It Snowballed

 

A little bit cooler today - 46 heading to the ramp this morning, but clear skies and sunshine for  3/4 of the trip. I met Gregg and Dannie Fitzgerald out at Goffinsville Park as the sun was coming up and with a tide that still had a long hour of coming in, we ran down the Nassau to Twin Creeks and tossed float rigs with live shrimp to the flooded grass line. Dannie was on the stern and she made good use of her drifts, picking up a good handful of hungry Seatrout, most in the 14" range. We then ran back up the Nassau to Pumpkin Hill and drifted the floats and again put those small Trout in the boat until finally, Gregg hooked up and landed a barely legal 15" Trout. But it was legal - I measured it three times!

We then came back to the Seymores Pointe area and fished a large drainage and this really kicked things off. The duo caught Seatrout, almost one after the other, but a couple were up to 17".  Dannie had to tangle with a school of Bluefish, which were fun to catch but we tossed them back. We then dropped down the grass line a bit and again caught fish. Gregg put a handful of small but feisty Redfish in the boat, another 17" Trout while Dannie tried out a jigs fished on the bottom. When that area slowed we moved back up to the original spot and this paid off again! Dannie hooked an landed a nice 16" Black "puppy" Drum, then she expertly battled another big Slot Redfish to the net. They added another couple of keeper Trout before we moved on.

Further down the Nassau we went with jigs and the live shrimp, bumping them on the bottom, and got another handful of small Seatrout. The clouds had rolled in but we had fish in the box, 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. 

Thankful the Fish Were Biting!

 Hoping everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Mabry stepped on the boat hoping that we'd catch at least a few fish today, and little did she know that we would have a banner day!  I met her, her father Stephen, her aunt Tessa, and her soon-to-be uncle Andy out at Goffinsville Park this morning right at low tide and by the time we got around to our first stop it had begun to creep in. The fish bite wasn't "on fire" like I had expected but we did get a couple of good fish - I think it was Tessa's 2nd or third cast and BAM! Her drag was ripping. Tessa hung with it, battled it valiantly, and soon brought to the net a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We soon found out that Stephen and Mabry had teamed up - Stephen would do the "hooking" and Mabry would do the reeling - he hooked up and she fought to the net a hungry Seatrout. We bounced up the river, fishing some dock pilings and here Andy got on the board - he had a good bite, set the hook expertly and in short order brought to the net a feisty Redfish.

Mabry didn't even need that help down at the next spot - the "super secret" one -we had just pulled up
and the whole crew was catching fish. Mabry had a strong bite and at first we didn't think it was such a big fish. She battled it as it ripped drag, worked it up, let it run, worked it up and then we saw that it was a BIG Redfish. Before the fish knew what had ahold of him, Mabry brought it to the net - a nice 26" Redfish! Stephen followed that up with another good hookup - he kept this one to himself and battled it patiently as it came out from the bank and around behind the engine. He stayed with it, wore it out, and landed another big Slot Redfish. At that spot and within 50 feet we caught fish, almost one after another and hit their 4 fish limit, then went over it -I counted 7 Slot Redfish caught!

Mabry, I think, was wore out. We dropped down the way and  worked a bank with the jigs and live shrimp and although it wasn't fast and furious we did have good action catching those feisty Redfish. At one time she did get back on the rod and her and her aunt Tessa teamed up for a "double" hookup of Redfish. Over at Pumpkin Hill we switched to float rigs, drifted with the current, and got another couple of small Trout and a couple of Bluefish. Stephen battled a Bonnethead shark for a bit before it broke off, Tessa battled a Bonnethead before it found its way to a crab pot rope and broke off, but Andy clinched it when he hooked up with a shark and showed it "what for" - he battled it to the boat  and landed a nice 3" fish - the biggest of the day- we photographed and released it. 

