9 Spot Slot

 I wrapped up my week today fishing with the Jensen's, Dean and his sons Elijah and Tyler, meeting
them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early to try and "beat the heat". We made a quick run over to the outside of Tyger Island and set up along a grassy point to fish float rigs on the very first of an outgoing tide. It was another beautiful morning, sunshine, clear skies, and just a bit of breeze. With those conditions you'd have thought (hoped) the fish bite would be on fire but, all we did was have a quick tangle with Sharks and Ladyfish. After crossing over a creek we fished a shoreline and Dean did pick up a small but feisty Redfish. 

Around the outside of Tyger we went and made one stop at a drainage to pitch jigs and shrimp, then we continued on around to the Jolley, switched back to float rigs, and drifted the bank on that outgoing tide. In between Shark bites Elijah hooked up, expertly battled, and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish - one that had 9 spots - a good fish in any Spot Tournament. We continued to ease along that bank and Dean patiently wore out the biggest Shark of the day, bringing it to the boat for photograph and release, then it was Tyler's turn to have the Redfish hookup. He had made an excellent cast to the bank and it paid off with a hookup. He played it perfectly and soon landed a 21.5" Slot Red.

We then moved up the river and pulled up at a large drainage that I used to fish 15 years ago, anchoring and bottom fishing out the back. But this time we positioned ourselves parallel to the bank and drifted those floats and it paid off. In addition to catching a couple of feisty Redfish, Dean hooked up and landed a real nice 18" Flounder. 

Further up the river we fished what evidently was a Shark haven- at one time we had a "double" going, then we ended the day at the MOA just as the oysters were beginning to show. Elijah  caught a couple of more small Redfish and Dead added a couple of Black "puppy" Drum. Somewhere along the way Dean had landed a Seatrout so the Drum made it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam, and we chalked it up as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Chamber of Commerce Fishing Day

 I met Danne Webb down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning and boy what a beautiful day it was! Clear skies, sunshine, and just enough breeze to make it comfortable for a back water fishing trip. We made a long run up the intercoastal, up the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill. I  had hoped that the tide would still be coming in but unfortunately it was a dead stop - our floats wouldn't drift, right or left. After fishing a bit along one shoreline we moved around the corner as the tide started out and this did the trick.  There was all kinds of "movement" along the shoreline and after a big commotion Danne made a good cast and within seconds we saw a Bonnethead tracking down his bait and BAM! Fish On!  I was impressed how patient Danne was with the fish fight and it paid off - he worked it in and landed a nice 4' Shark.

Just a few minutes later Danne battled another Shark to the boat for release, then after a good cast up to the grass line we saw his float slowly go under. Danne lifted his rod and let the circle hook set. I was guessing "Flounder" by the way that float went under but when he got it to the net we found it was a feisty Redfish. 

We motored down the Nassau to Twin Creeks and fished the mouth, then worked up along the bank to Athens Drop, now fishing a jig and shrimp. Again, there was movement everywhere - bait fish, and bull wakes, and shark fins, but we had no takers. Needing some action, we pulled up and headed to the docks at Seymore's where we set up current and pitched to the pilings. It only took seconds and we were hooking up on Mangrove Snapper. Most were of keeper size and we had a few right at 12" and we began to "cull" out the smaller ones. Then, after he had made an excellent cast, Danne had a stronger hookup and, Fish On!  He worked it out of the pilings, kept the pressure on, and landed a perfect sized 16" and good eating Sheepshead. 

With our Mangrove limit in the box, we decided to move around to the Nassauville side and fish some rocks with float rigs. Although we were a bit worked about "leaving fish to find fish", the move paid off. In addition to catching a few more bigger Mangroves we had a nice surprise:  While drifting or floats, we heard and saw a big fish "bust" up near the rocks. I had just handed off a baited rod to Danne and he made the perfect cast up from the bust, let it drift and BAM! Sure enough, it was a bigger and when he expertly brought it to the net we found it was a feisty Redfish. What good way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fishing Tip Number Four

 If you go to my "Fishing Tips" page and scroll down you'll see there are a list of "5 Tips to Catch More Fish".  Number 4 is, "Move if  you're not catching fish!" Well, that applied today. I had met Walter Mann and  his uncle Bruce Johnsen up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and in line with Tip #1, I had a plan for the morning. We had a tide that had been going out for a few hours, enough so that the oysters were just beginning to show, so I made our way over to some dock pilings and set up current so that we could pitch jigs and live shrimp back to the pilings. We had a nibbles enough, but not even a good tug on the line. I moved us around the corner and we fished an exposed oyster island, and again, not hardly a nibble. We'd been fishing for over an hour and the "skunk" was still on the boat!

