Dog Tail Distraction

 

We had another beautiful day this morning, clear cool and sunny. I had met Steve Locke and his fishing partner Jason Deig up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. I had planned to head over to Jolley River and fish the last couple of hours of an incoming tide, but there was NW breeze blowing that seemed just a bit stronger than the 8mph that was forecasted. So we headed south and into the Bell River, ran west, and set up along side a flooding oyster patch. Both anglers were tossing float rigs baited with live shrimp. Steve "knocked the skunk" off when he boated a hungry Seatrout, then he followed that up with a  couple of more. After fishing the other side of the mound, we moved on. 

Our next stop was around to the outside of Tiger Island, again fishing the float rigs. The first area produced no real bites so we moved across to "Manatee Cove" and here we got into some more small but hungry Trout.

 Back thru Tiger we went, down the Bell, up the Lanceford and into Soap Creek. The tide was stillcoming in and again, we found small Trout. Some where along there Jason had gotten on the board with some good catches. We fished further down Lanceford and when it appeared the tide had changed we moved further up the creek. There was a family out in the yard with a cute 3 year old girl and as they were watching us fish the young lady tugged on her puppy's tail. We all got a kick out of it but as we were watching Jason realized that his float was gone! He reeled up his slack, set the hook and, Fish On! We knew right off that it was of size because the drag was ripping. Jason had an audience and he didn't disappoint - he worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice 21.5" Slot Redfish.

We backed out of there and fished a grassy island as the tide was easing out. Steve made an excellent cast, let his float drift close and, BOOM! Another big fish on!  Steve played it perfectly and brought to the net another Slot Red, this one measuring right at 22.5".  We fished that island pretty good and picked up a couple of "rat" Reds and battled another big one, but this time it won and broke the hook off!

Our final stop was back at Soap Creek. Another grassy island had been exposed with the outgoing tide. We had just pulled up - I don't think Jason had time to even bait up - when Steve went in with a cast and BAM! Big Fish On!  This fish fight was a battle but Steve was up for it - he'd had some practice earlier - and he soon netted the biggest fish of the day, a 25" Slot Redfish.

Although most of the day was spent catching 14" Seatrout, the last 45 minutes sure made for some great fishing, and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Weird On The Water

It was kinda weird out fishing this morning - the skies stayed overcast the entire day, ominous storm clouds surrounded us while 10mph winds kept a breeze flowing. But my guests - Bob Lalli and his two adult sons Mark and Scott were game to fish so we had met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill with plans to fish the very last few minutes of an incoming tide.  I think the fish were taking a break - we fed the bait stealers one shrimp after another!  But we stayed with it, got a few strong bites, then Mark put a feisty Bonnethead Shark in the boat.

We eased around the corner, fed some more bait stealers (the bait shop was all out of mud minnows today), then it was Scott's turn to tangle with a Bonnethead. Bob put a Seatrout in the boat to officially "knock the skunk off".   We then ran down to Twin Creeks and pt out a minnow trap, then back to Seymore's Pointe and played with some Mangrove Snapper. We caught a few but all were undersized and again, we were blowing thru our bait, so we moved on. We fished Athens Drop and picked up another Trout or two, and a couple of feisty Redfish then we stopped in to pick up our minnow trap. There were only two minnows in the trap but I was able to cast net a good handful of perfect size finger Mullet.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. These anglers were making excellent casts and it wasn't long before it paid off. Scott had baited with one of the finger mullet and had put it up near the pilings. When he hooked up and the drag began to sing we new it was a big fish. Scott put some pressure on, got the fish out away from the pilings then patiently played it to the net. I had to measure it a couple of times to make sure it squeezed in under the Slot limit of 27" - boy what a fish!

We had a few more bites, picked up a couple of Mangroves, another feisty Red, and a nice Seatrout before we called it a day. The skies were still cloudy but we had only had a few rain drops so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Reds In The Amelia Island Back Waters

This young couple of anglers really got in to some fish today fishing the back waters of Amelia Island, Florida. I had met Dewey and Jenifer Lee out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early this morning and we made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill to fish some grass islands just as the tide started out. Jenifer got things going by catching a hungry Seatrout up near the grass with a float rig and live shrimp. We picked up a couple of more fish, battled with a Bonnethead Shark, then eased around the corner, back in the Nassau.

