Sight Fishing

Just when I think the water can't be any calmer then we have a day like today.  I picked up Bill Easom
and his party of friends Dan, Mike and Gordy at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning at 7:30am.  The river was as slick as a lake and there was some lingering fog as we headed up the Nassau River. We ran straight to Bubblegum Reef to fish the area as the tide began to creep back in.  There was outstanding action with the anglers catching Seatrout, Puppy Drum, and a nice keeper sized Flounder - caught by Bill. They also had a Perch, Ladyfish,

Snapper, a couple of Jack Crevalle's and an "ex-wife" fish.  The tide had come up somewhat and we all noticed the big wakes on the other side of an old oyster bed so a few of the anglers stepped out of the boat in knee deep water and waded to the oyster bed to fish the other side.  It wasn't long before Bill had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and we soon netted a nice Redfish!  Mike and Dan got in on the action off of the oyster bed by picking up some Seatrout while Gordy fished the deeper water and picked up Trout, too. Dan hooked up with a very nice Slot Redfish

and brought him to the net, then Gordy picked a Red up out deep.  Later, we made a run back down Nassau and here Mike had the hot rod fishing a float rig an live shrimp, catching a handful of Seatrout.  We then ran around through Horsehead and with only a short time to go Gordy picked up a Whiting then Bill had a hookup that had his drag singing!  He played the big fish perfectly and after an extended battle he landed a big 3 1/2' Bonnethead Shark! With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

I Thought It was a Shark

We continued to fish the south end today and are getting excellent Trout bites.  I met Susan and Tom Hitchcock down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park this morning at 7:30am and we headed up the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef just after the tide had started coming in.  We caught a pretty good hand full of Seatrout, a Flounder, and a Ladyfish.  We moved back down the river to Spanish Drop and fished a small creek mouth. It wasn't long before we had a float go under and FISH ON!  Tom worked
the big fish in expertly and we had a nice 17" Seatrout.  Susan was fishing the same bank and when her float got jerked under and her line began to zip through the water I thought for sure she had picked up a Shark.  Then her line went slack and we all thought the fish had thrown the hook, but it was just swimming right at the boat!  Susan reeled her line in quickly and again had some pressure on the fish.  It made a number of runs which she patiently battled then she brought the fish in to our waiting catch net - a huge 24 1/2"  6lb Seatrout! Boy what a fish!  This fish put Susan in first place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category. (Scroll down right side of this report for standings)   Shortly after that, Tom hooked up and reeled in a nice 19" Trout then Susan added a keeper sized Flounder.  We made run through Horsehead to fish the mouth of Jackstaff and had few nibbles before calling it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Great Trout Bite Today

After fishing north Amelia Island the last few times we decided to make a change and fish the south
end for a change.  I met Wesley and Tina Smith and their son Alex down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island this morning and we headed up the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef as the tide came in.  We hadn't been fishing the bottom long with 1/4 oz Thunda Jigs when the anglers began to get hookups.  Tina reeled in the first Jack Crevalle of the year and then Alex had a good hookup and caught a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  All the

anglers began to have good bites and caught hungry Seatrout and then Tina added another keeper to the box.  We made a run to the logs of Broward Island and although the fishing was slow, Wesley did hookup with a good Seatrout.  We fished Christopher Creek with no real bites then headed over to Jackstaff as the tide began to flood and the wind picked up.  These anglers were game though and worked the bank with float rigs and jigs.  Tina had a heafty Whiting and Alex reeled in a nice 20" Seatrout to round out another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

