An Eight Slot Day at Amelia Island

 

That "hot" November fishing has continued on into December - boy we caught some fish today! I had met Henry Ross and David Gray down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and it was a beautiful morning - just a slight breeze, clear skies and comfortable 68 degree temperature. We made the run up the Nassau River to Seymore's Point and made our first stop at a dock. The two anglers were tossing live shrimp on a jig to the dock pilings on a tide that had been coming in for about an hour and a half.. It took a few casts but then David "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and battled to the boat a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. It wasn't "on fire" but the duo managed to catch a handful of those Drum, two more being of keeper size. 

We then ran down to Broward Island and set up to fish the bank as that tide was coming in. Tossing the jigs to the bank and letting the current take that bait down the river bottom paid off - they began to get small but feisty Redfish and another Drum or two. We dropped down the island about 50 feet and here things got crazy! They began to catch fish one after the other and a few times they had "double"  hookups. Ross had a strong bite and expertly played to the boat a Slot Redfish, then  David followed that up with a monster "Tournament" sized Red -26.75". They also caught another Drum or two, a small Sheepshead, and a few handfuls of small but feisty Redfish. BUT, we kept count of the Slot Reds that we caught, measuring before we tossed the back, and we got up to EIGHT Slot Reds for the day. One of those slot Reds we tagged ((GrayFishTagResearch.org  tag #  GFR62322)

Our next stop was back at Pumpkin Hill, drifting float rigs with the live shrimp. We were looking for Seatrout and got them, but the biggest was just under 15". After fishing Littlefield with the jigs for a bit, we ran thru Horsehead and fished the Jackstafff "bank" with the floats. The tide was within minutes of being high tide and the fish were having none of it, so we called it a day and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Kinda Cool Fishing

 It was 40 degrees when I came over the south end bridge and launched down at Sawpit with plans to meet Jason Ash and his long time buddy Adam for a half day of fishing. It was clear and cold with not much wind blowing as we then made our way up the intercoastal to turn into the Nassau and make our first stop along Spanish Drop. The tide still had about45 minutes to hit bottom but the oysters were almost fully exposed - we went with jigs and live shrimp to work that first bank. There wasn't much action but we did have one Red on for just a bit - it boiled up near the bank, ripped some drag, and threw the hook. After moving up to a large drainage we had pretty much the same thing - not much of a bite, except one that didn't take. 

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's and here things heated up and the skunk was knocked off! Within a few minutes of fishing both Jason and Adam were hooking up with feisty Black "puppy" Drum - they were counting fish and ended u with a total catch of 10 with five of them being of keeper size. They also caught a handful of hungry Seatrout, and a grunt. 

After making our way down to Broward and setting up into the first of an incoming current the Redish bonanza began! They seemed to catch one after the other - Jason commented that he was getting a bite on every cast. Most of these fish were right at 17" but Adam did put a Slot in the boat. We moved down just 30 yards and BAM! Redfish On!  They again caught fish, one after the other. One keeper sized Seatrout was caught, it's mouth gorged with minnows. We moved down and fished with the Bald Eagles and picked up a few more Redfish, one of which was Slot Size.

We then made our way further up the Nassau and into a creek and worked the shallow bank. More Redfish were caught as we worked the bank, then Jason hooked up and fought to the boat the biggest Slot Red of the day. The duo had kept a fairly accurate "catch total" and as we headed out of that creek we finalized it with 37 fish caught for the day, not a bad way to spend a morning fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

A Bite On Every Cast

 Happy Thanksgiving to All - I hope you have a great holiday with friends and family!

I wrapped up a short week today fishing with Allen Webb, meeting him down at Sawpit Creekboat ramp. It had warmed a bit as the week progressed, and there was very little wind, and the first hour or so we had some dreary, cloudy skies. The tide had been going out for about an hour - Allen and I made our way up the Nassau River and fished a large outflow with float rigs and live shrimp, and an hour later, we noted that we had gotten a bite on every cast!  We didn't hookup 'em all up but we caught a bunch!  Mostly Seatrout, with one being a keeper, and a handful of Redfish, with one being of Slot size.

