Persistence Pays Off

Another outstandingly beautiful day today! I met Dave Ward and his sons Steven and Michael down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at a dead low tide and we ran up the Nassau Rive to the Horsehead area to fish our first spot. We had some really nice shrimp and some left over mud minnows and the three anglers began to tossing to some dock pilings. But the fish were not cooperating! We then made a run down to Broward Island, passing the tide line, and fished the last of the outgoing tide there. Dave had a hungry Seatrout to the boat but it took Steven to "knock the skunk off" when he landed a feisty Redfish, then followed it up with another. Dave landed a fat Seatrout before we made a run back to Seymores Point. Things heated up a bit when our first cast to the rocks saw the float slowly sink under we had a Redfish hookup! Michael played the fish in and I think this got him primed. He was tossing his float up near the rocks and began to reel in the Reds. Then, after one cast he said his float just disappeared and FISH ON! He played the fish patiently and worked it away from some pilings and after a good battle his dad netted a Slot 22" Redfish. I think Dave put another multi spot Red in the boat then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Spots and a Slam

Today was another beautiful day to be fishing and the fish were cooperating! Henry Vicary and his kids Conner and Olivia met me at the Fernandina Harbor Marina and we headed out to fish the first of an incoming tide. We had an arsenal of live shrimp and mud minnows to tip our jigs and I think it only took one cast for Olivia to put a Redfish in the boat!  All three anglers began to catch fish, with most of them being Redfish to 17 3/4" and finally they landed
a nice Slot fish. Conner fished deep and landed a keeper sized Seatrout and then added a few more Reds. Later, Olivia put a Seatrout in the boat and a 7 spot Redfish, the most spots for the day. When the bite slowed, we ran to Jolley River, fished a couple of spots, then fished Bell River where Henry landed a sole Trout. After fishing one more spot in Bell, we ran up Lanceford Creek and picked up another Trout. When Conner felt something heavy I thought for sure he had hung an oyster clump but he assured me it was a fish. That's what I get for doubting him because when he reeled it to the surface it was a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder! Conner had his own personal Amelia Island Bac Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder! Now that's the way to wrap up an Amelia Island fishing trip.

Pre Christmas Family Outing

I had the pleasure of fishing with the Teseiro family again yesterday. It's really cool over the years to see my guests kids grow up and become fine anglers! I had Don and Kelley and their two growing kids Trey and Marie, this time meeting down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp with a plan to fish the Horse Head area  of Amelia Island. We ran up the the Nassau River and pulled in at some docks to fish the flooded grass on an outgoing tide and within a cast or two Marie had put the first fish in the boat, a
hungry Seatrout! From then on the four anglers were catching fish! They boated mostly 14" Seatrout but put a few keeper sized one's in the boat. Then Don had a somewhat stronger hookup that fought hard to stay on the bottom. But he played the fish perfectly and soon boated a nice Black "puppy" Drum. And then a short while later he put another in the boat, this one a good keeper. The bite stayed strong for a couple of hours with all anglers putting fish in the boat. Kelley added another keeper sized Trout then we made the run to Broward Island to fish the downed logs. Although the

outgoing current was still strong the Teseiro family was able to keep their jigs on the bottom. Trey started things off at this spot when he put the first Redfish in the boat to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Trout, Drum, and Red's. They added a few more Reds and a couple of Trout. There seemed to be a underlying competition going on amongst the anglers and at the end of the day young Marie declared the she had caught "the First, the Most, and the Biggest" fish of the day! It turned out to be a another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Florida's Finest Fishing

I see that we've got some weather coming in the first part of next week, but today was an outstanding time to be out fishing Amelia Island's back waters. I met Jeff Parks and his daughter Tori down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp around 8am and we headed up the Nassau River to fish the marsh grass on a high tide with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. Both anglers were making excellent casts and Tori "knocked the skunk off" early when she landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. But after that we had no
takers on the floats so we switched to jigs to fish the bottom and this did the trick! Jeff hauled in a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum then Tori put one in the boat just a tad bigger. They caught a handful of small Seatrout then Tori notched an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when she landed a feisty Redfish. We continued to fish the area and when Tori went back up to the grass with her jig she had a strong hookup, FISH ON! She played the big fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a 23 1/3" Slot Redfish! The two anglers picked up a few more fish then we moved back down the river, fishing Twin Creeks then an oyster outcrop with no luck. We made the run to Broward Island and almost immediately Jeff put a Redfish in the boat.  Both anglers caught Reds and Trout and just before we called it a day, Jeff had a stronger hookup and he too put a Slot Red in the boat. This was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day to be fishing here at Amelia Island.

