Big Variety and a Slot Red

The beautiful mornings just keep on rolling in here at Amelia Island.  Today was another one with clear skies and no wind as the sun came up down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp.  I met the Mathews family, Tristan and Dee Dee along with their young adult kids Tristan and Teresa. We headed up the Amelia River to fish the mouth of Jackstaff with the oysters barely showing on an outgoing tide.  With only a cast or two under his belt,  young Tristan hooked up and fought in a very nice 18" Seatrout to get the "skunk off the boat" early!  His dad hooked up a little later with another keeper sized Trout.  The anglers all began to get bites and landed a number of hungry Snapper then Teresa hauled in a
multi-spot Redfish.  Tristan landed a Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam and Teresa tangled with a high jumping Ladyfish.  After a few more catches of Snapper we headed around to the Nassau River to fish an old oyster bank.  Almost immediately Tristan hooked up with something very big and had a good battle before it decided to have none of getting caught!   He continued to fish the deeper water and caught a good handful of Snapper.  Dee Dee had a strong bite and landed hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  All the anglers hooked up with Snapper then Tristan the younger had a good hookup and his drag began to rip, FISH ON!  He played the fish expertly and patiently and after  good battle that took him deep  a couple of times, he landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish! We fished the area for just a while longer then made a run to Broward Island where the anglers added a few more Snapper, a nice Stingray and one more Redfish to the fish count.  All fish caught today were released to be caught another day.  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Redfish and Snapper Boys

We had another beautiful this morning as the sun came up - very little breeze and Florida sunshine!  I met Coley O'brien and his two sons Brennan and Aiden down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at 7am and cruised up the intercoastal waterway to the mouth of Jackstaff to fish the last couple of hours of an out going tide.  These two young boys had never fished salt water and werer chomping at the bit to get to fishing! They picked up the spin casting in less than 15 minutes and began to work the exposed oysters along the bank.  Both Brennan and Aiden had hookups with Brennan catching a couple of hungry Snapper and  Aiden reeling in a few feisty Redfish.  Coley added a nice Seatrout to the mix.  We moved around to the Nassau River and had a good flurry of bites, catching another feisty Redfish and more Snapper.  We had a stronger hookup and Coley played a larger Redfish to the boat.  The last fish for this spot was a very large 19 1/2" Seatrout that Aiden caught.  Further north the anglers added a Snapper then we made a run to Broward Island and added another Snapper to the catch.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Boat Tour

David and Sarah Post were visiting Amelia Island this week and brought along their 2 year old daughter Maddie for an Amelia Island boat tour.  We headed out of the Fernandina Beach City marina and headed north to see the sites of historic Old Town and Fort Clinch.  We crossed over to Cumberland Island and were pleased to see a nice herd of wild horses browsing the dunes on the south end of the island.  Heading north, we eased into Beach Creek and as we cruised the shoreline slowly Sarah spotted a small alligator laying low in the water and keeping an eye on us!  We also saw porpoises up in the creek and a black crested woodpecker.  Our next stop was Tiger Island where we again spotted porpoises and we found a large old tree full of roosting Rosette Spoonbills.  With that, we cruised the back alley of Tiger Creek to head back to the marina, wrapping up another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Back Country Slam

The Alfrey's were back in town this week - Randy and  his sons Adam and Jason - and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark today.  The normal weather pattern prevailed, beautiful mornings with little wind, few clouds and calm waters.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am, headed north and made our first stop behind Tiger Island to fish the logs on the last of an outgoing tide.  The bite started slow but picked up steam as the anglers began to land fish.  Both Adam and Jason landed feisty Redfish while Randy added a hungry Seatrout.  They picked up some Snapper and Croaker then
Jason picked up a nice Flounder to round out the trios Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  We had a couple of more feisty Redfish and a Blue then headed up to fish an oyster lined bank in the Jolley River.  The beautiful weather held as the sun came up and the anglers added a few more Redfish, had a hookup with a Ladyfish, and hauled in a couple of more Croaker. We hit a couple of more spots then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Snapper Bite Precedes Slot Red