As the tide got down the bite finally did slow down so we ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Pointe. Allen was making excellent casts forward to the grass and it paid off with Seatrout catches, with a couple of Redfish. As we moved up along the bank Allen pitched it to a point of grass, let it drift, and BAM! He had a hookup. This one was pulling big and digging deep, but shaking it's head and sure enough, when Allen brought it to the net, we saw it was a nice 18" Seatrout.

After fishing a submerged sandbar point over in Jackstaff we ran back thru Horsehead and down to Back River where we again "anchored" along a shell point. And things got real busy! Allen put a Trout in the boat then he started getting Redfish. He added another smaller Slot Red, then had a strong hookup that ripped drag, ran deep, ran south, then POOF, it threw the hook!  But Allen kept fishing and shortly had another strong bite, a strong battle with drag ripping, and this time he landed a nice 24" Slot Red.

We fished between docks at Nassauville then made our way over to Seymore's Pointe and finished up catching Seatrout, Black "puppy" Drum, and a fairly big Mangrove Snapper. The sun was now out, the skies were clear, we had a box full of fish, and as we made our way back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Steady Catch'n On a Beautiful Day

 Boy what a beautiful day we had - sunny skies, cool temps, and only a slight breeze. I had met Will
Middleton and his father-in-law Pete Brown down at Sawpit Creek and we headed up the intercoastal, then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide had been going out for a couple of hours and the shell was showing as we eased along the bank tossing jigs and live shrimp. The duo had a few nibbles but no takers and I was beginning to wonder when, BAM! :Hookup! and BAM! a 2nd hookup -we had a double. Both anglers patiently brought to the boat a feisty Redfish and from then and for about an hour we were steady catching fish. Seatrout and Redfish - We had a couple of keeper sized Redfish and a few keeper sized Seatrout but all fish caught today were released. 

Eventually we moved up the river about a quarter mile, stuck with the jigs, and again caught a good handful of Seatrout. We then made or way around to Back River and switched to floats. Pete was on the stern and drifted long a couple of times and got fish both drifts. Will was on the stern - I saw something take his float under and it took off upstream. Will played it expertly and landed another keeper sized Trout.  We tried our luck over at some docks at Nassauville and this was the only place we got "skunked".

Around the corner at Seymore's Pointe we fished a dock and here they picked up Seatrout and a couple of Black 'puppy" Drum to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Drum. Our final stop was down at  Broward Island, working the bank on the last of an outgoing, first of an incoming, and again they caught fish. They wee working that bank pretty good and caught Redfish and Seatrout. We lost count of the fish we caught but estimated 4-5 Slot Reds, a good dozen of smaller Reds, 5-6 keeper sized Seatrout to 17", and a good dozen of smaller Trout. 

It had been a beautiful day to be fishing and a great day to be catching here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Slot Red Icing on a Grand Slam

 

I THGUGHT I was launching at Sawpit Creek this morning - when I got down there the tide was up so far - all the way to the bend in the curb- I turned around and headed back north to meet Glenn and Patti Langford up at Old Town Bait and  Tackle. The water was way up in the grass when we made way out of Eagans Creek and over to the outside of Tyger where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp to fish the first of an outgoing tide. Although we had few good "nibbles" we had no real bites. After crossing over the creek to "Manatee Cove" we again tossed the float rigs and here the duo picked up some feisty Bluefish -one for each of them. We picked up the first of many small but fun to catch Seatrout, too. 