December Grand Slam

We had such a good time fishing yesterday....we decided to do it again today! This time Didier De Bruyne and I headed south, leaving the Atlantic Seafood dock and running down the intercoastal waterway to cut in at Jackstaff Creek and fish the exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. Didier was tossing live shrimp and mud minnows on a jig up to the oysters and making excellent casts, but we had no takers. The weather once again was beautiful and it was just a pleasure to be out fishing. We made a run through Horse Head and fished a dock on the other side. Here, we picked up a keeper sized Flounder and a Slot Redfish. We then made the run down to Broward Island, set up about 40' from the bank and began jigging up current and down the river bottom. It wasn't long before we were landing fish - feisty Redfish them some hungry Seatrout to complete a Slam. We moved up and down the bank and picked up a few more Reds and Trout. Our last stop was at Bubblegum Reef. We fished a little then tried our hand at some waking fish over in a slough, then moved out deeper to jig the bottom. Didier had a strange bite and even commented that he may be hung on the bottom, then his drag began to rip, FISH ON!  This nice fish made some hard driving runs but Didier was patient and after a good battle, landed a nice 20" Sheepshead to round out an Amelia Island Grande Slam of Flounder, Redfish, Seatrout and Sheepshead. We picked up a couple of more Sheepshead before calling it a day.  Now that's the way to wrap up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip!

Redfish Still Hot

Boy what a cool, clear morning we had today!  I met Didier De Bruyne down at the City docks and although it was a bit chilly, the forecast called for temperatures rising to the mid 70's. We headed out of the marina and decided to fish some dock pilings the last few hours of an outgoing tide. We had live mud minnows and shrimp and a good handful of jig rods and it didn't take long to begin to catch fish. Didier landed a number of small but feisty Redfish, then he had a stronger hookup and, FISH ON!  The big fish tried to run back into the pilings but Didier kept the pressure on and worked it out. After a couple of strong runs and a good battle, we landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish! We continued to fish the area, catching a bunch of Reds that measured in at 17 3/4", just under the legal limit, then we made  run up Bell River to fish another dock. And right off the bat, we had Redfish hookups. Didier also put a nice 16" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. We began to work deeper and deeper and were getting some "bumps" and soon found out the Seatrout were there to be had. We caught Trout after Trout after Trout measuring to 14 3/4", again just under the legal limit, but had a good time landing fish.  Continuing on around to the Jolley River and a pit stop at the MOA to find no fish, we then made our last stop at Tiger Island.  Before I could get the trolling motor' GPS set, Didiear called, "fish on"! Another Redfish!  He landed about 6 more fish here. We repositioned, picked up a couple of more feisty Reds, then another strong bite. We new that this was a keeper sized fish by the way it fought and sure enough, we netted a 23" Slot Red to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island.