I Gotta Change My Hat

The hat I've been wearing isn't working. The last couple of trips,  I've had good anglers and decent weather but we've had to work to find some fish.  Today was no exception, but we did catch a few.  Claude and Melanie Owens and their two sons Trey and Trevor had met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning and it was a beautiful day. However the wind was blowing somewhat so we headed up to Tiger Island and got in around behind it and BOOM BOOM, Trout hookup by
Claude and Trout hookup by Trey!  I thought, "oh boy, here we go"!  But that was about it.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and fished "the bank" with float rigs with no real bites, moved up to Snook Creek, with no real bites and then on past to the next runout and had no real bites.  The wind was really playing havoc with the boat, the casting and the fishing so we ran back to the Tiger logs and fished out of the wind.  Trevor caught a hungry Whiting and then as he patiently worked his bait, a nice keeper sized Flounder hooked up and Trevor played it to the net.  We ran around to fish the Rayonier pipeline and again caught a couple of Seatrout then finished up at the Rayonier warehouse with another Seatrout.   So all told we had 4-6 Seatrout, a nice Flounder and a Whiting. These anglers gave it a good shot and had great attitudes and enjoyed being out on Amelia Island waters fishing as a family!

Oh What a Beautiful Day

The river was like glass when David Feenstra and his wife Diane and I left the Fernandina Harbor Marina out of Amelia Island this morning.  They had taken the short trip into town from the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge and we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock. We headed up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the first of an outgoing tide. Fishing the flooded oyster beds with live shrimp under floats we had a few nibbles but no takers.  We made a run well up into the Jolley River and here David hooked up with a hungry Seatrout and a feisty Bluefish.  We fished a large creek with no bites then headed back to the mouth of Jolley to fish an oyster lined bank.  Although the

oysters were still covered, we switched to jigs and eventually were able to hookup with a very nice Puppy Drum that Diane worked in to the net.  We made our next stop at the logs of Tiger Island and here David had a strong hookup and he expertly played to the net a nice Slot Redfish.  Later, Diane made a great cast to a downed tree branch and had a bite almost as soon as the jig and shrimp combo hit the bottom.  She patiently fought the fish and we soon netted a nice Redfish.   We spotted our first Rosette Spoonbill of the year and were accompanied by the Tiger Island resident raccoon!

Never a Dull Moment on This Fishing Trip

I got to fish with Wes Matheney again this morning and he brought along his wife Mary Beth to fish the north end of the island.  We met at Atlantic Seafood dock and headed up river, passing really neat sailing ship in the harbor.  I made the run way up into Jolley River to make our first stop at the MOA (Mother of All) spots!  We weren't disappointed.  Although Mary Beth was a new salt water angler, she picked up a nice Whiting then a hungry Seatrout.  Then Wes got in on the action by catching a few Trout.  Mary Beth reeled
in a couple of more and then another Whiting.  We made a stop at Snook Creek and although the conditions were perfect with the current coming around an oyster bed we had no real bites.  We did get rained on just a little bit!  Our next stop was at Jolley Bank and here we picked up another Trout and Wes hooked up with a feisty Redfish.  Later, we had a strong hookup and Wes had a real battle on his hands.  He played the big fish expertly around the boat as we drifted deeper and eventually we landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  After a short pit stop at the boat ramp we headed over to the logs of Tiger Island, but first we paused to see a submarine and it's procession heading up to Kings Bay.  At Tiger, Mary Beth caught a nice 18" Seatrout and we had a visit from the resident raccoon!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

What's Different Between Fishing Fresh Water and Salt?

Variety!  9 different species were caught today: Seatrout, Flounder, Perch, Bluefish, Snapper,
Grouper, Black Drum, Weakfish,  and Red Drum.  Joanna Oestmann had ordered a gift certificate back in February as a Valentine's gift for her husband Eric and then they scheduled today to take the fishing trip.  We met out at Goffinsville Park at 7:30am and headed back out Nassau River to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  Fishing an outcrop of oysters at Spanish Drop, Eric picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout.  Our 2nd stop produced no