We made our way around to the Jolley River and fished a stretch of bank with float rigs and even though  both anglers were getting some good casts and good drifts, We had nibbles but no takers and after about two hours of fishing, the "skunk" was beginning to waft over the boat.  I knew further up the river I could almost guarantee a Shark bite and with that "skunk" wafting, I headed that way. Sure enough, we did have a couple of quick Shark bites, but they were fast, furious, and the leaders broke almost immediately. Then, as if the sun had just come out, and after a great cast with his float rig, Bruce had his disappear and, First Fish On!  Bruce played it perfectly and battled to the boat a nice 22" Slot Redfish. And the Skunk was off. The Tide had turned. The sun came out. And I thought I heard some horns blaring! All fish caught today were released.

Bruce went back to the bank and picked up a hungry Seatrout then Walter, fishing from the stern picked up a Trout of his own to get on the board. We then moved around to the MOA and things got hot! Walter went to the shell bed and caught a couple of feisty Redfish then Bruce went to the bed and BAM! Big Fish On! He fought it perfectly and patiently and soon landed another 21" Slot Red.  Walter went up, let his jig bounce back into deeper water and BAM! Big Fish On!  He worked it slowly to the surface and to the net and landed an 18"+ sized Seatrout. Bruce went in and hooked up and landed a 19"+ Seatrout, then Walter finished things off with another big 18"+ Seatrout catch What a way to wrap up a Fun Florida Fishing trip, one of the Best, here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Tripletail Starts the Slam

 I woke up this morning to see the box score of the Florida/Lsu baseball World Series game and sure enough, my Gators got drubbed! They could have used a Grande Slam like we picked up today fishing!

I had met John Gaydac and his son Robbie and grandsons Gray and Cam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early today and we made a fairly long run around to Pumpkin Hill and sat up to drift float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out a few hours (in retrospect, it had been going out a bit too much for us  to be at this spot, but I wanted to try it). We had just a nibble or two, so we began to work around a point and down alongside  some exposed shell and it was John who "knocked the skunk off" when he had a hookup. He played it perfectly and worked it to the boat and when I saw a gaping maw of a mouth, a bit yellow, I called it a "big Seatrout"! But as John brought it to the net we found that it was a nice sized Tripletail! Always a surprise! Coincidently we had recently caught a Tripletail within about 20 yards of this one a week or so ago. Robert also caught and landed a keeper sized Seatrout here (all fish caught today were released)

We then motored back down the Nassau to Spanish Drop, fished an exposed oyster edge, then eased up
the river to a large drainage. Here things picked up when these anglers caught a up a couple of Seatrout, Donnie hauled in a huge Catfish, and both Donnie and Robert battled some Bonnethead Sharks. They tangled with Ladyfish and boated a couple of Jack Crevalle and Robert put a nice Flounder in the boat to make it a Slam. I think we also had a small Redfish along there which made it a Grande Slam, but we improved on that later!

To wrap up the day we ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings and there both Donnie and Robert played cat and mouse with the Mangrove Snapper and caught a couple of keeper sized fish. We were about to wrap things up when we had a "bump", a bite, and Fish On! Donne was on the rod and played it expertly, keeping this big fish away from the engine. After a tense battle he landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish. The young anglers, Gray and Cam had stayed with it throughout the morning with Gray improving on his casting while Cam "wrangled" the shrimp, keeping them in line, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Summertime Smorgasbord

 Forecasted to be a hot one today, and all week, and it was when that sun came out! I had met Bob
Kossman and his adult "kids" Marcie and Michael down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and as we headed out we had a bit of overcast skies which made for some pleasant fishing for most of the morning. We made our first run up the intercoastal and to Poteat Cut where we began fishing a shelf of oysters with jigs and live shrimp and it didn't take long to begin to get fish.

Both Marcie and Bob had hookups right off and boated  some Seatrout, Marcie's being of keeper size (all fish caught today were released). We worked that bank and this trio of anglers tangled with Sharks and Jack Crevalle and a large Catfish. Note: Last week I had a Catfish fall out of the net and it's fin barely scratched my foot, just a faint nick, and boy, it burned for an hour! We moved over to the mouth of Jackstaff and fished that stretch and again, we had Shark battles, Catfish bites, and then Marcie, fishing a bit deeper, hooked up and landed a keeper sized, and a surprise, a Weakfish! Then Michael hooked up and brought to the boat the only Redfish of the day.