We had about the prettiest morning on the water that I've seen in a while - absolutely no wind, just a few
clouds, and bait fish moving along the bank.  I had met Greg and Erica Hoag at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at 7am and we headed up the Amelia River to fish the mouth of Jackstaff on the very last of an outgoing tide.  There was bait everywhere in the still waters as we eased along the oyster beds, tossing jigs and mud minnows to the waters edge.  Erica had a good hookup with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle and we also added a small Snapper to the mix.  Greg had a nice Seatrout and we also picked up a small Redfish.  We moved around to the Nassau River and fished a long oyster bank as the tide started back in.  The anglers started getting good bites of keeper sized Snapper, caught a nasty Toad fish and slimy Catfish, then Erica had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  She played the big fish patiently and after a good battle we landed a nice 21 1/2" Slot Redfish!  We continued to fish the area for a while, getting some good bites, then headed up to Broward Island to fish the downed logs as the tide started in there.  It was perfect conditions at Broward but the sun was up and the fish had quit biting, so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Pinpoint Cast Garners Redfish

We got a very early start this morning, meeting at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island park at 6am.  I had purchased 6 dozen mud minnows yesterday afternoon in preperation to fish today with Mike Morrill, his son Michael, and his father-in-law John.  We headed up the Nassau River with navigation and stern lights on and made it to our first spot as the sun was coming up.  The tide was perfect having just begun to come in and the anglers began to toss their jigs and minnows and fish
them slowly along the oyster laden bottom.  They had bite after bite from "bait stealers" but no real takers until John hooked up with a big fish, patiently played it, and landed a nice Catfish. Darn it, I thought it was a Red!  Mike did land one of the baitstealers, a Snapper, before we pulled up and headed to Broward Island to fish the incoming tide there.  The wind was blowing out of the south west and the current was still running out but the logs were nicely exposed.  We saw some baitfish scatter up near one of those logs and young Micahel made a pinpoint cast to the spot and very quickly hooked up, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently as it got back in the current behind the boat and soon landed a nice 21 1/2" Slot Red!  Shortly after, his dad Mike fished a creek mouth and after losing a few minnows to a fish  he hooked up and caught it!  The keeper sized Flounder coughed up two of the minnows when we got it in the boat!  We fished the logs for a while then headed over to the mouth of Jackstaff and cruised the marsh grass.  John had a good battle with a nice Jack Crevalle and Mike landed a couple, too.  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Ray Starts The Day

The Maguire family had daughters and son-in-laws and grandkids in visiting their north Jacksonville home so they set up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  I met Chuck Maguire, his son in law Cale, Cale's son Quintin and his nephew Ian at the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 7am and we headed up river to fish some dock pilings on an incoming tide.  The anglers had just gotten their jigs and mud minnows out when Ian had a strong hookup and his rod bent over double, FISH ON!  This big fish was running so hard I had to take the trolling motor off of anchor and begin to chase it down. 

Ian fought the fish for a good while then his uncle took over and continued the battle.  At first I thought it was a shark but it rolled up to the surface a couple of times so then I thought it had to be a huge Redfish.  But it was taking long, long runs so I even questioned that.  Finally, after a 30 minute battle, Cale was able to bring the big beast to the surface and we landed a huge Sting Ray!  Boy what a fish fight!  We returned to fish the spot, had a few bites, but headed on around to outside of Tiger Island.  Here Ian hooked up with a nice Ladyfish, Chuck had a Bluefish then Quintin landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  We had a good flurry of bites and landed a couple of more Trout.  We made our way around to the Tiger logs where we had some good bites.  Cale had a strong hookup and good battle with a nice Redfish that measured just an 1/8" under the legal size and also had a Seatrout that measured just under sized.  As we were preparing to go, Chuck had a good bite and he took landed another nice Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