 The tide was just easing out and with these two anglers making excellent casts, it wasn't long before we caught fish. Dewey put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat then as we were just about to pick up and leave, he had a strong hookup and, Fish On! The fish was big and ripping drag and immediately took Dewey from the stern of the boat to the bow then it went deep. But Dewey kept the pressure on, worked it patiently, then brought to the net a nice 24" Slot Redfish. We briefly fished Broward Island and Jenifer caught a feisty Redfish there.

 We then ran down the Nassau to Spanish Drop and fished a large double run out. The wind was picking up but we still had some good bites. Jenifer found her own personal fishing hole off the stern and put one Seatrout in the boat after another. She also caught a small Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Flounder. But she wasn't done yet!

After fishing Twin Creek briefly we moved on. Our next and final stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and boy was it a good one! The duo put a handful of Mangrove Snapper in the boat, one of which was keeper size, then Jenifer battled a BIG fish that got up in the pilings and broke off. Dewey followed that up with a "Tournament Redfish" catch, one that measured at 26 7/8". He added a keeper sized Black Drum for his Slam, then Jenifer put a Black Drum in the boat for her "Grande Slam", and then she hooked up and expertly played another Slot Redfish to the boat. Before we knew it we had a "mess" of fish and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Early Fish Bite Frenzy

I was back at this morning, fishing with Frank Wytiaz and his wife Joanne after I had met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a quick run up the Nassau River and stopped at a large marsh run out. The bait was getting "popped" all along the bank so we set up to fish with float rigs and live shrimp.  It only took minutes and we were catching fish. Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Seatrout, small but feisty Redfish, Pinfish, Catfish -it was a smorgasbord.  Frank was fishing out of the stern and had drifted his float long when something big hit it. He worked it to the boat and landed big Seatrout that was just a tad bit under 20". Later, Joanne had made an excellent cast to the bank, hooked up and when her drag began to sing we knew it was a big fish. Joanne played it patiently, worked it to the boat, let it run, ripping drag, worked it to the boat, and landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish.  I had looked at my watch and we had been fishing this one spot for well over an hour, and catching fish!

We did move up the way, switched to jigs and shrimp

and picked up one more feisty Redfish. We then fished some dock pilings and caught Black "puppy" Drum, another small Redfish, a Croaker, and Joanne added to the variety with a couple of Mangrove Snapper catches. We eased around the corner, switched back to float rigs, and fished some rocks but only found one small Mangrove.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island. Fishing with jigs we added to the catch one more Redfish. The sun was getting up and getting hot so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

ReShuffle Bragging Rights With a Bang

We did a 2nd trip today with the Maron crew, this time Mike had his oldest daughter Haley, her friend Josh, and Mike's son Troy with him. We met again down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, but mixed it up just a bit. Our first stop was over at the Long Pointe docks, fishing jigs and mud minnows. Both Troy and Josh got on the board early - Josh with a feisty Redfish and Troy with a Jack Crevalle, and he had a keeper sized Flounder right to the boat.

After running up the Nassau River we fished a large marsh run out and here Troy started off hot, fishing the stern of the boat. He hooked up and landed another Jack, a Seatrout, and a Stingray. Haely got in on the action with a Ladyfish catch. They also had another feisty Redfish or two, and a couple of Trout. Mike had yet to put a fish in the boat, but I could tell he was just laying back. Drafting.

I didn't realize it but I had pumped my live well so full and the protective screen over the overflow was missing and....half our minnows swam down the tube to freedom!  We were almost out of bait half way thru the trip. But I knew where there was a pool backed up on the back side of a shell bank (Twin Creeks) so we beached the boat, climbed to the shell bank, and netted a good amount of finger mullet and some that were 8" in length.

Our next stop was on up the river with plans to fish some dock pilings. Most of the Team were fishing live finger mullet. But I had also "fileted" the larger mullet and I had found out a year ago that the carcass of the mullet made a good bait - just the head, skeleton, guts, and tail. Mike was using the carcass, pitched to the pilings on a jig and, BAM! Big Fish On! Mike worked it patiently to the boat and landed a massive 25.25" Seatrout, a big enough fish to move him squarely into first place in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). 

