Recipe of the Month: Belly Meat Chowder

 My friend and  fishing buddy Daniel Rhodes chastised me one day while I was cleaning fish. Normally I filet them, then cut the rib and belly meat out and toss it to the Seagulls. "Piper, don't be throwing away that belly meat". I've got to admit there is a lot of meat in that portion so now when I'm cleaning fish for customers I'll sometimes save it if they don't want it. I bring it home and either cook it that night or freeze it noted as "Belly Meat". It makes great Fish Chowder. I  threw this together as a recipe:

4-8 pieces of "Belly/Rib" meat. I prefer Redfish because the bones are bigger, but in this batch I used                                                             about 8 pieces of  Redfish and Seatrout

24oz bag of Honey Gold (small) potatoes, chopped

2  small stalks of celery, chopped

1/2 of a small onion, chopped

2 handfuls of frozen corn

1  link of Sausage (I used Nettles Old Grandad Hot), chopped

1-2 T bacon grease

2 T butter

1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 C milk

1 tsp  Konricko seasoning, 

In a skillet, heat the bacon grease and cook the sausage for a bit, then add the celery, onions and corn. Cook until the sausage is browned, the onions begin to go translucent, and the celery begins to soften. Turn off heat.

Fill a large pot half full with water. As  you bring it to boil, drop the Redfish/Trout belly meat in and it will cook fairly quickly. When it turns white, take it out and let it cool, then add the potatoes and begin to boil them. While the potatoes are cooking, open a beer, and de-bone the fish!  As mentioned, Redfish have bigger rib bones and are easier to feel. Cook the potatoes until you can stick a fork thru them. Turn the heat off, drain most of the water, leaving about a cup. 

Add the sausage/onion/celery/corn mixture.

Add the butter, Heavy Whipping Cream, Milk, and Seasoning (may need to add more to taste).

Stir, turn heat back on and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn back down to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

Recipe of the Month: Seafood Dip

 

Seafood Dip

8oz    can crab meat

1.5lb  medium peeled, deveined local shrimp

          Konricko seasoning

1/8   Cup chopped green onion

¼      Cup chopped celery

12oz  (1.5package) cream cheese

8oz  container sour cream

1 tsp  Franks hot sauce

1 tsp  Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp  lemon juice

Peel and devein shrimp.  Toss in Konricko seasoning and brown in skillet.

Chop up shrimp into small nuggets. Chop celery and green onion. Mix all ingredients in bowl.

Taste and add Konricko, hot sauce, or Worcestershire as needed.

Let chill in refrigerator. Serve with crackers.

Trout Game

 

What beautiful weather we're having here at Amelia Island this week, and today was no different with clear skies, sunshine, and flat water! I met fishing buddies Tom Gaslin and Steve Foss out at Goffinsville Park early and we made a short run over to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill and set up along a stretch of flooding marsh grass with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp to the bank and drift them long with the current, and we did just that, and it paid off. Both anglers found that there was a "honey hole" back there and they caught hungry Seatrout, one after the other. We moved down the bank a bit and Steve again went long and again found Seatrout. When you're drifting long sometimes you build up a bunch of slack and it becomes a game when that float disappears- you have to slap the bail shut, crank like crazy to catch up and then lift the rod to have the circle hook set. You win some you lose some.

We move around the corner and again found Seatrout up by a grass patch. Our next stop was at a large marsh drainage back at Seymore's Pointe. The duo found that they could toss their float up beyond a grassy pointe, let it drift around the corner and, BAM. Trout bite. We jumped around the dock and fished the grass line and here Tom got hot and picked up another handful of Trout, one of which was of keeper size. 

Our next stop was down the Nassau, again fishing a marsh drainage with jigs and shrimp, but we only picked up one small Seatrout. Moving further down to Spanish Drop, we worked some submerged shell banks, drifting with the current. We were almost ready to make another move when Steve had a strong bite, one that ripped his drag. He played it perfectly and landed a nice feisty Redfish. He picked up two more of those Reds and one of them made it into the Slot. 

