My Very First Paid Charter

 I started keeping a fishing journal in 1998 - I'd make note of where I fished and what we caught, etc. After I got my Captains license in 2007,  I continued to keep a written journal while I started running charters and the very first trip was recorded on July 23, 2007:

It reads....

My first paid charter, w/ Bill Evans & grandson(?) Jokim.  Went up Boggy Creek 7am, tide hi, starting out. Started fishing past Police Lodge. Bill hung something big, got off. (Beetle Spin) Jokim caught a nice  bream on worm. Fished until 11:00

I actually remember that trip - Mr. Evans had brought along his 9' fly rod - I had it in one of my console side rod holders. As we ran up Boggy we approached the "Hump Back" bridge -cool if you've never seen it - and I slowed to a crawl to ease thru the pilings safely. But I was so intent on making it thru safely I forgot that Mr. Evan's fly rod was sticking up in the rod holder as we started under the bridge, BAM, BAM, BAM...and the top section of the rod came off!  I cringed. Luckily it just separated and pushed back together with no damage. It was an inauspicious start, to say the least.  Although my "repeat" rate for customers is pretty good, I never got to fish with Mr. Evans again. 

I kept the written journal going and also began to "Blog" my trips in 2008 (keeping a double journal) and did both thru April 2013 - that's a long time of being hardheaded and not turning loose of the "old school" recordings.

Saving The Best For Last

 After a long Labor Day weekend, we were back fishing today, and wouldn't you know it, we
had....WIND!  It wasn't so bad that we did go fishing - the rain chance was down in the single digits, but the wind was forecasted to get up to 14mph, and I believe it did. It made for some "challenging" fishing but my two anglers, Bart Mathews and his longtime friend Jaime were up for the task. We met down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and made our way up the Nassau River to make our first stop at a large runout at Seymore's Point. They were getting good casts with the wind at their back and getting good drifts on the very first of a (very) high and outgoing tide, but we had no takers.

We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and drifted that stretch of grass with the floats, and may have had a nibble, but nothing more, then we came back into Jackstaff and fished a small creek and here the action picked up a bit - Jaime hooked up and had a big battle with what I thought was going to be a big Redfish - he played it perfectly - but as closer to the boat it started making that trademark dig-dig-dig and sure enough, when Jaime brought it to the surface we netted a big Jack Crevalle - a great battle! Just minutes later Bart had the strong bite - he played it expertly and I thought for sure we had it but the fish headed right for some submerged oysters and "BAP" fish off! Ouch. 

We ran back thru Horsehead and down to Middle River and fished a stretch, then continued on down to Pumpkin Hill where we switched to jigs and Bart picked up a an "almost legal" Redfsih, then came back to Twin Creeks where we tangled with a couple of Ladyfish. We then moved east to another nice drainage and pitched the jigs. Bart had put on a finger mullet, tossed it to the drainage and almost instantly, BAM! Big Fish ON! And boy was it big. A long fight ensued - that fish took Bart from the Bow, down the port side, around the stern, back around the stern, back around the stern and finally Bart wore 'em out and landed an Oversized 31.5" Redfish - big enough to move into 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a magnificent fish! After fishing Spanish Drop briefly, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Brothers Fishing Bash

 

The Bochy brothers, Joe and Bruce and Mark, all met up here at Amelia Island for a birthday get-together and took in an Amelia Island back country fishing trip this morning. I met them down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and after a short run up the Nassau we made our first stop at Spanish Drop and went with the jig rods and mud minnows on the very last of an outgoing tide. The first "demo" cast produced a hungry Flounder so we were off to a good start! We worked that bank then skipped up to Twin Creeks and here we had some pretty good action.

It seemed each of the brothers had their own expertise - Joe was catching most of the Flounder (one of which was of keeper size), Mark was catching Seatrout, and Bruce was catching Redfish! Joe had made a cast  up to the bank and worked it out deep and had a big Oversized Seatrout take it right at the boat - he worked it in patiently and landed a 20" Seatrout for photograph and release. Bruce was expertly landing fesity Redfish while Joe put the Flounder in the boat. We then fished a dock up at Seymore's Point on the first of an incoming tide - the only spot we got "skunked", then we made our way down to Broward Island where Bruce did put a hungry Trout in the boat. 