Then Josh put a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout in the Boat, Haley added another one, then another. Josh caught  a couple of Mangrove Snapper then BOOM! Haley had a big bite. This fish was ripping drag and headed right for the pilings. Here line "locked" down, but Haley kept her composure, held the pressure, and gently worked it out of the pilings. She then expertly worked it to the boat and landed a fast 28" Oversized Redfish!  Only a few minutes later Mike had another big hookup - this one was ripping some drag too and I thought for sure it was a nice Slot Red. But as he worked it to the boat we saw that it was another massive Seatrout. When landed, it measured right at 25". Boy what a fish!

We fished Seymore's Pointe briefly with float rigs where Haley put a 12" Mangrove Snapper in the boat, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Getting Out On The Water to Remember Our Friend Raymond Keen

It was sad news to get that our friend and fishing buddy Raymond Keen passed away suddenly Saturday evening. He and I were "tied at the hip" thru out high school and many of us knew him from school and playing on the Fernandina Beach HIgh School Pirate football team together. A few years ago Tony French, Raymond, Daniel Rhodes and myself decided to re-unite on the "field" of fishing so we set up a back water trip here at Amelia Island. We had an outstanding time, caught many fish and planned to repeat the trip annually. We fished two more times together (Daniel missed last year due to a bad oyster he ate) but unfortunately, we had our last fishing time together with Raymond. Since his passing I've given a lot of thought to what drew me to Raymond as a friend. I think I recognized way back that Raymond had a "good heart" - he meant well, wanted to do the right thing, and didn't have any meaness within him. He was a good guy.


Tony came in from middle Georgia last night for the service this afternoon. We put out an invite out to Daniel but he had to work with such short notice. So Tony and I went fishing, partly to honor Raymond with one more fishing trip, and partly to get out and enjoy a day of fun fishing for ourselves! We launched out at Goffinsville early and made the short run over to Broward Island. The tide was still going out, but was due to stop at anytime. I found out early that Tony's "strategy" was to catch fish quick and keep me busy netting fish and keep my bait out of the water! He landed a couple of feisty Redfish, a keeper sized Flounder, and a Jack before I could even wet a hook! Finally I hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. From then on we were catching fish -Raymond really would have enjoyed it! More small Reds and keeper sized Flounder. I went in between two logs and hooked up and landed a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish. We worked down the bank for hour or so, then moved on north.

 Now knowing Tony's strategy, I had a jig baited and ready to go, and tossed it to the bank, let it drop, and, BOOM! Big Fish On! It was a good battle but we won it and landed an oversized 28.5" Redfish.

Our next stop was back down the Nassau River where we fished the flooding grass with float rigs. We added to the catch a couple more of keeper sized Flounder. We hit Seymore's Pointe to try for Mangrove Snapper, then made one final run down to Pumkin Hill.

I picked up a small Jack Crevalle then Tony, drifting his float up close to the grass, hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. It had been hot the last hour and we were really feeling it but Tony gave it one more drift, this time baited with a mud minnows, and BOOM! Big Fish On! The drag was ripping and the fish was digging deep then it came up and boiled and we new it was a big Redfish. Tony played it perfectly, fought it valiantly, and soon landed another Big Oversized 30" Redfish, boy what a fish! And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, and a good time to remember our friend Raymond Keen.

Positive Energy Down The Line

We had another beautiful day today when I met Russell Beard and his two sons Russell and William up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park.  The sun was out, we only had a slight breeze and there weren't but a handful of boat trailers in the parking lot. We made the short run up to the Jolley River and set up fishing the bank with float rigs and live shrimp. I could tell that I was going to have an easy day when I saw that these three guys were anglers and could make the casts.  But the fish weren't cooperating, other than a flounder that William got right up to the boat.

But after running further up the Jolley, just past Snook Creek, things picked up. The trio landed Jack Crevalle, Seatrout, Mangrove Snapper and then William hooked up, battled, played perfectly, and landed a nice Bonnethead Shark. Russell The Younger hooked up and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. No Cap.   We then came back towards the mouth of the Jolley, fished it briefly, then continued on.

