we had a few nibbles, we had no real takers, and with the oysters

already showing, we switched to jigs for the rest of the day. Jim was making excellent casts, working the marsh run outs methodically and eventually he hooked up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. As we bounced down the river, fishing run outs, he later put a feisty Redfish in the boat.

We hit a couple of spots along the Nassau then ran down to Broward Island. Perfect conditions. And although Jim put a good handful of fun-to-catch Mangrove Snapper in the boat, the Redfish

that he caught didn't have a whole lot of size to them.

We decided to make a run and pulled up to an exposed shell bed. The boat was sitting in 5' of water as we worked along the bank and with just minutes to go in the trip, BOOM! Jim had a nice fish on. He played it perfectly and after a good battle landed a 22" Slot sized Redfish. Alright!  After pictures and release (all fish were released today), Jim made another toss or two to the bank and BOOM! Another big fish on! He worked this fish patiently to the boat and landed another 22" Slot sized Red, this one with 9 spots!  It would have placed second in the Amelia Island Guides Association Redfish Spot Tournament. Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Started Off Good

We fished this morning under overcast skies, but it was a bit cooler and with the slight breeze, it was some good fishing conditions. I met Darrell Evans and two of his sons Clark and Will down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we made our first run up the Nassau River, stopping at some exposed oysters to fish the last hour of an outgoing tide.

The bait shop was out of all live bait! Ouch! But I had cast net for
about two dozen finger mullet after launching so the trio of anglers began to toss them on a jig up to the bank. Clark knocked the skunk off when he hooked and landed a keeper sized Flounder. Bumping up the river to a large twin runout, young Will hooked up with a  nice fish. He played it perfectly and after a good battle, landed an "almost legal" feisty Redfish.  And shortly after that, Darrell put another Flounder in the boat.

But we had gone thru our minnows, so we ran down to Broward Island and fished the first of an incoming tide with artificial grubs and minnows. We came pretty close to tossing every color in the box at them to no avail.  We were getting "bumps" but no takers as we worked the bank, up close and out deep but he fish just weren't having it.

We fished Pumkin Hill for a good while and finished up over in Jackstaff as the tide covered the oysters and although the fish catching had fallen off, we still counted it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Trout Then Big Redfish

Another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida! This morning I met Chris and Melanie Sorah and his dad Ken down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at the very bottom of an outgoing tide. We ran up the Amelia River and tucked in to Jackstaff to fish an exposed bank with mud minnows an live shrimp. We actually worked the bank up and back and picked up a good handful of small but feisty Redfish.

We then made the long run down to Broward Island with plans to

fish the first of an incoming tide. At first we had to fight off some pesky 6" Mangrove Snapper. But then we picked up Redfish that was a tad bit bigger then Chris had a good, strong bite and, FISH ON! He played the big fish patiently, drag ripping, and after a good battle landed a big 21.5" Seatrout, boy what a fish! Then he put another keeper sized Trout in the boat.

We were just about to leave the area when his dad, Ken, hooked up. This was a big, big fish! We could hear it laughing at our light tackle. But Ken would have the last laugh. He kept the pressure on, took his time, and after a long, long fight, landed an oversized 31" Redfish! Check out that size 1000 reel in the video below! Note how that trolling motor plays a big part in landing this mighty fish! This fish garners Ken 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We made a stop at Pumpkin Hill where Chris put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat to round out his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Melanie had already put a few Redfish and Trout in the boat and added a Croaker to her variety.  After one more brief stop, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

BOOM! Big Trout. BOOM! Big Trout.

Back to work this morning! We had an outstanding day forecast, slightly overcast and a very light breeze for the morning. I met Wyman Bethea and his two sons Cameron and Corey down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River to make a quick stop at some exposed shell beds. The three anglers began making casts (excellent ones, I might add) up to the bank. They were all getting nibbles but it was Wyman who put a
high flying Ladyfish then a feisty Redfish in the boat. And not much else after that!

