Flounder Queen Returns

 I wrapped my week up fishing with Frank and Joanne Wytiaz, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had a baitwell full of mud minnows and live shrimp and before we left I threw a cast net for a few dozen nice finger mullet. We then headed up the Nassau River and made our first stop at Spanish Drop and began working the bank. There was all kinds of bait action and fish busting the bait and the duo joined in, catching some feisty Redfish, Seatrout, Jacks and Catfish. 

We moved up the way and fished a large drainage and boy was the tide low! Again, they picked up small but feisty Reds, then Joanne, after making an excellent cast to the bank, hooked up with something different. She worked it to the boat and we netted a nice 18" Flounder - Joanne has been known to catch the big Flounder! Frank hooked up and landed a big Mangrove Snapper to go in to the box.

We fished some docks at Seymore's and added another big Snapper or two, Joanne battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to the net, another feisty Red was caught, then we moved on.  After a run down to Broward Island we worked the bank on the first of an incoming tide. They caught small Reds, another keeper Mangrove, then Joanne, true to her calling, hooked up and landed another 18" Flounder. 

After fishing a stretch of bank at Pumpkin Hill and adding a high flying Lady Fish to the catch total, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Po-tay-to's - Po- tah -to's

 

When I met Jeff Adams, his son Beau, and father-in-law Charlie up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp this morning I mentioned that I had live shrimp and mud minnows for bait and young Beau set me straight - Potayto's-Potahto's - it's all the same! And it pretty much was!

We eased out of Eagans Creek and made a run up the river, into the Jolley and all the round to the MOA and fished the first of an incoming tide. We debated whether Jeff's small perch catch counted as "knocking the skunk off" but when Beau hooked up and battled a big Catfish to the boat we knew that the skunk was surely off.  Jeff added a nice Whiting to the catch and they had a couple of Croakers caught, and another small Catfish.

We made our way back to the mouth of the Jolley, fished the "bank" and worked along it tossing the jigs and shrimp and minnows. The trio had a few good bites, no takers, but then Jeff, after making an excllent cast to the base of the oysters, had a hookup. This fish was ripping drag so we knew it had some size to it. He played it perfectly and after a good battle he laned a nice 21" Slot Redfish. 

Back up the Jolley we went and fished float rigs along a couple of banks, then we finished up fishing jits on the outside of Tyger. Both Charlie and Jeff landed Seatrout while Jeff put a couple of Flounder in the boat. We had caught a good handful of fish but as we finished up we could see a wall of rain and sure enough, we had to make our way thru it, but as we eased back into the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Oversized Red Caps The Slam

 I fished this morning with Mathew Massey and his daughter Sutton, meeting them down at the Sawpit
Creek boat ramp. We made the short run up the intercoastal and into the Nassau before pulling up at a large drainage to toss jigs and mud minnows. First cast produced a pretty good cast and then both angles were catching fish. They landed a couple of small Flounder, two fat Seatrout and a couple of feisty Redfish to round out an Amelia Island back country Slam. It was only minutes before Sutton was casting and catching on her own.

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We then made our way down to Broward Island and stayed with the jigs. Sutton had made an excellent cast to a creek mouth and BAM! Big Fish On!  She played it perfectly and soon landed a big 18" Flounder (all fish caught today were released). They caught a couple of feisty Reds, then we moved up to the other end of the island where Matt put a big Mangrove Snapper in the boat. 

After fishing between two docks at Nassauville, to no avail, we ran thru Horsehead and fished Jackstaff "bank", switching to float rigs. First cast, BAM!  The float was gone. Matt worked to the boat the biggest Trout of the day.  We worked along there tossing the floats, caught a handful of high flying Ladyfish, then, after Matt had made a good cast up into the pocket and got a good drift going, Fish On!  And boy was it a big one!  Matt played expertly, letting that drag rip and when we saw a big boil up near the grass we knew it was a big Redfish. Matt worked it in, let it run, worked it in, and soon landed an Oversized 27.5" Redfish - the biggest Red I've had on the boat in a month! We photographed and released it. We fished over at Pompano Point for a bit, then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Dibs and Dabs

 Dibs and Dabs was what my late mother-in-law called the spread of leftovers she'd put out for dinner. But today I was calling the fish we were catching "dibs and dabs" - we caught a handful of small but feisty Redfish, a Catfish, a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a Black "puppy" and a handful of some rather large (for here) Mangrove Snapper.