Our next stop was on the outside of Tiger where Russell Sr. Battled a huge

Bonnethead (for our light tackle). Russell was zeroing in on the fish and credited the "positive energy" he was sending down the line! Moving further closer to the mouth of Tiger, we fished some flooded oysters, then both Russell Sr. and I saw a Flounder bust some bait, coming out of the water. Russell made an excellent cast with a mud minnow as bait, waited a bit, then saw his float begin to move off. Russell tightened the line, set the hook, and Fish On!  Russell worked it to the boat and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

The final stop was around in Bell River. Although the action wasn't much, Russell The Younger did put one Mangrove Snapper in the boat to claim the GPK.  It was a beautiful day and a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Overcast Made It Nice

I fished this morning with Jean Ann (Sofi) Sofinowski and her fishing buddy Carolyn, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. We had just a slight breeze and overcast skies which made for some very pleasant fishing. The tide had been going out for a couple of hours so we ran up to the Jolley River and fished the "bank", working float rigs down the bank with live shrimp as the oysters were just beginning to show.  I think the first "demo" cast we had a bite, a hookup, and a Sofi reeled in a feisty Redfish! That's the way to start a trip!

We slowly worked along that bank and both anglers landed  a handful of small but fun to catch Redfish. The Sofi, working off the stern of the boat and we could tell this was a bigger fish - it stayed up close to shore for a bit, and then rolled. But Sofi kept the pressure on, worked it out from the oysters, played it perfectly, and landed a nice 21.5" Slot sized

Redfish. We picked up a few more fish, one of which was a hungry Seatrout with a spot that had no pigment!

Our next stop was on up the Jolley where we switched to jigs and picked up a couple of more fish. The MOA produced nothing so we continued on around to the Bell River and fished some docks. We did get some bites there, but not takers. We were running out of time and wanted to fish the Tiger Logs so we made the run. Carolyn put a Mangrove Snapper in the boat, we landed another Trout, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Adding Them Up

We didn't catch anything real big today, but if you added the variety of fish caught, it was almost like a marine biology class!  Flounder, Redfish, Seatrout, Jack Crevalle, Mangrove Snapper, Croaker, Stingray, Catfish...I may have missed one!  Laura and Lane Outler and their son Landon fished with me this morning and after running over to Tiger Island we set up and pitched jigs and live shrimp to the downed logs on the last of an outgoing tide. Laura got things started off early and pulled into a commanding lead on the "fish count" - she caught a keeper sized Flounder and a feisty Redfish.

Then Lane took over and caught a Jack Crevalle and a Croaker. Then all three began to catch fish - Mangrove Snapper, feisty Redfish, more Flounder, another which was of keeper size.  We fished the island thoroughly then ran up to the Jolley and fished the "bank" as the tide was coming in. Lane put a healthy Seatrout in the boat, we caught  a few Croaker that were keepable, then we continued on up the
river.

Our final stop was fishing some cut-bait and that paid off with another Croaker or two, a Stingray caught by Laura, and a Catfish caught by Landon.  The clouds had blocked the sun most of the trip, we had a slight breeze and it made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Chasing the Prize

Back to "work" today, fishing out of Dee Dee Bartels Park where I met Mark and Jen Woodard and their daughter Lilli early this morning. We had a dead low tide so we scooted across the river and dipped into Tiger and fished the logs with jigs and live shrimp. Lilli's casting had improved since last month and she was really getting her bait up to the right spots. But it was her mom Jen who "knocked the skunk off" when she put a hungry Flounder in the boat, then added to that with a small Black "puppy" Drum.

 We fished up and down the bank and the three anglers caught more Drum, some small but feisty Redfish, a couple of Croaker, and a couple of more Flounder, one of which was of keeper size. Then Jen made it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when she hooked up and landed a keeper sized
Sheepshead.

Our next stop was up at the Jolley where we ran way up the River and stayed with the jigs. We picked up another Redfish and a Whiting before we moved on to Snook Creek where we finally were skunked.

