Flounder in Horsehead

 

I was fishing out of Sawpit Creek again this morning, this time meeting Hank Prolog and his fishing buddies Harry and Fred. We left the dock early and made our way up the Nassau River and made our first stop at Spanish Drop on a tide that was almost hitting bottom - the trio of anglers were pitching jigs and live shrimp to the exposed shell bank, but I don't think we had a legitimate bite. We moved on up the river and fished a large drainage and again, no bites. The tide turned so we moved further up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings where they picked up a few Pinfish, a couple of Jacks, and Fred landed a small Black Sea Bass. 

Our next stop was up at Broward Island, fishing with the Bald Eagles and here Hank hooked up and
expertly landed a feisty Redfish. We worked a few spots along the island and before we left Harry had a good hookup and he too landed a similar Redfish. We then made good run back down the Nassau, thru Horsehead and over to the mouth of Jackstaff where we worked the bank with float rigs. We had action along here - the tangled with high flying Ladyfish then Hank had his float slowly go under and he hooked it up. After a patient battle he brought to the net a keeper sized Flounder. And shortly after that Fred had the same bite - he brought it in expertly and landed another keeper sized Flounder - both fish were photographed and released.  Like the last few days, we had to work for our fish, but we've had some excellent weather, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Lady's Rule The Flounder Bragging Rights Board

 Looks like we've got Chamber of Commerce weather this week -clear, cool, and sunny with only a slight breeze in the mornings. Today I met Alex and Laura Winter down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp (Goffinsville Park is closed) and we ran up the Nassau River to Seymore's Point with a plan to fish some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide. It wasn't a good plan. I'm not sure if we even got a legitimate nibble on our jigs and live shrimp. We then ran down to Broward Island to catch the first of the incoming there and were greeted by the Bald Eagles who kept a watchful eye over our fishing efforts. I think I heard them laughing - we didn't get a bite until Alex finally "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly played to the net a feisty Redfish. 

We then made our way back down the river to Spanish Drop and switched to float rigs and on the first drift BAM! Laura had a hookup. She worked it in patiently and as it came to the net we saw that it was a big Flounder - it measured right at 18" and big enough to move Laura into the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder category. The sole occupants of that category are lady anglers! We had a good flurry of bites there - Laura picked up a 17" Seatrout and a couple of Ladyfish while Alex added a 16" Trout and battled to the boat a big 4' Bonnethead Shark. We finished up back at Pumpkin Hill drifting the floats then we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

First Shark* of the Year and Trout Flurry

 

We had a beautiful day to kick off the week today - clear skies and only a bit of wind. After picking up Gary Yasuda, his son Allen, and David Vice out at Oyster Bay, we made the run over to the Tyger logs and fished jigs and live shrimp to the bank on a tide that had been coming in for a couple of hours. We didnt' get a whole lot of bites, but Gary did "knock the skunk off" with a hungry Flounder bite-first fish of the day! We then ran around to the Jolly River and fished the "bank" with float rigs and the shrimp but didn't get much more than a nibble. After running up the Jolley to Snook Creek we worked that bank for a bit, then dipped inside and switched back to the jigs.

This did the trick when David hooked up with a strong fish - he was fishing on the bow but the fish took him around the stern, back up to the bow, then back to the stern. David played him expertly and after a good battle landed the first Shark* of the year - a 4 footer!

We drifted up the creek while I reset the trolling motor remote and while I was doing that David and Allen doubled teamed a hungry Seatrout to the net. We made our way back down the river and fished Tyger Cut with the floats and I believe it was first

cast and BAM! We had a hookup - a hungry Seatrout. Then all three anglers were catching fish - we had one "double" brough to the net and had another one hooked up. David found three nice keeper sized Trout in that bunch - both Gary and Allen contributed to the catch with Seatrout landings. We'd had a beautiful day, caught a good handful of fish, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Float Hot or Jig Hot?