Mabry was hungry and it was time to go! We had a nice box of fish, had some really nice weather so as
we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Redemption at Amelia Island

 

The last time I fished with this guy I got the uneasy feeling that he wouldn't be back. But he was back today, with a vengeance. I had met David Vice, Lee Warren and their buddy Gary out at Goffinsville Park early this morning on a tide that still had about 45 minutes of coming in. We headed over to Pumpkin Hill and set up to drift floats (bobbers) long with that incoming current. It didn't take long before we were getting Trout bites, then Lee hooked up and it was Big Fish On! He was up by the grass and it paid off - this fish was ripping drag and Lee was in for a long battle. I fished with Lee last month and unfortunately he only managed to catch one fish, a 6" baitstealer. He was doing everything right, it just wasn't his day. But this morning, he had a big fish on and he was playing it patiently as it dug deep, running from shallow to deep, then David yelled, "Fish ON!" and we had a double! I was going from stern to bow with the net trying to determine who was getting closest first and eventually I was able to net Lee's big Slot Redfish - I dumped him on the deck then moved forward to net David's Slot Red -two fish in the box!

We fished that stretch for a good while and Gary proved adept at getting those hungry Seatrout to the
net. We tallied up at the end of the trip and it was unanimous that Gary had caught the most. After moving up to a point and fishing down the other side and landing another good handful of  Trout, and one more Slot Redfish, and then a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark, we moved on. Our next stop was over at Seymore's Pointe and here we caught a good handful of Seatrout, then we ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where we caught more Trout, and more Trout and more Trout - most between 13" and 14.75", but we did manage two keeper Trout. 

Our final stop was back at Seymore's Point fishing some dock pilings. Lee added another feisty Redfish to his catch total and David put a nice sized Black "puppy" Drum in the box. It had been a beautiful day, we had caught a ton of fish, we had a few 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. Check out this "double Redfish" battle...

Puppy Drum On Fire

 

For the second day in a row, we "slayed" the Black "puppy" Drum!  I wrapped my week up today when I met Todd and Debbie Johnson up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased up the creek and got between two docks and pitched to the pilings on a tide that had been going out for a few hours. Baiting our jigs with live shrimp and tossing them up between the pilings paid off big. From almost the first cast, Todd and Debbie were catching fish - Puppy Drum, and Redfish, and even a keeper sized Sheepshead (we tossed it to grow). We were getting a fish on almost every cast and the duo soon got to their limit on the Black Drum AND the Red Drum, boy what a morning!

From there we made our way over to the Bell River and ran up it and again set up between two docks and
stayed with the jigs and shrimp as the tide ran out to bottom. Debbie was taking a break, but Todd caught enough Seatrout for the two of them - in addition to all those we tossed back, he worked up to 6 keepers and was almost to the "trifecta" of his limit on those, too! The tide hit bottom, so we motored around to the Jolley River and pulled up at JC's spot to fish the first of an incoming tide. Debbie got back in action and prevented the "skunk" at that spot when she hooked and landed another Seatrout. 

Our last stop was further down the Jolley where we switched to float rigs, for the heck of it, and they paid off. Both Debbie and Todd had good hookups with small but feisty Seatrout. They added a Bluefish to their catch variety then Todd topped it off with a hard fighting Sand Shark. Boy what a beautiful day we had, and with a big "mess o fish" in the boat, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish'n The Cul De Sacs

 It was a first for me, fishing Cul De Sacs today! I had met Laura (birthday girl) and Alex Winter out at Goffinsville Park early this morning. As I was waiting for them David Nease walked down and gave me a report from his fishing trip with his son yesterday - they had "wore out" the Seatrout! I assume David was fishing deep with "slip floats' and live shrimp.

We had a tide that was going out, still, for a couple of hours, so I thought that creek way up the Nassau would  be the trick. When we got up there it was severely low tide, contradicting my Garmin's forecast, btu we fished it anyway and it was Laura who "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. Later, Alex followed that up with another small but feisty Redfish catch. We bumped bottom getting out of there! I thought we may have to get out and push and the water temperature was 61 degrees!