I fished with Bob Blalock, meeting him out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and we quickly headed over to Broward Island and fished the logs as the tide began to turn and come back in. Bob caught a couple of Reds and the Catfish, then we moved up to the end of the island as the tide really started to come in. Here, Bob had the strongest hookup of the morning, was playing him expertly and...he's off. Ouch. But we did get three 12" Mangroves along that stretch.

We fished Twin Creeks and here Bob hooked up and landed the Black Drum - on a mud minnow, which surprised the heck out of me. After moving down to Spanish Drop and working that bank, Bob picked up a feisty Jack Crevalle on the back side of a pocket. 

After coming back up the river to Pumpkin Hill, we drifted minnows long on float rigs and caught another Red, and again we had a strong bite way back down the grass line. The big fished rolled once, ripped a bit of drag and again, he was off!  Double ouch! 

We finished up at Seymore's Pointe and landed a couple of more Mangroves before we called it a day and headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Fl. 

Perseverance and Hard Work Pay Off

 I fished with the Burke group today, Marvin and Nicholas and Mason, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp on a tide that had been going out for about an hour. We made a quick jump across the river to the corner of Back River and fished float rigs and live shrimp and minnows along a stretch of grass and I thought for sure we'd get a fish or two, but we got skunked. We did have a couple of nibbles but no takers.

We then ran down the Nassau and thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point and set up with the floats and it was only minutes and this trio of anglers were hooking up. Marvin kicked it off when he hooked up and caught a hungry Seatrout, then Nicholas got in on the action and caught one, then both of them "doubled up" and caught Trout. Marvin added a small Catfish to the catch total before we moved on. The next stop was back behind us at Jackstaff where we worked the "bank".  Marvin caught and landed another, bigger, Catfish, then Nicholas had a strong hookup and, Fish On!  He stayed patient and worked it slowly to the boat, let it run when it needed to, ripping drag, but he kept the pressure on and eventually landed a keepers sized 19" Slot Redfish!

We worked along there and picked up a couple of small Reds, crossed over and fished a point with the

jigs, to no avail, then moved on. 

After running back thru Horsehead and down the Nassau to Spanish Drop we worked a bank and picked up a Red or two, then we moved up to a large drainage. Mason had been making good casts all day but he must have not worn his "Lucky Hat" because he had a couple of hookups but they threw the hook. I had been stressing "Optimism, Perseverance, and Positive Attitude" and it paid off - Mason finally had a good hookup and expertly brought to the boat a "just undersized" feisty Redfish, then he and Nicholas had a "double" hookup and both brought in a Redfish. Nickolas went to the outside of  (backside of?) of a partially submerged bar, had a "thump" and set the hook. We could tell it was a fish but it was  hanging heavy and sure enough, after patiently working it to the boat, we netted a nice 17" Flounder. 

Mason added a feisty Jack Crevalle to his catch total and Marvin added another Red or two to his then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Biggest Fish of The Day: Bonnethead Shark

 I fished with the Ankney group today - Blake and Cooper and Keira, meeting them up at the Old Town
Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased out of Eagans Creek and made our way over to the outside of Tyger and worked the bank good with shrimp and jigs. Although we had nibbles here and there, we had no takers.

We then ran around to the the Jolly and fished the "bank" and here we "knocked the skunk off" wit a couple of Seatrout catches. We added a good handful of small but feisty Redfish catches, and picked up a couple of small Flounder. After running up the river to Snook Creek, a Black Drum catch rounded out an Amelia Island Grande Slam but it was Keira's hookup that made the "big fish" day. The fish bit and took off and ripped drag for a good long run, and then we thought it was off but it was coming back to us. Keira reeled it up then hung on for a good, long battle. The video doesn't do it justice - I turned it off  for a while - but Keira played it perfectly and patiently and soon brought it to the boat for photograph and release.

After running thru the Jolley and around to the Bell we fished a few docks, had nibbles, but nor real takers. Then we came back to the MOA and here the trio caught another good handful of feisty Redfish. We finished the day back at Tyger, fishing the first of an incoming tide, and again added a couple of Reds, another Flounder, and another Black Drum to the catch total. As we made our way back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be out fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Keeper Sized Fish

After a few days off, I was back fishing today with Garland Clark and his son Kris, meeting them down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made a short run up the Nassau and pulled up at Spanish Drop and began fishing the edge with jigs and minnows and shrimp and finger mullet. Kris kicked it off pretty early when he battled a strong Jack Crevalle to the net for photo and release. After moving up to a large drainage and fishing the very first of an incoming tide and the action went wild!  

Kris got hot hooking up with one Flounder after another - we counted 5 or 6 with a few of those being in the keeper 15" range. Garland added a small but feisty Redfish to the catch, then Kris landed one too. Kris added a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum to the catch total. After making our way up to some docks and fishing the pilings, we had a nice keeper sized Mangrove Snapper caught.

