Must Be Spring, Trout Getting Bigger

Cool and Sunny greeted Eric Slavens and I when we met up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp this morning. And what a beautiful day it was!  We made quick run over to Eagans Creek and set up on the downside of a dock to pitch jigs and live shrimp, but I think the tide was already too high because we had no real bites. We moved on down a ways and began tossing float rigs and this worked - Eric caught a few good Seatrout, with one or two being of keeper size (all fish caught today were released).

We then moved down the creek and fished an exposed grass patch where I tend to get fish but no luck was had. Moving on to the west side of a dock, Eric fished a seawall and grass line and boy did we catch some fish! And they seemed to
get bigger and bigger! Every time I said, "that's the biggest fish you've caught today", he'd catch another one that was even bigger! They seemed to be fat with roe with the biggest one being just under 20".  Eric also landed an 8-spot Redfish. We fished that area for a good hour and when the bite slowed we made a run to Soap Creek...but the tide was up, the water was muddy, and there were no fish to be had.

But we'd had a great early morning fishing so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Beautiful Day. Great Fishing!

You may have noticed that I haven't "reported" in a while!  Many of you know that my wife and I are building a small "cottage" downtown Fernandina Beach and we're in the last few months of getting it finished. I've been burning the candle at both ends - fishing, installing doors and trim molding and painting and installing flooring and....getting up and doing it all over again!  Needless to say, my "reports" have slipped. Once we get a CO on the house I'll be able to take a breather and will get back to reporting every trip.

But today's trip warranted  a report! I fished with Steele Clayton, meeting him down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early on a high

and incoming tide. We ran up the Nassau River and fished between some docks, tossing float rigs with live shrimp up near the flooding marsh grass. It took a minute or two, but when the bite started it didn't stop for over an hour. Steele landed Trout after Trout with most being undersized but eventually he landed a few "keeper"sized ones (all fish caught today were released).  Then he had one that was right at 20" which made for a good fight.  He also landed a nice 18" Black "puppy" Drum in that area.

We moved around the corner and fished another stretch and just when I thought it was all for naught, BOOM! Fish On! You can always tell when it's a big one when it dives deep, rips drag, and

doesn't want to budge. Steele played it expertly - you can also tell when you've got an experienced angler on the boat - he worked it slowly in, giving it some line when it wanted it, and soon landed a thick 24" Slot Redfish. We had no more than taken pictures, released the fish, and went back to drifting a shrimp when, BOOM! Big Fish On! I saw it roll and knew right off it was a big Trout. Steel worked it to the boat and landed a nice 23" Seatrout, boy what a fish.  This fish placed Steele in first place in the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings)  Those were the only two fish we got at that spot!

Our next stop was down at Christopher Creek, now fishing jigs and shrimp. We worked a long stretch and picked up one fish. But boy was it a good one! Steele said he felt the fish take his bait, he tighted up and let the hook set itself. After a good battle, the fish was in the net and measured at 26" - another Slot Redfish. This fish placed Steele tied for 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category.

We fished Pumkin Hill later but the tide was up really high and we had not a single bite so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Getting Bigger

Wow! What a pretty day we had out on the water today! It was all sunshine, no clouds, and only a
slight breeze (to begin with) with I met Jay Michaud, his wife Courtney and their son Ben up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp.  We came south to Soap Creek and set up along some marsh grass on an outgoing tide that had an hour or so to go to hit bottom.

We had no more than got our live shrimp under float rigs out when Ben had a hookup and knocked the skunk off with a nice Seatrout catch. He went back to the same area and BOOM! Another trout catch.  We worked that entire bank but had no more bites after that.

Our next stop was over at some docks in Lanceford Creek and here we had some serious hookups! Courtney was tossing a live shrimp on a jig and when a big fish hit she set the hook and the battle was on!  But this fish must have been around for a while and found it's way into the dock pilings and BAP! Fish Off. Courtney had another good bite that fought for a while then threw the hook and later, Jay had the same.

We then ran to Tiger Island to fish the first of the incoming tide and although the conditions were absolutely perfect, we had no real bites, other than a couple of perch that Courtney landed (and the amount is still being debated). After fishing Jolley River briefly, we found that the wind was causing difficulties, so we continued on around to Bell River. Here, Ben caught another Trout on a jig and Courtney picked up a couple of 14" Seatrout (or were they 16"?) on a slip float rig.