High Tide Redfish

Jack Viertel has been visiting Amelia Island as a "working vacation" and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  He has been staying at the historic and beautiful Fairbanks House which is located just blocks from the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp.  We made our way out of the marina at 7am and headed up to fish outside of Tiger Island with the tide high and coming in.  Our first stop was at "Manatee Creek" where I dropped the trolling motor and Jack began to toss a topwater lure to the marsh grass edge.  There was absolutely no movement of bait fish or feeding fish so after working a bank we moved on around to fish the Tiger logs.  The tide was really up by now but we had a few spots where we could toss a jig and mud minnow and after a brief time we had a hookup and, FISH ON!  Jack played the fish patiently as it made strong runs from bow to stern then dove deep under the boat. But Jack kept the pressure on and eventually we were able to land a nice 21" Slot Redfish!  We continued to work the bank and although we had a number of bites we had no takers.  Our next stop was up to Jolley River and here we had a good flurry of bites and caught a handful of hungry Seatrout on float rigs.  Further up into the river we picked up another Trout and a couple of nice Snapper.  Our last stop was some docks in Bell River where we picked up one more Trout to round out another great day of fishing at Amelia Island.

Slot Red Bonanza

Local resident Trey Dennard treated his young adult kids to a morning of back country fishing on TheAnglers Mark today.  Trey and his son IV and daughter Addison met me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park at 8am which was right at the top of the tide.  We headed up the Nassau River and fished a couple of Marsh run outs, or as a friend of mine, Tim Parker, owner of Tempatation Baits calls them marsh "dumps".  The water was still way up in the marsh and we had no takers on our lively mud minnows under floats.   We ran around to the mouth of Jackstaff and fished an oyster lined bank where Trey picked up a Snapper then IV had a strong hookup, FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly and patiently, working the big fish in slowly and letting it run when it wanted to.   We saw the big oversized Redfish a couple of times but today he was not to be caught because sure enough, the hook pulled and, FISH OFF!  Ouch!  We fished the bank a couple of times with Trey picking up a couple of hungry Seatrout then we crossed over and fished a sandbar where we picked up a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  As we eased along another shore line Trey had tossed his jig and minnow to the edge of some marsh grass, got hung, and when the hook came off, FISH ON!  He too fought this fish patiently and after a good battle we netted a nice 24" Slot Redfish with 7 spots!  We moved back around to Nassau River and found a likely spot and began to fish the jigs deep.  We had at least two hookups with big Redfish and after extended battles lost them to be caught another day.  But these anglers were not to be deterred.  IV had a good battle with a large Catfish then both Trey and Addison boated Slot Redfish.  Trey added a keeper sized Trout then he had another big hookup and big battle.  Trey worked the fish patiently as it ran from bow to stern and back again and after a long fight landed a big 26 3/4" "tournament" Redish!    And with the last mud minnow that had been dead on another rig for an hour or so, Trey hooked up to another Slot Red to wrap up the day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Grouper in the Back Country

Just another beautiful morning fishing the back waters of Amelia Island!  I had met David Howard and his son Graham at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City of Fernandina Beach marina this morning at 7am and we'd made our first stop at the outside of Tiger Island.  We had only been fishing a few minutes on the glassy waters when we were treated to a Manatee popping it's head up just in front of the bow!  We also had a number of Dolphin sightings throughout the trip.  We had just a few bites but no takers and had a crowd of boats nearby so we headed up to Jolley River to enjoy our solitude.  Fishing a small marsh run out, Graham was able to haul in a feisty Redfish.  We moved around to "Snook Creek" and after fishing for just a little while, we had a strong hookup.  Graham again fought the fish and this one gave a pretty good battle, diving deep under the boat before being subdued, and as we netted the fish, Graham nailed the identity, calling "Grouper!"  And it sure was!  I've had guests catch some of these small Grouper but this was the biggest so far and I think I was more excited than Graham and David!  We continued to fish the creek and caught a keeper sized Snapper before moving down to Jolley Bank and trolling the exposed oyster beds.  The anglers picked up a couple of Trout, a Croaker, another feisty Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island
waters!