After that we headed down to Broward Island and fished the first of an incoming there. Kris had a strong hookup that stayed on for a few seconds and after we eased down a bit we caught more fish: Another keeper sized Flounder (#4), a Slot 19" Redfish (released), and a keeper sized Mangrove. Stopping back by some docks at Nassauville in hopes of getting  a few more Mangroves, Kris surprised us with a big bite. he played it perfectly and we were speculating "Redfish" but when it came to the surface we netted a big 20" Gator Trout! boy what a fish! Shortly after that Kris had a nother one of those tell-tell "thumps" - he worked it to the boat and landed a big 18" Flounder, keeper #5!

We finished the day over in Jackstaff working the bank with float rigs, then we headed back to the ramp counting it as another great day fishing the back waters of Amelia Island. 

Trout Flurry Saves the Day

 I fished today with Tom Keller and his grandsons Tripp and Bryson, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp on a tide that was high and coming in. It was already hot as we eased out of Eagans Creek and made our way over to Bell River to set up along a point with plans to drift float rigs and mud minnows along the grass. Tripp got things started off early when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout.

We ran thru Tyer and around to the outside of the island and fished the very last of that incoming tide and here Tripp had another Trout on, this one bigger, but it threw the hook, Ouch!  But Tom had his hookup and after patiently playing it to the boat he landed a keeper sized Seatrout. We worked along the bank tossing the float rigs, had a few bites, but no takers, and when the tide changed we moved back to the pointe where we had begun and this did the trick. Bryson had been staying persistent and it paid off when he had his float disappear. He set the hook and worked it to the boat expertly and landed another keeper sized Seatrout. Moments later Tripp had a hookup and he also played it expertly to the net, another keeper Trout. Tripp also had one feisty Redfish catch.

After running up the Jolly and fishing a couple of banks with the floats, to no avail, we came back to the outside of Tyger and swathed to jigs and worked the bank. We had numerous bites and Tom added another hungry Seatrout catch to the total, then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florid. 

Slow Start Climax's with Big Fish!

 We switched it up today, fishing out of Old Town Bait and Tackle ramp- The "bite" had been fairly slow down south the last couple of days so we decided to fish north. I met Ray Pinkston and his son Jack early and we eased out of Eagans and made our way over to the outside of Tyger where we set up with float rigs and mud minnows, drifting on teh first of an outgoing tide. We did have our hearts get to beating faster early - Ray hooked up and his fish is still heading north. I'm pretty sure it was a Shark. Then it was Jacks turn to have the heart-pounding battle - he hooked up and even though this fish was ripping drag, it did roll to the top in the shallow water. Jack was playing him like a pro but this fish was smart - it got up into some shallow oyster laden water and BAP! Fish Off! Ouch. The duo did pick up a small Red and a small jack before we left.

Our next stop was over on the outside of Tyger, working the sandy bottom with jigs and the minnows. Jack got hot catching small but hungry Seatrout then both he and Ray were catching Flounder. Most were small but every once in a while they'd put a "keeper" sized Flounder in the boat. Then Ray, fishing off the stern, had a good "bump" - he set the hook and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. We had a few in the box.

On around in the Jolley, fishing the bank, back with float rigs, they added a small Red and Jack to the catch total. After fishing a large drainage on up the river we pulled up and fished Snook Creek with the floats. It was a good move!  Ray had a strong bite and this was ripping the drag and digging deep. Ray kept the pressure on and worked to the boat a nice Slot 22" Redfish. The duo caught a handful of smaller Reds then Jack had a big bite. I was thinking it was a Redfish the way it was pulling but when Jack worked it to the surface it was a BIG Seatrout. Jack pateintly brought it to the net and landed a 21.75" Seatrout. Boy what a fish! And big enough to move Jack into 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. (Scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

Then Jack topped it off with a 9-spot Slot Redfish of his own caught. Boy what a day - it got better as it went along so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Water Like Glass

 I met Len Pelletier, his son Scott, and grandson Kevin down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this
morning and as we cruised up the intercoastal the water was like glass it was so calm. We made our way up to Pompano Point and unlimbered the float rigs, baited with live shrimp and mud minnows that I had caught at the dock. The calm conditions didn't bode well for fish catching - we had only nibbles. After dropping back to Jackstaff, we worked a bank with the floats, again to no avail. We were an hour in to the trip and hadn't had a bite!

