Recipe of The Month: Crawfish Queso

 This came across my screen, from Hymels Kajun Kitchen...

1/2 stick butter      

1  small onion, diced                                                                                   1   can Original Rotel                                                                              1/2 bunch of green onions, the green part, chopped                                2   Tablespoons diced jalapeno's (I used fresh)                                            2  Teaspoons Cajun Seasoning                                                                    1  lb Velveeta Queso Blanco                                                                        1   8oz bag shredded Colby Jack cheese                                                    1  can evaporated milk                                                                                1  lb Crawfish tails  (the tails that I find are always 8oz, so I also cooked 1/2 lb of Hot Jimmy Dean sausage and added that to the mix)                                                                                                                    Tortilla Chips

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chopped onions, the jalapenos and the green onions and cook them down until soft. Add the can of Rotel and cook for a bit, add some Cajun Seasoning. Add the evaporated milk and stir, add the Velveeta, cut up into chunks, add the shredded cheese and cook over low heat. (I cooked the sausage separately and added it now). Add some Cajun Seasoning if needed. When the mixture begins to get hot, add the Crawfish Tails - they are already cooked so all we really need to do is heat them up. Serve with some Tortilla chips. 

One out of Five

 Those "glass like waters" keep on coming - it was a beautiful morning when I met Bob and William
Blalock out at Goffinsville Park boat ramp - I launched at Sawpit and motored up there (according to the County, the ramp repair is "in design and permitting stage"). I had launched early and cast netted some nice finger mullet to add to the mud minnows I had purchased so we had a good well full of bait. We made our first stop down at Twin Creeks and fished jigs to the outlets on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours and it was William who knocked the skunk off with a nice keeper sized Flounder -all fish caught today were released. They added a couple of "junk fish" before we moved on.

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting the floats. The Ladyfish were ever present but Bob did put a big 18" Seatrout in the boat, then he battled a big Jack Crevalle. We worked around the point then made our was further south to hit a spot that sometimes produces fish - in particular a non-descript point of grass that I've noted produces a big Trout one in five times we fish it. William had made the perfect cast just north of the point and let his float drift naturally and BAM! Big fish on!  He was getting some drag ripping and he and Bob were guessing "Redfish" but sure enough, when William expertly brought it to the net, it was a 20"+ gator Seatrout. We quickly photographed and released her. Crazy how that spot holds a big Trout, on occasion.

We ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point but I think we got there a little too early, the tide was just hitting high, but we ran down to Sawpit and fished a nice drainage that I had been eyeing and it paid off - we picked up a couple of Flounder and Bob caught one that was of keeper size. William had tossed up between some pilings and a big fish hit just as a boat wake rolled us and I thought we might lose William  but he stayed with it - he battled the fish to the net and landed a big Jack Crevalle. We had some good weather, some good action, some big Trout and so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

1st Mate Material

 The water was like glass all day today! I had met Bob Miller, his brother Jim and Jim's son Nick and
grandson Sam down at Sawpit Creek early - it was so still that the sand gnats made an appearance! But we got underway and that was the last we saw of them - we headed up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs and mudminnows up by the grass on a tide that still had about and hour and a half to high. We had some action - a bunch of Ladyfish and a couple of Jack Crevalle, but Jim did hookup and land a keeper sized Seatrout.

We came back to Seymore's Point and drifted it for a few casts then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point. Again, a lot of "junk" fish - Ladyfish, a Catfish, but then Bob hooked up and put another keeper Trout in the boat. And the Nick/Sam team followed that up with even a bigger Trout, this one measuring right at 18". Jim pulled a small Flounder out of there then we made the mover back over to Jackstaff and tossed jigs and minnows. My jigs didn't make too much of an impression - we didn't catch much, just another small flounder. 

By this time Sam was filling in as "1st mate" - he was retrieving the bait, hooking some of them up, and he had taken over net duties. We finished up back in the Nassau, fishing Twin Creeks with the  jigs, and here Jim finally got a keeper sized Flounder for the box. We had some good action for most of the morning and had a few fish 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.

