Catching Some Surprises

I wrapped my week up today, fishing with Jake Dyal, his grandkids Lucius and Kinsey, and their aunt/cousin Kathryn. We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock (which was really hopping with outgoing charters) and headed up to the Jolley River to fish with a baitwell full of live shrimp and a few minnows. Three anglers were fishing while Kathyrn filled it as "first mate", baiting hooks and untangling lines. We began to get bites right off and it was Julius who "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a feisty Redfish. The baitstealers were out in full force but these anglers had the patience
and began to get a nice fish now and then. Jake and Kinsey both had bites and the same time and we had a double! They expertly worked their fish in - Kindsey had a hungry Black "puppy" Drum and Jake had a Seatrout and they all had an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. We fished the bank for a good stretch then we ran further up Jolley and into Snook Creek and switched to jig rods and here Kinsey hooked up and caught a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout. Our next stop was back at the outside of Tiger Island and when Jake had strong bite that ripped his drag, we knew that this was a nice
fish. The big fish took him from the bow to the stern and around the engine. But Jake kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice, hard fighting Jack Crevalle. Shortly after that all the anglers began to get bites landing hungry Seatrout, pinfish and then they put wayward Weakfish in the boat! After one more stop we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

High and Incoming

I'm not a big fan of a high and incoming tide but when those are the cards your dealt, then you make the best of it, and that's what the Thomson family did this morning. I met Scott and Kimberly and their two sons Conner and Sawyer down at the City marina and we made a run up and around to the Jolley River with plans to fish the "bank" with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. They began to get bites right off but it took awhile before a decent fish, one that Sawyer hooked up with and brought to the boat, a
feisty Jack Crevalle. And a little later he put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. Scott was patiently working the bank when he had a strong hookup, and this was a nice fish. It brought him from the bow to the stern but he kept the pressure on and expertly landed a nice Slot sized 20" Redfish. We ran further up the Jolley to Snook Creek, fished the outside and Conner got in on the action when he caught and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. We moved to the inside of the creek, switched to jigs and briefly hooked up with what surely was a Shark. After hooking a couple of baitstealers, we ran back to
the outside of Tiger Island, fished it thoroughly, landed a few Ladyfish, then finished up the day behind Tiger where Sawyer landed none other than a small Grouper! For me, that high and incoming tide is a tough one but these anglers stuck with it and were able to put a good handful of fish in the boat, making it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Jacks Get Things Going

Back to work today! I met Edward Hadley and his son Cooper down at the south end and with the beautiful weather holding, we went fishing! After running north up the Intercoastal and dipping in to Jackstaff, we peeled off into a side creek and began fishing the flooded marsh grass on the last of an incoming tide. Both Edward and Cooper were tossing float rigs with live mud minnows up near the grass with Edward on the bow and Cooper at the stern and it was Cooper that picked up the first couple of fish, big, hard fighting Jack Crevalle. But Cooper was up to the fight and handily played
and landed some pretty big fish, for light tackle. Then Edward joined in when he too caught a big Jack. We crossed the creek and switched to jig and minnows and after a bit Edward had a strange bite, a hookup, and a sluggish fight. When it came to the surface we netted a nice keeper sized Flounder. We ran around to the Nassau River and fished some dock pilings and the two anglers "played chess" with some sneaky Mangrove Snapper. We called it a draw then ran east down the river to Twin Creeks. Here, things heated  up as the tide started out. They landed a couple of feisty Redfish, a couple of Trout (to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam) and another small Flounder. We made one final stop down at Spanish Drop, picked up a couple of more Reds, a couple of more Trout, then Edward wrapped things up we he boated another keeper sized Flounder, making it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Little Topwater Action