The final stop was fishing back at Pumpkin Hill, this time using float rigs and the minnows and here we picked up a nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout. The anglers tangled with a bunch of Lady fish here and Bruce added one more Redfish to his catch total before we headed back to the ramp. It had been a beautiful day, we had some good action, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Recipe of The Month: Crawfish Queso

 This came across my screen, from Hymels Kajun Kitchen...

1/2 stick butter      

1  small onion, diced                                                                                   1   can Original Rotel                                                                              1/2 bunch of green onions, the green part, chopped                                2   Tablespoons diced jalapeno's (I used fresh)                                            2  Teaspoons Cajun Seasoning                                                                    1  lb Velveeta Queso Blanco                                                                        1   8oz bag shredded Colby Jack cheese                                                    1  can evaporated milk                                                                                1  lb Crawfish tails  (the tails that I find are always 8oz, so I also cooked 1/2 lb of Hot Jimmy Dean sausage and added that to the mix)                                                                                                                    Tortilla Chips

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chopped onions, the jalapenos and the green onions and cook them down until soft. Add the can of Rotel and cook for a bit, add some Cajun Seasoning. Add the evaporated milk and stir, add the Velveeta, cut up into chunks, add the shredded cheese and cook over low heat. (I cooked the sausage separately and added it now). Add some Cajun Seasoning if needed. When the mixture begins to get hot, add the Crawfish Tails - they are already cooked so all we really need to do is heat them up. Serve with some Tortilla chips. 

One out of Five

 Those "glass like waters" keep on coming - it was a beautiful morning when I met Bob and William
Blalock out at Goffinsville Park boat ramp - I launched at Sawpit and motored up there (according to the County, the ramp repair is "in design and permitting stage"). I had launched early and cast netted some nice finger mullet to add to the mud minnows I had purchased so we had a good well full of bait. We made our first stop down at Twin Creeks and fished jigs to the outlets on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours and it was William who knocked the skunk off with a nice keeper sized Flounder -all fish caught today were released. They added a couple of "junk fish" before we moved on.

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting the floats. The Ladyfish were ever present but Bob did put a big 18" Seatrout in the boat, then he battled a big Jack Crevalle. We worked around the point then made our was further south to hit a spot that sometimes produces fish - in particular a non-descript point of grass that I've noted produces a big Trout one in five times we fish it. William had made the perfect cast just north of the point and let his float drift naturally and BAM! Big fish on!  He was getting some drag ripping and he and Bob were guessing "Redfish" but sure enough, when William expertly brought it to the net, it was a 20"+ gator Seatrout. We quickly photographed and released her. Crazy how that spot holds a big Trout, on occasion.

We ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point but I think we got there a little too early, the tide was just hitting high, but we ran down to Sawpit and fished a nice drainage that I had been eyeing and it paid off - we picked up a couple of Flounder and Bob caught one that was of keeper size. William had tossed up between some pilings and a big fish hit just as a boat wake rolled us and I thought we might lose William  but he stayed with it - he battled the fish to the net and landed a big Jack Crevalle. We had some good weather, some good action, some big Trout and so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

1st Mate Material

 The water was like glass all day today! I had met Bob Miller, his brother Jim and Jim's son Nick and
grandson Sam down at Sawpit Creek early - it was so still that the sand gnats made an appearance! But we got underway and that was the last we saw of them - we headed up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs and mudminnows up by the grass on a tide that still had about and hour and a half to high. We had some action - a bunch of Ladyfish and a couple of Jack Crevalle, but Jim did hookup and land a keeper sized Seatrout.

We came back to Seymore's Point and drifted it for a few casts then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point. Again, a lot of "junk" fish - Ladyfish, a Catfish, but then Bob hooked up and put another keeper Trout in the boat. And the Nick/Sam team followed that up with even a bigger Trout, this one measuring right at 18". Jim pulled a small Flounder out of there then we made the mover back over to Jackstaff and tossed jigs and minnows. My jigs didn't make too much of an impression - we didn't catch much, just another small flounder. 

By this time Sam was filling in as "1st mate" - he was retrieving the bait, hooking some of them up, and he had taken over net duties. We finished up back in the Nassau, fishing Twin Creeks with the  jigs, and here Jim finally got a keeper sized Flounder for the box. We had some good action for most of the morning and had a 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.