After running back down the Nassau we found a large drainage to fish with the jigs and live shrimp but we had not takes. We moved down to Spanish Drop and worked along the exposed shell bank and when Alex saw a "head wake", he tossed it forward and....Fish On! He played it patiently to the net and landed a ncie 21" Slot Redfish! The tide came to a standstill so we made a move, and boy was it a move! We ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide with those jigs and shrimp. It didn't take long before this couple were putting fish in the boat. Lauren found a honey hole up in the Cul De Sacs and began to put Black "puppy" Drum in the boat, one after the other. Alex had a "nibble", set the hook, and Fish On! He worked it to the boat and landed a nice 17" Sheepshead - big enough to land him in 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2025 Bragging Rights Tournament-Sheepshead Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We stayed at that spot for another hour and caught those Drum. I had to keep count because they eventually hit their limit of 5 apiece. We tossed back another good handful of "keeper" sized Drum, but the neat thing was that as the tide got up they began to get Seatrout! The duo caught a good couple of handfuls of the Trout, with three of them being in the keeper size. Boy what a fishing trip! We had started slow but we "slayed' them late and it made for another great day to be fishing here at Amela Island, Florida. 

Cool Spell Brings Good Fishing

 Cool weather this week had us rescheduling trips for later in the month, but today we just waited to mid morning to meet up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. After we got Mickey and Brandi Kelliher settled on the boat we eased down the creek to make our first stop at some dock pilings on a tide that had been coming in for a couple of hours. The move paid off - almost immediately Mickey was getting bites. He hooked up and expertly pulled a nice keeper sized Seatrout out from under a dock, then he had a subtle nibble, a hookup, and battled a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum to the net. We fished that spot for a bit and caught a few more Trout,  two of which were of keeper size, then we moved around to the other side and caught a couple of Redfish, one of which was just in the Slot.

Our next stop was over in Lanceford, then in to Soap Creek where we switched to float rigs. Mickey found that he could "drift long" and as his float got to the tail end of a grassy island, BAM! He'd get a hookup. After getting a few Trout there, we made a run back around to Tyger Island and fished the logs. First cast with a jig and BOOM! We had a hookup. This one ripped a bit of drag but as Mickey got it to the net we saw it was just "feisty" for a Redfish. After working the island for just a few minutes, we made the run back out of Tyger, headed northwest and eased up to the outside of Tyger and stayed with the jigs. We had no real bites, but we did blow out a nice sized Redfish laying on a point of grass. 

On up into the Jolley River we found a point to fish that had a submerged oyster bar out from it and here Mickey got hot catching small but hungry Seatrout. He even tricked Brandi into catching one, after making an excellent cast he asked her to hold the rod while he cleaned his glasses and  she had a hookup, and patiently brought another Trout to the boat. We fished further up into the Jolley, just past Snook Creek, then we headed back to the ramp. It had been clear, cool, but sunny and  we had some nice fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Dreary Day But Good Fishing

 

There was no real rain forecasted for today but it misted the entire morning. The horizon stayed foggy and it was a bit cool which made for a dreary day to be out on the water. BUT, the fishing was great! I had met Ray Pinkston and his fishing buddies Jim and Tommy down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we then made a short run up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop with just an hour left on the falling tide. The anglers began pitching  jigs and shrimp and minnows to the exposed shell bank but all they got for their efforts was the "tap, tap, tap" of bait stealers. With no fish caught a shadow of doubt began to creep in.

That was short lived though!  We moved up at a large drainage with Ray and Tommy pitching to the
middle of the drain while Jim worked the back edge and it was Jim who got hot quickly. He caught a couple of feisty Redfish then a good handful of hungry Seatrout, then finally, one that was of keeper size. Up at the bow the fish catching picked up. Ray got hot with the Seatrout and worked thru a good handful of smaller ones to get a good keeper. With Flounder season being closed, wouldn't you know the trio put a few Flounder in the boat, with a couple of them being over 14"!  We stayed there for while and caught some fish!