I wrapped my week up yesterday morning, fishing with Stu and Audrey Secler and leaving out of the out City marina. We had a high and outgoing tide so we ran up and around to the outside of Tiger Island. Stu set up on the bow with a 7' rod and a topwater Heddon Zara Spook and Audrey fished the stern, tossing a float rig baited with a mud minnow. As we worked along a flooded marsh line Stu was picking up "spits" on his lure - they'd swipe at it but wouldn't take. He was expertly "walking the dog" and finally had
one big enough to take it and he quickly landed a small, but hungry Seatrout. It was cool to see some topwater action! Audrey was getting bites too, but had no takers at the first stop. With the Fernandina Fishing Rodeo going on and the weekend anglers out in full force, I could tell that spots close to town were going to be taken so we ran up and around to the Jolley River and fished the "bank". Stu stuck with the lure for a while, had a few more smacks at it then switched to the float and minnow. Both he and Audrey began to pick up fish. Audrey landed a nice keeper sized Flounder (all fish were released today) and a couple of smaller ones. Stu put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat and some smaller ones', too. They both had feisty Redfish and some high flying Ladyfish. We ran further up into the river and switched to jigs and minnow now that the oysters were showing. The two anglers added another Redfish or two and a couple of Seatrout (rounding out a couple of Amelia Island Back Country Slams). Stu briefly tangled with a Bonnethead Shark - it took the bait, zipped across a shallow then made a hard turn and quickly separated the leader. With a little breeze blowing it made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flounder Kind of Day

I fished with the Struemph family, Ken and Lynn and their teenage anglers Brooke and Ross, meeting them at the Atlantic Seafood dock early and  making  our first run up and around to the Jolley River. The tide was still fairly high so they were tossing mud minnows under float rigs to the bank and letting it drift naturally along the shoreline. It wasn't long before all working hookup up. Ken "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a feisty Redfish then they were landing Reds and Seatrout and a Flounder now and then. Brooke put a keeper sized flounder in the boat and later Ken did
too. They tangles with a couple of Ladyfish and snagged a Snapper or two. We ran further up the Jolley, fished some now exposed oysters, and caught another couple of Reds and Trout and another keeper sized Flounder.  We made a short stop at the MOA (Mother of All) and Ross landed a couple of feisty Reds. Our last stop was around at Bell River, fishing the docks and the anglers wrapped the day up putting two more Redfish in the boat and a Snapper, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Lost Count

Another beautiful morning greeted us today, and I was fishing with Robert Gibson, his buddy Rick and their grandsons Ashton and Luke. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and made the run up the Nassau River. Today, the tide was still fairly high and I thought about going straight to Twin Creeks, but I just couldn't pass up the "hot spot" that had been doing us so well the last couple of weeks! So we pulled in and began tossing mud minnows up to the shoreline and fishing them back slowly. Even
though these anglers were getting bites it took a while to get a taker but after that, it was non stop catching for almost 3  hours!  Both Luke and Ashton had strong hookups and battles with hard fighting Jack Crevalle, all four of the fishermen put Redfish after Redfish after feisty Redfish in the boat and every once in a while they'd land a hungry Seatrout. Then they caught 3 or 4 Flounder to round out a handful of "Amelia Island Back Country Slams".  Luke started out with the "hot" rod then Robert pressed  him with some outstanding fish catching runs of his own. Ashton methodically put fish in the boat then Rick had a strong hookup and patiently played to the boat a nice Slot Sized Redfish. We bounced up and down the bank, catching fish at will, moved further West and picked up a few more, and wrapped the day up with a nice keeper sized Trout. It was a great morning of friendly banner and a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everyone's a Winner

We fished the south end again today where I met Michele and Robert Huffman and their kids Ashlyn and Jackson. Leaving the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, we made a short run up the Nassau River and made a stop at a marshy pointe on the very last of an outgoing tide. Robert and the kids were tossing jigs with minnows up current and letting them bounce down the river bottom and were getting plenty of bites, but no takers. But they continued to fish and soon Ashlyn's fishing rod heated up and she started landing fish. She "knocked the skunk off" when she put a hungry Seatrout in the boat
then she really focused and landed a couple of more. Jackson caught one of the Trout before we moved down to another point and here things really heated up. All three of the anglers were catching fish while Michele and I kept them baited. They caught a couple of keeper sized Seatrout and a good handful of feisty Redfish and two really hard fighting Jack Crevalle. As the day ended we realized that Ashlyn had caught the most fish, Jackson had caught a Redfish with the most spots (10), Michele was voted "Best First Mate", and with his last cast, Robert hooked up, played patiently, and landed the biggest fish of the day, a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish! Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Two and a Half Hours of Fish Catch'n Fun!