Weekly Wrap Up

 It was an interesting week!  I "fun" fished on Wednesday with friend Tandy Morton using his boat - kinda nice to be a passenger! We left the Amelia Island Marina early and made the run out to the jetties, making our way over to the north jetty, on the inside, about half way between the bend and the end, where we set up with Tandy's trolling motor to hold us at anchor, about 40' off the rocks, on the last of an outgoing tide. Tandy had bought some mud minnows the day before and had cast netted for some perfect sized finger mullet so we had some good bait. Tandy  had a bucktail jig baited with the mullet and I was tossing a 3/8oz jig with the mullet and every once in a while we'd get a good bite. For me, it was kinda weird - that deeper, moving water made it a little difficult to feel the bite, but we got the hand of it. We ended up getting two nice Slot Reds in the boat and one keeper sized Flounder, and we threw back an oversized Red. And we missed at least four good fish - we had 'em on but they just came off!

The next day I took John Raker and Kenny King out there, pretty much to the same area. John had a
good strong hookup on about his 2nd cast, but unfortunately, it too came off. From then on all we had were nibbles. We eased down the jetty tossing to cuts but had no more good bites. So we made a run back in and up the Jolley where we set up along some exposed shell and went back to 1/4ox jigs and mud minnows and this did the trick. Both Kenny and John had good hookups with feisty Redfish. We bounced over to the MOA and picked up another Red, then we came back to the outside of Tyger and worked that bank and picked up a handful of Flounder. 

Yesterday I fished with the Bailey Boys - Douglas and his sons Anderson and Dylan, this time meeting down at Sawpit Creek. We made the run up the intracoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and fished a cut on an outgoing tide with jigs and mud minnows. I was expecting Flounder but I don't think we got a one. They did pick up a feisty Redfish and an "almost" legal Mangrove Snapper. After running through Horsehead we hit few drainages and picked up few fish. After fishing a drainage over at Nassauville where we picked up another Snapper and a small Flounder, we then made our way down to Broward Island where we had our best action. Anderson put a couple of more of those feisty Reds in the boat, Dylan expertly played a keeper sized Seatrout to the boat, but the net man missed him, then Douglas had a strong hookup and battled a nice slot Redfish to the net. While he was doing that Anderson hooked and landed another "almost legal" Mangrove. Then it was Dylan's turn to fight the big Red - he played it patiently to the boat and landed another Slot Redfish. We finished the day tossing floats at Pumpkin Hill but the sun was up and hot and the tide was at a standstill so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Nothing Like Some Drag Ripping

 I wrapped my week up fishing today with Garland Clark, the "birthday boy"!  We had a good time - we left Sawpit Creek early and headed up the intracoastal, then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide had been coming in for an hour or so and the shell banks were about covered, but we went with jigs - I had a bunch of live shrimp, a handful of mud minnows and a live well of finger mullet - we were loaded! Garland "knocked the skunk off" early when he hooked up and quickly brought to the boat a couple of feisty Redfish, one after the other.  We moved up the river to a drainage and fished it a few casts, then we moved on up to Twin Creeks and here we hit pay dirt.

First, Garland had had a couple of "nibbles" and finally hooked one up - a nice Black "puppy" Drum (all fish caught today were released. Then, in just a few casts he had his rod bend and his line take off heading west and boy was that drag ripping - it wasn't slowing down - we chased it! I was worried he was going to get spooled. But we teamed up, I followed it up the river while Garland cranked in the line then we hovered over the big fish until Garland wore it out and brought it to the surface - a 4' plus Bonnethead Shark.  We got a couple of pics and tossed it back. 

When Garland had another strong bite I was thinking, "oh shoot, another Bonnethead", but it didn't make that really long run, although it made some strong deep runs closer to the boat. We were speculating what he had and boy was it great to see when it came to the surface that it was a huge Redfish! Garland patiently worked it to the boat and landed an Oversized 28" Redfish, boy what a fish.

We hit a handful of spots where Garland caught a small Whiting, a couple of small Mangrove Snappers, a small Jack Crevalle, then we finished the day when he hooked and landed the first keeper sized Mangrove Snapper! He met the Challenge and claimed the GPK! And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

One Big Trout and Big Bonnethead

 We had a couple of days of afternoon rainstorms come through and I think it made a difference in the fish bite. This morning we had a tide that was about midway coming in, clear skies, and just a little breeze which made for some comfortable fishing early, but by 11am it was getting HOT! I fished with Kenny King and his crew, John Raker and John's mother Betty, meeting them out at Oyster Bay. We came back down Lanceford and then up the Bell to make our first stop at a point of oysters that were just about already covered. We had a baitwell of healthy shrimp, a handful of mud minnows (caught yesterday) and a live well with about 2 dozen finger mullet. That first stop didn't produce much at all, just a few nibbles.