Weekly Wrap Up

 It was an interesting week!  I "fun" fished on Wednesday with friend Tandy Morton using his boat - kinda nice to be a passenger! We left the Amelia Island Marina early and made the run out to the jetties, making our way over to the north jetty, on the inside, about half way between the bend and the end, where we set up with Tandy's trolling motor to hold us at anchor, about 40' off the rocks, on the last of an outgoing tide. Tandy had bought some mud minnows the day before and had cast netted for some perfect sized finger mullet so we had some good bait. Tandy  had a bucktail jig baited with the mullet and I was tossing a 3/8oz jig with the mullet and every once in a while we'd get a good bite. For me, it was kinda weird - that deeper, moving water made it a little difficult to feel the bite, but we got the hand of it. We ended up getting two nice Slot Reds in the boat and one keeper sized Flounder, and we threw back an oversized Red. And we missed at least four good fish - we had 'em on but they just came off!

The next day I took John Raker and Kenny King out there, pretty much to the same area. John had a
good strong hookup on about his 2nd cast, but unfortunately, it too came off. From then on all we had were nibbles. We eased down the jetty tossing to cuts but had no more good bites. So we made a run back in and up the Jolley where we set up along some exposed shell and went back to 1/4ox jigs and mud minnows and this did the trick. Both Kenny and John had good hookups with feisty Redfish. We bounced over to the MOA and picked up another Red, then we came back to the outside of Tyger and worked that bank and picked up a handful of Flounder. 

Yesterday I fished with the Bailey Boys - Douglas and his sons Anderson and Dylan, this time meeting down at Sawpit Creek. We made the run up the intracoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and fished a cut on an outgoing tide with jigs and mud minnows. I was expecting Flounder but I don't think we got a one. They did pick up a feisty Redfish and an "almost" legal Mangrove Snapper. After running through Horsehead we hit few drainages and picked up few fish. After fishing a drainage over at Nassauville where we picked up another Snapper and a small Flounder, we then made our way down to Broward Island where we had our best action. Anderson put a couple of more of those feisty Reds in the boat, Dylan expertly played a keeper sized Seatrout to the boat, but the net man missed him, then Douglas had a strong hookup and battled a nice slot Redfish to the net. While he was doing that Anderson hooked and landed another "almost legal" Mangrove. Then it was Dylan's turn to fight the big Red - he played it patiently to the boat and landed another Slot Redfish. We finished the day tossing floats at Pumpkin Hill but the sun was up and hot and the tide was at a standstill so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Nothing Like Some Drag Ripping

 I wrapped my week up fishing today with Garland Clark, the "birthday boy"!  We had a good time - we left Sawpit Creek early and headed up the intracoastal, then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide had been coming in for an hour or so and the shell banks were about covered, but we went with jigs - I had a bunch of live shrimp, a handful of mud minnows and a live well of finger mullet - we were loaded! Garland "knocked the skunk off" early when he hooked up and quickly brought to the boat a couple of feisty Redfish, one after the other.  We moved up the river to a drainage and fished it a few casts, then we moved on up to Twin Creeks and here we hit pay dirt.

First, Garland had had a couple of "nibbles" and finally hooked one up - a nice Black "puppy" Drum (all fish caught today were released. Then, in just a few casts he had his rod bend and his line take off heading west and boy was that drag ripping - it wasn't slowing down - we chased it! I was worried he was going to get spooled. But we teamed up, I followed it up the river while Garland cranked in the line then we hovered over the big fish until Garland wore it out and brought it to the surface - a 4' plus Bonnethead Shark.  We got a couple of pics and tossed it back. 

When Garland had another strong bite I was thinking, "oh shoot, another Bonnethead", but it didn't make that really long run, although it made some strong deep runs closer to the boat. We were speculating what he had and boy was it great to see when it came to the surface that it was a huge Redfish! Garland patiently worked it to the boat and landed an Oversized 28" Redfish, boy what a fish.

We hit a handful of spots where Garland caught a small Whiting, a couple of small Mangrove Snappers, a small Jack Crevalle, then we finished the day when he hooked and landed the first keeper sized Mangrove Snapper! He met the Challenge and claimed the GPK! And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

One Big Trout and Big Bonnethead

 We had a couple of days of afternoon rainstorms come through and I think it made a difference in the fish bite. This morning we had a tide that was about midway coming in, clear skies, and just a little breeze which made for some comfortable fishing early, but by 11am it was getting HOT! I fished with Kenny King and his crew, John Raker and John's mother Betty, meeting them out at Oyster Bay. We came back down Lanceford and then up the Bell to make our first stop at a point of oysters that were just about already covered. We had a baitwell of healthy shrimp, a handful of mud minnows (caught yesterday) and a live well with about 2 dozen finger mullet. That first stop didn't produce much at all, just a few nibbles.

