Perfect Tide

I did an afternoon trip today, meeting Rick and Candi VanHove and their son Mason up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp shortly after noon. We had what I'd call a perfect tide, low and the first of an incoming, so we had to creep thru the mouth of Tiger but then we made our way around to deep water. No Shrimp today! As most know, inshore shrimping has been closed since April and will stay closed thru May and live bait shrimp are hard to come by. But we had some lively mud minnows and we baited up with those on our 1/4oz jigs and the anglers began pitching to the bank.  I was really encouraged
when Rich had a hookup, a strong bite, and he battled a nice feisty Redfish to the net. Skunk Off!

But after that we had not much of a nibble so we came back out and ran up to the Jolley River to fish some still exposed oysters.  Candi and Mason were fishing float rigs back in the stern while Rick stayed with a jig up on the bow and it was Rick again who had a hookup, this time putting a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.   We did have a nibble here and there but no more takers, so we continued on around to some docks at Bell River. After getting no bites there, we finished the loop back to the mouth of Bell, where we hit a couple of flooded oysters. We did have a few bites that pulled the float under, but nothing that must have any size.

As it turned out, it was somewhat of slow day. But it was nice and sunny and a pleasure to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Trout Starts The Day

It was a Chamber of Commerce type of morning today -slightly cool, clear and just a tad bit of breeze. I had met Keith Guernsey down at the south end ramp and we made the run up the Amelia River and then dipped in to Jackstaff to make our first stop. The tide had been going out a few hours and some shell was showing but we started off with float rigs and live shrimp. We were seeing much more bait moving around and the area looked great - we did have a few bites and one Flounder to the boat - but none landed.

We bounced across the creek, fished a point of
grass, and after Keith made an excellent cast to some "worried water", BOOM!  He had a hookup. We could tell this fish was big by the way it was ripping drag and I thought for sure it was going to be a Redfish. But no, after Keith patiently worked it to the net, we saw that it was a big 20" Seatrout! Now that's the way to knock the skunk off!

We ran thru Horsehead and around to the Nassau River and fished some now exposed oysters and marsh run-outs and here Keith battled a big Jack Crevalle - man they fight fun!

Our next stop was down at Broward Island on the last of an outgoing tide and even though the conditions looked perfect, we had no takers.  We made one final stop back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and finished up with a keeper sized 17" Black "puppy" Drum. The fish we caught were nice sizes so we adapted the "quality over quantity" attitude and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Take The Kids Crabbing

If you're looking for a fun, easy, and inexpensive outing with the kids, take them crabbing!  All you really need is a 20' piece of string, a piece of raw chicken, a catch net (Amelia Island Bait and Tackle), and a bucket.  My grandkids were in town recently for a short visit and I like to get them out of the house so we picked up some picnic items and headed out to Goffinsville Park on a low and incoming tide. It's easy!

We set up 4 stations, pushing a wooden stake into the mud and making  a loop on our string then we tossed a chicken leg tied to the other end out into the river. After all 4 stations were baited we moved back and forth and
check each one. There was a crab attached almost every time! Slowly ease the string in and be ready with the catch net. Most were small but we did get some of edible size.

Another "crab angler" was there and her technique was to use just a 8 piece of string. She'd toss it out and let the crabs come to it. Her net was stouter than ours and seemed to hold up better. We did find that we could lay our net on the river bottom and drag the crab up close then scoop it up rather than jabbing at it.

An added bonus was that there were tons of small conch's with crabs in them that could be picked up easily. All of the Blue Crabs that we caught along with the conchs were released. Once they get bigger maybe we'll crank up the steamer! 

After a couple of hours of fun at the waters edge, we moved up to the picnic tables and had a good picnic. Great times with kids can be had here at Amelia Island, Florida.

One of Each

We survived Shrimp Festival and was back at it today, fishing an afternoon trip with Josh Denham and his friend David. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the short run up the Intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff with plans to fish float rigs and live shrimp up to the flooding grass on a still-incoming tide.  We had a couple of bites but no takers but then Josh's float disappeared with a vengeance and, Fish on! He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Shortly after that he had a furious bite and this was a big fish! It ripped the drag as it raced around the boat,
taking Josh from bow to stern and around the engine. But it was no match for Josh and after a good battle he landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.

Our next stop was over at Christopher Creek, now fishing with jigs and shrimp on the last of that incoming tide, and we did pick up one feisty Redfish. We came out of there and back to Seymore's Pointe and David got on the board with a nice Black "puppy" Drum catch.

Our next stop was down along the Nassau, pitching jigs on an outgoing tide now. I think David had been holding back because his rod got hot - he hooked up and landed a high flying Ladyfish, then fought a big Catfish to the net. It seemed like we were getting "one of each" species!  But then Josh finished it off with another big Ladyfish catch. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water and another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Right Time Right Place

The beautiful weather continued - what an awesome day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island! I met Dennis Brizzi and his buddy Hal out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early this morning and the tide had been coming in for about an hour so we made the quick run to Broward Island and set up off the bank in about 28' of water. Both anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp to the bank and....BOOM! Big fish on! I think it was Dennis's 2nd or third cast and he had a big one. And Hal hooked up too! Hal's came in first and it was a big fat keeper sized Seatrout. Dennis's was ripping drag, back in the current and it was going
to be a while! He played it perfectly and eventually landed a 26.75" "Tournament Sized" Redfish. I bet we hadn't been fishing 5 minutes! 

For another 30-45 minutes we caught fish. The duo landed another couple of Redfish, a keeper sized Flounder, another smaller Flounder, and then another Slot Redfish. Finally! We were seeing some mullet and this was the first day I've noted the water temperature being over 70 in the backwater.