Our final stop was back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. We fished the pilings with the jigs and shrimp, had some nibbles, but not takers. We then worked along the docks, tossing jigs and picked up another Trout or two, then aa nice  18" Black "puppy" Drum. It had been a gorgeous day, we had some good fish catching action, so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Feeling the Chill

After a stormy night we woke up to a chill in the air. Someone told me that yesterday was the first day of Fall and today you could feel it. When I got to the boat ramp early this morning the wind was whipping a bit and luckily I listened to my inner brain "grab your fleece"! I was to meet Greg and Robyn Padgett up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and when they walked up we were ready to go. I had planned on running up to the Jolley River but hat 11mph west wind changed my mind so we headed south and over to Lanceford Creek to set up at a dock and fish jigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours.

The duo of anglers had nibbles, one after the other, but we only picked up a few bait stealers and a small Sheepshead. We then moved around the corner to Bolton's Bluff and here Robyn quickly picked up a keeper sized Seatrout on a float rig and live shrimp. (All fish caught today were released). But here was only one so we moved up and fished a small grassy island and here the action picked up. They caught a handful of Seatrout, a couple of
high flying Ladyfish and then Robyn hooked up and expertly reeled in a feisty Redfish. 

We then moved back up the creek, dipped in to Soap Creek and fished a stretch of grass, to no avail. After a brief run back to Bell River we laid parallel  to some more marsh and again, we found some Trout. The tide was almost at it's peak so we buzzed thru Tyger and around to the outside and just as we settled in we we felt the tide change. Bait was streaming by and was getting busted so we drifted out baits right along with it. Greg and Robyn caught Seatrout, a handful of Blues, Ladyfish, and a feisty Black "puppy" Drum.

The sun had come out, the skies had cleared and I was able to take the fleece off! As we headed in we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

It Just Got Better

 

We head a really nice day this morning- there was just a slight breeze and we had a cloud cover for the whole day. The rain showers stayed off to the north of us and it made for a very pleasant day of fishing. I had met Paul Genn and his fishing buddy Jim out at the Goffinsville Park as the sun was coming up and we made the short trip over to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill to fish the first of an outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. 

We eased along the bank, tossing forward and picked up a couple of small but hungry Seatrout and a nice feisty Redfish. We also did battle with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Our  next stop was back at the Spanish Drop area, fishing the mouth of Twin Creeks. It only took a cast or two and BAM! Jim had a hookup. This fish was digging deep, came under the boat, and headed down the river and I felt sure it was a Shark. Wrong. Luckily, Jim played it patiently, worked it up to the surface and to the boat and landed a big Oversized 30" Redfish! Boy what a fish. We did then catch a
couple of Bonnethead Sharks.

After easing down the river and fishing another marsh runout, to no avail, we moved further down and fished another. This did the trick. The tide was down a bit and we were able to fish jigs and shrimp and mud minnows. The Duo picked up a handful of small but feisty Redfish then Jim put a nice 23" Slot Red in the boat.  We also had a couple of Catfish and a small Jack. 

Our last stop was over at some docks at Nassauville with plans to finish the day out catching Mangrove Snapper. Although we did pick up a handful of keeper sized Mangroves, the highlight was Jim's 17" Black "puippy" Drum and then the third big Flounder of the week, one that measured right at 23.25". What a way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

In Search Of Flounder

 

Yesterday we were just trying to catch a fish and ended up catching two nice Flounder. Today we had a special request to catch a Flounder and it was nip and tuck there for a while! I had met the Mitchell family - Ryan and Christina and their two children Lucy and Ryan IV out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp with a tide that still had about an hour or so of going out. We headed down to the Spanish Drop area and set up at a large outflow and began tossing jigs and shrimp.  It wasn't long before these anglers were catching fish. (Most of the time the adults did the casting and catching but then handed them off to the First and Second Mate to do the reeling in). We had a string of "junk" fish, but fun to catch - Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle.