Amelia Island Slam on a Fly

I think Mark Thibodeau and I were the only ones out fishing today. It was a little cooler than the what the forecast called for, at least as windy as predicted, and it stayed foggy the whole day. But Mark was game and I was ready to fish the Amelia Island back waters with the long fly rod. As it turned out, Mark was one of the better fly casters that I've had all year and it paid off because you needed to have a good cast to catch fish today. Our first stop on the first of an outgoing tide, up Bell River, turned out to be not so good of a call. We fished some flooded oyster beds briefly then headed over
to Eagans Creek to fish some marsh run outs. It took a while but Mark figured out that he could let and intermediate line, cast upcurrent, sink down thru the water column, and find a Seatrout. He hooked up with the first one with a black Troy James Fly red dumbell eyes and then picked up a few more on different paterns, including a Trout Candy and a baitfish Clouser pattern. After fishing the area until the water got out of the grass, we made a run thru the fog up and over to fish the logs of Tiger Island. The wind
was blocked here and the conditions were right, but Mark had to work for fish. He finally had a good hookup and a strange fight, and after a good battle, landed a nice 18" keeper sized Flounder.  A little while later, from the same spot, Mark put a feisty Redfish in the boat to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder and Redfish. We fished the bank thoroughly then made a run back to Bell River, fished an outflow, but again were bucked by wind, then made a run back to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings. And boy did things heat up! Mark was tossing a shrimp-like pattern on is sinking tip line in about 5 foot of water and nailing feisty Redfish, one after the other. Then he had a stronger hookup but the big fish was having nothing to do with coming out from around the pilings and BAP, broke itself off. This happened a second time but on the third the big fish made the mistake of running away from the docks and Mark had him! He played the fish perfectly and patiently and after a good battle landed a big 23" Slot Redfish! After putting one more Slot fish of the same size and a good handful of smaller Reds, we called it a day,m another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Hot Spots

The fog blew off during the night and today turned out to be a really nice fishing day. I had met Dan Moyle, his wife Mary and his dad Bill down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at sunrise and we headed up the Bell River to fish the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp. Our first stop looked really good but we had no real bites. We ran around to the outside of Tiger Island and eased along another grass line. Eventually Mary "knocked the skunk off" when
she hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. But after working the area thoroughly and getting no more bites, we made the run up to Jolley River to fish a larger creek outflow, but again no bites! Ouch. We made a move up the creek and here Mary again put a fish in the boat, a nice feisty Redfish. Our next stop was back at the mouth of Jolley, fishing the "bank" and the anglers had a quick flurry of hookups.  Both Dan and Bill put Redfish in the boat then Mary added another one, too. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and now that the tide had gotten down, the fish catching heated up.  Dan began to put Redfish in the boat one after the other and then both Mary and Bill began to get hookups. But Dan had the "hot spot" and continued to catch the feisty Reds. We worked the area back and forth and each time we moved the anglers caught fish. We found that the Seatrout were out deeper and I noticed when I de-hooked them they felt really cold. Bill landed a Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Drum. We fished to the very last shrimp, catching fish the whole time, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Tarnation Good Day of Fishing

I had the opportunity to fish this afternoon, this time with Sarah and Jason Lindshield who were in town for a short visit to celebrate Jason's birthday with a fishing trip. They were staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites which is just across the street from the City marina and the Atlantic Seafood dock, where I met them this afternoon. We made a long run up Bell River, around Tiger Island to fish "manatee creek" on a high and outgoing tide with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. The water was still way up in the grass and the bite was slow but both anglers were able to put a Seatrout in the boat. We moved around to fish the deep water behind Tiger Island and again picked up a Trout or two. We adjusted our position, and had a few nibbles here and there. I even commented that it just felt like we were going to start catching some fish. And boy did we!  It was like the flood gates opened because both Sarah and Jason began to catch feisty Redfish, one after the other, and sometimes they both had one on! Jason had a stronger fish on that ripped his drag out, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently but this big fish had been around the block once or twice and eventually found its way into the tree branches and broke itself off, OUCH! But then Sarah had another strong hookup and her fish ran deep, thankfully. She played the big fish perfectly and after a long battle landed a big 24" Sot Redfish! Jason followed that up with a 22" Slot Red of his own! And the fish just kept on biting. The two anglers fished different areas and put more feisty Reds in the boat, 3 keeper sized Seatrout and a handful of smaller ones, then Sarah landed a keeper sized Founder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam then added to that by putting a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat - a Grand Slam! We fished the area until sundown then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Cold But On Fire

