Biggest Flounder For The Year

 

We had another Bragging Rights entry burst onto the scene today, the 2nd in consecutive days!  I had met Don Frank and his fishing partner Paul up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and after making our way out of Eagans, we made a short run over and up to the Bell River where we set up to toss float rigs and live shrimp The tide still had about an hour or two to come in. Both anglers were getting good casts and good drifts and had a couple of nibbles and then Paul had a Shark bite that headed west, and kept going!

After moving around to the other side of a flooded oyster point and trying our luck there, we made the short run over to Lanceford Creek and fished a small drainage and here things picked up. Don was going up just beyond a point of grass with his cast and it paid off with two keeper sized Seatrout catches. Then Paul had a hookup and this one was pulling a bit harder and sure enough, after expertly playing it, he landed nice 18" Seatrout.

We then ran thru Tyger Basin around to the outside and set up fishing a point of grass as the tide started
out. The two anglers had a few nibbles but no takers but then we started seeing some rather large tails flapping at us!  I'm pretty sure they were Sheepshead. We got some good casts to them but they just wouldn't eat our shrimp. Then Don made an excellent cast right where they were tailing and when his float slowly went under I knew we had a nice fish. But this fish just stayed deep, didn't thrash much at all, and didn't make any hard runs so I was beginning to wonder and....when it came to the surface we saw that it was a Door Mat Flounder! After netting it and photographs we found that it was right at 20" which move Don securely into First Place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category, boy what a fish! (scroll down the right side of this report for standings)

We fished up the Jolley River for a bit, had no real luck, but as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

First Flattie Then Big Flattie

 

Even though the temperature gets up into the low 80's by afternoon, the mornings have a little cool nip in the air. It was the same when I met Bob and Kathy Miller down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning.  We made the 15 minute run up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and began tossing jigs and mud minnows to the exposed oysters on a low and still outgoing tide. Both anglers were getting good casts as we worked along the bank. Bob had a strange "bump", set the hook, and reeled in his first Flounder ever. We worked that bank, had numerous nibbles, then crossed over to fish a sandbar pointe. Bob was tossing out deep while Kathy fished the bow and pointe and it was Bob who had the hookup again, this time a hungry Seatrout.

We then ran thru Horsehead and around to the Nassau and down to Spanish Drop and set up fishing a large outflow and boy was there a ton of bait. We eased along pitching those minnows, had a few nibbles, but it wasn't until we got alongside

a shell bank when the action picked up. Bob had a good bite, hooked up and reeled in a feisty Redfish then Kathy got on the board - she too had a Redfish.  Then both anglers were catching fish - Redfish, a few Seatrout, a Jack Crevalle, and some Ladyfish. We moved up the way and again had some good action catching fish. 

After sampling what some dock pilings had to offer (not much), we moved around to Nassauville and set up between two docks and pitched to the bank. We picked up a few Mangrove Snapper, one of which was of keeper size then Bob started reeling in a rock. But no! That rock was moving! Bob kept the pressure on and patiently brought it to the surface and to the net - a 21.25" Flounder, boy what a fish. It was a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Big Trifecta

 Whenever you finish up a fishing trip having caught a 30.5" Redfish, a 23.5" Seatrout, and a 22.5" Flounder, you can feel assured that it was a pretty good day of fishing! That's a pretty big Amelia Island Back Country Slam!

I had met William and Dara Blalock out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early - the cloudy skies covered up the sunrise, but as we left the dock there was a pretty neat Moon Set. We headed over to Athens Drop and began easing along the marsh grass tossing float rigs and live shrimp on a high and incoming tide. We had good action, just not the action we wanted. Dara forgot to "take the trash out" to the can because that's what we caught for the first hour or so -trash:  hard fighting Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, and even a Catfish. We fished a couple of marsh run outs and did pick up one nice Seatrout.

After a short run down to Pumpkin Hill and setting up bow into the current, the duo of anglers began drifting their floats along the marsh grass and it wasn't long before both were into some fish. They caught a good handful of small but hungry Seatrout, maybe one or two that they could have kept, but didn't, then Dara's float disappeared with a vengeance and, Big Fish On! This fish was heading to Jacksonville and...William had a hookup, and another Big Fish On! The two did the tango, ducking under each other, passing their rods around each other, dipping around the engine, and both stayed hooked up. William brought his to the net first and landed a big Jack Crevalle, then Dara subdued hers and landed a big Oversized 30.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!

We fished that stretch for a while and caught a few more Trout and Ladyfish and a small but feisty Redfish. William had gone up just past a point of grass and BOOM! Float Gone. William kept the pressure on  and had his drag singing. He and I both were thinking "Slot Redfish" but then we saw the big fish roll at the surface and realized it was a huge Seatrout! William patiently worked it to the net and landed a big 23.5" Seatrout, a fish big enough to land him in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for a link to standings). 

After moving around the point and fishing a grassy

island and short stretch where we picked up a few more Seatrout, we were down to just a dozen live shrimp and decided to make the short run back to Nassauville where we set up between two docks and pitched jigs and shrimp. Just like we thought, there were some Mangrove Snapper there and the couple boated a few of keeper size for "Fish Tacos" later. Then Dara made an excellent cast up to the base of the rocks, felt the "bump", set the hook and, Fish On! She was real patient easing that big fish up from the bottom, brought it to the net slowly, and landed huge 22.5" Flounder, a fish big enough to land her in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for a link to standings). And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Welcome Mat

I was back to work today, this time fishing with Steve and Carron Frost after meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made a short run up the Nassau River and stopped to fish a large marsh run out with jigs and live shrimp. The tide was at dead low and we noticed we had not much of a current and the fishing was slooooww. But the duo did catch a wide variety of "junk" fish - High flying Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Shark and Stingray. Then the tide and current changed, started back in, and we were catching small but feisty Redfish, one after the other. It was a bonanza! We fished it until the bite slowed then moved on.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island on the first of an incoming tide. Both Carron and Steve caught and landed a feisty Red, then Steve had a strong hookup and the battle was joined! This fish was ripping drag and making those deep digs and we felt sure it was an ice Redfish, but then it wrapped itself on a submerged log and the line went tight. But Steve was up to

the task, kept light pressure on it, and sure enough the fish came out and, Fish On! Steve worked it to the boat and landed a nice 22.25" copper colored Redfish.