Coming back to the outside of Tiger, we fished some now flooded oysters to no avail, then buzzed thru Tiger and over to Bell where we setup for the final challenge. Lilli was vying for another GPK but it was dad who put the bigger fish-a Seatarout-  in the boat to take home the prize and bragging rights for another year. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Mangroves Save The Day

If fished with Suzanna Braun, her friend Garland and her son Michael yesterday morning, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had  low tide up at Seymore's Pointe at 7:30am so I made that our first stop to fish float rigs with live shrimp and mud minnows up near the rocks and the decision paid off with a good handful of Mangrove Snapper catches. All three anglers put fish in the boat but it was Garland who had the biggest of the year, one that measured right at 14".

I know that these fish don't compare to a Slot sized Redfish, but their a challenge to catch on a 3/0 circle hook and when you do get one over "keeper" size of 10", they put up a pretty good fight. You can keep 5 a piece (which we rarely do) and can get some palm sized filet's off of each to make for a good dinner.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island where we pitched to the logs on an incoming tide with jigs and shrimp and minnows.  We
picked up a couple of feisty Redfish and Michael hooked up with a hungry Seatrout.  After easing up to Pumpkin Hill we switched back to floats and tangled with a high flying Ladyfish. Although the morning started with some good action on the Mangroves, the latter part of the trip was a struggle to find some fish. But we had a good breeze blowing and were treated to flocks of birds taking off from the marsh as we passed by so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish'n For Keepers

We had another absolutely beautiful morning today when I met Kip McNeil, his dad Stephan, and their buddy mark up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. The sun was out, we had a slight breeze, and a high and incoming tide. We made a quick run over to the Jolley River and set up to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp. Right off, Stephan hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish up near the bank then Mark followed that up with a large Bluefish catch. We worked along the bank and caught a couple of small Seatrout.

After moving further up the river with the tide we stopped and fish a small cove  and Stephan tangles with a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark which he landed expertly. We moved on up the river to Snook Creek and here Mark got in on the Shark action when he too hooked up landed a Bonnethead. As we eased along the bank we had bites here and there, caught a couple, then when Kip spotted a Redfish tailing up near the grass he made a pin point cast, waited patiently for the float to disappear and, BOOM! Fish on!  This fish boiled so we knew it was a Redfish then it went from bow to stern and out to deeper water. But Kip was up to the challenge and worked it to the boat to land a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish.

We came back to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded oysters, caught a few Trout, then came back up to Tiger and landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then a whole lot of Trout. Our last stop was back towards Jolley, fishing a marsh run out and here, after Mark had put a winning Stingray in the boat, Stephan found a few more Trout, one of which was of keeper size.  We had a caught a whole bunch of fish and had a few keepers so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Not a Breeze

I fished with Doug Mackle, his granddaughter Montana, and her friend Thomas this  morning, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early with plans to fish the very last of an incoming tide, then the outgoing. We made a quick run over to the outside of Tiger and set up to fish the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp, and minnows. We had pretty good action with Thomas "knocking the skunk" off the boat early with a hungry Seatrout catch.  The trio of anglers caught a good handful of Trout, a nice Jack Crevalle that Montana put in the boat, and a Mangrove Snapper.

We then ran around to Bell River and set up alongside a point as the tide began peak and picked up one more Trout. After running up Lanceford we fished a grassy island to no avail, then dropped back and fished some dock pilings. Thomas landed another Seatrout and a Mangrove Snapper then Doug had the strongest hook up for the day. He played it perfectly but the fish had some smarts and found something to wrap
around on the bottom and, BAP! Fish Off. Ouch.

It was an absolutely beautiful day but there wasn't a lick of breeze out there today!

Our next stop was around in Soap Creek, fishing a large marsh runout where we had no luck. We fished along some oyster bars that were beginning to show, had some good bites, but nothing to show for it. After one final stop outside Tiger where we picked up one more Trout, we called it a day, another great on to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

A Pair of Catfish Bookend Variety at Amelia Island Fishing

I fished with the Mitchell family today, Ryan and Christina and their kids Lucy and Ryan IV, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early with plans to fish the last of an incoming tide in the marshes of Amelia Island. We made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill and set up alongside a flooding marsh line to drift float rigs and live shrimp along the edge.  Lucy "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Catfish!  This angling family then put a couple of high flying Ladyfish in the boat, then a Croaker, then young Ryan reeled in a nice keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught
today were released).