After running thru Horsehead and down to Twin Creeks we again worked a bank, and again, Shark bites and Jack Crevalle. A run up to some docks at Seymore's produced a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. The biggest few being right at 12". We finished the day fishing some rocks at around at Nassauville, and again caught one or two Mangroves. Typical of Summertime fishing in the back waters of Amelia Island, we had a smorgasbord of species caught so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

What Submarine?

I got to fish with my cousin today, Jim Garner, and his brother-in-law Chipper when they drove up from
Nacotee to meet me at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased out of Eagans Creek and headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings just as the tide hit dead low. We worked that dock pretty good and did pick up a handful of feisty Redfish , a Black "puppy" Drum, and a hungry Seatrout and finally Chipper did get a Red that got into the Slot.

We tried a couple of spots down the intercoastal but as we got close I could see that another Guide had beat us to it so we made the long run back around and up to the Jolley. On our way we were waylaid by one of those small Coast Guard inflatable gun boats, blue lights flashing so I slowed to allow them to catch up (hah!) he asked where we were going (the Jolley) and he yelled over some rules to follow as there was a pending submarine arrival. "OK" we yelled back, then he asked what was biting! "Redfish!"

We eased around the corner of the Jolley and fished the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp and had a couple of Shark bites. We fished up at Snook Creek and again had Shark bites and tangled with a couple of Ladyfish. Back down the river we fished a grassy pointe and the action got pretty hot - a couple of Shark fights, a Jack fight, a Ladyfish tangle, then Chipper put another Slot Red in the boat, and Jim put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  

As we came out of the Jolley we never saw a Submarine so we surmised the "Coastie" was just wanting a fishing report! And as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing hear at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Ain't Skeered of No Stinkin Rain

That's NOT what Paula Eldridge said when I spoke to her last night, but more like, "we don't mind a little rain" after I gave her the forecast of 45% chance for our trip this morning.  So we planned to meet up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp - Paula and her husband Dean and their sons Malachi and Josiah. And wouldn't  you know, when I got up this morning and looked at the forecast it was a whopping 85% chance of rain. I made sure my raincoat was packed! 

We left Old Town and eased up Eagans Creek to set up between two docks and began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the base of pilings and on Malachi's second cast, BAM! Big Fish On!   (and that set the tone for the next two hours). Malachi played it like a pro and kept that pressure on, worked it up from the bottom, let it run, worked it in, and landed an Oversized 28.25" Redfish, boy what a fish!

From then on we were catching fish. Dean seemed to have the "hot" rod, landing a couple of nice Slot Redfish, a keeper sized Sheepshead, a small Black "puppy" Drum, and a hungry Seatrout to round out his Amelia Island Backcountry Grande Slam. Paula got in on the action and hooked up and landed another Slot Redfish and after Malachi put a nice Slot fish in the boat, they had their limit! We also picked up a a handful of Croaker and a couple of Stingray.

After making the run up to the Jolley River we tried to fish the "bank" and even though it was difficult going, Dean had his float disappear and after lifting his rod to hookup, the fight was on! He worked it to the boat perfectly and after a good battle landed another Slot Redfish.

Further up the Jolley we fished the inside of Snook Creek, tossing the anchor over in the grass and fishing off the stern and it was almost immediate that these anglers were beginning to get bites. It was Josiah's turn to have the "hot" rod. He hooked up and when his drag began to sing we knew it was a Shark. Josiah played it patiently and after a good battle landed a hard charging Bonnethead Shark. But he wasn't done. About every other cast he had a bite, a hookup, and landed more Shark.

Dean put a couple of Catfish in the boat, one of them huge, and Malachi landed another fat Seatrout. After fishing back at Tyger Island, we headed in, suffering no more than a drop of two of rain all morning, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

He Did a 360

 

It looks like we may  be getting wet every  day this week, and today was no exception!  Mitch Bair and I  had  watched the weather forecast last evening and even this morning and it was looking "decent" for a fishing trip today, so I met Mitch and his son-in-law Will down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and as we headed up the intercoastal to turn into the Nassau River, the weather was nice! We pulled up at Spanish Drop and began pitch jigs and live shrimp on the first of an incoming tide. We worked that first bank pretty good. Just as we were about to move on Mitch, fishing from the bow,  had a strong hookup and Big Fish On!  The fish raced up river taking Mitch down the port side to the stern, then it headed south taking him to Starboard, then headed east taking him back to the bow! Then it dug deep and stayed deep - a Shark for sure. Mitch kept the pressure on, played it patiently and eventually brought to the boat a nice 4' Bonnethead Shark, which we tossed back (all fish caught today were released).  And while we were dealing with the Shark, Will had quietly put a Jack Crevalle in the boat. 