When the tide changed we moved down the bank a bit and began fishing
some exposed oyster shell and sure enough, we had some good bites. Both Ryan and Christina reeled in a couple of feisty Redfish. Ryan picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then they landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum to tally an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Drum.

We followed the tide in and ran around to Broward Island, fishing deeper with the jigs, and picked up some rather large Mangrove Snapper then a couple of more small Red's. Then Ryan had a "bump", hooked it up, and worked to the boat. Sheepshead to notch the "Grande Slam". After moving down the island we fished a small bend and here, after a long wait, Christina got her Flounder - a Super Grand Slam!

We finished the day back at Nassauville catching Mangrove Snapper and got enough for the family to take home and make some Snapper Taco's, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Kids Time To Shine

 

I wrapped the week up today fishing with two guys and their excited kids. I met Charlie Moye, his son Gray and his buddy Bo and Bo's daughter Blakely down at the  south end boat ramp early. It was a beautiful morning and a great time to get some kids out on the water fishing. We made run up thru Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill and set up along a flooded marsh line and started drifting floats and live shrimp with the current. We had a couple of quick "pecks" that stole our baits then their was a loud ripping noise and Charlie had a big one on! He was getting quite a lot of encouragement and coaching from both Gray and Blakely and he was up tot he task! I saw that his reel was getting thin so we "backed down" on the hard fighting fish as Charlie caught up to it then the battle was on. Charlie worked it patiently to the boat, let it run when it wanted to, worked it back, and eventually landed a nice 4' Bonnethead Shark. Boy what a fish!

We came back to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large drainage, had a couple of bites, but no takers, then moved around to some rocks and set up to fish close with the float rigs. There was an explosion of excitement from the kids when the  dads began catching Mangrove Snapper. They put a good handful in the box and swopped off letting the kids catch and reel in some of their own. I was real impressed how they worked the kids in to the fishing experience. Both Blakely and Gray took turns netting fish, catching fish, supplying bait and "coaching" up their dads.

After getting a good dinner's worth of fish, we moved down the way and switched to jigs for the first time of the day and caught another good handful of the Mangroves.  Our last stop was down at Spanish Drop n hopes of bigger fish but all we hooked up was a couple of high flying Ladyfish and a  hard fighting Jack Crevalle. But it had  been an eventful day and we had some good action for the kids so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe of the Month: Crab Imperial

 By Julie Rothman with the Baltimore Sun: "A classic Maryland-style crab imperial should have very few ingredients and requires minimum seasoning. It is the crab meat that is the focus of the dish.  When working with crab meat, take care not to pull apart the lumps of meat and always use a fork when combining your ingredients. Never break apart or mash the crabmeat." 

Robert Shoffner writes:  "the accepted wisdom of the region(Maryland) : Crab cakes were to crab imperial what meatloaf was to prime rib. Considering crab imperial a superior dish to crab cakes reflects an understanding that the sweetness of jumbo lump crab is best appreciated in the simplest preparations. "

When my mother-in-law, Jean Hanna passed away, my wife found in her cupboards a set of milk white Glass Bake crab dishes, made by McKee Glass Company. They came in the white, clear, and red. Here's an article about the crab dishes and there is also a Deviled Crab recipe! Maybe we'll make that another month!  We stored them away for years but decided to break them out to re-create the classic Crab Imperial!  I "googled" Imperial Crab and picked the Phillips Company recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb Jumbo Lump Crab Meat

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 egg

1 tsp Seafood Seasoning

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 oz Hellmann's mayonnaise (I read somewhere that Hellmann's is good for baking)

1 tsp melted butter

Combine all Crab Imperial ingredients (EXCEPT THE CRAB MEAT) in a medium mixing bowl and whip until smooth.

In a seperate mixing bowl, add the crab meat and pour Imperial mixture over crab meat.

Blend all ingredients together by tossing very gently in order to avoid breaking delicate crab lump meat.

This recipe filled eight (8) of the Glass Bake crab dishes perfectly! Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.