We made our way down the intracoastal with plans to stop at some structure but a shore angler beat us to it, so we kept going down to Poteat Point where we drifted the floats with the incoming tide. Although we didn't count them as "skunk off", Kenny did pick up Catfish and a Ladyfish, then finally, a hungry Seatrout. After making our way over to Jackstaff we turned into the "bank" and fished it all the way back to the point and may have gotten a fish or two. But when we turned the corner the action picked up with Ladyfish catches then Kenny had a strong bite - it giving him a good fight and we felt sure it was going to be a decent fish, and it was! Kenny expertly brought to the boat a big 19.75" Seatrout, which we photographed and released, boy what a fish!

After fishing a couple of more spots off of Jackstaff, we ran thru Horsehead and fished a drainage at Seymore's Point then finished up the day over on Alligaator Creek. Here, Betty tangled with two Bonnethead Shark - the second one was about 4 foot and then she finished up the day with a nice Seatrout catch. We had caught a couple of big fish and had great weather so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as aother great day to be fsihing here at Amelia Island Florida.

Those Dang Baitstealers

 Sooner or later I'm going to have to quit griping about them, but boy do those baitstealers make it tough to get a good fish! My guests today, Terry Foley and his buddy Chris found out early - after running up the intracoastal, then up Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill we had a pretty good high and incoming tide to drift those float rigs baited with live shrimp (still no mud minnows at the bait shop). They were re-baiting non-stop, unfortunately. But Terry did get one by them and sure enough, BAM! He hooked up and expertly landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Around the corner we picked up a small Redfish and Chris battled a Bonnethead Shark and a big Jack to the net for photograph and release.

We made a brief stop back at Seymore's Point, then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where we drifted the floats. We had bites and Terry had something on briefly but it tangled in an old line and thru the hook. Back over in Jackstaff we switched to jigs and picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then Chris had a good "thump", he set the hook and patiently brought to the boat a keeper sized Flounder. 

After running back thru Horsehead we hit a couple of drainages as we got to the bottom of our bait. Chris reeled in an "almost legal" Mangrove Snapper and then Terry wrapped the catching up when he hooked a Flounder right at the boat and brought it in. We then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

I've set a minnow trap out the last couple of days but the tide is either too high or too low or the minnows I catch are too small. Come on Fall!

Catchin Without the Muds

 With the scarcity of mud minnows at the bait shops now days, we're having to go with live shrimp and boy, do we blow thru a bunch! I fished Friday and today with the Raker Team - John and his mother Betty and their friend Kenny King. Friday we fished out around Nassauville and caught a few - we had a small Red, some small Seatrout, a small Flounder and a handful of small Mangrove Snapper, and Kenny tangled with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.

Today we met out at Oyster Bay and made our first stop back down Lanceford, fishing floats on the very first of a high and outgoing tide. Betty got hot early catching Seatrout off the stern. John picked up a feisty Redfish and Kenny battled two Black "puppy" Drum to the net, one of which was of keeper size. As it turned out we got fish at almost every stop today. We made our way down Lanceford and over to the outside of Tyger and switched to jigs and again had a good flurry of fish catching. Betty put a keeper Whiting in the boat and John battled a huge Bonnethead shark to the boat for pictures and release.  We eased up the outside of Tyger to fish a large drainage with the jigs in hopes of getting Flounder but it was Seatrout that bit our live shrimp on the jigs. Around the corner and up into the Jolley we fished the "bank" and picked up a couple of feisty Reds and I tossed the cast net briefly to get a few finger mullet for bait.

