Changed Conditions

 I last fished Friday and we had an outstanding trip, catching Slot Redfish, Oversized Reds, keeper Trout
and a huge Flounder. But 4 days made a difference - we caught fish today and had to work for those, but we didn't get the massive fish last week. I noticed this morning the moon looked almost full and the wind was blowing out of the NE which made for higher tides than normal, and it seemed to come quicker. 

I had met Gordon Fowler and his fishing buddy Bill up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We had a bait well of purchased live shrimp and I had cast netted a few dozen finger mullet. We eased out of Eagans Creek and then made a run up to the Jolly River and turned in to the incoming current at the "bank" and proceeded to toss float rigs with the live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good casts but we only got a few nibbles.

After running up the river to Snook Creek we again fished the floats. They both had some good bites, but no takers, and even one Redfish that "boiled" on a bait but didn't take it. Finally, Bill "knocked the skunk off" when  he hooked up and landed a fat Seatrout. After catching one more we moved on. Our next stop was back at the cut going thru Tyger and here we drifted the floats long along the bank, to no avail. We came out of the Jolley and worked along the outside of Tyger now tossing jigs and here we had a small flurry of catching. Bill caught a couple of the Trout and one small Flounder using the finger muillet and Gordon tanlged with some high flying Ladyfish.

We came back and ran thru Tyger and over to Bell River, fished that stretch for a bit, then ran uip Lanceford where Bill picked up one more Seatrout. After fishing around the corner at the final stop, we headed back to the ramp. We had fished 7 spots and had to show for it about (Maybe) seven fish but it was a beautiful day and another great one 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. 

Fish Bite Better Today

 

All week long we've had beautiful days, today included, but for the most part, we had to really work to get some fish in the boat. But today we had the beauty and we caught more fish!  I had met Robert Stettner and David Vice out at Goffinsville Park early and with a tide that had been coming in for about an hour, we made a quick run down to Broward Island and set up to fish jigs and live shrimp. After tossing the baits up close, we let the slow current slide the bait down the river bottom.

David got on the board first with a strong bite, a hookup and after playing it expertly, he landed a nice feisty Jack Crevalle. From then on the two were getting bites and fish. Robert racked up on some feisty Sheepshead, a good handful of them, then he added a "barely legal" Slot Redfish. David put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. We moved down just a bit and added a couple of more Sheepshead to the catch total.  After fishing further down the island for a bit, we moved on. 

Our next stop was over at some docks at Seymores where didn't get much more than a nibble, then we
made a short run down the Nasau to Twin Creeks and tossed some float rigs up current and had it drift across the mouths. In just a few casts Robert was hooked up and it was big! The drag was ripping at the big fish headed north, then it turned and headed out to deeper water. I made the mistake of calling it a shark, because after Robert expertly worked it to the boat we saw that it was a huge Redfish!  Robert played it patiently and after a good battle landed a 28.75" over sized Redfish which we photographed and released.  Boy what a fish! And shortly after that he went thru another huge battle to land a 3' Bonnethead Shark while David put another Seatrout  in the boat. 

We fished down at Spanish Drop for a bit where Robert put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat,  then headed back over to Back River, fished s stretch, then finished up at Pumpkin Hill. The duo landed a Bluefish, another Trout, then David, after making an excellent cast to a grassy point, had a his float dissapear with a vengeance and Fish On!  David fought it expertly to the boat and landed a big 18" Seatrout. After fishing around the corner for a bit we called it a day and headed back to the ramp counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bulldawgs Come To Town

 I fished with some of those Georgia Bulldogs who have come town - long time customers Bob and
William Blalock and Bob's brother-in-law Tommy. We were scheduled to fish yesterday ang although it was a beautiful day the wind was kicking so we postponed the trip until today. We met up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle shop and made a quick run over to the outside of Tyger to fish a tide that was high but had been going out for about an hour. William took the bow and tossed a topwater lure while Bob and Tommy fished float rigs and mud minnows. They got some bites regularly but no takers until we finally caught a couple of Blue Fish. One had some size to it but we tossed it back - boy do those things stink!

We moved over to Manatee Creek and fished it a bit and William, after switching to the float rig, picked up a couple of Seatrout.  After running over to Lanceford Creek and fishing a nice drainage to no avail. It looked fishy and the wind had died just a bit but we had no takers. We ran further up Lanceford and fished a grassy island, then a bulkhead and again, no fish.

But the next spot  - "Bob's Spot" proved to be the winner. These "dogs", like their team, proved to be a "2nd half team"!  Fishing a sliver of an oyster island, drifting their floats along side it, they began to get Redfish, one after the other. Almost every drift produced a fish, most of them undersized, then Tommy hooked up, played it perfectly, and brought to the net a nice Slot Redfish. And shortly afterwards William put another Slot fish in the boat. Bob added a small Flounder to the mix.

After making our way down to Piney Island we fished some dock pilings then we moved around and fished some structure and again got into some feisty Redfish, catching a good handful of them. And Bob added another Flounder, this one of keeper size, but we tossed it back due to the closed season. They also caught a handful of Mangrove Snapper, two of which were of keeper size. These "dogs" came on strong in the 2nd half of the trip and made it another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Nary a Trout Today

 I was out to Goffinsville Park today where I met Dennis Abercrombie and his dad Jay. We had a clear, sunny morning and a tide that was just hitting dead low as we headed up the Nassau River with plans to fish Broward Island. Our first stop was down at the south end where we tossed jigs and live shrimp. We worked a large drainage for a bit, then dropped down the island and here Jay "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Flounder catch. 

The tide began to turn and come back in so we moved down to the north end and fished deep with the jigs. Jay had made an excellent cast to the up current side of a stump and a he let it fall down the river bottom I saw the line go tight - Jay set the hook and, Fish On! Jay played it perfectly and after a good battle he wore out and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish (all fish caught today were released).

We came back to Seymore's Pointe and fished some  dock pilings and here Jay outsmarted some rather big, keeper sized Mangrove
Snapper. We fished down at Spanish Drop with float rigs and the duo of anglers caught Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, a Catfish, and Jay battled a 12lb Bonnethead, which he landed and I gave a quick release. Dropping back up the river we continued to catch a fish here and there - Jacks and Ladyfish.

Our next stop was between some docks at Nassauville, fishing with jigs and live shrimp. We had Mangrove bites but the highlight fish was a nice Flounder that Dennis hooked up and landed. Our final stop was back at Pumpkin Hill, fishing floats, and we wrapped up the day with a large Bonnethead Shark that Dennis fought and landed. We had caught a good variety, but surprisingly, no Seatrout, but with the action we had, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.