 It looks like I wrapped my week up before our annual Shrimp Fest, fishing with Harry Purnell and his
fishing partner Terry. We met down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and headed up the intracoastal, then up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to catch the last of an incoming tide. I had high hopes for this spot, knowing that some big Trout had been biting lately, and after Terry hooked and landed a Trout on his first or second drift, I was feeling good about the choice. BUT, so much for that - both anglers were getting good drifts along the flooding bank - we tried two other banks in that area, but no more fish. After motoring back to Seyomores Pointe and fishing a large drainage on the first of an outgoing tide, to no avail, we cut thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and stayed with the float rigs. Here, Teddy, fishing off the stern, hooked and battle a huge Ladyfish to the net, then he went back in and had a good bite  - he let the circle hook set and Fish On!  Teddy played it perfectly and soon landed a big 18" Seatrout.  He added a couple of smaller Trout to his catch on that float rig.

Harry was fishing the same runs with his float but the fish were ignoring his bait! We made a move over to Jackstaff and fished a flooded sand bar, this time switching to jigs, and this made the difference for Harry - he felt a hard thump on the bottom, hooked it up, and brought another large Seatrout to the net. He was "on the board". After running back thru Horsehead and down to Littlefield we stayed with the jigs. Harry was fishing off the stern and caught a hard fighting Jack Crevalle - the first of the year, and after we moved over to Twin Creeks he hooked and landed a "barely not legal" Flounder - it was 13.75" - nice but just a tad too short. We had to work for our fish today, but we had two nice fat Trout in the box so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florda.

Win Some and Lose Some With Big Trout Today

 The weather was a but "grungier" this morning, misting when I picked up David Vice and his fishing
partner Greg over at Oyster Bay early. We headed back down Lanceford Creek and made our way up Bell and thru Tyger to make our first stop on the outside of Tyger to fish float rigs and live shrimp on the first of an outgoing tide. That first spot didn't produced, not a bite but after we crossed over the creek and began pitching we got bites right off. The duo of anglers landed a couple of small Seatrout, then David tangled with the first Ladyfish of the year, and boy were they big - I mistakenly called one a a small "Tarpon"- it looked like it had some girth and was high flying. Then David hooked up and battled a (now) oversized Seatrout to the net, measuring at 19.25", boy what a nice fish. 

We then made the run up to the Jolly River and worked the "bank" with the float rigs. It was Greg's turn to have the big battle - this fish took the live shrimp and ran, ripping drag. I was thinking "slot Redfish" as Greg battled it - but as he brought it to the boat we saw that it was a huge Seatrout. It made a couple of dashes and as I went to dip the net it made one last surge and "BAP", fish off! Ouch. We moved up the Jolley and fished a couple of spots, - Greg hooked and landed a hungry Flounder - then made our way over to the Bell River and switched to jigs. David had a strong "thump" under the boat and he expertly played a nice 20.25" to the net. This fish moved David into 3rd Place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. We ended the day fishing some dock pilings and here both Greg and David caught Black "puppy" Drum and Sheepshead to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Seatrout, Flounder, Black Drum and Sheepshead. As we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Things Ought To Be Kicking Off

 ...but not today! The water temperature is over 70 now in the backwater, I'm starting to see bait and
bonnetheads, and saw our first Roseatte Spoonbills yesterday - the fish bite is surely going to turn on just any day. But today we struggled a bit to even get bites. I had met Josh Jenkins down at Sawpit Creek on a beautiful morning and after running up the Nassau River we made our first stop at the mouth of Middle River with plans to drift the floats with live shrimp on a tide that had been going out a few hours. Josh got a few bites but nothing big enough to take the hook. We came back down the Nassau to a drainage and fished it with jigs and shrimp and we weren't getting much action until finally we had a good bite and Fish On!  Josh was on the rod - he kept the rod up and pressure on as it dug deep - the fish took him from the bow down the starboard side, across the stern to port and here Josh played it expertly to wear the fish out and landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. We noted that the fish was "pale" from being near the ocean. 

