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.