We made our way down the intracoastal with plans to stop at some structure but a shore angler beat us to it, so we kept going down to Poteat Point where we drifted the floats with the incoming tide. Although we didn't count them as "skunk off", Kenny did pick up Catfish and a Ladyfish, then finally, a hungry Seatrout. After making our way over to Jackstaff we turned into the "bank" and fished it all the way back to the point and may have gotten a fish or two. But when we turned the corner the action picked up with Ladyfish catches then Kenny had a strong bite - it giving him a good fight and we felt sure it was going to be a decent fish, and it was! Kenny expertly brought to the boat a big 19.75" Seatrout, which we photographed and released, boy what a fish!

After fishing a couple of more spots off of Jackstaff, we ran thru Horsehead and fished a drainage at Seymore's Point then finished up the day over on Alligaator Creek. Here, Betty tangled with two Bonnethead Shark - the second one was about 4 foot and then she finished up the day with a nice Seatrout catch. We had caught a couple of big fish and had great weather so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as aother great day to be fsihing here at Amelia Island Florida.

Those Dang Baitstealers

 Sooner or later I'm going to have to quit griping about them, but boy do those baitstealers make it tough to get a good fish! My guests today, Terry Foley and his buddy Chris found out early - after running up the intracoastal, then up Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill we had a pretty good high and incoming tide to drift those float rigs baited with live shrimp (still no mud minnows at the bait shop). They were re-baiting non-stop, unfortunately. But Terry did get one by them and sure enough, BAM! He hooked up and expertly landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Around the corner we picked up a small Redfish and Chris battled a Bonnethead Shark and a big Jack to the net for photograph and release.

We made a brief stop back at Seymore's Point, then ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where we drifted the floats. We had bites and Terry had something on briefly but it tangled in an old line and thru the hook. Back over in Jackstaff we switched to jigs and picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then Chris had a good "thump", he set the hook and patiently brought to the boat a keeper sized Flounder. 

After running back thru Horsehead we hit a couple of drainages as we got to the bottom of our bait. Chris reeled in an "almost legal" Mangrove Snapper and then Terry wrapped the catching up when he hooked a Flounder right at the boat and brought it in. We then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

I've set a minnow trap out the last couple of days but the tide is either too high or too low or the minnows I catch are too small. Come on Fall!

Catchin Without the Muds

 With the scarcity of mud minnows at the bait shops now days, we're having to go with live shrimp and boy, do we blow thru a bunch! I fished Friday and today with the Raker Team - John and his mother Betty and their friend Kenny King. Friday we fished out around Nassauville and caught a few - we had a small Red, some small Seatrout, a small Flounder and a handful of small Mangrove Snapper, and Kenny tangled with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.

Today we met out at Oyster Bay and made our first stop back down Lanceford, fishing floats on the very first of a high and outgoing tide. Betty got hot early catching Seatrout off the stern. John picked up a feisty Redfish and Kenny battled two Black "puppy" Drum to the net, one of which was of keeper size. As it turned out we got fish at almost every stop today. We made our way down Lanceford and over to the outside of Tyger and switched to jigs and again had a good flurry of fish catching. Betty put a keeper Whiting in the boat and John battled a huge Bonnethead shark to the boat for pictures and release.  We eased up the outside of Tyger to fish a large drainage with the jigs in hopes of getting Flounder but it was Seatrout that bit our live shrimp on the jigs. Around the corner and up into the Jolley we fished the "bank" and picked up a couple of feisty Reds and I tossed the cast net briefly to get a few finger mullet for bait.

After making our way up the Jolley we stopped at another large drainage and drifted the floats along the exposed shell and here Betty had a good string of feisty Redfish catches. Our bait had dwindled to almost nothing but we had a couple of shrimp left and those few mullet so we worked the outside of Snook Creek and picked up one more keeper Whiting. John had put a mullet under a float and after a good cast we all saw a big fish roll on the bait and BAM! That float was gone! We could tell it was a nice fish - John played it patiently and worked it slowly to the net to landed a big 20" Gator Trout, boy what a fish. Although we didn't have mud minnows the shrimp provided 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. 