After making our way up the Jolley we stopped at another large drainage and drifted the floats along the exposed shell and here Betty had a good string of feisty Redfish catches. Our bait had dwindled to almost nothing but we had a couple of shrimp left and those few mullet so we worked the outside of Snook Creek and picked up one more keeper Whiting. John had put a mullet under a float and after a good cast we all saw a big fish roll on the bait and BAM! That float was gone! We could tell it was a nice fish - John played it patiently and worked it slowly to the net to landed a big 20" Gator Trout, boy what a fish. Although we didn't have mud minnows the shrimp provided good action so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fast And Furious Beginning

 I met the McBride boys this morning down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp - Ragan, his father Rand, and his two sons Kellan and Cole. We made a quick run up the intracoastal and made our first stop at a large drainage marked by a whole herd of birds feeding in its flow. The first "demo" cast caught a feisty Redfish that Kellan expertly reeled in and the 2nd cast produced a strong bite. Cole was on the rod initially and it didn't "act" very big but then it started a long run and Cole was in for a battle. The big fish came out and went long and took the line thru the transducer and the engine - we had to open the bail and get the line out, and, OH Boy, we had been spooled! But the dumb fish didn't know any better so we the line free and chased it and Ragan took a turn working the fish up - he played it perfectly and we eventually boated a 4' Bonnethead Shark. That woke everybody up!

We fished that drainage and moved down and fished Spanish Drop and caught a variety of fish - Redfish, Seatrout, Jacks and Catfish and Ragan added a keeper sized Flounder to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. All fish caught today were released. We then made a move up to Seymore's Point where the team picked up a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, then Kellan had a good hookup on a live shrimp - he played it patiently and worked it to the net to land a feisty Black "puppy" Drum, makling it a "Grand Slam". Grandad Rand had been kinda quite, letting the boys fish, but he had a good hookup too. He worked it to the boat and landed keeper sized Seatrout.

After a run south we fished Broward Island for a bit but had no real takers, then we moved up to
Pumkin Hill to fish an incoming tide and here, Cole, fishing off the stern and going long, had is float disappear. He quickly slapped that bail shut and started cranking and Fish On!  He hauled it in and landed a hungry Seatrout. We fished both sides of the point, stopped back at Twin Creeks on the way back, then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Right From The Start

 It seemed we were catching fish this morning right from the start! I had met Mark Averbuch and Paul
Clark down at Sawpit Creek early this morning and after a short run up the intracoastal, then up the Nassau, we made our first stop just north of Spanish Drop at a nice drainage that poured thru some oysters into fairly deep water (12'). We didn't have mud minnows today! Evidently there is a shortage, so I went with live shrimp and fortunately they were perfect sized mediums, and healthy! Although the bait stealers did cause some issues, not enough to curtail our fish catching! That first stop, within minutes, Paul had a strong bite and his rod bent and his drag ripped and Big Fish On! Paul played him perfectly as it ran from shore out, digging deep and...Mark hooked up with a big one - we had a Double! They both were doing and excellent job playing these big fish and....Paul's came off, dang it! That's twice in the last two trips we've had big Reds just come off and both times the anglers had that pressure on - they must have not been fully hooked. But Mark still had his own and this one cooperated and we eventually netted a nice 26.25" "tournament" Redfish. Paul came back and hooked up and landed a nice hungry Seatrout before we moved on. 

Our next stop was back at Spanish Drop, fishing the very first of an incoming tide and boy did we catch some fish - they put one feisty Redfish in the boat after another. Paul had some good battles with a Jack Crevalle and a Bonnethead Shark while Mark reeled up a Flounder to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Our next stop was up at Seymore's Pointe fishing some dock pilings. Mark hooked and landed a Black Drum to make it a Grande Slam, then Paul had a good hard thump and hooked it up. He played it perfectly and worked in a big 18.25" Seatrout (all fish caught today were released). After they snagged a handful of small Mangrove Snapper, we moved on. 

After running down to Broward Island and fishing one spot for a bit, we moved down a ways and fished a drainage and that did the trick. They caught a couple of feisty Redfish that were feeding on bait at the mouth of the drain, then as we moved down the island Paul had another strong take - we could tell, it was ripping drag and wasn't coming in! But Paul had other plans and he worked it to the boat expertly and soon landed a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish. We fished Pumpkin Hill with float rigs for a bit, but did I mention the wind? It had picked up to 14mph and was kicking us around and after Paul tangled with a couple of Ladyfish we decided to head back, but we had caught some good fish this morning and so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.