After running thru Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe we pulled up at some rocks and fished the floats and at least got into some action caching Mangrove Snapper. Kevin got the hot hand and pulled away in the fish catch count, and never looked back. But Scott, fishing a minnow had the strong hookup. This fish was ripping drag, dove under the boat, and dug deep. But Scott kept the pressure on, played it patiently, and soon brought to the net a nice 20" Slot Redfish. After getting a good handful of keeper sized Mangroves, we moved on. 

Our next stop was down at Twin Creeks where we switched to jigs and shrimp and minnows. Although we didn't get any fish there, as we worked the bank Kevin had that tell-tell "thump", he hooked it up and brought to the boat a 17" Flounder. After catching some perfect sized finger mullet we moved down to Spanish Drop worked it good, but then a heavy rain moved in on us - we could hear it coming across the marsh which was cool, but then we got soaked!  We made a run back to the ramp, outran the rain, and when we made it back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Making Due With Bait Shortage

 There was as slight hiccup in the bait supply the last couple of days and luckily I got a text from AIBT
last evening about there being no bait to buy this morning, so I made plans to get up a bit earlier than usual, loaded my gear and some old frozen shrimp and headed to the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After launching the boat I set out a minnow trap then trolled the bank looking for finger mullet. The tide was fairly high and I guess the mullet had not come out of the creeks, but when I checked the minnow trap I had a couple of dozen so I stored them, re-set the trap and kept at it until I had 4-5 dozen. I then ran up to Goffinsville Park and met William and Dara Blalock for a morning of back water fishing - bait problem solved!

We crossed over and fished the corner at Middle River, had a few bites, but no takers, then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point and fished those stretches of grass with float rigs and the minnows. William put a small Catfish in the boat, then a feisty Redfish. We came back and fished the entrance to Jackstaff and picked up another couple of smaller Reds when we switched to jigs. Dara had a hangup on a oyster shell but when it came off she felt a tell-tell "bump" and when she set the hook, fish on!  She worked it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Flounder. 

After running back thru Horsehead and down to Spanish Drop we fished a drainage and picked up another smaller Flounder or two. Further down the river we fished some shell beds, added another small Red, then Dara had another one of those bumps, just off a finger of grass that had fallen in. She was fighting it expertly - we saw a nice Flounder flash and....fish off!  Ouch!

Our final stop was over at some docks at Nassauville where the duo added one more small Flounder to their catch and a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper (all fish caught today were released). We had made due with the bait we had and had caught a handful of fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Shaking It Up

 We shook things up today and did something different - after meeting John Raker out at Goffinsville Park we headed east, out to Nassau Sound and found some structure to fish with jigs and mud minnows. I think it was John's 3rd cast when he hooked up and battled a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum to the net. The tide was still going out and we had good action until it hit bottom, catching a couple of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size, and a good handful of Redfish 3 or 4 that were just a tad less than 18". John did have a big one on...it was ripping drag, he played it perfectly and had it almost within net reach and BAP! Fish Off! Ouch. 

I was thinking we'd really get some fish when that tide turned and started back in but all we got was pinfish and grunts! We ran over to the docks at Longpoint and fished a few of them for a bit and picked up one keeper sized Whiting then we moved on. 

Running back up the Nassau we made a stop at Spanish Drop and fished the shell bank. John had another good fish on that just threw the hook but he hung with it and worked that bank and after getting a good thump, set the hook and landed a nice 17" Flounder. But boy was it getting hot! We fished a large drainage where all kinds of bait was getting "popped", but had no bites. So we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Philosopher Fishes

 Another beautiful, if not hot, day of fishing today!  Boy it got hot!  I had met Beau Hopkins and his three kids Blakely, Chandler, and Brantley early up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and with a live well of mud minnows and the last 2 dozen live shrimp the shop had, we eased out of Eagans Creek. Our first stop was over in Lanceford Creek, fishing some dock pilings and Blakley started things off when she hooked up and landed the most exotic fish of the day, a Mudfish!

Shortly after that Chandler had a strong hookup - she battled it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Black "puppy" Drum, boy what a fish. Beau was at the stern and fishing the epxosed oysters over on the bank and when he had a good "bump", he set the hook and brought to the net an 18" Flounder. This fishing family had  start to a good mess of fish!

We had bounced a jigs and minnow off the dock  and when it hit the water BAM! Fish On! Brantely and his dad played it patiently and after a good fight brought to the boat an above average 19" Seatrout. The Hopkins team finished it off at this spot with one more keeper sized Flounder catch.