real bites but we were beginning to see bait fish moving.  We made a run to the mouth of Jackstaff and again the anglers caught a couple of Seatrout with one of them hauled in by Joanna being of keeper size.  She also hooked up with a nice Flounder.  As the tide began to turn we headed back around to Bubblegum Reef and here things really heated up.  The anglers picked up a couple of Blue Fish, a Snapper, and a "bait stealing" Perch, then Eric's rod bent over and the drag ripped out, FISH ON!   He played the fish perfectly and after a few strong runs we netted a nice Black Drum!  Eric went back to the hole and again caught another Black Drum.  The bite slowed somewhat then Joanna had a bite and reeled in a Weakfish.  Eric's rod bent over again but this time the big fish ran instead of bulling down deep.  He went from bow to stern and around the engine before subduing a big Redfish that just squeezed in the Slot!  This put him in a tie for 3rd place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish category. (scroll down right side of this report to see standings)  Eric had one more shot at even a bigger fish.  Eric was working the fish perfectly but it was having none of it.  The fish continued to pull line and even when Eric tightened the drag it just kept going!  I saw that the line on the spool was getting low but before I could get the I-Pilot anchor turned off to chasse it down the line was all gone and popped at the spool!  Darn it!  Boy that was a big fish!  Our last stop was at Broward Island and even though the wind had picked up Eric was able to catch one more Trout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Prehistoric Catch

Brent Hall and his friend Dave were visiting Amelia Island on business and took in a back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  We made our first stop at the docks of Lanceford Creek and although there wasn't much happening, Brent was able to hook up with a feisty Puppy Drum.  We fished the logs of Tiger Island and picked up a Trout or two then made a run up to Jolley River to fish the now flooded oysters.  We finally began to see some movement in the water up near the marsh grass and as the anglers worked the edge they both picked up Seatrout.  Brent had a very good strike and worked in a large, fat Seatrout.  Then his rod bent over and he worked in an awesome but ugly Gar Fish!  Boy those are some nasty looking teeth!  We picked up one or two more Trout, ran further up the river and fished with no luck, then hit one more spot on the way back before calling it a day as the thunderclouds rolled in.  It was still a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Trout Make Great Fishing

We had a beautiful Saturday morning when I met Wes Matheney and his friend Steve Collins at the
Big Talbot Island boat ramp.  We headed up the Nassau River on after the tide had been coming in for only about an hour and made our first stop at Bubblegum Reef.  Although the conditions were perfect we had no bites!  OUCH!  We then ran to the south end of Broward Island and began to fish back and it wasn't long before Steve had hooked up with a hungry Seatrout.  Then Wes had a strong hookup and he too pulled in a big Seatrout.  We had a few

more bites then made our way to Christopher Creek where the anglers caught a nice Flounder and a feisty Redfish.  Our last run was to the mouth of Jackstaff and this proved to be the ticket, fishing with live shrimp under float rigs.  Wes got hot early and began to bring in Seatrout after Seatrout.  Steve had a few and then his rod bent and a battle was on!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice 19.75" Trout, putting in a tie for 2nd place in The Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament - Trout category!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

New Anglers Catch Plenty of Fish

Both Mike Woodhead andhis friend Jane indicated to me that they were novice anglers but were ready to try some Amelia Island back country fishing on The Anglers Mark.  They were staying at Elizabeth Point Lodge, just a short drive into town.   We met yesterday morning at 9am to fish the very first of an outgoing tide.  Again, the river water was slick as glass as we pulled out of the Fernandina Harbor Marina and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the flooded oyster bars with live shrimp under float rigs.  It wasn't
long before both Mike and Jane were making fish catchable casts to the edge of the marsh grass but the fish just weren't biting.  We made a run further up into the river, held at a marsh run out, and still no bites.  So I switched the anglers to jigs and shrimp and after fishing for just a short while Mike picked up a Blue then Jane hauled in a hungry Seatrout.  We hit the logs of Tiger Island next and after fishing for just a short while Jane had a strong hookup and patiently worked in a  nice 19" Seatrout!  We made the run to Lanceford Creek docks and in short time both anglers were catching feisty Redfish. Mike evened the box total by landing another 18" keeper sized Seatrout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Last Shrimp Standing