After that we ran thru Tyger, down the Bell, and up Lanceford, all the way up to some docks where we
again drifted the floats. Both Patti and Glenn had good hookups with those small Seatrout. We moved aro8und the corner and fished a bulkhead and Glenn had a good bite, had 'em on, but it let go and while he was baiting up Patti drifted thru the same stretch and BAM! Fish On!  I was thinking it was going to be a big Seatrout. Pattie played it perfectly and brought to the net a feisty Redfish.  We then moved over to a grassy Island -"Millie's Spot" and fished it good. After picking up a Trout or two, and after Glenn's float had drifted ust past the grass, FLOAT GONE!  Glenn caught up to it and it was Big Fish On!  This fish was ripping that drag and having none of coming it. I thought for sure it was up in the grass a couple of times and I hated to say it but I had to let Glenn know, we were REAL shallow and there were sharp oyster beds all underneath us. But Glenn stayed calm, played it patiently, let it run, worked it in, and after a good battle landed a big 26" Slot Redfish (it later weighed in at a bit over 6lbs). 

Our next stop was over at Soap Creek, fishing a large outflow. Both anglers put those small Seatrout in the boat (we caught a bunch throughout the day, but no keeper Trout). But as we moved up to a grassy island they both got busy catching Redfish. We found the cast had to be in just the right spot but if wew got it there. BAM! Fish On.

We then ran down the river to Piney Island, found some dock pilings to fish and the duo quickly put two keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat, and then a nice 17" Sheepshead., which rounded out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, Black Drum and Sheepshead. It had been a beautiful day, and although the wind had picked up, we had had some good action so as we headed  back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Hunt For Reds

 It was "Chamber of Commerce" weather today - clear, just a slight breeze to keep the bugs off, and just a bit cool as we ran down the river. I had met Ed Andrewlavage and his fishing buddy Chris down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and from there we made our way up the intercoastal and over to Poteat Cut to set up with float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out for about 2 hours. Both anglers began to toss their baits forward and it wasn't long before they were getting bites. Ed had told me that he'd like to get some Redfish - didn't want any Seatrout - and wouldn't you know, we caught Trout. 

Chris got hot early and landed a few "hungry" one's before he put a keeper sized one in the boat - we photographed and released all Trout today. Then Ed began to get a few, fishing off the stern. They added a Bluefish to the catch before we moved on. Just around the corner, over at Jackstaff, we eased along the bank, just beyond the White Pelicans, and caught a few Trout. Chris went up close to the grass and had a hookup, one that pulled some drag and "rolled" and, Redfish On!  Chris played it perfectly and soon brought to the net a feisty Redfish. Only minutes later it was Eds turn to battle a feisty Red to the boat. 

We ran thru Horsehead and down to Back River and drifted a bank. Chris did pickup one Seatrout but that was it. We crossed the river and drifted the floats and again, a Trout or two. Chris did have something take his bait, and his leader, and his float, and we never saw it again! We then made our way down the Nassau and fished a large drainage. Again, a Seatrout catch, but not much else.

Our final stop was fishing some docks at Seymore's Pointe. Both anglers stayed busy either catching fish ore losing bait. They added another keeper Trout - the biggest of the day at 18.5", a keeper sized 16" Black "puppy" Drum, and 5 keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. I kept count of the "keeper" Trout that we threw back and it was five. We had some outstanding weather and some good action so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Temperature Drop Helps

 I fished today after we had a slight temperature drop over the weekend, one that caused the water temps to fall too. We didn't "tear them up" today, but we had a little better action than we had last week in the backwaters.  When I pulled away from the boat ramp this afternoon my thoughts were to, "fish the oyster beds".

I met Frank Wytiaz and his brother-in-law Dennis down at Sawpit Creek early this morning and with calm seas and hardly no wind, we ran up the Nassau and made our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide still had an hour or so of going out to do so we went with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows, tossed to the exposed shell bank. That first stretch produced no fish but when we moved up to a drainage and continued with the jigs both anglers hooked up and caught feisty Redfish. They also tangled with some high flying Ladyfish. 

We then ran up to some docks at Seymore's and fished the jigs and this paid off. Dennis had a strong hookup and fought a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum to the boat, Then Frank had a strong bite and he too expertly played the fish to the net - a big Mangrove Snapper (for the backwater) which measured right at 14".  They caught a couple of more Mangroves, a Bluefish, and a Jack Crevalle. We moved around to Nassauville and fished some rocks and picked up a handful more of keeper sized Mangroves.