Young Angler Catches Big Fish

We were greeted by another beautiful morning down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park today.  I met Ron Cerniglia and his son Sam at 7am and the creek was like glass as we pulled away from the dock, heading towards Nassau River.  We made our first stop at a nice creek run-out and began to fish with live mud minnows under floats on an outgoing tide.  It wasn't long before young Sam had a hookup and reeled in a feisty Redfish.  Ron added another then Sam hauled in a pesky Stingray.  We made a move up the river and this time we switched to a 1/4oz jig with the mud minnows.  Sam caught a hungry Snapper then Ron's rod bent double and the drag began to sing, oh boy, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently as it rounded the bow a couple of times and as it dove deep to the bottom,  Keeping pressure on the big fish, Ron was eventually able to wear the big fish out and we netted a nice, 24" Slot Redfish!  Sam was fishing out the other side of the boat and it wasn't long before he too had a big fish on!  He fought the fish all by himself and landed another nice Slot Redfish which measured to 21 1/2"!   As the bite slowed we ran around to the mouth of Jackstaff and trolled the oyster bank.  The anglers picked up another feisty Red and Sam fought a high-flying Ladyfish.  The sun was up and with just a little time left, we ran back to Nassau River and fished the last 15 minutes of our trip.  Although we had a few nibbles we had no real takers, until Sam again had a good hookup!  Big Fish On!  He worked the fish in patiently and we were somewhat surprised to net a very large 20 1/2" Seatrout!  What a great way to wrap up another day of fishing here at Amelia Island!

Big and Bigger

Today I had the pleasure of fishing with friends and neighbors Mark and Nilda Laurint along with their son Brent, home from college for a brief visit.  For a change, we met out at the Goffinsville Park at 7:00am this morning and then headed over to the Horsehead area to fish Jackstaff as the tide was going out and the oysters beginning to show.  I eased The Anglers Mark along the marsh grass as the anglers tossed jigs tipped with mud minnows to the shoreline.  We had a few hookups of Jack Crevalle, feisty Redfish, and a nice sized Stingray.  Our next stop was around at Nassau River and again we had a couple of hookups with feisty Redfish.  The Bonnethead Shark were cruising the shallows at every stop.  As the tide got lower we moved to a nice creek outflow and the bite began to pick up as the morning went on .  Nilda reeled in a large Catfish and Mark and Brent picked up a good handful of hungry Snapper.  Finally, Marks rod bent over and the drag began to sing, FISH ON!  And a big fish it was.  He fought the fish from starboard to port and from bow to stern.  After a long and patient battle, Mark landed a BIG 29" oversized Redfish!  What a fish!  Not too long later it was Brent's turn to battle a big Red.  His drag was ripping but Brent kept the pressure on.  This fish wanted to stay at the bow of the boat and Brent had to dip his rod a couple of times to avoid the trolling motor. But he played the fish patiently and we soon netted a "Tournament Red" - a 26 1/4" Redfish!  We fished the area while longer, fished Broward Island briefly, then headed in ,counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!  Later, we had a great meal at Shuckers Oyster Bar to top off a perfect day!

Bite Grows Stronger

It was smooth sailing as we pulled out of the marina today.  I had met Tom Meagher and his friend Steve Strickland at the City marina this morning at 7am and when we came around the last dock into the river it was smooth as glass.  We headed up to the Jolley River and made our first stop at an oyster outcrop on the last two hours of an outgoing tide.  These anglers had numerous bites on their mud minnow/jig combo and picked up a Snapper or two.  We moved around to Snook Creek and here Steve picked up a feisty Redfish.  We fished Jolley Bank and picked up another couple of feisty Reds then Steve landed a keeper sized Flounder.  Tom hooked up and had a good battle with a nice Jack Crevalle.  The bite had picked up just a little bit as the tide started to come back in.  We made a run to Tiger Island and here we saw plenty of action.  Steve caught another keeper sized Flounder and had a very strong battle with something big found its way into the tree limbs an broke itself off.  On the last cast of the day Tom had a strong bite and then he played the fish patiently.  It was a good battle, but one that this nice Redfish lost to a good angler.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Flounder Makes the Day