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's where we got a few nibblers, a bait stealer, and moved on. Down at Broward on the first of the incoming kicked things off again. Tommy came alive! He caught a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum, then a hard fighting 22" Slot Redfish. Jim followed that up with another keeper sized Black Drum and Ray added another 17" Seatrout. Again, legal sized Flounder were caught. After fishing on the south end with an eagle, we made one more stop back at Nassauville.

Tossing to a drainage and working it out paid off. Some more Trout were caught and then a nice sized Weakfish to top the box off. Also caught today were a couple of small Sea Bass, a Bluefish, a Catfish, and a Toadfish. Although the day was nasty with the weather, we had caught a bunch of fish, had a few in the box so as we headed back to Sawpit we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Finally Some Decent Weather

 

After almost a weeks' worth of windy and rainy weather, we had a beautiful one today!  I had met Hank Prolog and his fishing buddies Ron and Harry down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and with the tide almost at the bottom, we ran up the intracoastal and then up the Nassau to make our first stop at a nice drainage with plans to pitch jigs and live shrimp. NOTE, even though it was right at low tide, the oysters were barely showing, 

Although we didn't get anything real big today, these anglers stayed with it and it paid off with some good action, here and there. We fished along the Nassau a few spots, then ran down to Broward and fished the last of the outgoing there, then up the river to a small creek, then back out to Pumpkin Hill where we switched to float rigs and the shrimp. We lost count of the small but feisty Redfish we caught - I guessed 8-9 Reds, and a small Trout, a small Flounder, a small Black Drum, a Catfish a handful of "baitstealers"  and a small Sea Bass, then finally Ron hooked up and landed a keeper sized Black Drum for ceviche! 

It had been a beautiful day and we had some action so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Feisty Reds and a Bunch of 'Em

Boy you can feel that fall weather in the air! It wasn't quite "nippy" this morning but it definitely was a bit cooler which made for a fine fishing day here at Amelia Island. I had met Alex and Kelly Mckinney and their son-in-law Kyle up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp as the sun came up and we headed out of Eagans Creek thinking we'd make our first stop over in Lanceford Creek fishing some docks. We fished it good - all three anglers were getting good casts up under the pilings but all we managed was a measly Catfish. 

We came out of there and made a long run back to the Bell River, up it all the way to the docks, and fished that outgoing current with jigs and live shrimp and here Alex hooked up with a couple of hungry Seatrout. Continuing on around into the Jolley, we made a stop at JC's Spot and worked the oysters which were now exposed. Alex stayed hot and hooked up with a couple of feisty Redfish, then he hauled in a rather large Whiting. Both Kyle and Kelly brought to the boat a couple of Croaker that we could have kept but we tossed them back.

After moving over to the MOA, things got busy! Almost immediately we began to get hookups. Kyle found a "honey hole" between the two shell mounds and expertly landed three Black "puppy" Drum, two of which were of keeper sized. All three caught a handful of those feisty Redfish, not quite big enough to keep but fun to catch. At one time Kelly and Kyle had a "double" hookup with both landing Redfish. Kyly hooked up and landed his first ever Flounder. The trio had an Amelia Island Grande Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Black Drum and Flounder. 

Our final stop was over behind Tyger Island, fishing the logs, where they wrapped up catching two more feisty Redfish and Kyle "threaded a needle" between two logs to catch a wayward Seabass. It had been a beautiful day, we had some good action and few 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. 

Beating The Wind For A Grande Slam

 

We knew that the wind was supposed to pick up today as we fished, so we got out early and got some good catches in before it really picked up. I met David Morton and his son Charlie down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the intracoastal, then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. I had planned to keep going on up to Seymore's Pointe by I noticed the tide still had about 45 minutes to low so we pulled up and began pitching jigs and live shrimp and minnows to the exposed shell bank. We fished it good, drifted along the bank and fished it more and David kicked things off when he had a strong hookup and battled to the boat a nice Slot sized Redfish.  Charlie "spotted" his dad a few fish - David put another couple of feisty Reds in the boat before Charlie hooked up (with minnow as bait), a keeper sized Black "puppy Drum.