After running down to Broward Island where the conditions were absolutely perfect - the tide had just started in, the increasing wind was blocked, there were no gnats and other than one more Mangrove, we caught nothing. Ouch.

We finished the day back at Seymore's, fishing the bottom with jigs and shrimp and again, dueled with the Mangroves, adding one more keeper to the box. We had caught a good variety of fish giving us a bit of action so as we headed back to the ramp we countedit as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Beautiful Day Outstanding Fishing

I got out this morning, meeting Dick Conley, David Gray,and Henry Ross up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle as  the sun was coming up, and with a tide that had been coming in for about an hour. We eased up the creek and found a crusty dock to toss jigs and live shrimp too and it wasn't long before we were getting fish. David "knocked the skunk" off by picking up a Slot Redfish out of "door number 3" and from then on we were catching fish. He and Henry had a few fish in the boat and I was beginning to wonder if Dick was intentionally "laying back" and giving them a head start - was he even putting bait on his hook?  But then eventually he moved in with his cast and began to put fish in the boat, too. 

We all noticed that most of the fish were caught as the river bottom dropped off, in about 6' of water. The water temperature had warmed a bit since last week, up to 57 degrees. We caught fish for two hours and they caught their limit of Slot fish (1 apiece) and then we continued to count - we had about 6 Slot Reds there, the biggest being 24" .  They also added two keeper sized Black  "puppy" Drum to the catch. 

When it finally slowed we ran down the Amelia River and fished some structure and here the trio picked up 2-3 small but feisty Redfish. Back up the river came, and around to Tyger Island, fishing the logs, and did find one more feisty Red. 

Our final stop was over on the outside of Tyger and with the tide up, we eased in to some shallow water and switched to float rigs and the shrimp. I was hoping for a Trout or two to wrap things up  but was pleasantly surprised, they began to get Reds!  Most of them were small but we counted another 4 Slot Reds caught, the biggest being 23".  The sun was up, we had been shedding jackets, and we had a nice mess of fish in the boat so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Over in Tallahassee They're Laughing

 We had a bit of wind today which kept things cooler for most of the morning. After meeting Jacob Jones, is fiancé Lexi, and his father Lawton, up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp, we made a long run up and around to the Jolley River, and continued on around to the MOA to catch the first of an incoming tide before the oysters covered up. I think the first "demo cast" produced a nibble, and a hookup. Lexi was on the rod and expertly brought it to the boat - a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. 

From then on for about 45 minutes we were getting bites. Lawton hauled in a pair of huge Catfish and the trio landed a handful of Jacks, a couple of small Redfish, a couple of small Seatrout, then Lexi had another strong bite. She played it perfectly and brought to the net a keeper sized Black Drum.

We moved around to Snook Creek and worked along those oysters. We had numerous bites but no real takers so we moved on down the river. After fishing the "bank" with float rigs and again, no real bites, we moved back up the river and fished a pointe with the floats. And this did the trick. Right off the bat, Lawton picked up a couple of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. Then we were "on" again, catching fish We had a whole bunch of Seatrout caught, almost all right at 14", and if you listened close, you could here the FWC guys and girls over at Tallahassee laughing, "another 14" Seatrout caught!"

Our last stop was around at the outside of Tyger, tossing jigs again, now baited with mud minnows, in hopes of catching some Flounder. But we picked up a couple of.....14" Seatrout!  The sun had come out and even with the wind, the heat was getting up so we headed back and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Great Day of Fishing Amelia Island

 I noticed that the forecast called for the wind picking up this morning but I knew we had a little window to get in some good fishing, so when I met Dennis Cortez, his brother-in-law Jeff and nephew Liam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp we headed up the intercoastal and turned in to Back River and made our way over to the Nassau where we set up alongside "the spot" to fish with float rigs and live shrimp. My "demo" cast produced some bites and after I handed the rod off to Dennis, he went back to the same spot with an excellent cast and BAM! Fish on! Dennis brought it to the boat expertly and landed  hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off" quick! 