Fast And Furious Beginning

 I met the McBride boys this morning down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp - Ragan, his father Rand, and his two sons Kellan and Cole. We made a quick run up the intracoastal and made our first stop at a large drainage marked by a whole herd of birds feeding in its flow. The first "demo" cast caught a feisty Redfish that Kellan expertly reeled in and the 2nd cast produced a strong bite. Cole was on the rod initially and it didn't "act" very big but then it started a long run and Cole was in for a battle. The big fish came out and went long and took the line thru the transducer and the engine - we had to open the bail and get the line out, and, OH Boy, we had been spooled! But the dumb fish didn't know any better so we the line free and chased it and Ragan took a turn working the fish up - he played it perfectly and we eventually boated a 4' Bonnethead Shark. That woke everybody up!

We fished that drainage and moved down and fished Spanish Drop and caught a variety of fish - Redfish, Seatrout, Jacks and Catfish and Ragan added a keeper sized Flounder to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. All fish caught today were released. We then made a move up to Seymore's Point where the team picked up a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, then Kellan had a good hookup on a live shrimp - he played it patiently and worked it to the net to land a feisty Black "puppy" Drum, makling it a "Grand Slam". Grandad Rand had been kinda quite, letting the boys fish, but he had a good hookup too. He worked it to the boat and landed keeper sized Seatrout.

After a run south we fished Broward Island for a bit but had no real takers, then we moved up to
Pumkin Hill to fish an incoming tide and here, Cole, fishing off the stern and going long, had is float disappear. He quickly slapped that bail shut and started cranking and Fish On!  He hauled it in and landed a hungry Seatrout. We fished both sides of the point, stopped back at Twin Creeks on the way back, then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Right From The Start

 It seemed we were catching fish this morning right from the start! I had met Mark Averbuch and Paul
Clark down at Sawpit Creek early this morning and after a short run up the intracoastal, then up the Nassau, we made our first stop just north of Spanish Drop at a nice drainage that poured thru some oysters into fairly deep water (12'). We didn't have mud minnows today! Evidently there is a shortage, so I went with live shrimp and fortunately they were perfect sized mediums, and healthy! Although the bait stealers did cause some issues, not enough to curtail our fish catching! That first stop, within minutes, Paul had a strong bite and his rod bent and his drag ripped and Big Fish On! Paul played him perfectly as it ran from shore out, digging deep and...Mark hooked up with a big one - we had a Double! They both were doing and excellent job playing these big fish and....Paul's came off, dang it! That's twice in the last two trips we've had big Reds just come off and both times the anglers had that pressure on - they must have not been fully hooked. But Mark still had his own and this one cooperated and we eventually netted a nice 26.25" "tournament" Redfish. Paul came back and hooked up and landed a nice hungry Seatrout before we moved on. 

Our next stop was back at Spanish Drop, fishing the very first of an incoming tide and boy did we catch some fish - they put one feisty Redfish in the boat after another. Paul had some good battles with a Jack Crevalle and a Bonnethead Shark while Mark reeled up a Flounder to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Our next stop was up at Seymore's Pointe fishing some dock pilings. Mark hooked and landed a Black Drum to make it a Grande Slam, then Paul had a good hard thump and hooked it up. He played it perfectly and worked in a big 18.25" Seatrout (all fish caught today were released). After they snagged a handful of small Mangrove Snapper, we moved on. 

After running down to Broward Island and fishing one spot for a bit, we moved down a ways and fished a drainage and that did the trick. They caught a couple of feisty Redfish that were feeding on bait at the mouth of the drain, then as we moved down the island Paul had another strong take - we could tell, it was ripping drag and wasn't coming in! But Paul had other plans and he worked it to the boat expertly and soon landed a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish. We fished Pumpkin Hill with float rigs for a bit, but did I mention the wind? It had picked up to 14mph and was kicking us around and after Paul tangled with a couple of Ladyfish we decided to head back, but we had caught some good fish this morning and so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Had Some Drag Ripping Today

 The week is a wrap! We had great weather all week, clear days with a slight breeze which made for some pleasant fishing....up until about 10am! Today I fished with Mark Averbuch who had along his son Jared and grandson Max and we met down at Sawpit Creek. I decided to mix things up a bit so we ran up the intracoastal, all the way up to Poteat Point and went with float rigs and mud minnows on a tide that had been coming in for just a bit. I think Jared knocked the skunk off with a Seatrout catch then Max followed that up with a feisty Redfish catch. We worked the point pretty good, both sides, then moved on. 

