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

9 Spot Slot

 I wrapped up my week today fishing with the Jensen's, Dean and his sons Elijah and Tyler, meeting
them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early to try and "beat the heat". We made a quick run over to the outside of Tyger Island and set up along a grassy point to fish float rigs on the very first of an outgoing tide. It was another beautiful morning, sunshine, clear skies, and just a bit of breeze. With those conditions you'd have thought (hoped) the fish bite would be on fire but, all we did was have a quick tangle with Sharks and Ladyfish. After crossing over a creek we fished a shoreline and Dean did pick up a small but feisty Redfish. 

Around the outside of Tyger we went and made one stop at a drainage to pitch jigs and shrimp, then we continued on around to the Jolley, switched back to float rigs, and drifted the bank on that outgoing tide. In between Shark bites Elijah hooked up, expertly battled, and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish - one that had 9 spots - a good fish in any Spot Tournament. We continued to ease along that bank and Dean patiently wore out the biggest Shark of the day, bringing it to the boat for photograph and release, then it was Tyler's turn to have the Redfish hookup. He had made an excellent cast to the bank and it paid off with a hookup. He played it perfectly and soon landed a 21.5" Slot Red.

We then moved up the river and pulled up at a large drainage that I used to fish 15 years ago, anchoring and bottom fishing out the back. But this time we positioned ourselves parallel to the bank and drifted those floats and it paid off. In addition to catching a couple of feisty Redfish, Dean hooked up and landed a real nice 18" Flounder. 

Further up the river we fished what evidently was a Shark haven- at one time we had a "double" going, then we ended the day at the MOA just as the oysters were beginning to show. Elijah  caught a couple of more small Redfish and Dead added a couple of Black "puppy" Drum. Somewhere along the way Dean had landed a Seatrout so the Drum made it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam, and we chalked it up 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

Sharks and Rays and Reds

 

It appears the thunderstorms were moving in early today but I was able to get out and fish this morning with Melody and Scott Norton and after meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, we made the run up the intercoastal and thru the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill where we stationed ourselves alongside a flooded grass line right at high tide.

The wind was kicking just a but it was coming over our backs so we were able to get some drifts and it paid off when Melody hooked up and  a battled a couple of high flying Ladyfish. We moved around the corner and fished it a bit but had no real bites. After running back down the Nassau and around to Seymore's Pointe we set  up at a large drainage and fished a point of grass with the floats. Scott got on the board with a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper catch (all fish caught today were released), and then we tangled with a few more of those.

We then ran thru Horsehead and around to a small creek and began working the edge. When we got to a small run out Melody made a perfect cast to the mouth of it and this paid of in a big way! Her float disappeared and after lifting her rod and letting the circle hook set, Fish On!  Melody played it perfectly and after a good battle landed a Slot sized 19.5" Redfish. Scott was fishing off the stern and had let his float go long and as he started to reel it up, BAM! Big Fish On!  We were in for a long fight. The fish did "boil" up once by the grass and I was speculating "Big Redfish", but then it made a couple of drag ripping runs so I switched my guess to "Shark". We ended up chasing it down the river, had to work it out from behind an abandoned crab pot, then continued on with the battle. Scott stayed patient and eventually landed a nice Bonnethead Shark for photograph and release.

After fishing Poteat Cut for a bit, to no avail, we ran back thru Horsehead and fished some dock pilings with jigs and shrimp. The duo landed a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then we moved around to some docks at Nassauville. Melody had fished her jig out deep and when the rod bent we knew she had something big. Again, we had a big, long, battle. Melody stayed with it and an exhausting fight, landed a big Stingray.  Scott went in to the rocks and caught a 16" Flounder.

We Rallied at the End

 

If you could have asked for the most perfect day to be fishing, today would have been it! Clear skies, sunshine, just a bit cool, and only a slight breeze - it was a "Chamber of Commerce" type morning when I met Bob Kossman and John Raker on a "share trip" kind of day down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a long run up the intercoastal, into Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up along a flooding shell bottom on a high and still incoming tide. John was on the bow and Bob was on the stern and they couldn't have had better drifts with their float rigs and live shrimp but all we could produce was a nibble here and there.

We moved around a point, fished it a bit, then dropped back to a flooded grassy island where John quickly "knocked the skunk off" with a hungry Seatrout catch. Whoop Whoop! Skunk off! We fished back around the corner, then made a run over to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large outflow and again, just nibbles. After running thru the marsh around to Jackstaff we fished another outflow thoroughly, but again to no avail. 

Back thru the marsh and down to Twin Creeks where we switched to jigs and shrimp. The duo of anglers didn't get any fish but Bob did have a strong bite right at the boat.

I was getting desperate so we decided to make the run up the Nassau to a small creek where we worked the bank with the jigs and it was a trip ending Rally!  John hooked up and landed a Seatrout, and at the same time Bob hooked up and battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. As we worked the bank John picked up a feisty Redfish, then another, then Bob had a a big bite and Fish On! He played it to the net and landed a Slot sized Redfish. We were almost ready to head back to the ramp when Bob had a hookup, a strange fight and sure enough, when he brought it to the net we had a keeper sized Flounder to round out a Grand Slam of Seatrout, Black Drum, Redfish and Flounder and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

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. 

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.