We then ran down to Broward Island to catch the incoming tide there, and while cruising the island, we had a Bald Eagle sighting. We fished the island thoroughly but had no real bites, which surprised me just a bit.  After making the run back to Seymore's Pointe and fishing some dock pilings with jigs, the duo did pick up a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper and a Bluefish.

Back up the Nassau we went, to Pumpkin Hill, and  now fishing float rigs, we began to see a bit of action with the tide up a bit. They caught another handful of Shark,  Will battled a nice 22" Slot Redfish to the net, Mitch hauled in a Flounder, and they also had another couple of Jack Crevalle and tangled with a Ladyfish. We had one more Slot Red right at the boat but it was not to be, which always helps to bring anglers back for another great day of fishing the back country here at Amelia Island, Florida

Fishing Can Be Wet

 

There were forecasted rains for today and when I met Russ Kesel and his sons Sam and Noah and Noah's girlfriend Alysa down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp we could see the big dark clouds barreling to us. But we were all up for fishing so we headed p the intercoastal, then up the Nassau, and made our first stop at Spanish Drop. After turning in to the current that had just started moving in about an hour earlier, we began to pitch to the bank with jigs and live shrimp. We worked the entire bank of shell but only had a couple of nibbles. 

A drizzling rain had started and the  SW wind was kicking at about 12mph so we decided to run up toSeymore's Pointe and that solved the wind issue. Casting back to some dock pilings were were able to get a little bit of action when Russ and Sam boated a couple of small Mangrove Snapper and Alysa hooked up and landed a Catfish.

We fished some rocks at Nassauville and here all four anglers got on the board catching Mangrove Snapper, first on jigs, but then we found that we could float a piece of shrimp up by the rocks and catch them that way. Unfortunately they didn't have any size to them.

But our next stop down at Pumpkin Hill paid off. The rain had finally slacked off and the wind had dropped just a bit. We were fishing long with the floats drifting with the incoming tide and we began to get big bites. Alysa had her float going long and when her float disappeared and she got that "clicky thing" turned over, she had a hookup and a fight on her hands! Alysa played it perfectdly and soon landed a nice Jack Crevalle. After moving around the corner all anglers did battle with some Bonnethead Sharks and landed more than we lost. Then Russ had a good hookup and we were thinking "Shark, again", but this fish never made the long run. Russ stayed with it, worked it patiently in, and landed a nice 24" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish. Then it was Alysa's turn to fight the big fish. After her float disappeared and she got that "clicky thing" closed, she worked it and landed a big 18" Seatrout.

We finished out the trip in that area, catching a couple of more Shark, some Ladyfish, and one more keeper sized Seatrout before we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

That Sweet Sound of Drag Ripping

 I fished with Chris Sneed and his fishing partner Chuck this morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours. There was almost zero wind so we made our way around the south end of Amelia to fish the small jettu while we were in the area.  There was another boat on the north end so we stayed on the south and tossed jigs and live shrimp and even though they reported some "bumps" we had no takers. 

After running up the Nassau River we stopped at Spanish Drop and worked the flooding shore line with float rigs and the shrimp. The sound of drags ripping as this duo hooked up and battled Bonnethead Shark  is still ringing in my ears! We had more than a handful of shark fights. But finally, Chuck had made a good toss to the grass line and as his float slowly went under he lifted his rod and let the circle hook set and Fish On! Chuck brought it to the boat and landed a respectable Flounder for the box.

We fished Twin Creeks and beyond and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, then we made the run around to Pumpkin Hill to drift the floats long on the last of that incoming tide. Again, Shark fights were the norm, but Chris did pick up a Seatrout on a pointe. Then, finally, some more drag ripping, but this fish stayed up close to the bank and when it boiled, we knew it was a big Red!  Chris played it patiently and after a good battle landed an oversized 28.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!

After moving around the corner Chris had another hookup and I would have bet money it was a Flounder by the way it bit and fought. But as Chris worked it to the net we saw it was an uncommon Tripletail!

After that we fished Seymore's Pointe and caught a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a handful of Catfish, a couple of Ladyfish, a grunt, and a Jack Crevalle. It wasn't uncommon to hear those drags ripping so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.