Imperial Topping:

3 oz Hellman's mayonnaise

1 oz half and half

1/2 tsp seafood seasoning

1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Pinch of paparika

1/4 cup shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese

Combine all the topping ingredients (EXCEPT THE PAPRIKA AND SHREDDED CHEESE) in a medium mixing bowl and whip until smooth.

After the Imperials are finished baking, remove from oven and switch oven to broil.

Top each dish of crab with the imperial topping. Sprinkly some paprika on each, then add some of the shredded cheese. 

Place in broiler to finish off until cheese has melted and Imperials start to brown. DON'T  WALK AWAY FROM IT! KEEP AN EYE ON IT!

Serve with toasted baguettes or crackers.

 

Camp'n Out

 

It was a hot one today - the temperatures and the fishing! I had met Bob Hagerman and his sons Bob and Brandon down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. All morning long, from sunrise to the bait shop to the boat ramp I was debating on whether to run up the intercoastal and fish Jackstaff or give the Nassau River and Spanish Drop one more try (yesterday we caught squat there). But I like that stretch of deep water coming up to shell beds so we picked Spanish Drop and made the short run, pulling up as the outgoing tide began to hit bottom.  The trio of anglers began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the exposed oysters and it wasn't long before all were catching fish.

I don't normally stay at a spot more than 30 minutes, and most of the time it's less than that. When we were all done we had been there for an hour and a half!  Brandon knocked the skunk off with a nice Seatrout catch, then Bob put a Flounder in the boat.  Brandon followed that up with a nice Jack Cravelle. Bob Jr was laying back.  Then Bob Sr hooked up and when his drag began to rip we knew it was a nice fish. He played it to the boat and brought to the net a nice Slot sized 18.5" Redfish and as we were netting it Bob Jr hooked up and battled to the net another Slot Red, this one measuring in at 21".

The trio caught about everything you could think of - Reds, Trout, Flounder, Brandon added a tough-to-catch Sheepshead, Stingray, bait stealers, Catfish - we  camped out and worked up and down the bank a couple of times catching fish. When it finally slowed we made a short run up the river and worked another bank. This one only produced a Catfish.

The tide was up and beginning to flood the oysters so we ran down to fish Pumpkin Hill. We switched to float rigs and drifted long. The tide wasn't up as high as it was yesterday when we were at this spot, but it still payed off.  Brandon had a good drift going and when his float disappeared he slapped the bail shut, "caught up to it" and hooked up with a keeper sized Seatrout. Bob Jr. came in right behind him, drifting long, and had another good hookup. He reeled in another nice keeper sized Seatrout. We fished down another grass line, had a bite or two, picked up one Trout, then came back to the original side.

With only minutes to go and the "GPK" on the line, Brandon hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish and was minutes away from the win when......Bob Jr's float.....drifting thru a small bay....disappeared....and after Bob cranked it tight.....BAM! Big Fish On!  Boy what a battle. You could feel the tension in the air! But Bob was up to the task, played it patiently, worked it to the boat, let it run, worked it back, let it run, then brought to the net a big Oversized 28.25" Redfish! Boy what a fish! And with that, we called it a day, another great one fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

After The Storm

 I was warned at the bait shop this morning that the rivers were muddy after the storm that passed thru the last couple of days but we had some nice weather today so Drew Tignanelli and I got out for some back country fishing here at Amelia Island. We met up at Dee Dee Bartels and boy was it a packed house with all the Red Snapper anglers getting out for the "mini season". Drew and I made the run around to Bell River and set up on a point of flooding oysters and began to drift float rigs and mud minnows. Drew got a couple of encouraging bites, but not takes, but when his float passed a marshy point and his float disappeared, Drew tightened up, let the circle hook set and, "skunk off the boat" with a nice Seatrout catch.

We moved over to Lanceford Creek and fished a marsh runout (the tide was still coming in) with the float rig. Drew worked the area thoroughly and just as we were about to leave he placed his bait right up against the marsh grass and, BAM! Seatrout caught and to the net. 