Another beautiful morning greeted us here at Amelia Island!  I met Marie and Gaise Lacek along with their friends Dick and Sue at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina and we headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island.  The water was like glass as the sun came up and we tossed live shrimp under floats up to the marsh grass.  We had no real bites!  We moved around to Tiger Inlet, fished one spot with no luck then move over to fish the other side. Although the action was slow, Dick did have a very good bite and hauled in a fat 17" keeper sized Seatrout.  We made a run up to

Jolley Bank and fished the flooded oysters as the tide began to move out and although we saw a lot of movement, we had no real bites.  But we made a second pass, this time with jigs and shrimp and these anglers began to pick up fish. Both Dick and Gaise hooked up with hungry Seatrout, landing 4-5 of them.  We made a run to the docks of Lanceford Creek and got there just as the oysters began to show with the falling tide.  The bite started out slow but began to get fast and furious as all four anglers began to catch feisty Redfish.  Dick and Gaise both pulled in some hard fighting Puppy Drum, and Sue pulled in a feisty Redfish, then Marie added a couple of Slot sized Redfish.  We were running out of time and running out of bait when I handed Marie the very last shrimp.  She made a perfect cast up to the dock pilings, bumped it back slowly, felt a bite, set the hook and FISH ON!  She played the fish patiently and after an extended battle, Gaise netted the big 24" Slot Redfish!  What a way to wrap up a great day out on Amelia Island waters!

Ladies Day Out

Joanne Biery and her friend Mary Ann Saxby left their husbands at home in Maine and came to Amelia Island for a ladies vacation.  One of their activities was to take in an Amelia Island fishing trip in the back country on The Anglers Mark with me this morning.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the Fernandina Harbor Marina early this morning and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the very first of an outgoing tide.  We held at a small marsh run out and began to fish with live shrimp under floats.  Both anglers were

getting nibbles but then Mary Ann's float completely disappeared, her rod bent over, and the drag begin to rip, FISH ON!  Mary Ann and I played "hot potato" with the rod for a few seconds and when she finally gained control of the rod we saw a large 4' shark come to the surface out in deeper water.  As Mary Ann began to work the fish in the Shark was having none of it and made strong run from the boat and snapped the leader, OUCH!  We fished a creek run out and picked up a Seatrout on the bottom then fished the still submerged oysters at the mouth of Jolley.  Mary Ann picked up a feisty Redfish then we made a run to Tiger Island where Joanne was able to haul in another Redfish and a Seatrout.  After fishing we toured Cumberland Island and Beach Creek, saw wild horses on the south sea shore, visited Fort Clinch, then headed in surrounded by dolphin rolling in the water.  What a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Fishing Before the Front

I fished yesterday afternoon with Steve Vining and his son Sam.  Although we'd had a beautiful
morning, the afternoon weather turned somewhat ugly.  But these anglers were game and we made the best of the conditions to pick up a few fish.  We made our first stop at Temptation Cove just south of Rayonier but had no real bites.  The NE wind was already picking up so we made a run to Tiger Island to have the land mass block the wind.  This turned out to be the ticket because Steve picked up a nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout.  Later, Sam had made a good cast up near the logs and as he worked it back slowly a fish hit

hard!  He played the fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Redfish.  We worked the bank for a while then headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings.  Unfortunately the wind had picked up even more which made it tough to fish and kept the water high even though the tide was falling.  We had planned to pick up Steve's wife Julia and daughter Abby at the docks for a tour so we made the run to pick them up.  We toured Old Town, the Pogey Plant, Fort Clinch and crossed to Cumberland Island to see some wild horses.  Then we cruised Tiger Island and saw Osprey and had an appearance by one of the Atlantic Salt Marsh minks.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout King

