Workin Hard For Fish

We had a beautiful morning Saturday with so little wind we needed to coat up with some bug spray to keep the No-See-Um's at bay. It was only slightly overcast when I met Bob Brown and his grandson Jack at the Atlantic Seafood dock.  We headed north to the Jolley River to fish an incoming tide with the oyster beds still slightly showing.  At our first spot or two we had very few bites on our live shrimp and float rig's but when we hit Jolley Bank we had a couple of hookups, lost them, but the Bob landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  The breeze had picked up slightly and there were not an more bugs.  We move around to the outside of Tiger Island and here things heated up somewhat.  Both Jack and Bob hooked up at the same time for a "double" - both played their fish perfectly and we netted two feisty Bluefish.   We had hookups to hard jumping Ladyfish and had a brief battle with a Shark that ripped the drag out for a while then quit playing and broke off.  It was a great day for a Grandfather and Grandson to get out on the water and spend quality time fishing here at Amelia Island!

Mack Attack

Today couldn't have been much prettier!  I met the Henson family - Kevin and Jean and their adult daughter
Jill - down at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning.  It was clear and sunny with almost no wind as we left the marina and headed north up to fish the outside of Tiger Island.  I got the anglers started on float rigs with live shrimp and soon Jean was pulling in an aggressive Ladyfish.  Then Jill got in on the action and landed one, too.  The anglers caught a couple of more Ladyfish then we moved on up to Tiger inlet to fish, but had no real bites.  We made a run way up into Jolley River and fished a run out

where Kevin got on the board with a hungry Seatrout, then we swung back into Snook Creek and held as the tide started out.  I had switched the anglers to a jig and shrimp comb and the action heated up with Kevin landing a nice Whiting and Jean landed a feisty Blue Fish.  Then Jean's rod bent double and her drag began to sing, FISH ON!  And the fish kept going!  She applied pressure with her rod tip and slowed the beast down and soon began the long and arduous task of working the fish in.  But this fish was not going to subdue easily. It made a number of runs but Jean's light tackle held and she patiently played the fish into submission and soon we netted, photographed and released a 3 1/2' Bonnethead Shark!  Shortly after that Jill was working her jig along the bottom when her rod also bent over and the drag ripped out!  This fish didn't make the strong runs like the shark but it did head down underneath the boat.  Jill played the fish perfectly and we eventually netted a toothy 24" Spanish Mackerel - only the second that my guests have landed in the back waters - and with only a fluorocarbon leader!  Kevin picked up another Trout then we headed back to Jolley Bank where Jean landed a fat keeper sized Trout and Kevin hauled in a keeper sized Flounder to add the variety of fish caught by these visiting anglers.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Gator Gar

After a long few days of nasty weather today turned out beautiful for the Lacek family - Marie and Gaise and their adult children Gaise and Victoria.  We had met at the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning and headed north of the first of an outgoing tide.  After all of the rain and cooler weather the water temperature had dropped back down to 65 degrees.  We made our first stop on the outside of Tiger Island and began to toss live shrimp under float rigs to some flooded oyster beds.
The anglers were not kept waiting long as their floats began to disappear and they all were soon tangling with the "poor mans Tarpon" - Ladyfish.  And a couple of them had some heft to them!  We moved around to another spot and Marie picked up a hungry Seatrout then Gaise Sr. hauled in a nice keeper sized Flounder.  We made run up to the Jolley River and it was here that Marie hooked up and played to the boat a large and nasty looking Gar fish!  We snapped a picture and tossed it back!  We fished Snook Creek with no real bites, hit the MOA and had
no real bites then made a run around to the Tiger Logs.  Here Marie landed another keeper Flounder and later Gaise 2 put a hefty keeper sized Trout in the boat while Victoria added the "cutest fish" of the day.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island  waters!