I got out this morning with Zack and Audrey Feldkamp along with Brian and Amy Deibler.  We met at Atlantic Seafood at 7am and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the very last of an outgoing tide.  Our first stop was at the MOA  (Mother of All) Spot and the water was like a mirror as the anglers tossed their jigs with mud minnows up to the fully exposed oyster banks.  We had good action early with Zack starting things off early by picking up a couple of Snapper and then Audrey and Amy had a double hookup, catching a feisty Redfish and Snapper respectively.  We were getting good bites until a heavy rain shower passed through and all of us had to turn our backs to the sheets of rain and work through it.  After the rain the bite slowed so we made a run back to Jolley Bank to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Again we had good bites, catching Snapper, a couple of Trout, a feisty Redfish and Brian had a good fight with a Jack Crevalle.   While fishing Zack spotted an Atlantic Saltmarsh Mink roaming the oyster beds.  We made our final stop at Tiger Island where the anglers picked up a couple of more Snapper and a Trout then Amy had a big hookup and her rod bent over, FISH ON!  She worked the fish patiently and after a good battle where the big fish hugged the bottom, she eventually landed a big 23" Flounder!  This fish puts Amy in 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Flounder category (scroll down right side to see standings). We were surrounded by bird life, including a large flock of roosting Rosette Spoonbills.   Audrey picked up a keeper sized Snapper then another keeper sized Flounder to wrap the day up, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Left 'Em Biting

It's almost like a holiday for me when I have a sole angler on The Anglers Mark and that was what I had today, fishing with Alan Reeves this morning.  We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park at 7am and headed up the Nassau River to fish the very first of the incoming tide.  It's always fun to start a fishing trip off with the first cast resulting in, BOOM!  FISH ON! and that's what happened.  We had a BIG fish on first cast and the rod bent over and the drag ripped out.  But this big fish had been around for a while and it eventually made its way around some structure and broke itself off. OUCH.  But not to be deterred, Alan made another cast (his second), and, FISH ON!  He played this big fish patiently and we soon netted a big 21 1/2" Seatrout!  This Trout placed Alan tied for 3rd in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Seatrout category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  We continued to fish and it was almost a bite on every cast.  Alan boated 10-15 Snapper, 8 of which were keeper sized.  He also landed a handful of Redfish with three being in the Slot and the biggest measuring to 24".  Before we left the first spot he had a nice sized Croaker and limited out on Seatrout over 20".  We made a run to Broward Island and were soon catching fish again.  Alan added another Slot Redfish, picked up some hungry Seatrout and we also tangled with a couple of Stingrays.  We had caught so many fish Alan had gotten his fishing "fix" in, so we called it a day, left 'em biting, and headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing on Amelia Island waters!

Persistence Passed Down

I had the pleasure of fishing again this morning with Wade Dial and his son Pierson.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed out of the marina with the tide just beginning to come in.  We hit some dock piling early and picked up to feisty Redfish then reeled in a nice Flounder.   Our second stop was the logs at Tiger Island where Pierson got a fat Snapper and  Wade landed a keeper sized Flounder.  We moved on the Jolley River and after boating another Snapper and theaving Croaker Wade had a good hookup and battle on his hands.  He handed the rod off to Pierson who worked the fish perfectly and we landed big keeper sized Seatrout, to round out the anglers Amelia Island back country Slam!  Wade continued to work the bank patiently and every so often he'd  hookup and either reel the fish in or hand it off to Pierson.  Later, while fishing outside of Tiger Island we found some more Trout and this time Pierson was working the bank patiently and he hooked up, FISH ON!  Another Seatrout for a persistent angler!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Fish Catch'n Day

We had a beautiful morning today when I met Bill and Scott Kennedy down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park.  We headed up the Nassau River to fish the incoming tide with jigs and mud minnows.  Guess what happened on the first cast?  BOOM!  FISH ON!  Scott worked the big fish patiently and after a good battle he landed an oversized Redfish!  2nd cast? FISH ON!   Bill had a hookup!  It went like that for at least an hour with hookups, oversized fish, Slot Redfish, nice Snapper (some were keeper sized) and even break offs.  One nice hookup had a Slot Redfish but when we got it to the boat there was nothing left but the head!  OUCH!   We eventually made a run to Broward Island picked up a feisty Redfish, some more Snapper, then Scott hooked up and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder with his TFO Gary Loomis Tactical Series spinning rod.  Bill added another Slot Redfish then he rounded out their Amelia Island Slam by landing a hungry Seatrout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Afternoon Fishing