We made the run down to Broward to take advantage of that early incoming tide and this was the trick. After fishing a large marsh run out and getting nibbled a bunch, we dropped back and fished some downed trees. BOOM! Corey had a strong hookup. This was a big fish. He played it perfectly as the drag ripped and soon netted a nice 21.25" Seatrout. Man what a fish! He followed that up with another Trout then his dad went into the hole and BOOM! Big fish on again! Wyman worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a

nice 22" Seatrout, a fish that puts him in third place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We continued to fish the "hot spot" and pulled a couple of more keeper sized Trout of it, and also had some small Mangrove Snapper.  We bounced down the island, fished to no avail, then hit the north end where Wyman caught an "almost legal" Redfish.

Our next stop was back at Pumpkin Hill. The trio landed a couple of small Reds then the Trout bite got hot again and they landed a couple more keeper sized ones, a nice keeper sized Sandtrout. Cameron had persevered and added a Trout or two and had another Sandtrout right to the boat. We had gotten low on shrimp so we switched to plastic grubs. Finally, Wyman had a strong bite and, FISH ON! He played it perfectly and landed the first Slot Redfish of the day.

We made one last stop of the day back at Seymore's Pointe. Cameron found a "honey hole" for catching nice Croaker then his dad wrapped things up with one more Slot Redfish catch. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island.

What's Better? A Slot Red or a Weakfish Catch?

I had the pleasure of fishing yesterday afternoon with George Youmans, his son Gus and Gus's friend Mary, meeting them down at the south end boat ramp shortly after noon. We had  a smorgasbord of bait - live shrimp, mud minnows, finger mullet and some huge frozen shrimp when we started fishing in the Nassau River on an outgoing tide.

It was Mary who "knocked the skunk" off the boat, rather early, when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. George followed

that up with another Red that was just a tad bit undersized. Of course, it went back to grow a little bit! In fact, all fish caught today were released. We continued to work the bank and then Gus had a strong hookup. We could tell this was a bigger fish by the way it ripped the drag. Gus kept the pressure on and after a good battle landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish.

We then ran around to Pumpkin Hill and fished some exposed oysters. Both Mary and George put some hard fighting Jack

Crevalle in the boat and George landed another feisty Redfish. We made a brief stop down at Broward Island where Gus caught another Red, then we wrapped things up fishing back at the Horsehead area.

We had worked along an exposed oyster bank a good stretch, all the way up to Bubblegum Reef. George fished the inside of the reef while Gus and Mary fished the outside. Gus had a bump, set the hook and when the fish came to the surface we all thought "Seatrout" - but no, it was a Weakfish/Sandtrout/Yellowmouth Trout! That's cool!  What a great way to wrap up another day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

It Was Hot For A While

I did a rare "double" today, fishing this afternoon, again out of Big Talbot Island Park, meeting Chris Lanford, his son Rainer, and their friend William just after lunch. We made the long run to Pumpkin Hill and fished some now exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. Although all three anglers seemed to be getting bites, we had no takers. Probably Blue Crabs!

We jumped down to Broward Island and worked the bank jigs and minnows and here we picked  up a few Seatrout, one of which was a really nice keeper size. The good thing was the island was blocking a pretty strong wind that had picked up The bad thing was it was HOT! 

We fished it about as long as we could stand it then ran back to the Horsehead area...and boy was it windy! We fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe then ran around and fished some area's in Jackstaff, but had no more luck. Even though it was a slow day, it was still a great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Gettin Out Early

We wanted to get some fly fishing in today so we got out a little earlier than normal. I met David Ehrler and his son Jack down at the Big Talbot Island Park at 6:30 this morning and we made a run around to Pumpkin Hill in hopes that the nice Trout were still there. They were not. David getting good loops with his casts and presenting the fly perfectly but we didn't get any real bites on a topwater Gurgler or a Shrimp pattern. Young Jack was tossing a float rig with mud minnows and he wasnt' getting much action either.

We came back to the Horsehead area, poked the bow up into the grass at a half a dozen places but saw no Redfish tailing. After that, we stopped back by some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here the anglers "got on the board" when they landed some nice keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.