Sight Fishing

Just when I think the water can't be any calmer then we have a day like today.  I picked up Bill Easom
and his party of friends Dan, Mike and Gordy at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning at 7:30am.  The river was as slick as a lake and there was some lingering fog as we headed up the Nassau River. We ran straight to Bubblegum Reef to fish the area as the tide began to creep back in.  There was outstanding action with the anglers catching Seatrout, Puppy Drum, and a nice keeper sized Flounder - caught by Bill. They also had a Perch, Ladyfish,

Snapper, a couple of Jack Crevalle's and an "ex-wife" fish.  The tide had come up somewhat and we all noticed the big wakes on the other side of an old oyster bed so a few of the anglers stepped out of the boat in knee deep water and waded to the oyster bed to fish the other side.  It wasn't long before Bill had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and we soon netted a nice Redfish!  Mike and Dan got in on the action off of the oyster bed by picking up some Seatrout while Gordy fished the deeper water and picked up Trout, too. Dan hooked up with a very nice Slot Redfish

and brought him to the net, then Gordy picked a Red up out deep.  Later, we made a run back down Nassau and here Mike had the hot rod fishing a float rig an live shrimp, catching a handful of Seatrout.  We then ran around through Horsehead and with only a short time to go Gordy picked up a Whiting then Bill had a hookup that had his drag singing!  He played the big fish perfectly and after an extended battle he landed a big 3 1/2' Bonnethead Shark! With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

I Thought It was a Shark

We continued to fish the south end today and are getting excellent Trout bites.  I met Susan and Tom Hitchcock down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park this morning at 7:30am and we headed up the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef just after the tide had started coming in.  We caught a pretty good hand full of Seatrout, a Flounder, and a Ladyfish.  We moved back down the river to Spanish Drop and fished a small creek mouth. It wasn't long before we had a float go under and FISH ON!  Tom worked
the big fish in expertly and we had a nice 17" Seatrout.  Susan was fishing the same bank and when her float got jerked under and her line began to zip through the water I thought for sure she had picked up a Shark.  Then her line went slack and we all thought the fish had thrown the hook, but it was just swimming right at the boat!  Susan reeled her line in quickly and again had some pressure on the fish.  It made a number of runs which she patiently battled then she brought the fish in to our waiting catch net - a huge 24 1/2"  6lb Seatrout! Boy what a fish!  This fish put Susan in first place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category. (Scroll down right side of this report for standings)   Shortly after that, Tom hooked up and reeled in a nice 19" Trout then Susan added a keeper sized Flounder.  We made run through Horsehead to fish the mouth of Jackstaff and had few nibbles before calling it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Great Trout Bite Today

After fishing north Amelia Island the last few times we decided to make a change and fish the south
end for a change.  I met Wesley and Tina Smith and their son Alex down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island this morning and we headed up the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef as the tide came in.  We hadn't been fishing the bottom long with 1/4 oz Thunda Jigs when the anglers began to get hookups.  Tina reeled in the first Jack Crevalle of the year and then Alex had a good hookup and caught a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  All the

anglers began to have good bites and caught hungry Seatrout and then Tina added another keeper to the box.  We made a run to the logs of Broward Island and although the fishing was slow, Wesley did hookup with a good Seatrout.  We fished Christopher Creek with no real bites then headed over to Jackstaff as the tide began to flood and the wind picked up.  These anglers were game though and worked the bank with float rigs and jigs.  Tina had a heafty Whiting and Alex reeled in a nice 20" Seatrout to round out another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

I Gotta Change My Hat

The hat I've been wearing isn't working. The last couple of trips,  I've had good anglers and decent weather but we've had to work to find some fish.  Today was no exception, but we did catch a few.  Claude and Melanie Owens and their two sons Trey and Trevor had met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning and it was a beautiful day. However the wind was blowing somewhat so we headed up to Tiger Island and got in around behind it and BOOM BOOM, Trout hookup by
Claude and Trout hookup by Trey!  I thought, "oh boy, here we go"!  But that was about it.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and fished "the bank" with float rigs with no real bites, moved up to Snook Creek, with no real bites and then on past to the next runout and had no real bites.  The wind was really playing havoc with the boat, the casting and the fishing so we ran back to the Tiger logs and fished out of the wind.  Trevor caught a hungry Whiting and then as he patiently worked his bait, a nice keeper sized Flounder hooked up and Trevor played it to the net.  We ran around to fish the Rayonier pipeline and again caught a couple of Seatrout then finished up at the Rayonier warehouse with another Seatrout.   So all told we had 4-6 Seatrout, a nice Flounder and a Whiting. These anglers gave it a good shot and had great attitudes and enjoyed being out on Amelia Island waters fishing as a family!