We scheduled  a late afternoon fishing trip yesterday so  I met Ricky Williams along with his two
sons Riley and Cooper and their friend Conner down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at Sawpit Creek.  We headed up the Amelia River with a bait well full of mudminnows and "Tiger" minnows that I had gotten from another anglers who was heading home.  We started easing along an oyster lined bank at Jackstaff and Conner started things off, catching a Seatrout, then another, then another.   Ricky added a Trout, Cooper picked up a feisty

Redfish then a Ladyfish and Riley wrapped up the spot with another Trout.  We moved on around to the Nassau River where Cooper's rod began to heat up!  He landed a hungry Snapper then he had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  He played the big fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Slot Redfish!   We eventually made a move up to the downed longs of Broward Island and after a little fishing we pulled in a small Flounder then Cooper had another strong hookup and boated another keeper Slot Redfish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Doubled Up and Oversized

Today was one of those once in a lifetime fishing trips that just makes you wonder, "can this be happening?"   I had met Robert Golden, his son Tanner and their friend Mark down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and you could see yourself on the water it was so calm and glassy.  We headed up the Nassau River to fish the Horsehead area with just a few hours of an incoming tide.  We held up at a marsh runout and began to fish jigs on the bottom with mud minnows.  The first casts by Tanner and Mark produced a hookup, a feisty Whiting and  a large Sail Cat.  Well that was cool to have fish on the first cast but little did I know that we were in for some serious fish catching.  Both Tanner and Mark began to hookup with oversized Redfish and two or three times they both had one on, FISH ON!  FISH ON!  Their light tackle TFO Signature Tactical Spinning Rods were bent double as one fought a big fish at the bow and one fought a big fish at the stern. They'd pass each other at amidships and continuer their fights at the other end of the boat.    I eventually had to ask each of the young men to keep a tally of how many of these oversized Reds they caught and released and by the end of this amazing day they each had released 4 fish, measuring to 30.5"!   In the middle of the extravaganza Robert was able to put a Slot Red in the boat and Mark added one, too.  After being checked out by the FWC officer, we moved back down the river and the anglers wrapped up the day catching Seatrout, Blues, and Jacks.  With that, we headed in, counting it as a super great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Flounder For Dinner

Kevin Sweeney brought his three sons over to Amelia Island for their first saltwater fishing experience this morning. We met at the City marina at 7am and headed north to fish the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs on the very last of an incoming tide.  We had no real bites on our mud minnows so we continued on to the Jolley River  and ran a pretty good ways up the river.  We fished a nice marsh runout with no real bites then eased into a larger creek and anchored in the grass.  Bryce got things started off by hauling in a couple of bottom hugging Stringrays then Ronan had a brief and intense battle with a Shark then Bryce was back at it reeling in a couple of keeper sized Snapper.  We moved down to Jolley Bank as the tide really started out and found a good handful of fish.  Dana got real hot at the stern of the boat, drifting a float rig along the grass line.  He got his own personal "Slam", catching a couple of Redfish, a keeper sized Flounder and a hungry Seatrout.  Ronan's rod then heated up as he picked up back to back keeper sized Flounder then he put the last fish in the boat, a very nice 17" Seatrout.  With that, we called it  a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Tie Dyed Slam

We had a beautiful start to todays fishing trip, launching out of Big Talbot Island Park with sunny skies and just a light breeze.  I had met Mike and Sarah Terry and their daughter Madeline at 7:30am at peak high tide and headed up the Nassau River to fish the Spanish Drop area at a nice marsh runout.  We held there for an hour or so because the anglers commenced to catch fish!  Sarah hooked up with something big to start things off but the big fish had no intention of getting caught!  Then Mike had a good hookup and a battle on his hands.  He played the fish perfectly and soon landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish!  All the anglers caught fish - they had a couple of Seatrout, a Jack Crevalle, and Madeline reeled in a hard fighting Stingray!  Before we left, Mike caught a nice keeper sized Flounder to round out their Amelia Island back country Slam.  We ran down to Broward Island to get out of the rising wind and held outside of another marsh runout.  The anglers added two more keeper sized Flounder.  We also had a fast cruising Manatee come by the boat and had a nice visit from the Florida Wildlife Commission who checked us out and gave us the OK!  With that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Shark Awakening