Our next stop was over in Jackstaff, fishing another point and here Jared picked up a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper size (all fish caught today were released). Max caught a couple f Catfish that put up a good pull - one was big enough to rip some drag. Oh boy. He also battled a huge Redfish - we saw him boil up a couple of times. Max played him perfectly, from bow to stern and around the engine a couple of times and as I got the net ready..poof, he was gone! He threw the hook, dang it! Boy that hurt. Then it was Marks turn for the drag ripping...he battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net for photograph and release.

We then ran thru Horsehead and down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted the shoreline. That area has been a
little disappointing this week, other than one oversized Red caught on Tuesday, but not much after that. Jared did have a big fish take his bait hard and ripped out of there towards deeper water and we were hoping for another big Redfish but it was a big Jack Crevalle - fun to catch and a good battle. We worked around the corner and caught another couple of big Jacks with Max putting the biggest one in the boat, then Mark had a good thump and patiently played a nice 17" Seatrout to the boat. Boy was it getting hot! I had caught 4 finger mullet that morning and we had one out off the stern on the bottom and before we left we picked up a keeper sized Weakfish to top things off! We had some good action for the most part and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Good Variety For The Birthday Kid

 We helped celebrate Landon's birthday today with a back water fishing trip out of Sawpit Creek. I had met his grandfather Steve Locke and his son Justin and Justin's two boys Elliot and Landon early and we headed up the intracoastal then up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop where we went with jigs and minnows on a tide that had been coming in a couple of hours. I'm not sure if we even got a bite along there. We then moved down to Twin Creeks and switched to float rigs and that did the trick - Justin hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off". Steve was fishing off the stern and tangled with a Ladyfish but it quickly threw the hook - then he hauled in a feisty Catfish and then, we moved on. 

Down at Pumpkin Hill we stayed with the floats and got immediate action. Steve had gotten in the first drift and it paid off - he was up close to the grass and his float disappeared with a vengeance and Big Fish On! Steve kept that bend in his rod and let it run and worked it in and let it run and worked it to the net. I was betting Slot Redfish but I would have lost - it turned out to be a big Jack Crevalle! We worked that area good - Landon got a nice Flounder then he picked up a small Black Tip Shark.

Our next stop was around at Seymore's Pointe and these anglers played cat and mouse with the Mangrove Snapper, catching a few that measured to 8", so still no keeper sized ones. But Elliot, who had persevered to get his fish, finally had a strong hookup, and like yesterday I was thinking, "finally a big Mangrove", but nope, Elliot expertly played to the boat the only Redfish of the day caught!

After running thru Horsehead we made a stop at a "cut" at the mouth of Jackstaff and fished jigs and
floats. Landon added a Flounder to his catch total, then a small Seatrout from out deep, then his dad picked up another Mangrove on the float then wrapped things up with a......Needlefish! What a variety!  As we headed back to the ramp Landon helped with the throttle, Elliot took over the steering and we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Highlight Was The Tripletail

 

....or the hard fighting Jack Crevalle, or the Black Tip Shark, or the flurry of Flounder catches! The bite picked up as the day went along. I had met the Norton family - Robert and Katie and their "kids" Julia and Will - early, down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide still had a couple of hours of coming in so we made a quick stop at Twin Creeks and drifted float rigs with mud minnows with the incoming current. I wasn't expecting much but I thought for sure we'd get a few bites, but it wasn't much to brag about. Julia did tangle with a high flying Ladyfish which she released at the boat and then she battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to the net for photograph and release - all fish caught today were released.

We then made our way down to Pumpkin Hill and I was expecting big things. We did have a stronger west wind blowing than what it has lately - the breeze felt good but our floats didn't cooperate.  We had no real bites on that first stretch. We moved around the point and drifted down that edge and had a little bit of excitement when Greg hooked up with a strong bite. I saw it come out of the water and nailed the ID - a Black Tip Shark - about the 4th we've caught in that general area this week. Greg played it expertly and brought it in to the net for a photograph.  After fishing Broward Island on the last of that incoming tide with jigs and minnows, to no avail, we moved on. 

