Eventful and Productive

 

What a great day! After meeting Roger and Tina Pickett down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning we headed up the intracoastal with dolphins rolling off to our port. Our first stop was up at Poteat Point and first cast produced a fish - Tina was on the rod to "knock the skunk off" when she expertly battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net. Both anglers got busy caching fish - more Jacks, a Ladyfish, a Seatrout and a couple of Redfish, one of which was in the Slot (all fish caught today were released). While we were fishing Tina heard a noise behind us and when we checked it out we saw a few Manatee surfacing not far off. 

We ran thru Horsehead and down to Back River and fished the outgoing tide and here they picked up a couple more Redfish. It seemed every Red that Roger caught had multiple spots with one having 16 - a sure money winner in any Spot Tournament.  We crossed the river and fished a stretch of grass and here Tina hooked up with one more Red. Around the corner we fished across a sandbar and finally got "skunked", but as I was going to lift the trolling motor to leave a Tripletail drifted right back to us - kinda cool to see.

We fished Littlefield with jigs for just a bit, then went around to Seymore's Point and fished some dock pilings where Roger nabbed another keeper sized Trout, then we made our way down to Spanish Drop. The duo added another Redfish to the catch total, then Roger wrapped things up nicely with a keeper sized Flounder, caught on a mud minnow. We had a good day of fishing, had seen some neat wildlife and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Tripletail Starts the Slam

 I woke up this morning to see the box score of the Florida/Lsu baseball World Series game and sure enough, my Gators got drubbed! They could have used a Grande Slam like we picked up today fishing!

I had met John Gaydac and his son Robbie and grandsons Gray and Cam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early today and we made a fairly long run around to Pumpkin Hill and sat up to drift float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out a few hours (in retrospect, it had been going out a bit too much for us  to be at this spot, but I wanted to try it). We had just a nibble or two, so we began to work around a point and down alongside  some exposed shell and it was John who "knocked the skunk off" when he had a hookup. He played it perfectly and worked it to the boat and when I saw a gaping maw of a mouth, a bit yellow, I called it a "big Seatrout"! But as John brought it to the net we found that it was a nice sized Tripletail! Always a surprise! Coincidently we had recently caught a Tripletail within about 20 yards of this one a week or so ago. Robert also caught and landed a keeper sized Seatrout here (all fish caught today were released)

We then motored back down the Nassau to Spanish Drop, fished an exposed oyster edge, then eased up
the river to a large drainage. Here things picked up when these anglers caught a up a couple of Seatrout, Donnie hauled in a huge Catfish, and both Donnie and Robert battled some Bonnethead Sharks. They tangled with Ladyfish and boated a couple of Jack Crevalle and Robert put a nice Flounder in the boat to make it a Slam. I think we also had a small Redfish along there which made it a Grande Slam, but we improved on that later!

To wrap up the day we ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings and there both Donnie and Robert played cat and mouse with the Mangrove Snapper and caught a couple of keeper sized fish. We were about to wrap things up when we had a "bump", a bite, and Fish On! Donne was on the rod and played it expertly, keeping this big fish away from the engine. After a tense battle he landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish. The young anglers, Gray and Cam had stayed with it throughout the morning with Gray improving on his casting while Cam "wrangled" the shrimp, keeping them in line, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

That Sweet Sound of Drag Ripping

 I fished with Chris Sneed and his fishing partner Chuck this morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours. There was almost zero wind so we made our way around the south end of Amelia to fish the small jettu while we were in the area.  There was another boat on the north end so we stayed on the south and tossed jigs and live shrimp and even though they reported some "bumps" we had no takers. 

After running up the Nassau River we stopped at Spanish Drop and worked the flooding shore line with float rigs and the shrimp. The sound of drags ripping as this duo hooked up and battled Bonnethead Shark  is still ringing in my ears! We had more than a handful of shark fights. But finally, Chuck had made a good toss to the grass line and as his float slowly went under he lifted his rod and let the circle hook set and Fish On! Chuck brought it to the boat and landed a respectable Flounder for the box.

We fished Twin Creeks and beyond and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, then we made the run around to Pumpkin Hill to drift the floats long on the last of that incoming tide. Again, Shark fights were the norm, but Chris did pick up a Seatrout on a pointe. Then, finally, some more drag ripping, but this fish stayed up close to the bank and when it boiled, we knew it was a big Red!  Chris played it patiently and after a good battle landed an oversized 28.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!

After moving around the corner Chris had another hookup and I would have bet money it was a Flounder by the way it bit and fought. But as Chris worked it to the net we saw it was an uncommon Tripletail!

After that we fished Seymore's Pointe and caught a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a handful of Catfish, a couple of Ladyfish, a grunt, and a Jack Crevalle. It wasn't uncommon to hear those drags ripping so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Tripletail Surprise

 

After a long weekend off with the Memorial Day holiday I was back at it today when I met Tom Jenkins with his son Braden and friend Steve, with his son Zach. We met early up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp, eased out of Eagans Creek, and made our way over to the outside of Tyger on a tide that had been going out for about 2  hours. That first stop we drifted float rigs and live shrimp and did pick up a couple of small Seatrout.

We then motored on up the way and stopped briefly at a large drainage to toss jigs and mud minnows in hopes of a Flounder, but it was to no avail. Continuing on around to the Jolley, we worked the "Bank" with the float rigs and here Tom found a feisty Redfish (with 5 spots). They caught another small Trout or two and a couple of Croaker.