Fishing the day after Thanksgiving is always fun and today we had clear, sunny skies, but a strong wind blowing and the temperature reading 39 degrees at launch time. I met Nestor Hernandez, his wife Monica and their kids Christina and Michael down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at sunrise and we made a run to Eagans Creek to fish the docks and get out of the wind. The tide was low and coming in and we had a bait well of mud minnows to do some jig fishing. The anglers began tossing the jigs and minnows to the pilings and they eventually began to get bites. The bite gradually built to red hot! Christina got the catching started by landing a couple of feisty Redfish then all four anglers got in on the action, catching one Redfish after the other. We had a couple of strong hookups and tried our best to dig them out of the pilings but they were having none of it and broke themselves off. But Nestor was patient and after hooking up to another big one, he pulled it out and played it patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot 25" Redfish! We continued to fish the dock and landed a good handful of Redfish and maybe another Slot or two, one of which had 12 spots, a "money fish" in the Jackonville Spot Tournament.  We made a run around to Tiger Island, fished the deep water and caught a handful of small Reds. Monica put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat and then Michael hauled in another big Slot 23" Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Thanksgiving Eve Fishing at Amelia Island

With rain and wind forecast for this morning, Joe Ekhaml and I decided to postpone our scheduled fishing fishing trip to later this afternoon, after the front moved through, and it turned out to be a good call. I met Joe and his adult children, Jake, Joey and Kelsey down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at noon and we could see the skies clearing off to the north west.  Although the wind was still blowing 13mph, we launched and headed up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff to fish the first of a very high and outgoing tide. I set up the anglers with float rigs and they baited up with live shrimp
and mud minnows and began to toss up to the marsh grass. We eased along the shoreline and after a pretty good while Kelsey finally had a hookup and boated a small Seatrout. But that was it for that particular area. We dropped back to another grassline and again fished it thoroughly but again, no real bites. We made a run through Jackstaff to the Nassau River side and fished Twin Creeks, this time with both float rigs and jigs, and again, no real bites! OUCH! But this crew were anglers, both optimistic and persistent and at our next stop they began to get good hookups. First Kelsey had her float disappear and after a good battle, landed a feisty Redfish. She may have landed one or two more then we all noticed that something was nudging Joe's bait and his float began to ease up current! Joe patiently let the fish take it and when the float went under he reeled in his slack and lifted his rod tip firmly, FISH ON!  And it was a big one!  The big fish made a run up the grass line then back and then boiled up- a big Redfish - but Joe kept the pressure on, letting it fight his bent rod. After a good battle, Joe landed a nice 25" Slot Redfish!  We continued to fish the area and had good action with Joey putting a nice Red in the boat and both Joe and Kelsey keeping up the pace with fish of their own. We made stop at Bubblegum Reef where Kelsey caught another Red then we made a run to Broward Island.  The wind was still kicking and the current was running pretty hard but the anglers worked tree lined shoreline with jigs on the bottom. The first area produce no fish but the second was on fire for a good while. All four anglers caught fish with Jake landing the only keeper Seatrout of the day and he also put a few Reds in the boat.  Joey had a strong hookup and we knew right off that this was a big fish. He played the fish patiently and perfectly as it fought out deeper and into the current. We both saw the big Redfish a couple of times but it was not to be. After what seemed like a 10 minute battle, the hooked pulled, and FISH OFF! But Joey was not to be deterred and later had another strong hookup and soon landed another Slot 20" Redfish.  It was a good way to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island!

Eight Spots No Spots Equal Money Fish

Steve Pautler was visiting Amelia Island for a conference and squeezed in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip this afternoon before getting down to business.  I met him down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Amelia River to fish a creek off of Jackstaff with float rigs and live shrimp on the very first of an outgoing tide. We had a a few small bites but no takers so we dropped back to Jackstaff "bank" and began to ease
along the marsh grass.  It wasn't long before Steve began to get bites, hookups and landings. He had a good variety of  hungry Seatrout, hard fighting Bluefish and feisty Redfish. One of the Redfish had eight spots which surely would have placed and won money in the local Redfish Spot Tournament. Later, one bite was really strong and when it bent his rod over and the drag began to rip, we knew it was a big fish, FISH ON!  Steve played the big fish patiently as it ran to deeper water then back again. After a long battle Steve landed a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark, which we released after photographs. We continued on up the bank and when we switched to jigs and fished a larger marsh run out, Steve landed a nice Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, and Flounder.  We made a run around to Nassau River to fish Twin Creeks and in just a short time Steve landed a couple of more Redfish.  One of these had NO spots, which is a $500 prize in the previously mentioned Spot Tournament!  After getting a couple more Trout here, we made a final run down to Broward Island as the sun was setting.  We found a handful of Redfish here, a Trout or two, and then Steve wrapped up the day with one more Redfish as the sun set on another great day of fishing at Amelia Island!