The day stayed nice, we caught some fish, so we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Bragging Rights Blow Out

I fished this morning with the father and son duo, Wes and Wes Reinhardt, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp.  We made the quick run up to Seymore's Point and fished some docks on an outgoing tide with live shrimp under float rigs...to no avail. Not a real bite. We came around to the east side and fished some of the rocks and again, no fish, other than a handsized Sheepshead. 

The tide was getting low so we buzzed down to Broward Island and pitched jigs and shrimp and mud minnows and again, no real bites. Back to
the Goffinsville area we went and broke out some slip float rigs. Finally, the two anglers each hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. Although the skunk was off, I wasn't feeling too good about our catch total! 

The tide had changed so we headed back to Broward and this did the trick. First cast, BOOM! Redfish. Then for about an hour the two anglers were catching fish. When Wes Sr. had a hookup and the fish came towards the boat, we were thinking "rat red", but then it bulled down and the battle was on. I was clearing the deck, removing the jump seat and makin room for Wes because sure enough, the big fish took him from the bow, down the starboard side to the stern, across the stern, and back up to the bow. Boy what a fight! But Wes was up to the challenge and after a long fight, landed an oversized 32" Redfish which blew out the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament and seized first place in the Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings) After pictures it was released to swim off (and all fish caught today were released).

Then it was Wes jr's time to get hot. He boated a slot sized Redfish, a few smaller ones, and later added a keeper sized Flounder to his catch to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Flounder.

Although the day started slow, the fish turned on and made for a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam

Although we had windy conditions predicted, the sun was supposed to shine so I met Todd Schroeder and hid dad Dennis down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning for a half day of fishing. We made the run up the Nassau River and found a couple of docks to fish between with float rigs and live shrimp. We had only fished a bit when Todd hooked  up and "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch. We had a number of bites after that but no takers so we moved on around the corner and set  up as the tide began to stop moving. Luckily for us it was still moving and after Dennis had made an excellent cast, his float disappeared, he tightened

his line and the circle hook set, and FISH ON!  We could tell this was a big fish - the drag was ripping and the fish was digging deep. But Dennis kept the pressure on and after a good battle, landed a bulky 26" Redfish. Boy what a fish.

We worked up and down that stretch for a while to stay out of the wind and when the tide started back in it was Todd on the bow who got hot.  He landed a few Redfish, one of which was a 20" Slot size, then he caught a nice keeper sized Sheepshead to round out his Back Country Slam.

It seemed like the wind had died down so we buzzed down to Broward Island and began tossing jigs to the bank. Todd stayed hot by picking up a couple of more Redfish. We worked down the island and here Todd found a keeper sized Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, Sheepshead and Flounder.

After one stop, we headed in. The sun was out and had warmed things nicely. We had  few fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Uptick

We had another beautiful morning today when I met Don McKenna and his son Ryan up at the north end ramp. We launched at 7am and it was still dark with the time change but when we got to our first spot at Tiger Island the sun began to peak up over the horizon. The two anglers were tossing jigs an live shrimp and the tide had only been coming in for about an hour - I thought we'd have some good action, but it took a while. We worked along the logs and finally picked up a small Trout or two, then a feisty Redfish, then Don landed a keeper sized Seatrout.

We then buzzed around and  up to the Jolley River and began fishing the bank, and again caught a Trout or two and then one of keeper size.  Our next stop was up at Snook Creek and although we had some good bites, we had no takers. After coming back to Tiger and around to Bell River we set up along a marshy pointe and drifted float rigs with the current. We may have gotten a fish or two there, but we decided to make the run around to Lanceford Creek. We were fishing a lone grass patch when both anglers began to put 14" Trout in the boat, one after the other. It was a good flurry of fun fishing. Ryan added a small Flounder and Don added a small Black "puppy" Drum to round out there Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam.