We later fished a couple of marsh run outs and both anglers tangled with and landed some hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Oh, My Shrimp Is Gone

That's the title of a new hit song soon to be released! You heard it hear! I fished this morning  Joe
Gasper, Adam, and Adam's daughters Eliza and Meagan, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early, and we headed up the Nassau River and all the way around to Pumpkin Hill to fish the last hour of an incoming tide.

We set up to fish with float rigs and live shrimp, tossed up near some flooded marsh grass and we almost immediately began to get bites, and good ones too! Eliza put a hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat then followed that up with a keeper sized Seatrout-actually a 19.5" fish! Then everyone was catching fish. Meagan expertly landed another Jack, Adam added one, then he too caught a hungry Seatrout.

We worked the bank, getting bites constantly, then as we reached a point of grass we had an even bigger flurry of fish catch'n. Eliza caught a couple of keeper sized Trout, Adam and Joe added a cople of more, then Adam and Eliza had a "double" hookup. Eliza's turned out to be another big Trout while Adam'a was a 22" Slot Redfish.

We fished Seymore's and sparred with some "cute" Mangrove Snapper, hit Twin Creeks where Adam added another Trout, then wrapped up another great day of fishing over in the mouth of Jackstaff.

Fast Start and a Herd of Manatee

There was some concern that the tropical storm passing thru the Gulf may have adversely affected our chances of fishing today, but the forecast only called for overcast skies with a  slight chance of rain. So I met Jeremy Robertson,  his daughter Sissy, and their friend Johnny up at the north end boat ramp and we made a quick run over to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the very first of an outgoing tide with minnows and shrimp under float rigs.. It wasn't long before all three anglers were getting bites. Young Sissy

"knocked the skunk off" when she hooked  up and expertly landed a big keeper sized Flounder. Boy what a fish! Jeremy put a feisty Red in the boat and then a hungry Seatrout.

We worked our way around some sparse grass and as we eased by a big fish engulfed Johnny's large minnow and, FISH ON!  This was a nice fish and it fought "bigger" when it got back in the current. But Johnny kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. 

We crossed the river and began fishing another bank and immediately spotted a huge herd of Manatee. They were coming out of a creek with the tide and it seemed everywhere we looked there were Manatee. The anglers tried to concentrate on their fishing and they picked up a handful of Jack Crevalle in quick succession. They added another small Trout or two - and still we saw a few Manatee hanging out at the mouth of the creek.

Our next stop was further north west up Tiger where we fished a run out with jigs and minnows but we had no real bites, so we moved on and up to the Jolley River. We had been working the bank for just a few minutes when again, Johnny had a good hookup out the stern of the boat. He reeled it in handily and we netted a fat keeper sized Seatrout to round out the trio's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Flounder, Redfish and Trout.  Although that stretch of bank looked good, we had no more real bites so we moved on.

When we reached Snook Creek we went back to the float rigs for a while but the oysters were beginning to show so we switched to jigs and picked up a couple of small Reds, Trout, Jack and a Ladyfish.  Our last stop was over at some docks in Bell River and Jeremy wrapped the catching up when he hooked another hungry Seatrout. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Burning Thru The Bait

The last two days we've really burned through the bait. There's a whole bunch of fish biting - and we caught a bunch of them today! I met Russ and Denise Kesel, their son Noah, and his friend Jayden up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp early this morning. We made  short run up and around to the outside of Tiger Island and set up to fish float rigs with a bait well of live shrimp and mud minnows. I thinks it was first cast and BOOM! Fish On! It was pulling hard and eventually made its way right between the trolling motor and bow of the boat and, Fish Off! That will wake you up!

From then on the four anglers were getting bites and landing some of them Denise and Russ put some hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat, while Denise added a high flying Ladyfish. Noah and Jayden added a couple of hungry Seatrout.