We fished Spanish Drop for a bit with the  igs and Twin Creeks for a bit, then made our way back up the Nassau to fish at Lilttlefield with the jigs, We added a hungry Seatrout and a small Flounder to the catch before we moved around to Seymore's Pointe where we fished some dock pilings. We didn't get much but Josh did outsmart a big Pinfish. Our final stop was down at Broward Island where we fished the last of an outgoing tide - we had nibbles but not takers. We did see Osprey's, some dolphin, and a Bald Eagle and we had a some nice Redfish filet's in the box so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Do Your Work!

 

What a great week we are having - the weather is great and the fish catching seems to be picking up. Today I met David Bolton up at his place on Lanceford Creek and along with his grandkids Ruth and Michael, we made our way back around the corner to try some jig fishing up under some dock pilings on a tide that was going out and still had an hour or so of hitting bottom.  It didn't take long - we had a strong hookup and it was BIG! That fish followed the current up under the dock and kept going and with a BAP!, it was gone! But these anglers were not to be deterred. We went back under the dock with a cast and Ruth was on the rod and BAM! She had a good hookup. Ruth was tenacious - she worked it out with a vengeance and....the Michael had a hookup - we had a Double! It was pandemonium! Ruth played her fish experltty and soon landed a nice keeper sized Black Drum.  Then all the attention turned to Michael who was valiantly fighting his fish - he played it patiently and brought to the net a nice Slot sized Redfish. David and I were out of breath!

We got the fish photographed, measured and in the live well, and baited up again, and Ruth handed me
the rod to cast and said, "do you work"! Hah! But the commotion of those big fish battles must have turned them off -we didn't get another bite. We then headed down the creek to the intracoastal, then down the river to fish some structure and again, we were met with some disappointment.  We hadn't been fishing for just a few minutes when Michael had another strong bite and this one was ripping some serious drag - all he could do was hold on until Poppa got up there to help him then they both were holding on unti lthe fish got into some pilings and broke off. It was Anglers 2,  Fish 2 on the score board. Michael hooked and battled a big Catfish to the net to make it Anglers 3, Fish 2.  We continued down the intracoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and set up fishing a sandy point with the jigs, but had no real bites. After running thru Horsehead we pulled up at a dock and made some casts, and the fish pulled ahead!  David had a good bite right off and the drag was ripping, and the fish kept going - Ouch. Then, I had tossed a bait up to the pilings and again, a strong bite. It too was ripping drag and I was calling for Michael to come help but we couldn't do anything with it - the fish wrapped around the pilings and broke off. Double Ouch. It was not Anglers 3 and Fish 4!

We made our way down to Broward Island and fished the edge pretty  good on the last of the outgoing tide. Although we were getting nibbles here and there we didn't get any real bites until Ruth felt a slight "bump" - she set the hook expertly and fought to the surface a nice keeper sized Flounder to tie up the "Fish Bowl" 4-to-4!   We had a "slam" in the box, had eaten a few snacks, and had a beautiful day, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

A Slam For The Boston Boys

 

Luckily we are having some great weather this week. The fish "catching" is not on fire, but I can almost feel it trying to heat up. Today I met Dick Conley and his visiting from Boston son-in-law Hugh, and grandsons John and Paddy, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp mid-morning. We made the run up the intracoastal, up the Nassau, and made our way to our first stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where we commenced to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the pilings on the first of an incoming tide. Unfortunately, all we got were nibbles. We then made our way down to  Broward Island and fished under a juvenile Bald Eagle, but again, only nibbles. We then made our way north and fished the island on the first of an incoming tide and this did the trick - Hugh "knocked the skunk off" with a nice hungry Seatrout catch. He also had a bite, then snagged then he and John worked out and landed an ugly old Toad Fish! Dick added a Flounder to the catch before we moved on. 