We then ran around to the Jolley River and fished the "bank", had some nibbles, but no takers, so we moved on. It was about this time that the temperature was getting up there when Brantley's philosophical side came out. Some of the better insights were:

"Stupid things happen when you're having fun"

"We have the advantage, we've got a hook and a net"

"Sometimes fishing can be fun. Sometimes it's not fun"

We ran up and fished Snook Creek and here Beau got hot tossing a jig and getting some hungry Seatrout. We drifted some floats back at Tyger cut thru, then ended the day on the outside of Tyger, tossing the jigs. All anglers were getting bites and Beau did pull one small Flounder to boatside for quick release. We had caught some fish, had a few in the box, philosophized a bit, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mangroves Make The Day

 We probably had the prettiest day today that we've had in the last two weeks! I had met Bart Mathews down at Sawpit Creek on a tide that was low and just starting in - we had clear skies and just a very little breeze as we headed up the intercoastal. We made our way up to the mouth of Jackstaff and turned into the current and began pitching jigs and live shrimp. We got all excited when Bart had a good "hookup", thinking it might be a Flounder by the way it was fighting, but as it got closer we saw it was a determined Blue Crab, which we netted and released. After bringing in a small Catfish Bart again got some excitement going with a bigger fish which he played expertly to the boat, only to find it was a bigger Catfsih!

We ran thru Horsehead and over to some docks at Seymore's and fished the pilings out of the stern. Here Bart hooked and landed a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a couple of which were of keeper size, and he also battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to the boat.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide. He caught and landed another keeper Mangrove, then we moved down the way, worked it thoroughly , then moved on. Back at Pumpkin Hill we drifted float rigs long and did pick up one small but feisty Redfish, then we continued back down the river to some rocks at Nassauville where Bart finished his limit on Mangroves. We started culling smaller ones and ended up with a nice catch of the Mangroves, good enough for "Fish Tacos"!

Our final stop was over at Twin Creeks, drifting floats and after landing another Ladyfish, Bart finished the day off with a feisty Flounder catch. We had had some pretty good action, had caught a variety of fish (and crab), so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Grandad and his Grandson

 It always makes my heart warm when I see a grandparent taking their grandchildren fishing and today was just such a day. I still have vague memories of fishing in Lake Sante Fe with my Grandfather - we were Crappie fishing, on the bottom, out deep, with minnows. I don't remember if we caught anything, but I do remember the trip. I met Len Pelletier and his grandson Scott down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp in a light drizzle of rain but as we headed up the intercoastal and into the Nassau it slacked off and stopped. 

We pulled up at Spanish Drop and turned into the tide that had been coming in for about an hour. The oyster shell were still exposed so we started off with jigs and live shrimp, working the bank slowly as we eased into the current. Things started off positive with a couple of good bites, but they never took, so we moved on.

Our next stop was up at Seymore's Point, fishing some dock pilings. Scott was on the stern and he got hot catching fish!  He first landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum, then added two ore to his catch (all fish caught today were released). Len picked up a Seatrout out deeper then Scott was catching some nice, keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.. They also added a small Seabass, a Jack Crevalle and a Pinfish to the variety.

We bumped around and fished some rocks at Nassauville and again caught some very healthy Mangroves Then we had a stronger hookup - Scott was on the Rod - he played it perfectly and after a good battle landed a Slot sized 12 Spot Redfish, probably enough to place in most Redfish Spot Tournaments.  We moved down the way, fished between a couple of docks to no avail, then made run down to Pumkin Hill and drifted floats. Not much was happening there.

Our final stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at the mouth of Jackstaff. The duo added a couple of Ladyfish catches and another Seatrout catch to their variety. The sun had come out, we had some action here and there, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Jacks Rule

 We did our third windy day in a row today when I met John Cipriani and his brother David out at
Goffinsville Park. The wind stayed in the 15-17mph range - I'm about over it! But the Cipriani brothers were up to the challenge so we first headed over to Pumpkin Hill and fished a stretch of flooding marsh grass on a tide that still another hour or so of coming it. Drifting float rigs the duo put a handful of hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat. 

After moving around the corner we caught another Jack or two but then John hooked up with something strong - he expertly battled it and brought it to the net, a feisty Black Tip Shark.  We worked that area pretty good and despite the wind John and David were getting pretty good casts to the marsh line.  After running back to Seymore's we fished a large drainage and dueled with what turned out to be smaller Mangrove Snapper. 