It was almost time to leave but we wanted to hit one more spot and it sure paid off! Both Don and Ryan landed nice keeper sized Trout and it made for a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Black Cat Got Nothing

I was heading to the boat ramp this morning when a black cat ran across the road in front of me and made me think..........nope, I thought, surely we're going to catch some fish - it was such a pretty day!  I met Bruce Byrd, his son James and grandson James Jr. (JJ) up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp, made short run, and fished the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp on an incoming tide.  I don't think we had  decent bite there but after running thru Tiger basin and setting up along some flooded marsh grass, James "knocked the skunk off"

when he hooked up and landed a nice Seatrout.

JJ soon found that he was skilled at netting fish and took over those duties for the rest of the day!  We had another trout or two then Bruce hooked up and expertly landed a fat keeper sized fish. We then ran over to Lanceford Creek and fished some flooded oyster between two docks - had no bites - so continued on around to a lone grass patch and this did the trick. Both Bruce and James began to catch Trout and had a double hookup once which kept JJ busy with
the netting. We moved on up the creek a bit and James was able to get his bait out first and BOOM! Fish ON! James worked it to the boat patiently and landed another keeper sized Trout.

We fished Soap Creek and landed a Trout or two, buzzed over to Temptation Cover and fished it a bit, then wrapped up the day back on the outside of Tiger. The bite had slowed but it was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Red Big Trout

Although the skies were overcast and a brisk breeze was predicted, we felt like we could find a few spots of shelter from the NW winds today, so I met Robert Fredericks and his fishing partner Dan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the run up Nassau River to slip into Christopher Creek with plans to fish the top of the high tide. Both anglers began pitching jigs and live shrimp to likely spots...but we had no real bites for a good 40 yard stretch. I was just about to give  up on the spot when John's rod bent, his drag began to rip, and FISH ON!  I knew right off this was a big fish - it wasn't
turning - but John kept the pressure on and fought him to a standstill, then slowly began to work 'em in. The big fish made a few more runs then finally tired and came to the net - a nice 26" upper-Slot Redfish, big enough to take first place in the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). This bite must have turned a switch because both John and Dan put a few more feisty Redfish in the boat after that. John also landed keeper sized Flounder(this was the second one in a week we've caught)  But the tide was dropping so we ran out of there and came back to the Seymore's Pointe area.

We set up along some flooded shell-the tide was coming out now- and began to toss float rigs with live shrimp. It didn't take long until Dan began to hookup with Seatrout. He got hot!  He landed a couple of keeper sized fish, then a nice 18" Trout then he topped it with a 20" Trout - good enough to take second place in the Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category!  We caught a good handful of Trout before the bite fell off then we came back towards Goffinsville, fished some slip floats, and again, caught a handful of Trout. The morning  had gotten darker, the temperature cooler, and the wind had picked up, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Rain Put the Fire Out

I fished with three generations today - Bruce Byrd, his son Mark and grandson Jace, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early with plans to run over to Horsehead and fish the first of an outgoing tide. We set up along a marsh line and began tossing float rigs and live shrimp and it wasn't long before we were catching fish. Last week's struggles were a distant memory!

Mark got hot early and began to hookup with Trout and then he began to share the rod with young Jace. But Jace soon found that he could be in all the action if he ran the catch net so he landed both his dad and grandad's fish from then

on out. Bruce had just made a good cast up close to the marsh grass and when his float slowly went under he tightened the line, let the circle hook set itself and Fish On!  Bruce worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We picked up a couple of more fish then moved on down the Nassau.

We fished 2-4 marsh run outs with float rigs and jigs and caught one or two fish then as we were fishing Seymore's Pointe it began to rain then we had some lighting so we buzzed back to Goffinsville and let the storm cell pass. We thought we'd get some more fishing in so we bounced down to Pumpkin Hill, had one good bite, then the bottom fell out so we called it a day. Although the rain got us wet, we still had a great morning out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Out of Nowhere

You could slice the fog with a knife this  morning when I met Paul and Jana Richards up at the north end boat ramp -boy was it thick. But not so thick that we couldn't "putter" to our first stop around at Tiger Island. The tide was still going out so we set up current from the bank and began to toss live shrimp on a jig to "fishy" spots.  Jana got real good at catching the pesky bait stealers but that was all we could manage. We worked  up an down the bank when out of nowhere, BOOM!  Paul had a hookup. It was ripping drag and staying deep so we knew it was a big fish, but Paul was up to the task, played it perfectly and soon landed a fat Slot 25.5"

Redfish - big enough to put him in first place in the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings.