I was watching the clock and tide and when it hit high we made the run back thru Tyger and around to the outside of the island and set up just as the tide started out. In short order Drew put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat and only minutes later had a strong bite. This one was ripping a bit of drag, but Drew kept the pressure on, worked it to the boat, and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. We fished thru that area, crossed the creek and fished another marsh line, then moved on. 

After fishing further up Tyger with jig rods at a couple of drainages with jigs and the minnows where we had a few bites, but no takers, (we did note that the water was muddy/murkey) we jumped around to the Jolley River and worked the "bank" for a while. With time running out we moved up to a drainage, fished it with floats, then switched to jigs and minnows. The strategy paid off - Drew picked up two small but feisty Redfish, then he had a "strange" bite, hooked it up, and brought to the boat a keeper sized Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam - a great way to end a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Happy 4th of July!

 I wrapped up my week fishing with Stan Jackson and his fishing buddies Wade and Barnie, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this  morning.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and set up along the "bank" to fish the last of an outgoing tide with jigs and Mud Minnows. In short order we had some action - Stan put a keeper sized Flounder in the  boat and  Barnie landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  Wade added another Flounder to the catch and Stan put a feisty Redfish in the boat.  After fishing further up the river at Snook Creek we made a run back towards Amelia.

The tide had started back in so we dipped in to behind Tyger and fished the logs. It was the ideal time to be there but the fish weren't having it.

We then ran around to the Bell River and set up along side a shell bank. Wade added a Seatrout to the catch and a small Sea Bass. Although we had rain clouds all around us, we only got wet once.  But it was a great way to start a 4th of July weekend so we

counted it as a good day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

June Super Grande Slam

 

After I met Craig and Paige Hungerford and their adult "kids" Reese and Halley we left the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp under cloudy skies, but it wasn't forecasted to rain until later in the afternoon. The tide still had about 30 minutes left to come in so we headed over to Bell River and set up along side some flooded oyster beds and marsh grass. We were seeing some fish busting bait at ambush points and finally Craig had the hookup and catch to "knock the skunk off" with a nice keeper sized Flounder catch. (all fish caught today were released). The tide came to a standstill, we fished it a bit, then moved on. 

After running thru Tyger we eased around to the outside and fished a grassy point that was "guaranteed"  and sure enough it paid off. We had seen fishing tailing up in the grass - it wasn't a Redfish -then Reese hooked up and worked the fish to the boat - a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. As we netted that fish Paige had a strong bite. Her drag "ripped" a few times but she kept the pressure on and soon landed a Slot sized Redfish. The family

had a Slam of Flounder, Black Drum and Redfish. Then it was Halley's turn. We all saw her float slowly going under' Halley reeled up any slack and as the float headed west she set the hook and, Big Fish On!  She and her dad teamed up for a 9 minute drag ripping battle. They'd work the fish to the boat only to have it take off and strip line. But they were patient and slowly worked it to the boat and landed  big 3"+ Bonnethead Shark, boy what a battle!

We then fished further up Tyger, switching to jigs, and Reese caught and landed a Flounder of his own. Moving around to the Jolley River we eased along he bank, back to fishing float rigs and Craig picked up a fat Seatrout, making it a Grande Slam, then our final stop was around at Bell River where we switched back to jigs. Halley wrapped things up with a a Sheepshead catch which made it an Amelia Island Super Grande Slam - a great way to end a good fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Chipped Our Way to a Bag of Fish

 I was back to work today, fishing with Darrell Holcomb and his brother-in-law Jim, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We had a high tide that was just starting out when we arrived at Seymore's Pointe and began fishing with float rigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were getting excellent tosses and it paid off with some strong bites, but we didn't have a "take" until Darrell's float had disappeared with a vengeance - he set the hook and, Fish On!  Darrell played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 19.5" Slot sized Redfish to "knock the skunk off". We fished that area them moved back a bit and caught one small Mangrove Snapper.