We then did make our way up to Seymore's Pointe to fish some dock pilings on the first of the incoming tide - it's a new dock and we got.....skunked! Not a bite. I motored around to Nassaville and there was a boat fishing where I wanted to stop so we kept going on down to Broward Island - the tide was still going out up there, but we set up and it paid off. Charlie got hot, fishing to a stump - he caught a handful of feisty Redfish, a couple of Sheepshead, one of which was of keeper size. Shortly after, Charlie had a strange "bump", a strange fight, and when he brought the fish to the surface we saw that it was a keeper sized Flounder which he handily landed.  David followed those up with some Redfish catches and a Sheepshead catch. The duo had a Grand Slam in the box - a Redfish, Black Drum, Sheepshead and Flounder.

We fished in a creek further up the river and added a couple of small Redfish to the catch total, then finished up fishing at Littlefield where Charlie added one more keeper sized Drum to the box then one of the biggest Croaker that I have seen. The wind was really kicking by this time but we had stayed in behind land masses and had caught fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Old Dog Teaching Tricks

 I wrapped my week up fishing with the Verner boys, Patrick and his sons Bryan and Patrick and grandson
James. We met early down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and then made a long run up the intracoastal, all the way up to Poteat Point where we set up to fish float rigs on a tide that had only been going out for about an hour. Using live shrimp as bait, the anglers drifted the marsh grass with the current and right off, the younger Patrick had a hook up off the stern - he played it perfectly and soon landed a nice hungry Seatrout. Bryan was on the bow and found a hard fighting Jack Crevalle that he worked to the boat, then he battled an even bigger one - we thought it might be a Redfish, but boy what a fight! Patrick SR fought a high flying Ladyfish to the boat then they teamed up to land a couple of Bluefish. Young James was "coaching them up" up well thought out suggestions.

After fishing across the river for a bit, to no avail, we ran thru Horsehead and then up the Nassau River to a point at Back River and sticking with the floats, we had good drifts, but no takers. Back down the river we came to Twin Creeks and they all switched to jigs. We fished that drainage then eased down to another drainage and here Patrick SR hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder. He put another Flounder in the boat, then a Jack Crevalle. After fishing Spanish Drop for a bit, we made the run up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings with the jigs. Again, it was Patrick Sr, teaching lessons, who hooked up and landed a nice 17" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We fished along those docks and added a Pinfish, a Croaker and a Toad fish to the catch variety. James helped his dad work a couple of those fish in.  Our final stop was around at Nassauville fishing some rocks - we fished floats and jigs, had plenty of bites but no takers, then we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Started Hot

We had a nice breezy morning today, just enough to keep it from getting hot. I had met David, Wanda and Charlie Morton up at Old Town Bait and Tackle on a tide that had been going out for about 2 hours. We eased out of Eagans Creek and made a short run over to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings with jigs and live shrimp. Wanda "knocked the skunk off" after she had tossed a float rig over towards shore and let it drift over some oysters. Her float got "nibbled" all the way across and we thought sure it was a "bait stealer" but then BAM! Float Gone! Wanda tightened up and let the circle hook set and had a nice hookup. She played it patiently to the boat and landed a keeper sized Seatrout.

David and Charlie were fishing off the stern with the jigs and after Charlie had made a pinpoint cast up under the dock he had a strong bite and Big Fish On!  Charlie played it perfectly, let it run, lifted it up, let it run, then worked it in and landed a big 20" Black Drum, boy what a fish. Minutes later he landed a nice feisty Redfish, then a couple more of smaller Drum, another hand sized Redfish with 6 spots, then a hungry Seatrout. Charlie had the hot rod at that spot.

We made a long run back around Tyger, up to the Jolley and turned into the "bank" and fished it with jigs from the bow and float rig off the stern.  Again, Wanda kicked things off when she hooked up and landed a small Flounder. Charlie then got busy, picking up another keeper sized Seatrout then a small Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Grande Slam - Black Drum, Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. On up the river he tangled with a Bonnethead Shark that eventually threw the hook. 