What's a Little Bit of Wind?

I had met Dick Miree and his friend Katherine down at the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning with the weather forecast calling for 12-15mph winds by noon. But they hadn't picked up yet so we headed north to fish the logs of Tiger before the incoming tide got up too far. The two anglers were tossing jigs with live shrimp or mud minnows up to the bank and fishing it slowly down the river bottom.  The first area we fished produced no real bites so we adjusted our position and within a few minutes both anglers hooked
up, almost at the same time! We had a double! Katherine worked her fish in gradually and soon landed a feisty Redfish, then Dick patiently landed his, which turned out to be a keeper sized Slot Redfish. We fished that spot for a while longer then made another adjustment and it turned out to be a good one. Dick hooked up and landed a keeper sized Trout, and then he had an even stronger hookup and a battle on his hands, FISH ON!  Hep played the fish perfectly and after it ran from one side of the boat to the other, landed a very nice 24" Slot Redfish!  After he landed another keeper sized Trout, Katherine got back into action and after getting a strange bite (we both thought she might have been hung on the bottom), BOOM! The drag began to rip and we then knew she had a nice fish on!  Katherine worked it to the boat and landed a fine 18" Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. She followed that up with a keeper sized Seatrout. We made a run to another spot, this time fishing with float rigs, and found a handful of smaller Trout. At our last stop Katherine found one more keeper sized Trout, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!
 Here's a video of the Shark Fight:

We Made The Right Call

The last two mornings I fished with Dan Tillotson and his son Paul. We launched both days out of the City marina to fish the last few hours of a incoming flood tide. Yesterday we fished north of the island, tossing float rigs with shrimp and mud minnows. Our first stop produced no bites but as we ran through Tiger Basin we made a stop to see if any Reds were tailing in the grass and sure enough, there was one slurping at the surface of an accessible grass flat!  We
had a weedless spoon ready but the fish was having none of it and eventually bolted. At our next stop Paul had the hot hand and landed a few Seatrout and a nice Bluefish but that was about it for the fish catching that day. Ouch. This morning we decided to go earlier and run south all the way down to Broward Island to fish the exposed logs before the tide came in. This turned out to be a good call because almost immediately the anglers began to catch fish. Within seconds of each other both hauled in keeper sized Flounder then they traded turns catching feisty Redfish. Then Paul had another heavy bite and we knew it was a Flounder again but we also could tell it was bigger. He played this big flat fish patiently and soon landed a nice 20" Flounder! We moved up and down the bank, picking up smaller Reds here and there and just before we decide to leave Dan had a stronger hookup, FISH ON! This was a bigger Red and ripped some drag, but Dan kept the pressure on and gradually worked it in to Paul and the waiting net, a nice 24" Slot Red!  We made a stop at Christopher Creek where Dan landed another Red and an almost keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum (rounding out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam), hit a couple of more spots, then called it  day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Red at Mother of All

I fished yesterday afternoon with Sherri Lowdenslager, her mother Ona and her friend Tiffany Schintgen  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 2pm to fish the backwaters on the last few hours of an outgoing tide. We made a run up to Jolley River and made our first stop at the "bank" and the conditions looked perfect with the oysters exposed. The three anglers were tossing jigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows and within a few minutes were making excellent casts to the shoreline. But is was to no avail - only bait stealers were eating! We ran further up the river and this time the conditions looked even better as the marsh was blocking the breeze. It still took a while but finally Tiffany had a strong hookup and after a good battle, landed a nice feisty Redfish to get things started. We moved around to the MOA (Mother of All) and within a minute or two we got hookups. All three anglers began to catch fish with both Ona and Sherrie putting nice Redfish in the boat. They also had a couple of hungry Seatrout. Then Tiffany's rod bent double and the drag begag to rip out, FISH ON!  And it was a big one! It was tough to slow this big fish down but Tiffany played it patiently and went from bow to stern, from starboard to port and then back to the bow! But still the big fish was having none of coming to the surface!  Tiffany continued to apply gently pressure and after a long (and somewhat chaotic) battle, landed an oversized 34" Redfish to claim first place in The Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report to see standings). Boy what a fish. After photographs we made sure the big fish was revived and released it to swim off to the deep. The anglers picked up a couple of more Reds and Ona put a nice keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. We made our last stop at Tiger Island, caught a couple, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Three Generations of Anglers