After moving around the corner to the Mangrove Snapper "honey hole" both anglers began to get bites on the floats and shrimp combo. Once they got the hand of it they were putting on Mangrove after another in the boat. Most were undersized, but the duo managed to "box" eight nice ones, with the biggest being right at 12" that Jim landed. 

We ran down to Pumpkin Hill and fished a marsh bank. Jim had a serious fight with a Bluefish that he handily won, and as we were netting it Darrell hooked up and landed hungry Seatrout. After he went back to the bank we both saw something big swirl at his float, we waited, and BOOM! Float gone. The fish made a short run south then turned around and came back, then went under the boat, then ran west, then went under the boat...but thru it all Darrell kept the pressure on and eventually battled the beast to the net, a nice 3' Bonnethead Shark. After fishing Broward for a bit we ran back to Seymore's to get out of the rising wind.

Her Jim added one more keeper Mangrove to the box and wrapped things up with a Flounder catch which was a great was to end a good day to be out on the waters here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Making It With Mangroves

 You just can't beat a day off with beautiful weather, out on the water, and fishing with your son! I had met Steve Locke and his son Justin out at Goffinsville Park early this morning and we had sunshine and just a slight breeze on the very first of an incoming tide. 

We scooted down to Broward Island and set up out side of a large marsh run out and the fish teased us, busting bait up near the shore, but they wouldn't take our shrimp or mud minnows on a jig. After moving down the island a bit we set up just as the tide came to a standstill, still pitching jigs and shrimp, BAM! Steve had a hookup. The fish was ripping drag and staying down and we thought for sure it was a some sort of Drum. Steve worked it up patiently and we netted a nice Slot sized 20" Redfish.

Our next stop was back off of Seymore's Pointe, fishing some oyster lined banks with float rigs. The first stop didn't produce anything, but the 2nd one did. Steve was drifting off the stern

and hooked up and landed another feisty Redfish, then he battled a Jack Crevalle to the boat, then tangled with a Shark that headed to Tallahassee.

After fishing some rocks at Nassauville with floats Justin, who had been holding back, "knocked the skunk" of his rod with a Mangrove Snapper catch, then another of keeper size.  We moved down the way, switched to jigs, and began to haul in Mangrove's one after the other.  Although they''re not very big, we were able to get a good "mess" of keeper sized ones so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

First and Last

 We had a beautiful day that greeted us when I met Dale Bullard, his daughter Autumn and son-in-law Jacob down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We were a little worried about the wind that had been tormenting us for it seems the last few weeks, especially as the morning progress's, but not today.

After running up the intercoastal and dipping in to Flagstaff and then into a smaller creek we set up with float rigs and live shimp, tossed to the marsh grass on a high and outgoing tide. I think it was Autumn's first cast when her float disappeared with a vengeance, and, Fish ON! This fish went zipping across the water taking Autumn from stern to bow and from port to starboard and back to the stern. I was thinking "shark" but as Autumn worked it to the boat I realized that it surely wasn't a shark. Autumn played it patiently and eventually landed a big Jack Crevalle, knocking the skunk off the boat early and kicking off a good day of fishing. 

We fished Jackstaff for a bit and had a couple of good bites, then ran through Horsehead and down to Spanish Drop and again eased along the bank. Jacob put another hard fighting Jack in the boat and they also landed a couple of hungry Seatrout. 

Our next stop was up at some docks at Nassauville and this paid off. Dale caught a huge Toad Fish right off then Jacob, fishing off the lucky stern, caught a keeper sized Seatrout. Dale and Jacob put a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat then the trio teamed up to catch a good handful of smaller ones. Then it was Autumn's turn to wrap up the "big fish catches" when, after tossing a jig and big mud minnow, had a hookup. This fish was pulling good but Autumn kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice 19" Seatrout - she had the first and last big fish of the day!

