Nasty Front Moving In

Yesterday we had record high temperatures here at Amelia Island but today we woke up to gloomy skies with a nasty front moving our way. I've already cancelled Thursday and Friday bookings!  But this morning was "fishable" so I met John Cipriani and his fishing buddies Dean and Bill, and Bill's daughter Sydney also came along for the fun!  We met at the Amelia Island Marina and this time we headed south, down the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff, then into a small creek, to set up fishing a large run out with float rigs and live shrimp.  The weather was outstanding - just a bit cool and only a slight breeze.

BAM! The fish started biting almost immediately. We caught one Trout after another - all 11-14" in length and we were beginning to think they were all the same fish until Sydney(the rookie) hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized one. Once the bite slowed, we made the run thru Horsehead and set up at a grassy pointe to cast and let our floats drift by. Again, we had good action on Trout, but then

John's float slowly went under and he had a strong hookup and Fish ON!  John fought the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a big 21" Sheepshead - a fish big enough to take a last minute first place in the Angler's Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Sheepshead Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We didn't quite fathom that we were sheltered from the wind until when moved on down to Pumpkin Hill and set up to fish a grass patch and found that the wind had picked up, the skies had gotten greyer, and the chill was more noticeable.   We fished for just a bit but had no real bites so we moved back to the mouth of Christopher Creek. We were sheltered here but the fish just didn't bite.

Our final stop was back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, partly because it was somewhat sheltered,  it was on the way back, and we could fish some jigs up by the dock pilings. The front was really moving in and the mist was so thick it looked like a huge fog bank. But when these anglers began to catch fish the weather was forgotten!  In just a short period of time they landed six keeper sized Black Drum, some smaller ones, and a few more keeper sized Seatrout, all on jigs and live shrimp.

Heading back to the marina we were running right into the wind and the mist which made for a cold ride, but the Sea Born 24" bay boat were in was cruising smoothly and we made it back to the Marina in no time. Although the weather went bad in a hurry, we still counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.