 Then, after Ryan Sr had made an excellent cast to get a drift across a flooded oyster flat when, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Ryan kept the pressure on as the fish ripped across the flat for deeper water then handed the rod off to Christina and Ryan IV. They battled it up close to the boat then handed it off to Lucy to finish it off. Lucy worked it patiently to the boat and landed a big 4' Bonnethead Shark!  It was true teamwork and it paid off with a nice fish, some pictures and release.

After a brief break back at Goffinsville, we moved on down to Seymore's Pointe and tossed the float rigs to some rocks and sure enough, the Mangrove Snapper were In House. All four anglers caught and released the sneaky Mangroves, all of which were released. We then fished down at Spanish Drop where Ryan and Lucy battled a Jack Crevalle to the net, then Ryan IV finished it off with a Catfish catch by trolling a minnow out the back. We had a good variety of fish caught which made for a great day of fishing with kids here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Oversized Red Starts The Day

I fished this morning with Paul Clark and his longtime friend Dean, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a long run thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up near some flooded oyster beds on the last of an incoming tide. Both anglers were tossing live shrimp under floats and were getting "nibbles" hear and there, but no takers. I had just switched Paul to a mud minnow when his float disappeared and, BOOM! Float Gone and Fish On!  Paul played it perfectly, worked it out between some crab pot floats and got it into deeper water then the battle ensued.  The big fish went deep a few times, and I was calling "Shark" but when it rolled up behind the boat I was changing my tune!  Paul worked it to the boat patiently and soon landed a 29.75" oversized Redfish - boy what a fish!

We fished around the corner briefly then made the run back to Seymore's Pointe where we set up and caught a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, a few of which were legal.  We then moved down to Spanish Drop and picked up a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper sized. I tried the new Athens Drop spot but I guess the guess Tuesday fished it out!  But we had had some action early in the morning, it was a beautiful day, so we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Athens Drop

We nailed down a new spot today, Athens Drop, named after my guest anglers who are visiting from Athens, Georgia. I had met Jeremy Hobbs, his son Judah, and their friend Steven down at the Sawpit creek boat ramp and after making a short run up the Nassau River we stopped to fish Spanish Drop with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows.  Judah kicked it off with a couple of feisty Redfish catches, a Seatrout catch, and a small Flounder catch. Then both Steven and Jeremy got in on the action, catching a few feisty Reds for themselves. We worked that bank thoroughly, caught a few more Reds, trout and
another small Flounder. Judah had a strong hookup, fought it to the boat patiently, and landed a nice Slot Redfish.

After moving up a bit we fished Twin Creeks where there was tons of bait getting "popped" then continued moving west and eased up along side a large shell bank that dropped off deep to 15' of water, the new "Athens Drop". Boom! Fish On!  a nice Slot Red was brought to the boat. Boom! Fish On!  Another Slot Red. Boom! Another Slot Red, Boom, Another Slot Red - we limited out on the Slot Redfish!  Jeremy decided to try a Gulp fluke and after he had bounced it off an oyster bed he had a strong hookup and brought to the boat a nice 18" Flounder.

We fished Seymore's Pointe and caught a good handful of small Mangrove Snapper, then finished up over in Jackstaff before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Start Early

Fishing with the Scott family this morning, Justin and Julie and their sons Porter and Noah, aftermeeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had run up the Nassau River and made a quick stop at Spanish Drop to begin pitching live shrimp on jigs to the oysters that were beginning to show on an outgoing tide. It didn't take long before they were hooking up with feisty Redfish. Noah got it started with a catch then Porter, then Justin. We had a handful of those before Porter, on the bow, had a stronger hookup and, Fish ON!  Porter played it perfectly and fought it from the starboard side to the port, wore it out, and landed a nice 21" Slot sized
Redfish.  Julie took over the video duties while I netted the fish!  The fishing was so good we fished a bit of that stretch again and Justin added a keeper sized Flounder to the catch and then Porter put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  Justin landed another keeper Flounder to top the box off.

We ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some docks, landed a small Mangrove Snapper then ran down to Pumpkin Hill and fished oysters. We fished the logs at Broward Island, the rocks back at Seymore's Pointe and the shell in Jackstaff but all we could do was feed the nibblers. It had been a good start for the day, we had some wonderful weather, so we still counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.