After fishing down at Broward for a bit we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

It Was a Big Trout

 

When that line is ripp'n and that big fish is digging deep, the first thing you hope for is to "just be able to see  him"!  We had that happen this morning and when the fish came to the surface briefly near the boat and we saw it was a Huge Trout, we all held our breath, and hoped. 

I had met James Driggers, his brother-in-law David Purcell and his nephew Chase out at the Goffinsville Park this morning with the sun having just cleared Amelia Island off to the west. The forecast called for not much of rain but winds were going to increase from 9mph to 12 to 16 as the trip progressed. Our plan was to fish some just exposed oyster beds over in the Nassau first so we headed that way and deployed the float rigs and live shrimp to the edge. We eased along the bank, had a couple of good bites, then finally, David "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Seatrout catch.

We moved up to a large marsh runout and switched to jigs and shrimp. Just as Chase had a good hookup, David's rod bent over and the drag began to sing. Chase worked  his fish to the boat expertly and landed a feisty Ladyfish but David had his hands full on the stern. I was thinking "Redfish?"  No, probably a Jack Crevalle, but as David worked it patiently to the surface, OH BOY, a huge Gator Trout! Then the fish dove and went under the boat and I think we all realized what we could potentially lose!  But David kept the pressure on, brought it back out, played it around the engine, then brought it to the net to be lifted in and measured to be right at 25" - big enough to move into first place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament, Seatrout Category. Boy what a fish! (Scroll down the right side of this report for standings)

Once we gathered our wits, the angles went back to fishing and after James had a made a perfect cast, BOOM! And drag began to sing as the fish ran like a freight train, heading East. But James played him perfectly, stayed with him in a couple of long runs, worked him up off the bottom, and landed a nice 40" Bonnethead Shark-the first Shark we've caught in the back water this year. 

We later fished some docks and got a couple of Mangrove Snapper, fished some more docks and got another couple of Snapper, then finished up down at Broward Island where the trio teamed up to catch a handful of Seatrout and Redfish. The wind had picked up as forecasted but we were able to get some fishing in so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Mixing It Up

 After a much needed day off I was back at it today, meeting Eddie Byrd and his son-in-law Art and grandson-in-law Dan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After making the run up and over into the Nassau River we made our first stop at Spanish Drop and with a tide that had been coming in for about 3 hours, began to pitch float rigs and live shrimp to the shore line. We were getting pretty good drifts but had no real luck. 

The shell was still showing so we decided to try our luck at some docks at Seymore's but tossing jigs produced no fish. We move around and switched back to float rigs, had just a couple of nibbles, but then we could see a Sheepshead's tail as it fed up alongside some pilings. We moved in, dropped some jigs and had a hookup. Art worked it in and landed a keeper sized fish.  After fishing around the corner at some rocks and catching a couple of small Mangroves, we moved on.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing jigs, but no takers. We then moved up to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs

on a still incoming tide and this did the trick. After getting a couple of bites off the stern, Dan went up to a pointe of grass and BAM, he had a fish. Dan worked it patiently to the boat and landed keeper sized Seatrout.  We fished down the way and somewhere in there tangled with a Ladyfish or two, then Art put another Trout in the boat, caught right up beside the grass.

Our final stop was back at Nassauville, fishing between two docks and here we caught Mangrove Snapper non-stop for a good thirty minutes, many of them of keeper size, and the biggest at around 12". We filled the box with those then headed in, counting it as another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

(Note, the Bald Eagle chick at Broward Island has left the nest!)

Mangrove Snapper Fill The Bag

 

I fished with the Fitzgerald's again today, Gregg and Dannie, Guy and Ginnie, meeting them this morning down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the Nassau and made a quick stop at Spanish Drop to toss float rigs and live shrimp to the marsh grass just as the tide started out. 

The anglers were getting excellent casts and drifts, although the west wind seemed to be blowing right down the pipe and both Dannie and Ginnie had hookups with high flying Ladyfish that they handily brought to the boat.