We move down a bit and fished the island with jigs. Dennis put a keeper Trout in the boat, then both angler's rods ripped, WE GOT A DOUBLE!  Hal was fighting his fish up at the bow and Dennis was at the stern while I was ready with the net to see who's came to the surface first. Dennis worked his in and landed another Slot Redfish but Hal's was digging deep, not knowing it was to no avail! Hal kept the pressure on, played it perfectly and soon landed a big 25.5" Slot Redfish - they had their limit!
After fishing a short stretch with no more bites (the fish had met their match), we ran back north.

Fishing some rocks at Seymore's Pointe, Dennis battled and subdued a big Ladyfish....and I believe that was the last fish with had for the day!  The fishing was unbelievably crazy good for the first 45 minutes of the trip, then it fell off to nothing...but that first stretch made for some good memories of a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Workday Fishing

I also fished this afternoon, meeting Jovanna Morgan and her work associates Jeff and Roger up at the north end boat ramp. The tide had been going out for an hour or so we ran north and west, half way to the Jolley, and made our first stop at a large runout with plans to fish jigs and live shrimp. Jeff got on the board quickly when he boated a hungry Whiting. But we had no more real bites so we moved on around to the Jolly River.

All three anglers were tossing the jigs and within minutes Jovanna landed a nice Seatrout then all three anglers had put a Trout in the boat! That was a nice flurry of catching. We worked the bank up to the first creek then ran further up the river and fished some more exposed oysters. Although we had a shark sighting, we had not takers so we ran back and fished the logs of Tiger. The fish catching wasn't "on fire" but we did pick up a couple of feisty Redfish, a keeper sized Sheepshead, and  hard fighting Black
"puppy" Drum, and maybe another Trout.

Our last stop was around at Lanceford Creek, fishing some dock pilings and again, we caught a handful of fish. Jeff had a strong hookup and caught a big Bluefish then Roger followed that up with a nice Redfish catch. We fished right up to the last shrimp then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Last Minute Big Trout

It was an outstandingly beautiful morning today - sunshine, slightly cool, and very little wind - and an awesome day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. I had met Trace Hayes and his son Wyatt up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and we ran west and up to the outside of Tiger with plans to fish the incoming tide. We worked the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp and picked up a couple of feisty Redfish. We had one big fish on but there's a reason he's big..he nosed down in the oysters and cut the line, OUCH!

We ran thru Tiger and around to Bell River and

fished some flooding oysters but had only a couple of bites, no takers. Our next stop was down at Piney Island where we fished some docks with jigs and shrimp and again, no takers. We then slipped thru some oysters and fished a shallow area and here both anglers had some action. Wyatt hooked up with a strong fish, had a brief fight, and BAP, fish off - another one that cut off on the oysters. Trace picked up a small Trout then as we worked around the edge he had a good bite and this was a big fish. He patiently fought it to the boat and landed a nice 19" fat Seatrout. Now that's the way to wrap up a beautiful day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Big Reds Quick

Wow! What a way to start a fishing trip! I had just met Patrick Verner and his sons Bryan and Patrick up at the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp and after we had crossed the river we began to fish with live shrimp under a float rig with a short leader and BOOM! Young Patrick had a hookup! Big fish on! He worked it in patiently and we had the first fish of the day, a 25" Slot Red with some big shoulders!

All three anglers went back to the same spot and BOOM! Another big Redfish on - almost identical is size. BOOM! Another big Redfish
on. BOOM! Another big Redfish on!  BOOM!  This one was a big Black Drum - big for our light tackle - it was 24"+ in size, but it was no match for Patrick.

I was thinking, man this is going to be an awesome day of fishing, and it was, but the fishing fell off after that. We had a bite here and there, caught a couple of Rays, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Customer Cook Off: Flounder Ceviche and Green Egg Smoked Flounder

These Maryland boys know how to do it! Kevin Pride, Mike Linynsky and Ryan Aikens fished with me the other day and took home a "Maryland Cooler" full of fish, a few of which were Flounder. They took the small pieces, chopped them up, covered them with lime juice,  and made Ceviche. Here's the ingredients they used:

2 avocado, peeled and cubed  

2 tomato, cubed 

1 half onion, chopped

Splash olive oil

1 lime squeezed 

Salt/ pepper 

1/2 lb of Amelia Island fresh caught Flounder!

Combine, cover and chill 30 min



They took the rest of their catch and grilled it on Mike's Green Egg. Man that looks good!

 

Double Jack Finale

Thankfully the wind had died this week and with sunny skies we're having some outstanding Amelia Island fishing weather. Today I met brothers Mike and Tim Dillon down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the Nassau River and over to Pumpkin Hill Creek to set up outside some flooding marsh grass with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp. I think it was the first cast when Tim hooked up, landed a hard fighting Bluefish and "knocked the skunk off" real quick!

But although these anglers were making excellent casts and getting good drifts, we had no more bites there, and around the corner. So we picked  up and ran over to Christopher Creek and fished some jigs on the bottom, between dock pilings. Although not much was happening there, we did have one good bite and a hookup. Mike worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish.

Our next stop was around at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, back to float rigs drifting live shrimp over some oysters on the first of an outgoing tide, to no avail.

We then ran east in the Nassau and began to fish some marsh runouts and this did the trick. Mike felt a good bump, set the hook and caught another Slot Redfish then Tim felt the subtle bump-bump and  picked up a keeper sized Seatrout.  We had another strong bite and Tim reeled in a keeper Black "puppy" Drum (which was released) then as we were about to wrap up, BOOM! BOOM! We had a double hookup, and they were some hard fighting fish. Tim was battling his on the bow while Mike was battling his at the stern. Both fish were digging deep but these two anglers kept the pressure on, stayed patient and in the end won out, landing two almost identical Jack Crevalle. Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!