Back to "work" today! I met Howard and Emilly Williams and their daughter Maddy down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning and with a clear sky and just a slight breeze, we shoved off and ran up the Nassau River. I had originally planned to run all the way to Broward Island but the tide was still going out so we made a stop at some exposed oysters and were fishing within 10 minutes of leaving the ramp. It took just a while for the anglers to get unwound and in a short time they were getting good bites, but
no takers.  Then, like someone flipped a light switch, they began to pick up fish. Emilly got things rolling when she landed a feisty Redfish then Maddy hauled in a hard fighting Stingray then everyone was catching fish! This trio of anglers landed small but feisty Redfish, then some keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today), then a couple of Jack Crevalle, then some Blue Crab (they must have been really hungry because they hung on all the way into the boat), then Emilly had a big bite. I was thinking, "here's a Slot Redfish" as it pulled hard and deep. Emilly kept the
pressure on and after a patient battle, landed a big 20.5" Seatrout! Now that was a nice fish! We continued to catch fish for about two and half hours and probably could have stayed there longer but we decided for a change in scenery and ran down to Broward Island. Although the bite wasn't not as fast they caught a couple more Trout and a Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everybody Catches Fish

We wrapped the week up fishing out of the south end boat ramp where I met Mike and Emilly Lefler and their friends Sam and Ashley early this morning. My intentions were to make the long run to Broward Island but the tide would still be going out there so we made our first stop at an oyster outcrop along the Nassau River. We had a bait well full of mud minnows and four rods rigged with quarter ounce jigs and within minutes the anglers were pitching their bait up current and to the shoreline and letting it bounce down the river bottom as they kept their lines tight. It didn't take long and
they were hooking up with fish. Mike tangled with and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle and minutes later they had a "triple" hookup - Mike and Emilly and Ashley all had fish on.  All three expertly fought their fish and all three landed them, two Trout and a Redfish. Sam was patiently fishing on the bow and he got in on the action when he landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. It turned out that Flounder catching was his forte because he caught a handful of them today. We had good action, catching hungry Seatrout and feisty Redfish and we even had a large Catfish put in
the boat. But when the bite slowed we ran down to Broward Island and fished it's incoming tide. Emily and Ashley both had Redfish, Mike had Redfish, and Sam had Flounder. We made our last stop back at a marsh line along the Nassau River and Emilly wrapped things up by putting another hard fighting Jack in the boat. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Which Redfish Was Bigger?

I gambled this morning. I had about a dozen mud minnows left over from yesterday but I had a couple of fresh crabs and they've been making excellent bait for my minnow trap, so I skipped the bait shop and got down to the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early enough to launch and toss out my trap. In day's past I've been catching dozens of minnows within minutes but wouldn't you know it, I was only able to catch 1 MINNOW before my guests, Darrell Evans and his two sons Grant and Will, showed up! OUCH!  We
ran up the Nassau River anyway, tossed out the trap at a small runout, then began to fish an oyster outcrop with the bait that we had. Darrell came to fish this morning and before we knew it, he had boated a feisty Redfish, a keeper sized Flounder (all fish were released today) and a hungry Seatrout to garner his very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam, within the first hour of fishing! The boys we fishing earnestly with jigs but just weren't getting the bites so when Grant asked if he could use a float rig, I knew it couldn't hurt. And it was a good call on Grant's part because within
minutes he had his float disappear and he had a good fight on his hands. After a good battle he landed a nice keeper sized 18" Seatrout.  Will switched to a float rig and he too put a keeper sized Trout in the boat. We ran back to check our minnow trap and, no luck! But there was a ton of finger mullet milling around and with one cast we had enough bait to fish for two days! We ran up to Christopher Creek and fished the shore line, switching back to jigs tipped with the finger mullet and began to catch fish. Darrell picked up a couple of small but feisty Redfish then Grant had a good bite and, FISH ON! This was a big fish! Grant kept the pressure on and kept it away from some dock pilings and as the fish dug deep, Grant worked it patiently to the surface, and eventually landed a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish. Just a short while later, we had another big bite. Will was on the rod and he battled it valiantly. This fish was a big one but Will was up to the task after a good fight, he landed another 21" Red, boy what a fish! We worked our way out of Christopher then ran up to Seymore's Pointe to fish some docks, had no luck, then finished up over at the mouth of Jackstaff where Will wrapped things up with a ferocious battle with a large Jack Crevalle. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.