Yesterday morning the flags were laying limp as we headed out of the City marina.  Ryan and Courtney Noble  and their relatives Ben and 6 year old Graham Fox had met me early on this beautiful day.  We headed up Lanceford to fish the dock pilings and as I set the trolling motor to "anchor", the water was like glass.  We had only fished a few minutes when Courtney had a strong hookup and landed a nice 17" Flounder.  Ryan got in on the action and picked up a few feisty Redfish then young Graham's TFO Tactical Fishing Rod heated up as he reeled in a couple of nice Seatrout to 18", earning him the nickname, Trout King!  This little guy could fish!  We eventually made a run to fish the Jolley River and had ideal conditions for catching fish.  Unfortunately, the dolphin had the same idea because they were cruising the bank busting fish!  The anglers picked up a couple of Seatrout then we headed to the Tiger Island logs where they caught a couple more feisty Redfish and another keeper Trout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!
sized Seatrout then his dad picked up a couple too.  Courtney had made a cast and when her rod bent double and the drag began to sing we knew she had a big fish!   FISH ON!  She and Ryan worked as a team to subdue the beast and when we saw it roll we confirmed that it was a big Red.  They worked the fish patiently in and we soon netted a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  Then Graham's

Amelia Island Grand Slam

Kurt Powell and his son Davis fished with me today.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning and headed up to Lanceford Creek with the tide almost at the bottom.  Davis hadn't fished but for just a few minutes when he hooked up and brought to the boat a nice Seatrout.  Shortly after that he did battle with a feisty Redfish and we netted it also.  Kurt caught a nice 18" Seatrout then Davis added a Puppy Drum to round out an  Amelia Island Back Country Slam!  The anglers picked up a few more Redfish and Seatrout then we made a run to the Tiger Island logs.  Fishing deep, both anglers

caught a few Seatrout then later we had a very strong hookup and the drag began to sing, FISH ON!  Davis fought the fish valiantly and after and extended battle he landed a 27 1/2" BIG Redfish!  This put Davis into 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament- Redfish category (scroll down right side of this report) Later, fishing deep and slow, Davis caught a Weakfish to make the Slam Grand!  We fished the outside of Tiger then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Last Minute Big Trout

My after noon trip today began with some thunderclouds overhead but Scott Carter and his two sons Sammy and Benny were game to get in some Amelia Island fishing.  We fished south of Rayonier on the very last of an incoming tide but had no real bites then headed up Lanceford Creek to fish a very high tide.  Benny had the hot rod early and landed a couple of feisty Redfish.  We moved around to a grass patch in the middle of some flooded oysters and Benny picked up a hungry Seatrout.  We had to make a short move due to a fast

moving thunderstorm and so we ducked in at Oyster Bay to fish their pilings and again had no real bites.  Our next run was to Tiger
Island  and her Benny again found a Redfish.  Then Scott got in on the action and picked up a Seatrout on a jig and Temptation Bait white fluke.  He continued to work the fluke and with only minutes away from us leaving he had a stong hookup and a good fight on his hands.  He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 19" Seatrout!  We dehooked the fish and on Scott's next cast he had another strong hookup and this time landed another big 18" Seatrout!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Triple Big Reds

Today's weather called for potential showers but the Penskoski family were all for fishing this
morning. We headed up to Lanceford Creek with the tide just starting to come back in and fished some dock pilings with shrimp and jigs.  Our first "demo" cast produced a big 25" Slot Redfish! Wow! What a way to start a fishing trip.  Rich and Karen's daughters Olivia and Sara began fishing in earnest and both were rewarded with strong hookups and BIG Redfish, landing 23" and 24" fish which were the first three fish in the boat, and before 8:00am!  We continued to fish and all the anglers had hookups with

feisty Redfish.  Later, we made a run to fish Tiger Island logs and picked up a keeper sized Seatrout, a couple of feisty Redfish and then Karen added another slot Redfish to the catch.  All fish caught today were released to be caught another day.  We fished outside of Tiger and picked up another Trout and few Blues, then called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!