We moved down the way, easing underneath a Bald Eagle, then set up fishing. Steve put a couple of small Reds then he pitched up into a cove. He had a hit but not a taker. Then he went back to the same spot and BAM! :He had a hookup. This fish was fighting differently and sure enough, when he brought it to the net, it was very nice 16" Flounder. 

After crossing the river se switched to float rigs and tangled with a big Jack Crevalle and an even bigger Bonnethead Shark. 

We were getting low on bait and low on time but had one more stop left in is. After getting set we these anglers switched back to jigs and shrimp and in no time they were tangling with some Mangrove Snapper. We'd lose 4-5 shrimp then catch a fish and ended up with a good handful of keeper fish. Carron had made an excellent cast off to one side and she said she had a strange bite, and a hookup. She worked it slowly to the boat and Steve was the one that saw a huge maw of a mouth. Carron brought  it to the net and landed a huge 23.25" Door Mat of a Flounder! Boy what a fish! And big enough to move her squarely in to 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report to see standings). And what a fish to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Quite a Mess of Fish

 

Fishing south again today, meeting William Vickers, his son Jeff and son-in-law Jacob down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After a short run up the Nassau we stopped at Spanish Drop and fished the edges of an shell bank at the very bottom of a dead low. The trio of anglers were pitching 1/8oz jigs and mud minnows to the bank and both Jeff and Jacob had hookups of feisty Redfish. We then moved up the river to a marsh run out and threaded the needle between the bank and a crab trap. Again, they picked up a couple of feisty Reds. Then Jeff had a stronger bite and when his drag ripped, we new he had a bigger fish. After a good battle Jeff landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. Then it was Jacob's turn to fight a tough fish. After his hookup the fish went deep, dug down, and put up a good fight. Jacob worked it patiently to the boat and and landed a Jack Crevalle.

The tide had already turned so we made the run down to Broward Island, switching to 1/4oz jigs to get down a bit deeper, quicker. The strategy paid off. All three anglers began to catch fish. They each put a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat, Jeff landed three Sheepshead, one of which was of keeper size. Then Jacob had a strong bite and when the fish hugged the bottom we thought, maybe a Flounder. Sure enough, when he brought it to the surface, there was a nice 18" Flounder. William got on a roll and landed fish after fish, teaching lessons as he went. Both  Jeff and Jacob had Big fish on for a while, but the fish found there way back into a sunken tree and broke off. Ouch.

We moved down a bit and fished a large runout. Jeff found a couple of feisty Reds and Jacob picked up another keeper sized Flounder. We finished up the trip fishing a large runout around at Seymore's. They added another couple of Mangroves and then William battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net. After pictures and release, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Heck of a Halibut

 

I wrapped my week up today fishing with Chris Sneed and his fishing buddy Chuck, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. We had overcast skies, but no forecast for rain until possible late afternoon, and just a (very) slight breeze blowing. Our first stop was over on the outside of Tyger Island and the duo began pitching jigs and mud minnows to a marsh runout. I was expecting to maybe get a Flounder "bump" but it was a Seatrout that Chris picked up. He mentioned that he had never caught a Flounder and it'd be nice to do so (Stay Tuned!).

We then ran around to the Jolley Bank, fished the "bank", picked up a Croaker, then moved on up to Snook Creek where we got skunked. The tide was getting pretty low and as we pulled up to the MOA (Mother of All), there was a lot of movement, a bunch of bait, Sharks finning, and we even saw a "tail" that surely was a Redfish. But we had a bunch of bites but no takers. 

Our next stop was around at Bell River, fishing some dock pilings. We were flipping back and forth from live shrimp and mud minnows and here Chuck got hot and got some action. He hooked up and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum then he battled a nice Slot 20" Redfish to the net. The tide had hit bottom and was already coming back in back towards the ocean so we made along run.

I was heading south but decided to duck in at Piney Island and fish some docks. We made a few casts and Chuck added another Drum to his catch total. We continued South, down the intercoastal, thru Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe and fished some more docks. The duo caught a handful of Mangrove Snapper with two of them being of keeper size. After fishing another dock, we headed down to Broward Island and fished a good stretch. In a hundred yards of fishing we only got one bite. But boy, was it a good one!

Chris had pitched a "soggy" shrimp up to the bank, let it sink, and was slowly letting it fall down the bottom when he hung up. I said, "I think I've got a stick", as he drug it back to the boat. But then it began to pull back into the current and act like a fish. I was thinking, "he's got a knot of wood or an oyster", but then the it tugged like fish. Chris worked it up off the bottom and when it came to the surface we saw it was a HUGE Doormat of a Flounder!  Chris kept the pressure on, eased it towards the boat and I swooped in the the net! Boy What a Fish! We measured it to be 24.5", big enough to easily move into first place in the Angler Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category.(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We wrapped the day up back at Seymore's Pointe where we tossed float rigs to the rocks and caught our limit of Mangrove Snapper, a few of which measured at 12" - they're getting bigger! Then we headed north, counting it as another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.