I fished the Amelia Island back country on a trip set up by Dustin Taylor for he, his dad Ricky, and grandfather Rick - all experienced local anglers who normally fish down in Jacksonville.  They came up Heckshire Drive and met me at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at sunrise then we headed up the Nassau River to fish a creek run out.  It only took a few minutes and grandad Rick had put a hungry Seatrout in the boat!  I think he caught one or two more then Ricky picked up a couple.  We hit an oyster outcrop and fished
Bubblegum Reef with limited success, then made the run to Broward Island to set up outside of another creek mouth.  I think it was Dustin's first cast when he had a strange bite, but FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 18" Flounder.  Then Rick put another keeper sized Flounder in the boat and Ricky found a nice "honey hole" for feisty Redfish to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Grandad Ricky
made a toss to the same area and had a strong hookup and battle and landed a good keeper sized 19" Redfish.  The three anglers caught a few more fish here then we made run back to Seymore's Pointe where they got into some fun-to-catch Mangrove Snapper.   Both Rick and Ricky landed a couple of more Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Fishing Georgia/Florida Week

The Blalocks were back in town for the annual Georgia/Florida football game and it's become a tradition to get in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip.  I met William and his wife Dara, along with dad Bob, and their friend Jason down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at sunrise this morning.  We ran up the Nassua River and made our first stop at Twin Creeks with about an hour to go on a falling tide.  The water was really low and the oysters were fully exposed as the four anglers began to pitch their jigs and mud
minnows to the oyster edge.  Almost immediately the fish began to
bite!  They stayed busy catching feisty Redfish, one after the other for a good 45 minutes.  Dara had a really big Red on for a good while but it was big for a reason and made a quick turn and went full throttle to break the leader, OUCH!  But shortly after that William baited up with a small and lively Pogey, tossed it to the bank, and FISH ON!  He played the big Red patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot sized 23" Redfish!  Later, we moved down the river, found a point sticking out into the river, and fished the oysters.  Again, the anglers had a good bite, and in addition to the Reds, they put a number of keeper sized Trout (up to 16") in the boat.  Jason had a strange bite and after workin the fish to the boat, landed a very nice 16" keeper sized Flounder to round out his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  We made our last stop down at Broward Island, found a few fish, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

On The Water After Work

I fished Wednesday afternoon with Brett Caldon and his friends and workmates Lisa and Rick, all who had finished up a business related conference out at the Omni.  We met down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and headed up the Bell River with a baitwell full of live shrimp and mud minnows on the first of an outgoing tide. We made our first stop at some flooded oyster beds and within in moments of gettting there float rigs out to the edge of the marsh grass, they began to get hookups.  The bite was fast and furious as
the three anglers battled with hungry Seatrout and pesky baitstealers.
All three put Seatrout in the boat before we moved on to fish the outside of Tiger Island.  Here they picked up a couple more Trout then we made run up to Jolley River and a larger creek outflow.  Again, they had a few Trout and more baitstealers.  We moved up into the creek and after a number of casts to the corner of some grass, Brett had a stronger hookup and landed a bigger keeper sized Seatrout.  He went back to the same spot and even put his float and bait right up in the grass and within seconds the float went under, and FISH ON!  He played the bigger fish patiently and soon landed a nice Redfish, his first.  We move around to the outside of the creek, caught a couple of more Trout then Lisa put a good Redfish in the boat.  Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and caught a couple of more feisty Reds and even had a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Prettiest Day Yet