We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point, fished it pretty good, added a small Catfish to the catch then came back over to Jackstaff and fished another drainage, this time to no avail. Back thru Horsehead we went and down to Twin Creeks where we switched to jigs and shrimp and this did the trick. I think David's first cast produced a bite, he hooked it up, and landed a hungry Seatrout. We fished there, further east at a drainage, and then finished up down at Spanish Drop and added a couple of more Trout to the catch total, and another Jack. Then wind had been a challenge, but we made the most of it so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Down To The Wire

 

We've got some wind kicking here at Amelia Island! When I spoke to Andew Perrin last evening I warned him that we'd be bucking the wind today if they wanted to give it a try. But he and his son Sam were willing to brave the wind so we met up at Old Town Bait and Tackle and after easing out of Eagans Creek we already had 15mph winds. We made our way over to Lanceford and to Soap Creek and fished a drainage with the winds at our back, tossing float rigs with live shrimp on a high tide that had reached it's peak. I don't think we had a nibble. 

We moved around the corner, fished a grassy island, then came back and fished between a couple of docks with the floats. We may have had a bobber go under a couple of times - it was hard to tell with the chop! After running thru that chop, back towards Fernandina, we turned down the intercoastal and made our way down the river to fish some structure with jigs down on the bottom. Here we did get some bites here and if we were keeping score, the fish won!  Sam did manage to put two nice keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat.

After fishing back around Piney Island with only a few nibbles to show for it, we made our way back to Fernandina and found a somewhat sheltered spot out of the wind and went back to the float rigs with just short time to fish. Sam had made an excellent cast up near some rocks when his float disappeared - he tightened up and let the circle hook set and Fish On!  Sam played it expertly, battled it when it ran, and in a short while landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. And only minutes later it was Andrew's turn to battle the big fish. His was ripping drag and digging down river then it would turn and head for the structure. Andrew would work it out, it'd go deep, then head back for the structure. Andrew stayed patient, worked it out and eventually landed an Oversized 27.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!  We photographed and tagged and released this fish, see Grey Fish Tag Research  and enter GFR62498 to follow.

To top things off, we were treated with a sighting of Manatees that came up in front of the boat!  With that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Limited By The Wind

 

I know it's difficult to tell conditions when were at our homes - we see the flags flapping and the trees swaying and think, "this is such a nice day"  but when you get out on the river with 17-18 mile/hr it can make for some difficult fishing, even in the back water. I was hoping we'd have an early window of lower winds this morning when I met Charlie Dickens, his brother-in-law Nick Pucci and Nick's son Chris down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the intercoastal and all the way around to Pompano Point and set up tossing float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that had just started out. Although we did have a good bite on the first cast, the wind blowing in our face was pushing our baits off the grass and we were getting zero drifts. After trying on the other side of a point with no luck, we moved on. 

Our next stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at a large drainage at Seymore's Point and here we had some action with what turned out to be Mangrove Snapper. All three anglers had their patience tried, but it was Chris who hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Mangrove. The trio added a few more smaller fish, and Nick landed a slippery Catfish. 

That wind was kicking as we made our way down the Nassau but when we got to Broward Island it was somewhat blocked. We fished it good with jigs - Chris put a Flounder in the boat that would have been legal a couple of years ago, then Charlie added another Mangrove to the box. 

Our final stop was down the Nassau, fishing Twin Creeks where we had a small Flounder caught, then further down at a drainage Chris had the strongest bite of the day!  He played it like a pro as it took him from bow to stern and with the drag ripping, he kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice 20" Slot sized Redfish. Now that's perseverance! We headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slam at First Spot

 

I was back to work today, fishing with Chris Sneed and his buddy Chuck, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We eased out of Eagans and then ran up to the outside of Tyger and set up a drainage to pitch jigs and minnows on a tide that had been going out for just and hour. It didn't take long before we got bites then Chris put a Flounder in the boat, then a Seatrout, then a Redfish to get a Slam started right out of the gate. He added another Flounder there before we moved on. 

Around the corner along Jolley "bank" we tossed float rigs with mud minnows and live shrimp and here Chuck got on the board with a feisty Redfish catch.  After fishing that stretch and catching a Bonnethead and Bluefish,  we moved up to Slip Creek, fished it a bit with floats, then eased on up to Snook Creek and fished it. We caught a couple of small Redfish then moved on. 

Around at Bell River we fished a deep area for a bit with the jigs, then moved in closer and fished the
some dock pilings Chris found a hot spot that produced three Flounder, one after the other. After moving down a dock he added another Flounder, this one a ice 18" keeper. The wind had picked up so we made a long run back to Fernandina and got in behind Rayonier warehouse which stopped the wind, but we had no luck. But as we eased around it Chris had a strong hookup and put a fat keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat. We worked that bank, got another Flounder, then moved up to some rocks at Cooks where Chris caught a feisty keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. After Chris put one more Flounder in the boat (I think we had caught 7-8 during teh trip) we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Flounda Pound'n

Kinda of a weird fishing day today!  I met Bob Blalock out at Goffinsville Park early and I skipped across the river to the mouth of Back River and we fished float rigs on a tide that had been going out a few hours - the oysters were showing. Bob commented that this was the spot where we really "tore them  up" a year ago, but not today. We worked the bank pretty good, fished around some small oyster beds, but had not a bite.