Oh What a Beautiful Day

The river was like glass when David Feenstra and his wife Diane and I left the Fernandina Harbor Marina out of Amelia Island this morning.  They had taken the short trip into town from the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge and we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock. We headed up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the first of an outgoing tide. Fishing the flooded oyster beds with live shrimp under floats we had a few nibbles but no takers.  We made a run well up into the Jolley River and here David hooked up with a hungry Seatrout and a feisty Bluefish.  We fished a large creek with no bites then headed back to the mouth of Jolley to fish an oyster lined bank.  Although the

oysters were still covered, we switched to jigs and eventually were able to hookup with a very nice Puppy Drum that Diane worked in to the net.  We made our next stop at the logs of Tiger Island and here David had a strong hookup and he expertly played to the net a nice Slot Redfish.  Later, Diane made a great cast to a downed tree branch and had a bite almost as soon as the jig and shrimp combo hit the bottom.  She patiently fought the fish and we soon netted a nice Redfish.   We spotted our first Rosette Spoonbill of the year and were accompanied by the Tiger Island resident raccoon!

Never a Dull Moment on This Fishing Trip

I got to fish with Wes Matheney again this morning and he brought along his wife Mary Beth to fish the north end of the island.  We met at Atlantic Seafood dock and headed up river, passing really neat sailing ship in the harbor.  I made the run way up into Jolley River to make our first stop at the MOA (Mother of All) spots!  We weren't disappointed.  Although Mary Beth was a new salt water angler, she picked up a nice Whiting then a hungry Seatrout.  Then Wes got in on the action by catching a few Trout.  Mary Beth reeled
in a couple of more and then another Whiting.  We made a stop at Snook Creek and although the conditions were perfect with the current coming around an oyster bed we had no real bites.  We did get rained on just a little bit!  Our next stop was at Jolley Bank and here we picked up another Trout and Wes hooked up with a feisty Redfish.  Later, we had a strong hookup and Wes had a real battle on his hands.  He played the big fish expertly around the boat as we drifted deeper and eventually we landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  After a short pit stop at the boat ramp we headed over to the logs of Tiger Island, but first we paused to see a submarine and it's procession heading up to Kings Bay.  At Tiger, Mary Beth caught a nice 18" Seatrout and we had a visit from the resident raccoon!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

What's Different Between Fishing Fresh Water and Salt?

Variety!  9 different species were caught today: Seatrout, Flounder, Perch, Bluefish, Snapper,
Grouper, Black Drum, Weakfish,  and Red Drum.  Joanna Oestmann had ordered a gift certificate back in February as a Valentine's gift for her husband Eric and then they scheduled today to take the fishing trip.  We met out at Goffinsville Park at 7:30am and headed back out Nassau River to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  Fishing an outcrop of oysters at Spanish Drop, Eric picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout.  Our 2nd stop produced no

real bites but we were beginning to see bait fish moving.  We made a run to the mouth of Jackstaff and again the anglers caught a couple of Seatrout with one of them hauled in by Joanna being of keeper size.  She also hooked up with a nice Flounder.  As the tide began to turn we headed back around to Bubblegum Reef and here things really heated up.  The anglers picked up a couple of Blue Fish, a Snapper, and a "bait stealing" Perch, then Eric's rod bent over and the drag ripped out, FISH ON!   He played the fish perfectly and after a few strong runs we netted a nice Black Drum!  Eric went back to the hole and again caught another Black Drum.  The bite slowed somewhat then Joanna had a bite and reeled in a Weakfish.  Eric's rod bent over again but this time the big fish ran instead of bulling down deep.  He went from bow to stern and around the engine before subduing a big Redfish that just squeezed in the Slot!  This put him in a tie for 3rd place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish category. (scroll down right side of this report to see standings)  Eric had one more shot at even a bigger fish.  Eric was working the fish perfectly but it was having none of it.  The fish continued to pull line and even when Eric tightened the drag it just kept going!  I saw that the line on the spool was getting low but before I could get the I-Pilot anchor turned off to chasse it down the line was all gone and popped at the spool!  Darn it!  Boy that was a big fish!  Our last stop was at Broward Island and even though the wind had picked up Eric was able to catch one more Trout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!