We crossed the creek and fished a point and Jana caught a nice Whiting then we crossed back and fished the logs and picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout and another feisty Redfish.

Our next stop was up to the Jolley River. Although the first exposed oyster bank didn't produce anything, after making the run further up to the MOA, both Paul and Jana found a Seatrout each. We came back to Snook Creek and worked a bank. After drifting a float rig up near the bank it bobbled a time or two, sagged down in the water and, Fish On! Jana cranked it in and landed another Slot sized Redfish. The sun had finally burned most of the fog off and it topped off a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Flounder of The Year Earns GPK Award

I fished with Greg Bancroft today and boy what a pretty one it turned out to be! We launched up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and buzzed around to Lanceford Creek to fish the very last of an outgoing tide. The "baitstealers" were out strong but Greg worked thru them and picked up a feisty Redfish.

After fishing Soap Creek for a bit with no luck, we came back to Tiger Island and fished the logs. It was slow going for a while until the tide stared coming back in. Greg caught a few hungry Seatrout out deep with his jig and shrimp combo, then he landed a couple of feisty Redfish and wrapped up his Back Country Slam with a small Flounder catch - the first we've had on the Anglers Mark this year.

We then made a run up to the Jolley River and switched to a fixed float rig and shrimp. We had worked about 30 yards of oysters with not a nibble when Greg's float finally disappeared and, Fish On! Greg worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. He went back to the same spot and, Boom! Fish On. Another Redfish. He went back to the same spot and, Boom! Fish on...for just a bit and...fish off!  We must of gotten into a small school  and had some good action there for a while making it a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Getting the Kids Out

We had a foggy morning today, somewhat cool, but still a good day to go fishing! I met Robert Elarbee and his three kids down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the intercoastal (slowly) with a plan to dip into Jackstaff and fish float rigs on an incoming tide. Although the fist spot didn't off, Frederick was able to land a nice Seatrout at the second stretch of marsh that we fished.

We ran thru Horsehead and stopped at another length of marsh and this did the trick. All three of the young anglers began to catch fish

- namely Trout. We worked that area thouroughly, catch trout here and there, then moved down the way, and caught more trout.  All were on float rigs in about 4 foot of water, fishing live shrimp. Although the sun never came out, these youngsters had a great time landing hungry Seatrout so we counted it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Braggin Rights Times Two

Man what a beautiful morning we had today! I had met Jack Dickens, his sister Sparkle and her husband Roger down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River and made the long run down to Broward Island to try and catch the incoming tide before the logs got covered up...and we did.  But we fished a few areas here and there and only managed to pick up one feisty Redfish. After fishing Pumkin Hill for a while with no real bites, we moved on.


Our next stop was around at Seymore's Pointe and this did the trick. We had no more than dropped the trolling motor and began pitching live shrimp under float rigs to the flooding grass when we began to hookup with Seatrout. Sparkle started it off, Roger added one too, then Jack got in on the action. Every now and then the trio put a "keeper" sized fish in the boat.

The tide began to get up, the sun was getting hot (in February,
right?) and we were running out of time but we hit one more spot and boy was it a good one!  Roger had made a perfect cast to some structure and when his float disappeared he lifted his rod, the circle hook set, and Fish On!  He played it patiently and after a few drag ripping runs, landed a stout 25" Slot Redfish, big enough to land him in first place of the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category! 

Then, just minutes later, Jack was getting a good drift along the shore line and something took his bait with a vengeance. It was thrashing around and putting up a heck of a fight  and I saw that it was a big Seatrout. Jack worked it perfectly to the boat and landed the fat 22" Trout - a fish big enough to kick off the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category! (Scroll down the right side of this report for standings)  What a great way to wrap up a fun day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Crazy Wind

Speaking of unpredictable February weather, yesterday afternoon had something weird happen. I had met Dennis and Barbara Lockard down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp.  We knew that a brief shower was forecast within the hour but we elected to try our luck anyway. The wind was down and we commented on how hot it was when we left the boat ramp and made a straight run to Broward Island. I was thinking we could get in an hour of easy fishing before the rain and wind go to us. But we had no more than dropped the trolling motor when the wind went from 6mph to about 20mph in seconds!  And the temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees. It was
crazy. But these two anglers were here to fish so we worked the bank the best we could with jigs and shrimp but with the wind whipping us around it was very difficult to feel the bottom or a bite.