We ran around to the mouth of Jolley River and set up and fished a bank of flooded oysters. We had a good handful of feisty Redfish caught and then Noah had a good bite. This fish was staying down and had some weight and sure enough, after Noah had patiently fought him to the boat, we netted a big 19.5" Flounder, big enough

to garner 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings). 

We ran further up the Jolley, fished Snook Creek, and Denise hooked up and landed a feisty Bonnethead Shark. We bounced across the river, fished some now exposed oysters with jigs and caught more small Redfish. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and after we had used all of our live bait and the anglers had

switched to artificials, Noah put one more keeper sized Flounder in the boat. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wrapping Up With a Big Flounder

It was back to "work" today when I fished with Alan Reeves and his sons Jason and Jeff. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Twin Creeks. All there anglers started out tossing float rigs with live minnows on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. It only took a cast or two before Jeff had his float disappear and, FISH ON! He made quick work of getting in a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  His rod stayed hot when he also caught a hard
fighting Jack Crevalle. I switched Alan and Jason to jigs and minnows but we had no bites so we dropped back to the Spanish Drop area and fished a couple of now exposed oysters.

 Alan got hot, landing a big Ladyfish, another Jack Crevalle, and when he had another good bite by a fish that stayed up near the bank we knew he had a good Redfish. Alan played it patiently and
soon landed a Slot Sized Redfish. All three anglers put a handful of small but feisty Redfish in the boat.

We made a run up to some docks at Seymore's Pointe, fed some small Mangrover Snapper, then jumped over and fished some more oyster beds. Jason got on the board with a nice keeper sized Mangrove Snapper and Alan did battle with a huge Jack Crevalle - fun to catch but we rarely keep them to eat.


Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill where we again worked the oyster beds with jigs and minnows. Although we had a few nibbles, we had no real bites. We made one final stop down at Broward Island. Both Jeff and Jason caught a couple of more feisty Redfish then Jeff wrapped it up when he landed a big Flounder which made it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Down To The Last Minnow

I wrapped my week up fishing out of the south end, meeting Dale Bullard and his son-in-law Jacob at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had a bait well of live shrimp and mud minnows ready to go when we hit our first stop along some oysters beds in the Nassau River. The tide still had a few hours to go out, but with the oysters showing, these two anglers were able to fish the bank pretty good. We'd been working the bank for about 15 minutes and I was beginning to wonder when Dale had a strong bite and, FISH ON!

Dale played it perfectly, with his drag singing and after a good battle landed  a nice Slot sized Redfish. And moments later, Jacob hooked up and again, FISH ON! Jacob worked it patiently to the boat and we landed another Slot Red.  Now that's the way to knock the skunk off.

We continued to fish the bank, picked up a couple of smaller fish, moved up to a marsh runout and caught a handful of small "rat"

Reds and an "almost legal" Black Drum. We ran up closer to Seymore's Pointe, eased  up to some more oysters and began to work them slowly. Both Dale and I had strong bites, drags that ripped and, FISH OFF! Ouch! We bounced over and fished some docks, had some nibbles, then BOOM! We had another good hookup and landed another Slot Redfish. After picking up a small Mangrove Snapper we ran down to Broward Island and boy did it look good!

The water looked like Coca Cola, the bait was running and I thought surely we'd get some fish. But nope, no real bites other than one small Flounder.  We came further north of Broward, worked a bank, and picked up one Stingray that I hoped was going to be a big Flounder. Our time was running out, along with the bait, so we decided to run back to where we started this morning and fish the first of an incoming tide.

And this did the trick. We only had a handful of shrimp and few minnows. When Dale hooked up with a big Jack Crevalle I thought we had a Red, but nope, just a Jack. Then Jacob hooked up. This big fish stayed up near the oysters - a Redfish! Jacob again played the big fish perfectly and soon landed another Slot Redfish. We were down to a couple of shrimp and a one minnow and Dale went with the minnow and it paid off! BOOM! BIG FISH ON!  This fish wasn't coming in for a while. But Dale was patient and kept the pressure on and eventually subdued the beast, a nice 25" Slot Redfish. Now that's the way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!