We ran back down the river to Twin Creeks and began drifting float rigs and live shrimp over the shell bottom - I think first cast got a bite, then they picked up another fat Trout. Paddy was on the stern drifting long and it paid off - his float disappeared, he set the hook and, Fish On!  Paddy fought it valiantly to the boat and landed a Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish., and it rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of  Seatrout, Flounder and Redfish. We fished down at Spanish Drop with the floats, then back up at Pumpkin Hill where we were watched diligently by one of the adult Bald Eagles. We had a beautiful day, had caught some fish, so as we headed back to the dock

we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Weather Swings

 

Yesterday we had high winds and dropping temperatures while today we had almost no wind, cooler, but real sunny- an ideal day. I met Henry Ross and his fishing crew Jon and Jeff, up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle ramp. We eased down Eagans Creek and made our way over to the river, then  up it to fish some docks on the first of incoming tide. We were getting good casts up into the pilings but the fish either not hungry or not there. We then made our way over to Tyger Island and fished the downed logs and this paid off. Henry "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder, caught out deep. Shortly after that Jon had a strong bite, his dragged ripped a bit and Fish On! Jon played it  perfectly and soon landed an nice slot Redfish. We eased along the island and Henry got hot, hooking and landing a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper size. 

We came out from behind the island and ran up to Jolley River where we made a stop on the outside ofSnook Creek. The anglers switched to float rigs and were getting good drifts when Jeff saw his float disappear and the battle was on! This fish was ripping some drag and I thought for sure it was going to be a nice Slot Redfish but as Jeff worked it to the surface we saw it was a huge Trout. Jeff eased it to the net and landed a big 21.5" Trout, a fish big enough to mover Jeff into 1st Place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament- Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We moved back down the river to Tyger Cut and fished that with the floats and had a good flurry of Seatrout catches, one of which was of keeper size. 

Our final stop was on the outside of Tyger, fishing jigs, in hopes of some more Flounder. We didn't get them but Jeff did hookup and land a nice 1lb Whiting to go in the box. And with that, we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Boy, Were We Wrong

 It was one of those "Chamber of Commerce" days with clear skies, sunshine, and only a slight breezewhen I met Jeff Key and his fiancé Sally down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. The gnats were bad at the dock but after we made our way up the river we never saw them again. Our first stop was up at Pumpkin Hill where we drifted float rigs and live shrimp with the last of the incoming current and it didn't take long for Jeff to hookup and bring to the boat a nice keeper sized Seatrout. He caught a couple more smaller Trout then he had a good hookup, one that was ripping some drag - I called "small Redfish" but as Jeff worked it to the net he landed a big 19.5" oversized Seatrout - big enough to move Jeff in to 2nd Place in the 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). But I wasn't done being wrong!

On another drift Jeff had a hard take and almost immediately a big dark form rolled up. Jeff and I called it a "Ray" while Sally called it a dolphin. It was ripping drag and digging deep and I thought for sure that, being a Ray, it would break off any minute. But Jeff kept the pressure on and fought it patiently -it rolled again but didn't actually show, but we new it was big! Jeff worked it around the stern of the boat, let it run, worked it closer, then I saw that it was a huge Redfish. After landing the fish we measured it (twice) as 27.5" - oversized but big enough to move Jeff into 2nd Place in the Redfish Category of the Bragging Rights Tournament! We added one more keeper Trout along here, and also had some small throw backs. 

We fished around a point and picked up another smaller Trout, then ran back to Seymore's Pointe where I just knew we'd be getting some more fish. Wrong again! We didn't get a real bite. Thru Horsehead we went and on the other side we set up and fished a drainage, to no avail. We went over and fished Poteat Point where Jeff did hookup and land another nice keeper sized Seatrout. Back over at Jackstaff we pulled up to fish a cut with jigs. The two anglers weren't getting any bites but then I saw Sally's rod bend and Fish On!  Sally played the fish expertly and slowly worked it up to the surface - a tale-tale sign- and sure enough as it came up we saw it was a nice Flounder. Sally brought it to the net and we measured it at 16.5", big enough to set the bar for 1st Place in the 2026 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. And shortly after that Jeff hooked and landed a smaller Flounder. 

We ran back thru Horsehead and down to Twin Creeks where we wrapped the trip up tossing jigs and minnows. We had some good fish in the boat, had thrown back some oversized ones, and had made a mark on the Bragging Rights board so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.