Around at the MOA we picked up a couple of Croaker, Wanda battled a Shark, then David brought a feisty Sheepshead to the boat. The bite had been better on the higher tide, which has been the norm the last few weeks, but we had caught fish, we had a few in the box, the weather was great so as we headed back to the rap we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florid.

The Kid

 Boy what a beautiful morning we had after a weekend of rain and last nights downpour. I had met Jeff and Cindy Patrick up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early and after easing out of Eagans Creek we made a short run up to the outside of Tyger Island, turned into the current on a tide that had been coming in a few hours, and started tossing jig and live shrimp to the mud bank. It took a while and I was beginning to wonder, but then Jeff hooked up with a hard fighting and brought it to the boat. Luckily it was a bit productive - the duo caught a couple or three Reds along there a keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught this morning were released), and a Flounder to round out a Slam. 

We fished Jolley "bank" for a bit with floats to no avail, then moved up to Tyger Cut and fished over a submerged shell bank. I think Jeff's first cast and drift produced another keeper sized Seatrout. He picked up another then both he and Cindy boated some small but feisty Bonnethead Sharks. After moving up to Snook Creek and fishing it a bit we ran back to the outside of Tyger to fish the first of an outgoing tide. Jeff battled briefly with (we think was) a shark but it's still heading north, with a float marker hanging out of its mouth.  We finished the morning over at Soap Creek drifting floats, then headed back, counting it as another beautiful morning fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

In basketball the call them a "ringer";  some call them a "secret weapon". But this afternoon we called him....The Kid. After a quick Bait Shop lunch, I made my way over to Oyster Bay and picked up Lee Warren, his grandson Noah, and their friend David Vice - we made a quick stop over at Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings on a tide that had been going out about 3 hours. David hooked up and handed off his rod to Noah to expertly reel in a hungry Seatrout, then a small but feisty Sea Bass. 

We made along run back down Lanceford then up the Bell to fish some more dock pilings. Here, Noah began making  his own casts and it paid off - he hooked  up a brough to the boat a hungry Seatrout and two croaking Croakers. We fished a 2nd dock them moved on. Our next stop was over in the Jolley River where we worked one shoreline with exposed oysters, to no avail.

But then we moved over to the MOA and fished those oyster mounds. Noah had a made an excellent cast off the stern, let it sink to the bottom, felt the "bump" and set the hook and BIG FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag and going deep and taking the line from starboard to port and back again. Lee was helping out with the rod lift while Noah worked it off the bottom with the reel and after long battle he landed  huge 27.5" Black Drum (on a size 1000 reel, 6'6'" rod), boy what a battle. Warred battled a Catfish to the boat before we moved on. 

After running back to Tyger Island, we fished the logs. Both Warren and David put Trout in the boat. Then again, Noah (The Kid) had another strong bite. That line was ripping out and the fish was heading north, but Noah, with Warren's help, kept the pressure on. It was a long battle and hard fought but the duo won it and soon boated a big 4' Bonnethead Shark. We were all worn out after that but as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Early Action

I went back south today to fish with Glenn and Patti Lanford. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp
and quickly got under way  - the No SeeUms were about to carry us off! But luckily, as we ran up the river, the breeze picked up and they were never an issue for the rest of the morning. The tide had been going out for about two hours as we eased up to our first stop across from Goffinsville Park and the two anglers began to toss float rigs baited with live shrimp. We worked up and down the bank and they caught a good handful of Seatrout and Redfish. They weren't real big but at least one of the Reds was in the Slot. It was nice to have good action early and not have any "skunk" to worry about!

We ended up hitting 5-6 more spots during the morning and picked up a Trout here and there, had a drag ripping breakoff, caught a couple of small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum, and then hooked and landed a couple of feisty Reds. The sun had shone all day, there was a slight breeze to keep the gnats off, we had some good action early, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

There was a guy having difficult getting his boat backed in, we came up with a solution!