So we ran back to the protection of Goffinsville and found a stretch where we could fish slip floats with our live shrimp 20' deep and this worked well. Barbara was the first to strike when she hooked and landed a hungry Seatrout. Then both her and Dennis, drifting the traditional trout rig, caught fish.
We tried a couple of areas doing that then moved to the Pointe, still out of the wind, and tried a fixed float up near the rocks. BOOM! Big fish On! Dennis was on  the rod and played it beautifully, working it patiently to the boat and landing a nice 24" Slot Redfish.

We fished those rocks a bit more, then some docks around on the north side for a while, then wrapped up the trip fishing Spanish Drop before calling it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Taking Care of Business

It seems February has been hit or miss with the weather here at Amelia Island, and it appears to be having some affect on the fishing, too. However, yesterday was forecasted to have only slight breezes with springtime temperatures. I met Julie Rossetto down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed north and west, running thru Middle Marsh and around to Pumpkin Hill to take advantage of the very last of an incoming tide. Julie was tossing float rigs with alive shrimp to some flooded marsh grass.  She worked the whole area thoroughly and did pick up one hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk
off".

Julie was in the area on business and took the time to squeeze in her first Florida fishing trip and luckily we were blessed with some good weather - it got almost hot!  Our next stop was around at Seymore's Pointe and this did the trick. I think our first cast to some flooded oysters produced a bite -a Trout- and from then on we could cast and expect a bite.  Although most of the fish were just a tad bit undersized, Julie was able to get a couple that were well over the limit which made for some fun fishing.

We ended the trip fishing the mouth of Jackstaff but by then the sun was up and the bite was off. But for an early springtime trip, we counted it as a great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Who Got Bit More?

We had a nice day for fishing forecasted today...light winds, slightly overcast and a high and falling tide.  I met Steve and Jake Schmidt down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and when the No-Seeums swarmed us I thought for sure after running up the intercoastal we'd get into a breeze and they wouldn't be a problem. Nope. They swarmed us. But these two anglers were game and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp to the marsh line. We had a couple of bites here and there but no real takers so we moved on, running thru Horsehead over to Seymore's Pointe.

Not but a minute after we dropped the trolling motor, and after the gnats swarmed, Steve had his float disappear and, Fish On!  He reeled it to the boat and landed a hungry Seatrout - skunk off the boat! We picked up another Trout in the same spot, bounced down a dock, and got another couple of fish, one of which was of keeper size. But the gnats were biting more than the fish so we pulled up and buzzed down to the Spanish Drop area, thinking that once we were out in the river there would be a breeze, but no, once again the weather forecaster was wrong again - no breeze but plenty of sand gnats!  But we did pick up a Trout or two along that stretch.

Finally, the breeze did pick up so we ran back to Seymore's Pointe and began fishing jigs, float rigs, and slip float rigs. Jake had already caught a Trout on my standard float rig but then he drifted the slip float deeper and had a strong hookup. He played it perfectly to the boat and landed another keeper sized Seatrout.  And, we had some comfortable fishing there at the end, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

You're Due

We had chilly start this morning when I met Paul Amos and his fiancée Laura down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, but the sun was coming up and the skies were clear. We buzzed up the Nassau River and eased in between two docks at Seymore's Pointe and began to toss live shrimp under float on an outgoing tide. I had high expectations - the conditions were perfect - the weather was perfect- and the anglers were making excellent casts, but nope,  not a bite!

The tide had gotten down a bit so we ran down to Broward Island and under a pair of nesting Bald Eagles and set up to fish the downed logs. Paul "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch, then he added a Redfish catch. I had just noted that Laura "was due" to catch a fish when she had a hookup!  She worked it patiently to the boat and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. We worked along the bank and picked up another Red or two, then moved down the way.