The tide had started out back at Seymore's Pointe so we headed over there and drifted a large drainage with the floats and had good action sparring with the Mangrove Snapper. The group out smarted a few of them but the biggest was around 8" - we have yet to get a "keeper" sized Mangrove this year. I was about ready to leave when Julia hooked up and when I saw the rod bent I was thinking, "finally, a keeper Mangrove" but when it flashed near the boat we saw that it was a Tripletail! What a treat! I checked my notes and the last time we had one caught on my boat was June 2023. 

Our next stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at the mouth of Jackstaff, tossing jigs to a "cut" int he grass and here we had a good Flounder Catch Flurry. Will led the way, catching three of the four with the biggest measuring 15". He picked up another keeper and a smaller one while Gloria added the fourth with a Flounder catch of her own. The bite had picked up as the tide went out, the breeze had stayed with us most of the morning and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Oversized Red and Plenty of Trout

 I was back to work today when I met Shawn Boggs and his daughters Mattie and Addison and their friend
Carlson down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The weather stayed nice all morning, except that last hour got kinda hot! We ran up the intracoastal, then up the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill where set up with float rigs and mud minnows, drifting them with the current on a high and incoming tide. We did a few drifts and had a couple of small bites then Mattie had a strong one - she caught up to her float and let the circle hook set and Fish On! She played it expertly to the boat and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout for photo and release All fish caught today were released. 

Carlson followed her fish up with a big one! He had gone up to the bank and was drifting within a few feet of the grass and when ti was adjacent to that first island, BAM! That drag was ripping! Carlson kept the pressure on, worked it in, let it run, worked it in, and eventually landed a big Oversized 28.5" Redfish, boy what a fish. We moved around the point and worked that edge and picked up another Trout or two, then moved down to a grassy island where Addison patiently brought the first Flounder to the boat. 

Seymore's Pointe where we fished a large drainage and had a short flurry of Mangrove Snapper caught.
All were short of the 10", but it was nice to see a handful caught.  We ran thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where we stuck with the float rigs on an outgoing tide. These anglers caught a couple of Seatrout with at least one being well above the keeper sized limit. We finished the day back in Jackstaff, fishing with jigs and here we had another keeper sized Flounder caught, and a couple of big (17-18.34") Seatrout caught. All had caught fish, we had some big ones, and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Boys Will Be Boys

We wrapped the week up fishing on a beautiful day! I had met my cousin Jim Garner, his brother in law Chipper and Chipper's kids Carter and Addie down at Sawpit Creek early this morning and after a quick safety orientation, we made our way up the intracoastal, all the way to Poteat Point where we went with float rigs and minnows and live shrimp. Those shrimp were almost worthless. I had thought I'd "mix it up" with some shrimp - I haven't fished with them in weeks, and now I knew why - the baitstealers had a field day. When later, I mentioned it to my wife she said (you dummy), "even I know you shouldn't be using shrimp this time of year". I could see she was thinking the "you dummy". 

Jim "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch and from then on all four anglers were getting bitesand fish. Jim and Addie found a nice Trout hole off the stern but Carter slipped in there a couple of times to get fish. Chipper was going up current from the bow and hooked and landed the only Redfish of the day. Addie put the first keeper Trout in the boat, a nice 17" fish.  We then came back to Jackstaff and fished a sand bar and I was expecting big things - we caught Trout there yesterday, but other than a feisty Black "puppy" Drum that Chipper caught,  we didn't get much else.. After running thru Horsehead and down to Twin Creeks we fished the outflow with jigs and the minnows and shrimp, again, to no avail. As there was a lull in the fish catching, we initiated the GPK Challenge - the biggest fish caught from now on would take home the prize! That thing changed hands five times!

The boys were trying hard to suppress their competitiveness, but Chipper set the standard quickly when he boated a 11.75" Seatrout. The GPK changed hands when Jim put a 12.5" Flounder in the boat, then later down at Broward Island Carter had a big hookup - he played the fish expertly and brought to the net a big 17" Flounder - the fish went into the box and the GPK went smoothly into his pocket! But it wasn't there long! His Uncle Jim was fishing off the stern, deep with a jigs and minnow and when he felt a strong thump and after a good hookset, he had a big Fish On!  Jim worked it in patiently and landed a big Oversized 20" Seatrout, boy what a fish! We were all thinking that that would surely take the prize but we were mistaken!