Good Fishing Day

 I picked up the Stettner crew this morning over at Oyster Bay -Robert and his friends Mark and Kirk. We then made the run over to Tyger Island and set up to fish jigs and live shrimp as the tide started back in. It wasn't long before this trio of anglers were catching fish. They put a couple of keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat, a couple of small but feisty Redfish, a handful of hungry Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size, then Mark battled to the boat a nice 24.5" Slot sized Redfish. 

After fishing up and down the island for a good while, we made the run around to the Jolley River and fished a stretch of still exposed shell with float rigs and shrimp and then jigs and shrimp, but to no avail. The wind had picked up and our drifts just weren't....drifting! 

A final run around to Bell River did the trick. I was expecting to get Seatrout on the back side of some dock pilings but it was on the front side where Robert found a "honey hole" he had a strong hookup, one that ripped some drag and we knew that if it was a Trout it was a big one, and sure enough, that's what it was, a nice 19" Trout. Robert pulled two three more big Trout out of that same spot before it fell off. After fishing another couple of docks we headed back and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

What A Wrap Up

 I fished today again with Andy and Jennifer Aberle, meeting them out at their home and riding along in their Pathfinder to try and find some fish! We stopped real close by and tossed float rigs with live shrimp to a large outflow on a high and outgoing tide but I was somewhat surprised to see hardly any current flowing -we had no luck.

We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point and set up again with the floats and here we did have a bit of current and that paid off with a couple of  Seatrout catches. Continuing on up the intracoastal we made as stop and fished some structure with jigs and live shrimp. There were a bunch of baitstealers and only one Trout. After making the run up into behind Piney Island we set up current from some dock pilings and pitched to them, but to no avail. I was beginning to worry. 

Our next stop, further up the Intracoastal paid off, though. Jennifer was getting excellent casts up into some dock pilings and fishing it good - Andy was fishing off the outside. Jennifer had the first hookup, she played it perfectly and brought to the net a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Meanwhile, Andy had a strong bite out deep. It was ripping drag and in danger of getting tangled in the pilings. Andy worked the boat out, kept the pressure on the fish, then fought it to the net, a big 20" Black "puppy" Drum. 

After getting the fish measured, photographed and in the box, Andy went back to the same spot and BAM! Big Fish On!  I was thinking we were in a Black Drum "honey hole" but when this fish came to the surface we saw it was a large Slot Redfish. Andy played it patiently and landed it. He went back to the same spot and had another strong hookup -another Slot Red - they had their limit! 

We fished down a dock or two, then came back to the "hot spot" where Jennifer got in on the Big Fish action. She had made a great cast, fished it slow, and had the hookup. Jennifer fought the fish to the surface and the net - another Slot Red which we photographed and released. We had to hit 5 spots but the final one paid off so as we headed back to their dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Boyz Were Catching

 

I kicked off the week fishing with the Hutchins family - Matt and Laura and their two sons Garrett and Carter. We met early down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the intracoastal to make our way to Poteat Point and break out float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out for about 2 hours. It only took a minute before those floats were going down! I noted the water temperature was almost 64 and it seemed to turn the small Trout on. Garrett and Carter took turns reeling in Seatrout at that first spot. We did ease forward just a bit and got a couple of more further up.

We then ran thru Horsehead and down to Spanish Drop and switched to jigs and shrimp. The anglers had a few nibbles but no real takers. We moved up to fish a large drainage but again, nibbles but no takers. Our next stop was over at Nassauville, fishing between two docks.  The baitstealers were prolific but we did manage another Trout. Back around at Seymore's we fished some dock pilings and this did the trick. Matt found a nice Black "puppy" Drum then he and Garrett took turns hooking up with the Drum. Carter was on the net and did an outstanding job pulling them in to the boat. They also added a couple of feisty Redfish to their catch total. 

Our final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing under a Bald Eagle. The current was really ripping but Matt did manage to get one more Trout out of the deep. We had stayed busy at a couple of spots reeling in fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Catching Dinner

 We're having a beautiful week of weather this week and today was no exception when I met John
Fredericks and his fishing buddy Dan up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased out of Eagans Creek then made the run over to the outside of Tyger Island and set up with float rigs and live shrimp with plans to fish the marsh grass as the tide started out. Both John and Dan were getting good casts and good drifts but we didn't get a bite.