I just couldn't believe how pretty it was this morning as the sun came up over Amelia Island.  I had met Bruce Doueck and his son in law Rich out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp at sunrise and with the river so calm it was an amazing sight!  We made a run NE to make our first stop at Bubblegum Reef on the very first of an incoming tide. Rich knocked the skunk off early when he hooked up and landed a nice Seatrout. He had a hot rod going early and got a number of bites, landing a good handful of Seatrout on jigs and mud minnows. We had tossed out a shrimp under a float up  near
some oyster beds and when the bobber began to walk off we knew we had a fish, but we didn't know how nice it was going to turn out to be!  Bruce played the fish patiently and as it neared the boat it made a run deep and to the stern but Bruce was on top of it and walked him around.  The big fish made a couple of more runs before Bruce landed a nice Slot sized 22" Redfish.  We fished Seymore Pointe but had no bites then made the trip down to Broward Island to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Here, Bruce had most of the action and caught 4-5 nice feisty Redfish.  We also picked up a couple of small Sheepshead before we left.  Our final stop was over in Jackstaff, now tossing float rigs with live shrimp.  The hot hand swung back to Rich this time and he put a few more Seatrout in the boat while Bruce picked up one more Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Son and Father Fishing

We had another outstandingly beautiful day today as we left the City docks to fish a high and outgoing tide.  I met Derek Carter and his dad Bobby early and we ran up the Bell River to fish some flooded oyster beds that I had spotted yesterday on a lower tide.  I think the first stop the tide hadn't started moving yet but as it started to come out of the grass the two anglers began to get bites. They both picked ups some nice size Bluefish then a couple of Seatrout
then Bobby pulled in a feisty Redfish from the grass line. We then made a run around to the outside of Tiger Island and again found a couple of Trout and a Redfish.  We moved closer to the mouth of Tiger and had a good flurry of Seatrout bites and then picked up a couple more Redfish.  We moved to behind Tiger and fished the logs and here both Derek and Bobby found some small flounder (although one was of keeper size, released) to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  And again, another Redfish.  When I thought about the whole day the two anglers actually caught a bunch of fish, just like the last couple of days which has made for some fun fishing.  There just hasn't been a whole lot of size to them.  Sooner or later some big one have to show up! Never the less, it was a great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Two Guys Fishing

I fished this morning with Tandy Morton and his buddy Tommy after we had met at the Atlantic Seafood dock and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the very first of an outgoing tide.  The two anglers were tossing finger mullet under float rigs and at the first stop, a small creek run out, Tommy hooked up with a lively Seatrout on his first cast!  I thought to my self, "oh boy, here we go"!  But although it was a beautiful morning with just a slight breeze and overcast skies, the "good" fish didn't want to cooperate.  I think we picked up one more Trout at that spot then we moved down the river about 100 yards and set up outside a larger creek.  Here, both Tandy and Tommy got bite after bite after bite after bite, but they turned out to be small "yellow tail" perch. We moved around in Jolley River, caught a couple of more Trout and Bluefish then we did find a nice feisty Redfish over some flooded oysters.  We made the run around to Bell River to fish some docks and all three of us landed fish right off, then it slacked to nothing. We move to an adjacent dock and picked up one more Redfish.  Our last stop was at a large group of exposed oysters and here the bite was decent.  Both anglers found Seatrout biting as the river rushed around the oysters.  When this bite slowed, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Trout on Fire

Boy what a beautiful afternoon we had today!  I had met Gene Roudachevski and his son Ira and Ira's friend Lucas at 1pm down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina and we headed up to fish the logs of Tiger on an incoming tide.  We hit two areas with jigs and mud minnows and had exactly zero bites! OUCH!  We then made a run up to Jolley River to fish the "bank" and again fished a couple of areas with no real bites other than when Gene hooked up and
battled in a rather large Gar Fish!  It was a good battle but not what we were looking for.  Our next and final stop was back to the outside of Tiger Island and this did the trick. And boy did it!  The three anglers had hardly had there float rigs out over some flooded oysters for a few seconds all of them started getting bites and fish.  There must have been hundreds of Seatrout in the area because they couldn't cast without getting a hookup. Gene and Lucas were on the stern of the boat catching fish but Ira was up at the bow tossing to a grass line and he was the one that put 4 keeper sized Seatrout to 18" in the boat.  We fished right on up until we were almost out of bait with Lucas having the hot rod there at the end, boating Trout after Trout.  It was a great way to wrap up a fishing catching trip here at Amelia Island!