Both Laura and Paul caught Redfish then Paul reeled in a keeper sized Sheepshead (all fish caught today were released). They had an Amelia Island Grande Slam! Our final stop was back at Seymore's Pointe and patiently drifting live shrimp up by the rocks paid off. Paul's float disappeared, his drag began to rip, and the fish was having nothing of coming to the boat - a sure sign it had some size to it.
But Paul was up to the challenge, played it patiently, and eventually landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish. Shortly after photo's and release, he put another 21" Slot Red in the boat! Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Silver Flake Grub with Chartreuse Tail

I fished the first of this week with Minnesota visitors Frank Boehm and his buddies Jack and Randy, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. We had a good low and incoming tide so we made the short run over to Tiger Island and set up fishing the exposed logs with jigs and live shrimp. It was an ideal tide, the weather was perfect and these anglers were making excellent casts...but we had no real bites - other than the baitstealers!

After buzzing down to Lanceford Creek we fished some dock pilings and again, not much happening. But our next stop up Soap Creek did the trick. Frank and Randy were tossing float rigs now and soon began to hookup on hungry Seatrout. Jack fished a jig and shrimp and caught fish but then he switched to an artificial paddle tail in silver flake color with a chartreuse tail. His first cast had a Trout nail it and then he continued to catch fish.  Both Frank and Randy were getting fish but when we ran low on shrimp we put one of the silver flake grubs on Frank's circle hook and BOOM! He caught fish on that too!  Although the day started slow we ended it with a good flurry of Trout action so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

They Laughed at Us

You've heard the saying, "be careful what you wish for".  After some serious winds (22mph with gusts to 34) I was forced to cancel two trips Saturday, so for today I was glad to see that the wind was down to nothing and expected a beautiful day of fishing. We had that when I met Dennis Brizzi and his fishing buddy Hal O'Dell out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. We left the ramp and it was dead calm, motored over to Seymore's Pointe, and set up fishing some docks with jigs and minnows and some "freshly dead" shrimp. We weren't getting any bites EXCEPT the gnats had come out and were swarming us so
we were the ones getting bit!  We all coated  on the bugspray but I could hear the gnats laughing at us!  We toughed it out for a while, then pulled up the trolling motor and headed down to Broward Island and enjoyed a bug free ride.

The tide was still going out but expected to hit bottom within minutes  and the logs were all exposed. Dennis finally knocked the "skunk off" with a Seatrout catch then he followed that up with a nice22" Slot Redfish. He picked up another Trout or two then Hal got in on the action and landed a couple. Hal added a Redfish of his own as we worked down the bank. Again, the gnats ruled the  boat.

We headed up to Pumkin Hill and fished some shallow areas. Hal spotted some movement up in a cove and as we watched you could see a Redfish working the area, throwing a wake. Hale tossed a float rig with mud minnow to the area, let it drift with the slow current and when his float went under, he took up the slack, set the hook, and Fish On!  Hal played the fish expertly and soon landed another Slot Redfish. After fishing Pumkin Hill for a bit, we called it a day, left the gnats still biting, and headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Cold Weather Trout Bite

I fished Friday morning with experienced angler Bob Blalock, meeting him out at the Goffinsville
Park boat ramp early, with 37 degree temperatures, but very little wind.  We jumped down to Broward Island and set up to fish the first of an incoming tide with jigs and live shrimp. The first area may have produced one fish but when we moved down the island Bob picked up another Redfish or two.

We buzzed back the Seymore's Pointe area and fished some docks with jigs and Bob did have a strong hookup which he played perfectly to the boat, landing a keeper sized Black "puppy"

Drum. We then moved around and in between some docks and floated live shrimp along a flooded marsh line and boy did things get hot!  Bob could make his cast, let it drift, "bump it" once and BOOM!  Seatrout On!  I don't know how many dozens of shrimp we went thru but most of them caught Trout. I'd gestimate that we had at least 8-10 "keeper" sized Trout ( we threw most back) and a whole mess of undersized ones. The sun had come out and warmed things up and we left them biting so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Outstanding Day of Fishing at Amelia Island

Even though we had some windy conditions, that couldn't stop these three anglers from getting together for a fun fishing trip. I had met John Collins and his long time friends Jim and Lenny up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp for a late morning trip to take advantage of the first of an outgoing tide.  We made a run up Lanceford Creek and into Soap and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp.  I wouldn't say the fishing was "hot" but we did "knock the skunk off" with a nice Seatrout Catch.