We fished a large outflow up at Seymore's and picked up a couple of Mangrove Snapper which got met to thinking...if they're here, maybe they're at the "Mangrove Hole". So that was where our next stop was and sure enough, we began to get some bites on shrimp under the float rigs.  They're sneaky as they can be but we managed to put a few in the boat over the 10" mark. 

Our next stop was down the way, along some rocks at Nassauville but here we were able to go to jig rods. Gregg got the hot hand and started pulling Mangrove's in one after the other. Then all four anglers got in on the action and caught fish until we had a good mess of Mangroves in the box.

We fished some docks later with jigs as the tide got lower then made the run thru Horsehead and around to the mouth of Jackstaff. Unfortunately the wind was really howling now, and right down the river, but we hung with it, trying to fish out the day. Guy was taking up the stern, fishing to the bank with jig and shrimp and BAM! Big Fish On!  His drag was ripping and he was fighting the fish over his shoulder but he kept the pressure on and subdued the fish and brought to the net a nice 21" 8-Spot Slot Redfish to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Forecasted Winds Weren't As Bad As I Expected

 

The forecast for winds were only 7-9mph from 7am-9am but were expected to pick up to over 15 as the day progressed. The wind did pick up a bit, but were were still able to fish although the slight dip in temperature may have turned the bite down just a bit as it turned out. But it was an absolutely beautiful day when I met Patrick Verner, and his sons Brian and Patrick down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp yesterday morning.

We made a short run and were fishing as the sun came over Amelia Island, tossing jigs and live shrimp to exposed oysters on the last of an outgoing tide. Young Patrick was on the bow and after fishing for about 15 minutes we could see Redfish moving along the bank and feeding. After a good cast to the shoreline, BAM! Patrick had a hookup and, Fish On!  As you can see in the video, Patrick played it patiently, worked it to the boat, and landed a Slot sized 20" Redfish.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Nassauville, fishing the first of an incoming tide.  Friday we had "tore up" the Black "puppy" Drum on the same tide, but on this trip, not a bite. But the two Patrick's did pull out a couple of Mangrove Snapper (their back!) and a couple of small Sea Bass while Brian added to the mix an ugly Toad Fish. 

Down at Broward we fished the first of the incoming there and here young Patrick added a keeper sized Seatrout to the catch. Later, Bryan hooked up and landed a hard-to-catch Sheepshead.  The wind had picked up just a bit so we went back at Nassauville and fished  at a couple of spots with float rigs where young Patrick landed a small Flounder, then we wrapped up the day and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Drum Roll

 I was out at Goffinsville Park this morning where I met Mark Dennis and his brother David early for abeautiful day of fishing the back waters of Amelia Island. We were not far from some docks so we eased over to them and set up current with plans to fish jigs and live shrimp to the pilings as the tide swept our bait up under the docks. It was only minutes when Mark hooked up, battled the fish, and landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  From then on we were catching fish.

I tried my hand at "guessing the species" as the duo caught fish - David had a strong hookup - it didn't really run, but stayed on the bottom so I called "flounder". Nope, it was a big Jack Crevalle. Then David had another bite, Big Fish On! This one ripped some drag and tried to get back under the dock so I called "Redfish". Nope, Big Black Drum.  Then Mark got in on the action again with another hookup.  I called "Black Drum" but after successfully playing the fish to the net he landed the first Slot Redfish of the day. I had struck out!  We ended up catching 5 nice Black Drum, the Slot Red, the Jack, and a

handful of smaller Drum.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island. Here, David put a hungry Trout in the boat but it was nothing like yesterday. We moved down a bit, fished some logs, and after Mark had made an excellent cast to the downside of the current, BAM! He had a hookup. Mark worked it patiently to the boat and landed his 2nd Slot Redfish. We moved back to our original spot, fished the bottom with jigs, and David added a keeper Trout to the catch. Somewhere along there Mark added a Trout to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam.

We fished back at Nassauville at a couple of places, switching to float rigs at the last spot where we had a couple of bites but no takers, then wrapped the day up down at Spanish Drop. The sun was up and the temperature had warmed but we had a live well full of fish so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.