I stopped back at a sandbar and we tried to get drifts with the float and here we were seeing good amounts of bait being popped, but we had no takers on our mud minnows. We then ran down the Nassau to Twin Creeks and with the "skunk" beginning to waft over the boat, we fished the two drainages with jjgs. Still not getting bites we began to work along the bank, tossing to the exposed shell beds but also "trolling" a minnow on a jig off the stern. And that did the trick! We hooked up and landed a nice 19.5" Flounder. Using the same method of tossing the jig up to the bank but letting it troll behind the boat produced two more keeper sized Flounder in just a few minutes. One of those came unhooked right at the boat but a quick scoop before it knew it was loose brought it in!

We fished a drainage further down and caught a couple of Catfish, then moved down to Spanish Drop and worked that bank. Bob had made an excellent cast up into a pocket, at a small drainage  and BAM! He hooked up the old fashioned way!  Bob patiently worked it to the boat and landed another 19" Flounder. 

The wind was picking up but the tide was right at the bottom so we made our way down to Broward Islanda and fished the logs. Unfortunately that wind was rocking us a bit but Bob did manage to find a  feisty  Black "puppy" Drum to land. After fishing Pumpkin Hill for a bit we headed back to the ramp with a nice mess of Flounder and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mother Of All Pays Off

 I was back up north for the first time in about a week, fishing with Bob Blalock out of Old Town Bait and
Tackle an a tide that still had about an hour to hit bottom. The water was like glass as we left the mouth of Eagans Creek and headed north and west up to the Jolley - we made a "Bee-line" for the MOA (mother-of-all) spot and set up with jigs and live shrimp and minnows.

It was crazy. Their was bait everywhere, moving around, getting "popped", rolled, and spit at  Wakes were moving in and around the oyster beds and we had a Tarpon rolling back behind us. Bob was making excellent casts and it soon paid off - he hooked up and landed a Slot Redfish.  After picking up a keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught today were released), he had another strong bite -set the hook and, Fish On!  Bob played it perfectly as it bulled deep around the boat. It made a run towards the bow, then the stern, then under the boat, but Bob kept the pressure on and eventually landed another Slot Red, bigger than the first. 

We picked up a couple of more Reds, fished thru the change in tides, then moved on. Back around at Snook Creek we worked the bank but the wind had picked up and was pushing against the bank so we ran down to the the "bank", fished a runout and here Bob picked up another Redfish. WE fished the entire bank and had one small flounder to the boat for a quick release.

I had planned to fish the outside of Tyger but that NE wind was just a tad too much so we went around to the logs and fished them. Bob had two more Flounder bites, both just a bit undersized. Our final stop was over at Bell River where we added one more Seatrout to the fish catch total. The day had started out beautiful, we had some good action early, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing her at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Flounder Sandwiches, Plural

 I fished the Barker boys, Jim and his son Harris, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early, and after running up the Nassau, we made a stop at Spanish Drop and fished the very last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows.  They worked that bank pretty good and did battle with a couple of Bonnethead Sharks. After moving up the river and fishing a large drainage they caught a handful of small but feisty Redfish, then Jim put a nice 17"+ keeper sized Flounder in the boat perfect for a couple of "Flounder Sandwiches".  When we moved on up to Twin Creeks we added another keeper Flounder and had a Manatee drive by.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island where the duo caught another keeper Flounder. Harris outsmarted a feisty Sheepshead and then they added a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper to the box. We fished Pumkin Hill and boated a small Black Tip Shark, added another Jack, and then caught a keeper sized Seatrout. 

After fishing Seymore's Pointe but only getting some hand sized Mangroves, we ran thru Horsehead, floated baits, to no avail, then switched back to jigs. After putting two Catfish in the boat Harris hooked and landed the fourth keeper Flounder. We wrapped things up over in the Nassau, then headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mixed Bag Makes For Great Trip

Amelia Island

I was back to fishing today after meeting the Hutchens Fishing Team - Dan and B and their daughter Zoey down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made a quick run up the intercoastal, up the Nassau, and pulled up at Spanish Drop and worked the exposed bank of shell at the last of an outgoing tide. Dan and B were getting bites were and there but no takers which left the "skunk knocking off" to Zoey - she had a good hookup and expertly brought it to the boat - a nice keeper sized 17" Flounder!