After running further up the Jolley, we made a stop at Snook Creek and here Braden finally woke up! He hooked and expertly played a nice keeper sized Seatrout to the net, battled a Ladyfish or two, and then battled a surprising Tripletail to the boat!

We continued on up the Jolley and fished an exposed oyster bank, now tossing jigs, and here Tom put another 5 spot Redfish in the boat, slightly undersized, but still fun to catch. With time running out, we hit one more spot, the MOA. Steve had made a good cast with the jig and live shrimp and when his hookuip began to rip some drag we knew it had some size. Steve played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 19.5" slot sized Redfish. Then Steve, fishing a bit deeper, had a good "thump" he played it patiently and brought to the net a big 22" Seatrout, a fish big enough to move him in to 2nd Place in the 2023 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

Zach had been making excellent casts all day long and had a handful of small bites - he got to feel a good battle for just a bit before the fish finally broke off - it just wasn't to be (I wonder now if he had his lucky hat on?) The sun had shown most of the day, we had just a little bit of breeze and as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fishing For Walleye

 We had another hot day forecasted and they didn't miss this one! I met Brent Laurint and his girlfriend Brandi up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and I had made up my mind I was going to try and get them away from civilization a bit so we headed over to the inside of Tyger and fished the logs on the first of an incoming tide - perfect conditions to ease along and pitch to the bank with jigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were making excellent casts and we worked the bank thoroughly, getting nibbles here and there, until Brent up with a good cast alongside a log and BAM! He had a hookup. I thought for sure it was some sort of Drum - a Red or a Black and boy was it putting up a fight. Brent played it perfectly and soon landed a 16" Tripletail! In my 16 years of guiding, this is only about the 7th or 8th Tripletail landed on the Anglers Mark. The size limit is 18" so we took a picture and released it.

We headed up to the Jolley River, all the way up to Snook Creek and turned into the current and fished the oyster beds back. Brent did find a feisty Redfish along there to catch. Switching to floats, Brandi got on the board with an ugly ol Toadfish, then a small Jack Crevalle catch. We moved back down the river and fished the "bank" and here Brent battled a nice Bonnethead Shark to the boat for pictures and release.

After moving around to the outside of Tyger we worked a bank - Brent with a jig rod on the bow and Brandi with a float rig off the stern. Brandi had mentioned that as a young girl she wanted to catch and/or eat Walleye but unfortunately we didn't find any off of Tyger. Brandi did however tangle with a good handful of Walleye-like Ladyfish! Then Brent had another strong bite and this fish began to rip the line off the spool, heading to Kings Bay. Brent followed it back to the stern and fought it until he had enough, then handed the rod off to Brandi to finish it off. I felt sure it wasn't a Shark, and it didn't "boil" like a Redfish so I wasn't sure what it was. But as Brandi wore it out we saw it was a huge Jack Crevalle - the biggest I've had on the Anglers Mark in the back waters of Amelia Island.

We then ran thru Tyger and around to the Bell. The sun was getting up and hot but we made a few casts to finish up. Brandi had placed her float between two grassy areas and we saw her float began to bob a couple of times and then disappeared. Brandi tightened up the line and let the circle hook do its thing and, Fish On! Brandi patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Seatrout - Ceviche for the weekend!

After fishing one more spot on the outside of Tyger, we headed back to the dock and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

HUGE Tripletail Caught In The Backwaters of Amelia Island

 As you can see, as the sun rose over Goffinsville Park we were headed for a beautiful day! I had met Bob and Cindy Hice and Steve and Joy Hastings early and we made a quick jump across the river with plans to fish the far bank with float rigs and mud minnows. That first stop, even though these anglers were getting excellent drifts, produced zero bites. We moved further down the Nassau River and fished past Pumpkin Hill and here we did get some false starts with oyster shell catches, but then some real fish! Steve had a strong hookup and had it boat side when a nice fish threw the hook. But he went back in and pulled out a nice hungry Seatrout. 

We moved around the pointe and fished a flooded grassy island and again Steve picked up a couple of Seatrout. There was a little cove that I advised Steve to pitch to the back of, which he did with an excellent cast, but he had not a nibble. When he switched to the other side of the boat Cindy cast to the area, just shy of some sparse grass, and BOOM! Big fish on!  This fish took off and was ripping drag and heading deep and I thought

for sure, "Big Redfish". Then the fish started back to the marsh grass but Cindy kept the pressure on and worked it expertly to the boat. When I saw it flash to the boat I saw a Huge Tripletail! We netted the fish and measured it at 22.25" and weighed it at 9lbs - a fish tied for the biggest Tripletail ever landed on the Anglers Mark and one of only 7 caught on my boat in 16 years! Boy what a fish!

Seymore's Pointe was our next stop and here Steve, and Cyndi and Bob all tangled with and landed some Mangrove Snapper. We ran through Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff and picked up another Trout or two, then came back to Spanish Drop and fished jigs on the bottom. Bob added another Trout and both Cindy and Steve added Redfish to the catch. Most of the trip Joy acted as assistant videographer, coach and mentor to the other three anglers. With only one "keeper" in the boat we headed in and after that big 'ole Tripletail was cleaned, it filled up a gallon bag which made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida