In Between The Storms

 

You've probably heard, "be careful what you wish for" - just a month ago we were begging for rain and now it seems someone forgot to turn the spigot off! And last night the forecast called for 47% chance of rain today so we thought we'd be getting wet if we fished, but we were going anyway! Luckily when I got up to get the boat ready the forecast had changed to just 15% chance and that held, we didn't get a drop while fishing. 

I had met David Prezzano and his fishing buddies Jay and Mike down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with a live well full of shrimp, and before they got there, I had casted for a few dozen finger mullet. We ran over to the intercoastal, up it, and then turned into the Nassau and made our way up for a short bit before turning into the current on the first of an incoming tide. I noted that even though it had been only coming in for an hour, it was already covering the shell. All three anglers began tossing jigs and shrimp and in just a few minutes Mike "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. He followed that up with a golden colored Whiting catch. 

The trio of anglers caught a couple of small Seatrout, a Catfish, a couple of Jack Crevalle, one of which put up a good battle for David, then Jay had a strange "thump" and, Fish On!  Jay played it patiently, worked it to the boat and when it came to the surface, we saw that it was a big Flounder. He eased it slowly to the net and we brought to the boat a nice 18" Flounder, boy what a fish!

We then made our way down to Pumpkin Hill, fished a stretch with float rigs, then moved around to a point and drifted that. David had gotten a good cast that took his bait along the grass and BAM! Another Big Fish On!  He kept that tension on and worked in, let it run, worked it in and I was thinking "Redfish" but when David got it to the boat and netted, we saw that it was a 20.5" Gator Trout, boy what a fish!

Jay added one more keeper sized Seatrout to the box and although we had a few bites after that, we had no takers. That tide had gotten up to flood stage and the fish must have been up in the marsh. But we had caught some "picture worthy fish", 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.

Big Start Big Finish

 I fished with the Bailey boys, Douglas and his sons Anderson and Dylan and his father-in-law Glenan, meeting them down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp to wrap my week up. We headed out on a tide that had been going out for less than an hour, running up the intercoastal and around to Pompano Point where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp, with finger mullet in the live well as back up. 

We may have had a Ladyfish caught but then we definitely counted the "skunk off" when one of the crew landed a small but feisty Redfish. It seemed kinda slow, compared to yesterday - we had gotten a handful of those small Reds and a barely legal 19" Slot Red, and I was beginning to wonder, but then Dylan had made an excellent cast up between to twigs of sawgrass and BAM! Big Fish On! This fish was boiling and rolling and holding it's on, ripping drag and refusing to budge. But Dylan was up to the task, kept the pressure on, finally worked it out, let it run, worked it out, let it run, then worked it slowly to the boat to land a big 29" Oversized Redfish, boy what a fish!

The excitement had barely died down when Dylan went back to the same spot and BAM! Another big fish on!  He fought it valiantly - Glenan had a hookup off the stern that was ripping drag in the background, then was off - but Dylan's stayed on and he patiently brought to the net a nice 25" Slot Redfish. Then Anderson put a fish in the box- as he hooked up and fought it - I called "Redfish" but as it came to the boat we saw that it was a nice 18" Seatrout. Then Dylan hooked up and brought a 17" Trout to the net. All four anglers tangled with high flying Ladyfish and boated a couple of more small Redfish before we moved on. 

Over at Jackstaff "bank" we worked it slowly, easing into the current, tossing the floats, and here Glenan got in on the big fish action. He had a strong hookup and the fish headed west!  We all thought "shark" but just couldn't tell. Glenan fought it like a pro, went with up from stern to bow and back to bow and after a good battle landed a huge Jack Crevalle.  We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pumpkin Hill, fished a stretch of still covered oysters, to no avail, then crossed the mouth of the river to fish a shallow bend and here the action heated up again. They added a good handful of those feisty Redfish to their catch total. 

After working Spanish Drop and picking up one more Redfish on a jig, we moved up to another drainage with plans to wrap things up. But this crew wasn't finished!  Anderson had gone to the shell lined bank with a cast and BAM! Immediately when it hit the water he was hooked up. He fought the big fish patiently and soon landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. Anderson went back to the same spot, had a thump. and began to work it slowly in. We were speculating "oyster fish" up until it surfaced and then we saw that it was a huge Flounder!  Anderson slowly eased it in and we netted a big 20.5" Flounder, a fish big enough ot move Anderson into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  We wrapped it up after that and headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Weren't Fishing, We Were Catching!

 It looks like I wrapped my week up fishing this morning with the Sparrow crew - Will, his kids Abigailand William, and his mother Nancy -meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We had a bait will full of live shrimp and frisky mud minnows as we eased out of Eagans Creek and made a run down the river to fish an exposed shell bank with jigs rods on a tide that still had about two hours to hit bottom. 

It didn't take long for Abigail to "knock the skunk off" with a nice Redfish catch, and from then on I stayed busy netting fish and bating hooks. All four anglers caught fish - Redfish and Flounder - we had at least one Slot Red along that stretch, and two keeper sized Flounder and we tossed back a good handful of smaller fish. 

As the bite slowed we ran further down the river and on around to the MOA (mother of all) spot and boy were we in for a surprise!  Abigail hooked and expertly battled to the boat another Slot Red. William landed a couple of keeper sized Seatrout. His dad Will hooked up with a monster and after a long battle landed an Oversized 29.75" Redfish (4th biggest of the year on the Anglers Mark). Nancy fought a nice Slot Redfish to the boat. Both Will and William brought Bonnethead Shark to the net for photograph and release. William tangled with

another Oversized Red that was having none of coming to the boat. It rolled and boiled and dug deep and eventually broke off. And to top things off, Will, after bumping his bait over a shell bed, and thinking he might have a shell until it began to pull back, yelled, "it's a fish", and boy was it!  Will patiently played it and worked it to the net to land a Doormat of a Flounder that measured at 21.5" - big enought to move Will in to 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a fish!

We finished up around the corner tossing float rigs on an incoming tide and tangling with a handful ofBonnethead Shark and then we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Out of Nowhere

I wrapped my week up fishing south, meeting the Williams family - John and Mary Margaret and their kids Hadden and Ruth down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. It was a bit cool as we ran up the Nassau and I made beeline for a large drainage knowing the tide had just started out. Sure enough, were were on fish almost from the start. These anglers were tossing float rigs with about a 3' leader and circle hook up beyond a grassy point, letting it naturally drift and BAM! Fish On!  We caught a good handful of Seatrout, a couple were of keeper size, and Ruth reeled in an impressive 16" Sheepshead. We also had a few Bluefish caught, and few good fish that threw the hook. 

Our next stop was around at some docks at Nassauville and here things started slow, but boy did they heat up. John found rhythm and began to feel the "bump" and set the hook and landed a number of Seatrout, one of which was right at 19.5", a fish big enough to move him into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). They also caught a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper sized. Then, as the fished deeper John hooked up and we both thought it may just be a clump of oysters, but then the rod bounced and the jigs ripped a

bit and we knew it was a big fish!  Hadden jumped in and worked the rod - they fought it valiantly together, and after a good battle brought to the surface and to the net a Big 22" Doormat Flounder, boy what a fish. This fish moved John and Hadden into first place in the Bragging Rights Tournament. 

We finished up fishing down at Broward Island on a tide that was still going out and here Mary Margaret put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat to wrap things up. We had a good handful of fish in the box, some Bragging Rights and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Extreme High Tides and Strong Winds

 Talk about some difficult fishing!  After an outstanding day Tuesday as a huge system passed thru, we ended up moving Wednesday's trip to Friday and cancelling Thursday. Friday, the rains had finished but we still had wind 12-17 as the morning progressed. I thought we could get some fishing in, and we did, but I wasn't counting on a extreme high tide to make matters worse. As we fished  you could see those strong north winds just pushing water into the back waters. Crazy!

But my guests on Friday, the Ahrens family were up for the challenge. We fished south, meeting down at Sawpit Creek. I was thinking our best shot at fish was to fish Pumpkin Hill on the last of an incoming tide. As we fished they had some nibbles, but no real takers, until Brian hooked up with something strong, on a shrimp under a float, that ran hard and strong and BAP! Fish Off! Probably a Shark. Later we ran up into Christopher Creek to get out of the wind and here Henry had the strong hookup. This fish went right under the boat, heading north, but Henry stayed with it, got his rod around the engine and up to the bow and fought it magnificently! He got it to the boat and we could have "gaffed it" if we had wanted it - a nice 3' Black Tip Shark!  I tried netting it but it was too big for the net and as we waited for it to tire, it made one last lunge and was off. 

Later we fished some rocks at Nassauville, out of the wind, with jigs and here Brian boated a couple of Mangrove Snapper. It had been a tough day but we persevered and got a few fish to the boat. 

Yesterday we had pretty much the same condition - not enough wind to call the trip, but enough to make it difficult. That north wind continued as Brian Syme, his son Nicholas and friend David met the challenge. Again, that north wind was pushing that high tide even higher. And again, I thought our best chance was to beat it by running over to the Jolley and fishing floats, but again, it was already too high, and moving fast!

These anglers stayed patient and it paid off, eventually!   But I was beginning to worry!  We had fished for at least two hours with not hardly a nibble. After hitting a few spots in the Jolly we made our way around to Bell River, and out of the wind, begin to toss jigs and live shrimp. The tide was really high, not ideal for where we were, but the move paid off. Brian had a strong hookup, a big fish!  Brian worked it to the surface slowly and when I saw it's huge maw of a mouth "big Trout" flashed thru my mind but when it got to the surface I saw it was a massive Flounder! Netted, it measured right at 22" - big enough to move Brian into a tie for First Place in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a fish!

We hit a few other spots, trying to stay out of the wind and even though the last one, behind Tyger Island was not where I normally would have fished on such a high tide, it paid off when David put a nice hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat, and Brian added a keeper size Seatrout.

It looks like the winds will continue in to Monday, but I'll probably fish anyway, knowing that it's always great to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bragging Rights Blowout

 Our weather pattern has been holding the last few weeks...great early morning, sometimes even overcast like today, with just a slight breeze, then some sunshine, then the heat comes on by about 10am.  And the fish bite has been similar. I met Grant Gressman and his son Colton along with Grant's dad Charlie out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and we headed down to Spanish Drop to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. We baited jigs with live shrimp and began pitching to the exposed shell bank as we eased into the current. And it wasn't long before we were catching fish, First a couple of Jacks, then we got into some feisty "Rat" Reds, and caught one after another. Grant had the hot hand initially but the other two anglers joined in on the catch. Grant caught a Seatrout and a Black Drum to round at his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam.

We moved up to a large drainage and fished it and here Charlie hooked up out deep and landed the firstkeeper fish, a nice Seatrout. Colton had a strong bite and fought it expertly to the boat to land the largest Jack Crevalle of the day. Then, when Grant's rod bent over, we questioned what he had on the line. I was thinking a big Catfish but when it came to the surface I saw that it was a HUGE Flounder and it was all I could do to get the catch net under it's nose and bring it to the boat - a 22" Flounder, the biggest of the year and big enough to smash into First Place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings. 

We fished a dock at Seymore's Pointe briefly, added a Mangrove Snapper to the box, then made a run down to Broward Island where we added another Flounder to the catch. Our last stop was back at some docks at Nassauville where Colton hooked up and landed a nice 16" Flounder, a keeper, then all three anglers dueled the Mangroves, winning a few and losing a few, but adding to the box another good handful of keeper fish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one 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