We had a good steady bite there for a while, catching feisty Redfish - Liam caught the first one, just undersized, but later Jeff had gone to a "cut" in the grass where the water was visibly flowing over some shell and when his float went under he lifted the rod to let the circle hook set and Big Fish On!  Jeff played it patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish. We picked up a few more fish there then moved on. 

Our next stop was back down the Nassau at Twin Creeks and here Dennis put a hungry Trout in the boat then Liam found his personal Trout hole out the stern. We moved down the river a few hundred yards to a large drainage, and again, Seatrout. Then caught and landed a keeper sized Flounder (released due to the closed season), then Liam battled a shark for what seemed like an hour! He was very patient and eventually landed a 3' Bonnethead Shark

Fishing at a dock at Seymore's Pointe Ted hooked up and landed one of the biggest Trout I've had on the boat in a while, one that measured 20.75", then Liam made it a "Grande Slam" with a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum catch.

The final spot was down between some docks at Nassauville where the trio caught one Mangrove Snapper after another. Dennis had a keeper sized one and followed that up with a feisty Redfish catch. Liam went with a minnow and picked up the final Red of the day. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Flipped a Coin

 

We had a low tide early and I was trying to decide whether to fish dock pilings or Tyger Island so in my mind, I "flipped a coin" and went with the dock pilings. Glenn and Patti Langford were right on time so we headed over to some docks at Egans Creek and set up where the two could pitch jigs and live shrimp to the bases. Patti's first cast and BAM! Fish ON!  Her and Glenn traded catches, one after the other - most of them just shy of Slot sized, then Patti had a strong hookup and the fight was on! 

Patti played it expertly and after a good  battle landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. They continued to pitch the dock - Glenn hauled in a feisty Black Drum, then Patti put an even bigger 23" Slot Redfish in the boat. They kept fishing, catching Reds, and Patti wrapped it up with one more 21" Slot fish (this one went back due to the new rules).

We motored over to small creek and drifted float rigs to a flooding oyster island and here the duo caught another Redfish and a small Flounder.  After running over to the Bell river we fished a grassy point and here Glenn picked up a Seatrout to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Redfish,  Black Drum, Flounder and Seatrout.

After buzzing thru the cut to behind Tyger we switched back to jigs on the bottom with mud minnows and caught another Flounder, but not big enough to keep. We braved a wind that had picked up and ran up to the Jolley, fished some flooded grass with floats, landed another Trout, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

An Education

 

After a weekend off I was back to "work" today when I met David Bolton and his daughter Katie out at his place on Lanceford Creek. We then made our way  back to the outside of Tyger Island and set  up fishing float rigs on a high and incoming tide. Katie "knocked the skunk off" and landed a feisty Bluefish to begin an "old salt" education of how to catch fish! But David wasn't going down without a fight and picked up hungry Seatrout before we moved on.

We motored around and up towards the Jolley but made a brief stop at a large drainage and switched to jigs and the shrimp, then moved on around to the Jolley. Here, Katie tangled with a high flying Ladyfish and hauled in a small Skate, then David had a Flounder right up to the boat. David found a nice pocket to drift his float and caught and landed a couple of more Seatrout.

 After running up the river we began fishing some flooded marsh grass, just short of Snook Creek and when Katie's float disappeared and the big fish began to rip drag, I knew right off that she had a nice Redfish. Katie played it perfectly, from stern to bow, and after a good battle landed a 22" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish! She turned around and caught one of the smallest Redfish I've ever seen on  hook, also! Katie had one more big bite along that stretch, a shark that took her bait and headed south - it spooled her and kept going, headed south.

After running thru the Jolley and around to the Bell we fished some docks and picked up a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, a small Catfish, and a small Sheepshead.

Our final stop was back at some docks at Eagans Creek, fishing the pilings on a lower outgoing tide. Katie had made a perfect cast and hooked up and landed another Slot Redfish, then David hauled one in, too. Katie put another miniature Redfish in the boat, then a large Black "puppy" Drum.  She wrapped up the day with one more Puppy Drum before we called it quits and as we headed back we counted it as another great day  to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.