We moved up the river a quarter mile, fished a drainage and here Dan caught and landed a feisty Redfish.  After making our way up to some docks at Seymore's, we pitched to the pilings and here B go on the board by landing a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper and she also added to her catch total with small Black "puppy" Drum catch. Our next run was down to Broward Island, and after making a "pit" stop at one sandbar to toss jigs in hopes for a Flounder, we made it to the island on the first of an incoming tide where Dan promptly hooked up and landed a Slot sized Redfish. We fished that bit then moved down to the other end and sure enough, B hooked up and landed another Slot Redfish. 

Our next stop was back at Pumpkin Hill and this saw us some action. Dan, drifting long, had a strong take and when the hook set the drag began to rip! Dan played it patiently, worked it to the boat, and landed the largest Jack Crevalle of the year, boy what a fish! Zoey followed along with her float and BAM! Fish On! She worked it to the net and landed a keeper sized 17" Trout. Dan battled a Bonnethead for a bit and brought it in for pictures and release, then B had her shot at good fish, played it perfectly and added another keeper Trout to the box. 

We finished the day over at Twin Creeks, drifting floats and here B had here on Battle Royal with a Bonnethead. She and Dan both caught high flying Ladyfish then Dan added one more big Mangrove Snapper to the box. We had caught a good variety of fish and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fending Off The Sharks

 

I wrapped my week up fishing with Jon Beall and his visiting son Brian. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and headed up the intercoastal, then into the Nassau and made our way up to Spanish Drop where we turned into the incoming tide and began working the bank with float rigs. 

Everywhere we went today we were waylaid by sharks! Every stop, almost. We picked up some Jacks here, also, then moved up the river to Twin Creeks, fished it a bit, then I let the boat drift up the river with the current. This paid off with a couple of feisty Redfish catches, and a keeper sized Seatrout. 

We then ran over to Seymore's and played tag with some Mangroves - we caught a handful, most were
small, but we had one keeper caught on a jig down on the bottom.  Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill and after we weeded out a couple of Shark, the duo picked up a handful of Redfish, two of which were in the Slot. We fished a point and Brian added a keeper sized Seatrout with his first drift. We bounced around that area with not much luck until John made a cast up beyond a point of grass, let it drift and BAM! Big Fish On!  Jon played it patiently, worked it to the boat, and soon landed a 21.5" Seatrout, the 2nd biggest of the year which put him on the board in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). 

Note: a 20" Trout was caught in the exact same spot 3 days earlier!

We came back to Seymore's, fished a large drainage, played with the Mangroves, and added one more keeper to the box. After running thru Horsehead and around to Pompano Point we worked that bank. We again had to fight thru the Sharks but they added three more keeper sized Seatrout to their catch and tossed back a third Slot Red. We had had a bunch of action and had a good mess of fish in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Lead Changes

 

I was fishing up north out of Old Town Bait and Tackle this morning. After meeting Aaron Self, his son Isaac, and his cousin Robert, we headed out of Eagans Creek and made run up to the Jolley River and turned into the current to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp. We worked that bank pretty good back to the point where Aaron "knock the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch, taking the lead in the biggest/most/first fish caught.  But shortly after that Robert had gone up into a pocket and hooked up and landed  an nice keeper size Flounder. 

We then ran up the river and fished a point where Aaron promptly caught a Seatrout up by the grass.
Even further up the river at Snook Creek we worked the bank and here the anglers caught a handful of small Trout and then both Robert and Isaac tangled with some drag ripping Bonnethead Shark. We also added a keeper sized Seatrout here.

Our next stop was back at the outside of Tyger, fishing the first of an outgoing tide. Although we had numerous nibbles, we had no real bites. I was torn about which spot to hit next - run over to Lanceford and fish some drainages or run back towards Jolley and fish the outside of Tyger? We stayed at Tyger, switched to jigs and minnows and worked a small drop off and this paid off. 

They picked up two more keeper sized Seatrout, a Jack or two, then Robert, who had tossed to where there was a discoloration in the water (different depths), had a strong bite and BAM! Big Fish On! It was digging deep and ripping drag and we were all speculating what it was. Robert kept the pressure on, played it perfectly and soon brought to the surface and the net an Oversized 28" Redfish, boy what a fish. Aaron followed that up with a good hookup of his own. He worked it to the boat expertly and landed a Slot Redfish. The trio also added a handful of smaller Flounder to their catch total. 

The sun was up, we had a nice box of fish so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.