Pat and Sharon Galvin were visiting Amelia Island with their two young kids, Kacey and Drew, who had never been out on a boat.  So they set up an back country fishing trip on The Anglers Mark for this morning.  We met at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at 7am and headed up the Amelia River to fish the mouth of Jackstaff.  Our first stop was at a large marsh run out and then we hit some smaller ones.  The anglers were getting some pretty good bites then we all of sudden hooked up with something big, FISH ON!  Both Pat and Kadey fought the fish for a while then Drew stepped in to have his share of the battle.  His dad, Pat, finished it off and with patiently angling, landed a big 3'+ Bonnet head shark!   The wind had picked up out of the east so we headed over to Broward Island which turned out to be a good move because the bite picked up.  Drew landed a couple of Snapper then Sharon joined in with one or two also.  Kacey picked up a couple of hungry Croaker who croaked their displeasure of being pulled from the water!  Then Sharon had a strong hookup, her rod bent and the drag ripped - this was a nice fish!  She worked the fish in patiently and we soon netted a nice 22" Slot Redfish!  We photographed and released the fish.  We picked up another couple of Snapper and Croaker then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Rainy Weather Dampens Fishing

How can you go from one of the best days of fishing on one day and the very next have to struggle to find a fish?  I think the biggest reason was that the water was muddier due to the heavy rainfall we've been having.  I had the pleasure of getting out and fishing again with Mark and Shelly Davis today and even though we got a little wet heading to our first stop, that was all the rain we got during our trip.  We had an excellent tide with the water moving out of the marsh and the oysters beginning to show.  We began fishing with float rigs and mud minnows tossed to the edges of the oysters up in Jolley River but had no real bites.  We then made a move to a large creek mouth and tossed the minnows on jigs and may have picked up a Croaker or two.  Our next stop was at Jolley Bank and here Shelly hooked up with a handful of feisty, fun to catch, but small Redfish.  We then made a run to Bell River to fish the dock pilings and although the conditions looked perfect, we again needed to rely on Shelly to find us a feisty Redfish.  This young couple gave it an all out effort and did pick up a few fish but today just wasn't the day for the fish to be biting here at Amelia Island.

Banner Day With Big Reds

The Pleasant family was back in town for their July vacation and took in a back country fishing trip today on The Anglers Mark. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on Big Talbot Island Park and headed up the Nassau River to fish the Twin Creeks.  I used the Minnkota I-Pilot trolling motor to hold us a the marsh runouts as the anglers tossed their jig/mud minnow combo on an outgoing tide.  William hooked up and landed a keeper sized Trout and they also had some Ladyfish action.  We made run around to Jackstaff, fished an oyster bank, and had Alex land a really nice 20" Seatrout.  William fought a nice Jack Crevalle and Ben landed a keeper sized Flounder.  Our next stop was at Bubblegum Reef with the tide still going out.  We'd only been fishing few minutes when Alex hooked up and had a BIG fish!  FISH ON!  He played the fish perfectly, around the bow and back to the stern, but this wiley old fish had been around for awhile and with the boat held in place, it found some current to add to its weight, and broke off, OUCH! Ben was next up and hooked up to a BIG one too!  He fought his fish

patiently but this time I released the I-Pilot and we drifted with the current, fighting the big fish.  Eventually Ben landed an oversized 28.75" Redfish!  These anglers were in for a big day of fishing because the BIG Reds were not through!   Alex hooked up and played this big fish perfectly, determined to land this one, and he did.  We measured it before we released it and found it to be 33.5" would put Alex in the lead in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Redfish category (scroll down right side of this report for standings)  Ben added a 26.5" Slot Red, and then a 30" oversized Red.  Alex added 20" Slot Red, and William put two 21" Slot Reds in the boat.  The anglers wrapped the day up by landing two keeper sized Black Drum. And with that, we called it a day, another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!