After fishing a spot further up Lanceford, we made the run south to a side creek and fished some dock pilings and this did the trick. All three anglers began catching fish. Lenny was on the bow sticking with the float rig and he caught an landed a keeper sized Seatrout. John and Jim were at the stern pitching to the pilings with jigs and shrimp and they were catching feisty Redfish, then a handful of Black "puppy" Drum. John had a strong hookup, one that was ripping drag, but the big fish was back in the pilings and wrapped
one and BAP! Fish Off! But John kept going back to the same spot and found another couple of bigger fish and worked those out for photograph and release (all fish caught today were released).

We made one final run back to Tiger Island and fished the logs and caught another handful of feisty Reds, and added one more Black Drum which was of keeper size. As we ran back to the dock, into the wind, we counted it as another outstanding day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Competing With The Dolphin

We got a good trip in today before the front came thru. I had met Bubba and Kim Curry, their son Matt an his friend Cole down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the Nassau River, all the way to Christopher Creek with plans to fish the high tide before it started out. All four anglers were pitching jigs and live shrimp to some dock pilings and rocks. We fished it pretty good but I don't think we had a real bite the whole stretch.

We came out and ran down to Seymore's Pointe and set  up between some docks and boy, this did the trick. Both Kim and Bubba were fishing off they stern and they began to get Seatrout one after the other. Then Matt and Cole, up on the bow, began to catch Trout, too. Every once in a awhile one of the anglers would put a keeper sized Trout in the boat. Then, as the tide got down a bit, they began to catch keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We move up and down the bank and caught fish until a big Dolphin moved in and began to crash the bank. It was like someone threw a light switch and the bite ended!

After running thru Horsehead over to the mouth of Jackstaff, we worked an marsh lined bank to no avail, then fished a sandy point, and again, no fish. We came back thru Horsehead and again fished some docks at Seymore's and picked up a couple  of more Trout before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Lucky Penny

When I stopped to get ice early this morning I found a penny, heads up, in the parking lot and I thought, "I hope this bodes well for the fishing today".  I met William Redfield and his Uncle Cliff out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and we skipped around to Christopher Creek - the tide had just started out and I figured we had at least an hour that we could fish before we needed to get out of there.  We worked along some docks and although it took awhile, William finally found a bite, a hookup and a nice feisty Redfish. We worked it for a while and added a couple of more Reds and a couple of Trout.

After we came out we ran down to Seymore's Pointe and fished some marsh grass on the outgoing tide. Things really picked  up - both anglers began to catch one Seatrout after another, drifting live shrimp under floats and then they landed a Red or two. William put a couple of keeper sized Trout in the boat then Cliff stepped up strong when he hooked up, battled patiently, and landed a Slot sized 21' Redfish. He followed that up with a  keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.

We fished a couple of spots at Spanish Drop but had no real bites so we cruised down to Broward Island and worked some logs with jigs and shrimp and found a couple of more Redfish. 

The fishing was really good the first two hours of the falling tide, but after that, not so much. But it was a beautiful day to be out on the water so we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Cold and Windy But The Fish Were Biting

Someone forcast that the sun would come out today, and it did, but just for about 30 minutes! I had met Mark Laurint and his long time friend Rick up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and with a west wind predicted, we headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings and be out of the wind. I think it was the 2nd cast when we had a bite, a hookup, and Mark reeled in a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum. The two anglers went back to the same area and Rick hooked up, had his drag rip a few times, then he worked a keeper sized 18" Black Drum to the boat. Skunk off! We fished the same dock for a while and had a few feisty Redfish then Mark put
a Slot sized one in the boat.

When things slowed we moved down a ways and really got into some Redfish. Most were undersized but we ended up getting two more Slot fish. We picked up a couple of Seatrout, one of which was keeper size, then we made a run.

Our next stop was over at Tiger Island fishing the first of an incoming tide - a great time to be there.We pitched between the logs with jigs and live shrimp and had a bunch of nibbles but no takers until Mark landed another feisty Redfish. Then both anglers began to fish deeper and further from the bank and began to hookup small but fun to catch Seatrout.  We also had our first Salt Marsh Mink sighting of the year! The sun came out briefly and warmed things up nicely before disappearing behind the clouds, but we called another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.