Bull Redfish

I fished the river with neighbor Brian Parent yesterday afternoon using heavy tackle and blue crabs for bait.  We got out there a couple of hours before high tide with the wind blowing 10-15 and dropped an anchor to fish the edge of the channel.  The wind was blowing out of the northwest and the current was running against it so we had to stay on our toes to manage the lines.  We had no bites at our first two drops but we kept adjusting our location and as the tide went slack Brian saw one of his poles begin to bounce.  He slowly took up the slack and when he felt the line go tight he
applied just a little stronger pressure and the big circle hook did its job, FISH ON!  And boy it was a big one!  He played the fish patiently and applied the pressure as it tried to run under the boat and after a good battle landed a big Bull Redfish!  Skunk off the boat!  We continued to fish and soon found out that we needed to be on the channel side of the boat with our baits and not long afterwards picked up another even bigger Redfish.  Brian commented that both fish had bit hooks baited with a full crab rather than the half we had on some of the other hooks so with the sun heading down we re-baited all of our lines with a full crab and sure enough, BOOM!  FISH ON!  We landed an released one more of the big Bull Redfish then we headed in with the sun going down, counting it as another great day to be fishing North Florida waters!

Amelia Island (fishing) Honeymoon

Mary and Patrick Stewart-Hillenburg were visiting Amelia Island this weekend celebrating their new marriage and decided to take in a back country fishing trip and sight seeing tour. The tide was forecast to be high around 3:30pm so we did the tour first, cruising Old Town, the Pogey Plant, Cumberland Island seashore (where we saw a large herd of wild horses) and then we wrapped up the tour by cruising up into Beach Creek on Cumberland where we were
treated to an Osprey sighting.  We then crossed back into Florida and found some flooded oysters to toss float rigs and mud minnows.  It took a little while but then the anglers began to get bites.  Mary put the first fish in the boat, a small but neat Flounder then Patrick followed it up with a feisty Redfish.  We continued to fish that area and both anglers put another Redfish or two in the boat then we moved around behind Tiger Island.  Mary had the hot rod here and landed another Redfish and Flounder.  We then made a run around to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings - and to get out of the wind -and here Patrick had the hot hand.  He picked up a Flounder himself then added a nice Seatrout to round out his very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Flounder, and Seatrout.  Mary added one more Redfish then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Walk Off Grand Slam

I kicked off the week fishing with Dan Tillotson, meeting him at the Atlantic Seafood dock, just behind the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Fernandina Beach, Florida.  We left the dock at daybreak and headed up to fish Tiger Island on the first of an incoming tide with jigs and shrimp and mud minnows.  It took a little while for the bite to turn on but eventually it did and Dan broke the ice by landing a nice keeper size Black Drum.  Shortly after that he put a small handful of
"feisty" Redfish in the boat and then landed two Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  Then he had a somewhat stronger hookup and this one wanted to pull some drag!  Dan played the bigger fish patiently and after a good battle that surged deep a couple of times, landed a Slot sized 21" Redfish!  We fished the area completely and landed a couple more of the smaller Reds, then pulled up and ran to fish a large creek in Jolley River.  We began to get bites but they were of the baitstealing variety so we made a final run around to Bell River to fish a flooded bank with float rigs. Here we picked up a couple more of the feisty Redfish then we had a really strong hookup and FISH ON!  This fish ripped the drag also and bulled deep then went from one end of the boat to the other.  Dan stayed with him and applied some gentle pressure until the big fish was wore out and we netted another Slot 23" Redfish!  The last fish of the day took a live shrimp up near the marsh and as it neared the boat I saw that it was a golden colored Speckled Seatrout, about 18" in length, a keeper size, and once landed made it an Amelia Island Back Country "Grand Slam"!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!