We bounced around Tyger, moving up towards Jolley and fished a large drainage with jigs and shrimp and again, no bites. We then ran up the Jolley to Snook Creek, eased inside, drifted floats out the back to no avail, then tossed jigs across the creek, again to no avail - no real bites.

If you've followed the last few days of fishing reports you may have seen that this has been the norm - no fish for the first couple of spots. But following Rule #4 - "if you're not catching fish, MOVE" - that's what we did - we made the run around to Bell River and anchored out from some docks and tossed the jigs up-current  and let the jigs bounce down the bottom and this did the trick. Dan, fishing off the stern picked up a couple of Seatrout and a small Black "puppy" Drum. And when we moved up a couple of docks John got in on the action and caught a few of those hungry Trout. We dropped back about 4 docks and fished the pilings and this strategy paid off when Dan hooked up and expertly played to the net a keeper sized Black Drum. 

We then made the long run back to Amelia, ran down the Intracoastal and found some more docks to fish. I was expecting Redfish but John found some Seatrout out in the middle of the creek. He landed a good handful, one of which was of keeper size and there were at least three that were just 1/16" shy of being legal - we tossed those back. Our final stop was further down the Intracoastal, fishing  deep and on the first cast John hooked up and landed another keeper Trout. That was the only fish we caught there! But these two anglers had some fish in the box for dinner so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe of the Month: Black Eye Pea Stew

 We've made this three times during this past winter and taken to a party once and it received acclaim! Not
much to the recipe, just some good old comfort food on a cold winter's day! Sorry, no seafood in it...

Ingredients:

1   lb dried Black Eye Peas                                                                            2    32oz  boxes chicken stock                                                                  2-3 stalks celery, chopped                                                                          1  medium onion, chopped                                                                           1   lb bag frozen collard greens                                                                    1   lb ground or link smoked sausage                                                                  Creole seasoning                                                                     

Soak a 1lb bag of Black Eye peas - pour in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight in the fridge.

The next day, drain and rinse the peas and put in a pot.

Cover with about one and half box of chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours

At about one hour take a potato masher or mallet and "smash" up some of the Black Eye Peas

Add bag of  Collards to pot

In a cast iron skillet brown the sausage, add to pot.

Brown the celery and onion, season with Creole seasoning, add to pot 

Season as needed again with Creole seasoning. Add Chicken stock to cover. Simmer covered for another 30 minutes. 

A Little Bit of Everything

 I last fished with Dennis Fritz, his wife Adele, and their visiting friends Jon and Jessica, meeting themdown at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We were supposed to go early but when the alarm went off and I got up it was pouring rain! Luckily this group was able to go later so we postponed the trip until 11am. After the "safety orientation" we eased just around the corner to anchor up current from the old Sawpit Bridge. I had the ladies drifting Slip Floats out the stern, back towards the pilings, baited with live shrimp. Dennis and Jon were off the Starboard side tossing jigs and live shrimp up current. Both Adele and Jessica were getting good drifts and let their floats slip right beside the pilings, but they had no takers. But surprisingly, Dennis had a good bite, set the hook, and brought to the boat a nice feisty Redfish. 

We then made the long run up the Nassau River and made our way over to some docks in Nassauville. All four anglers switched to jigs and shrimp and this paid off - they all began to hookup and land hungry Seatrout. They kept me busy! Most of these fish were in the 14.5" range, just under sized, but caught in 20-25' of water. 

After a run down to Broward Island and a Bald Eagle sighting, we fished the deep waters off of the island and picked up a couple of Trout and a Redfish or two. We then ran way up the Nassau and dipped into a creek and fished the deeper bank. This did the trick. This group landed another couple of Redfish and a Black "puppy" Drum to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of

Redfish, Seatrout and Drum. We had sunny skies for most of the day(after the morning rain), and very light winds - the temperature warmed enough so that we were shedding layers. If not for the "no-seeums" it would have been another outstanding day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.