Our final stop was at Pumpkin Hill. They picked up a couple of smaller Trout then Carter tangled with a
nice Black Tip Shark and had him to the boat before the leader snapped, then it was Chipper's turn to battle a big fish. He worked it in, let it run, worked it closer, let it run, then brought to the net another Black Tip Shark that measured to the fork at 21.5" and the GPK was his! The back story was that while that Shark fight was going on, and the guys were competing for the GPK, the youngest angler - Addie was quietly reeling in another keeper Trout to take home to feed the family! We had caught a bunch of fish during the trip and had a few in the box and so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The "No-Doubters" Went In The Box

 We had a beautiful day to begin with today - a nice breeze and the water was like glass. I had met JeffAdams,his son Bo and his FIL Charlie down at Sawpit Creek early and after making a good run up the Nassau River to the mouth of Back River we set up with float rigs and mud minnows on a tide that had been going out for a few hours - the oysters were showing pretty good.  Jeff was on the bow and set the pace by catching a small but feisty Redfish, a hungry Seatrout, and a high-flying Ladyfish. Charlier was drifting long off the stern and it paid off when he too picked up a couple of Seatrout and then Bo got in on the action After fishing a grass line across the mouth of the river, to no avail, we moved on.

After running thru Horsehead and over to the mouth of Jackstaff we set up on a point where I thought for sure we'd get some Flounder by offering the jigs and minnows, but I thought wrong - not a bite. But we dropped back along the sandy point and fished the outside edges of the bar and this did the trick. Bo hooked up and landed a big Seatrout - a "No Doubter" when it came to measuring - the first fish in the box His grandfather was holding up the stern of the boat and found his own little "honey hole" of Seatrout - he caught a good handful a couple of which were keepers, and one of them was for sure a "No Doubter" - it measured right at 18".  Jeff kept the bow warm and hooked up a couple of Trout, too.

We ran back thru Horsehead and fished down the Nassau, first at Twin Creeks, then at a nice drainage -there was plenty of bait action but we had no real bites. We theorized that the heat was taking its toll on the fish  bite! But our last stop up at Pumpkin Hill paid off. Jeff had the hot hand here - he was fishing out from the shore and drifting a bit longer and landed hungry Trout, then a Ladyfish, then had his hook cut off, then he hooked and expertly played a nice Black Tip Shark to the boat. But boy was it getting hot! We had a mess of fish in the box and had some decent action throughout the morning so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Stayed Busy Catching

 

I wrapped my week up fishing out of Sawpit Creek this morning. I had met Kyle Townsend, his girlfriend Mica, and his sister Olivia early and after making our way up the intracoastal and dipping in to Jackstaff we began to toss jigs and mud minnows to a small oyster lined drainage. We had a few nibbles but no takers so we crossed the creek and fished an exposed point, but again, no takers. The tide was right at dead low and I think that was making for some slow fishing. But as we worked up along an edge Olivia "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Mangrove Snapper. Then it was Mica's turn - she had her rod bend over and after she set the hook, she got a few drag ripping pulls - Mica played it perfectly and soon boated a nice Jack Crevalle. 

We then made the run thru Horsehead and down to Broward Island to catch the first of an incoming
tide. That first area didn't produce so we moved down the way to fish a drainage and this did the trick. Kyle's first cast produced a hungry Seatrout and from then on we were getting bites and fish. All three anglers had their share of catches - small but feisty Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. Kyle stepped into the role of "Flounder Man" - he had a good handful of them, mostly small but then we had a good one to the boat and I missed it with the net and it came off-Ouch! But Kyle was not to be deterred - he went back to the same spot and had a good hookup and this time we netted a good 16" keeper sized Flounder. 

Our next stop was up at Pumpkin Hill, switching to float rigs and the minnows. I was getting a little nervous - I was counting on the spot to pay off but the first few drifts didn't produce. But then Kyle, after going way long with a drift, had a hookup - he brought it patiently to the boat and landed an Oversized 19.75" Seatrout, boy what a fish! They continued to get smaller fish -small Trout, small Reds, and they also tangled with Ladyfish, then after Olivia had drifted by a small "cove" a dozen time, she had the hookup and Fish On! Olivia fought it to the boat, keeping that pressure on and after a few rips of the drag, she brought to the net a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We finished up the day around the corner where they caught more Seatrout, Redfish and Ladyfish. Those last few stops produced good action, we had a couple of nice fish in the box and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.