Mangroves Reds and Manatee

We did a mid morning trip today, meeting at 10:30am - High Tide up at Nassauville. I met James Tuten,

his brother Robert and Roberts daughter Katie down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the 15 minute run up to Semore's Pointe where we went with float rigs and live shrimp on the first of an outgoing tide - it was high!  It didn't take long before Robert "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. We dueled with those Snapper for a bit before we moved on. 

After running thru Horsehead we made our way over to Poteat Pointe. The tide was right, just starting out, but the wind had picked up as forecasted and it was blowing right in our face. All always say, when fishing floats, "get a natural drift in the zone"= we were getting the drift but the wind was blowing our baits away from the grass - we had no real bites. We then made our way over to a creek off of Jackstaff and worked it with the floats, again, no avail.

Back thru Horsehead we went, up the Nassau, and to some docks at Nassauville where James and Robert went to jigs and shrimp and Katie stuck with the float rig. She went to the rocks, making excellent casts and it paid off when her float disappeared. She lifted the rod and let the hook set and Fish On!  Katie worked it to the boat expertly and landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. We stayed there until we got bored, boxing 10 keeper sized Mangroves, then moved on.

A short jump over and we were fishing Back River with floats. The tide was right but the drift was getting pushed off. We moved across the river and fished a bend and this did the trick. The current was strong enough to keep their baits up near the grass and it paid off with a good handful of feisty Redfish catches. While we were fishing we had a few small Manatee meander by, going downstream, then back up until they were hanging out right by the boat. 

We had had a beautiful weather, mostly sunny, and even though we had to deal with the wind, as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Jacks Galore and Tasty Mangroves

 

It had to be the prettiest day in a long time that we've had here at Amelia Island - clear skies, sunshine, only a slight breeze, and temperatures below 70 when I met Tim and Laura Wolfe down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide was high and coming in, so we made quick run over to the intercoastal and up the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up to drift float rigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good casts and good drifts and even though we had a bite or two, we had no real takers. I keep waiting for this spot to turn on, but it wasn't today. We fished the point and had not takers, but as I used the trolling motor to take us down to a grassy island, we could see fish feeding on the surface.

I eased the bow around into the current and Tim put his bait up above the commotion and within seconds he was on, and boy was it ripping some drag!  He fought it from the bow, followed it to the stern, then battled it from around the engine, eventually to land a nice hard fighting Jack Crevalle. For a good while there the fishing were boiling on the surface and we could see the Jacks backs as they raced thru the water and it was a good time as both Laura and Tim hooked up and caught the Jacks.

We then ran around to Seymore's and fished a pointe on the first of an outgoing tide, then ran thru Horsehead and fished a creek off of Jackstaff with the floats, to no avail, then back thru Horesehead we came.

Our final stop was between two docks at Nassauville and here, like yesterday, the Mangrove Snapper were hanging out. You had to be within a foot or two of the rocks with your float, but they'd bite almost immediately. Laura got hot fishing off the stern (the tide was STILL) coming in here) and she hooked up and landed some nice keeper sized fish. Tim was on the bow and caught a couple of smaller Mangroves until he switched back to the jig then he too was getting keepers. It didn't take long before they had their limit of 5 apiece and then we caught some more, culling smaller ones and keeping the bigger ones.

We had a nice fish in the live well, it had been a beautiful day, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Streak At The End

 Crazy weather but we squeezed in a fishing trip today - the forecast called for very  little rain chance but winds hovering around 12mph, and overcast - it wasn't very pretty but we thought, fishable. So I met Robert Stettner, David Vice and his friend Bhavna out at Goffinsville Park and with a very high tide still coming in, we made our way over to Pumpkin Hill where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp to drift the marsh grass. I was optimistic when Robert hooked up on his first drift but before I could even grab the net, it was off. And after that, we struggled to get a fish. We had a few bites here and there as we moved around the point until David finally hooked up and battled to the net a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. 

We then ran over to Seymore's Point and drifted the shrimp again, this time with absolutely no bites.After running thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and fishing that stretch, up and down, we did manage another Jack Crevalle catch which Bhavna expertly reeled in. 

The wind had picked up a bit and the floats just didn't seem to doing it, and I could hear whispers of mutiny, so we ran back thru Horsehead and down to some docks at Nassauville where we switched to jigs and the shrimp, with David sticking with the float rig. Luckily, we began to get fish. David got a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, then when he began to go to some rocks he began to get bigger, keeper sized Snapper. Bhavna switched to the float and after making an excellent cast, hooked up and battled to the boat another keeper sized Mangrove. Robert was fishing the stern, sticking with the jig, and it paid off when he had a good "thump". After setting the hook we could tell that it wasn't a Mangrove - he played it patiently to the net and landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. 

Bhavna and David stayed at the stern and reeled in a good handful of those keeper sized Mangroves, the biggest being about 13" while David stayed at the stern. He had baited up with a huge live shrimp, good an "excellent" cast to the rocks and BAM! The minute it hit, Fish On!  He fought it expertly and soon landed a nice 18" Seatrout. Robert also added a keeper sized Mangrove to his catch total. We finished up down at Spanish Drop, fishing a couple of drainages and wrapped things up when Bhavna hooked up and landed another hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amela Island, Florida. 

Mangroves Make The Day

 We probably had the prettiest day today that we've had in the last two weeks! I had met Bart Mathews down at Sawpit Creek on a tide that was low and just starting in - we had clear skies and just a very little breeze as we headed up the intercoastal. We made our way up to the mouth of Jackstaff and turned into the current and began pitching jigs and live shrimp. We got all excited when Bart had a good "hookup", thinking it might be a Flounder by the way it was fighting, but as it got closer we saw it was a determined Blue Crab, which we netted and released. After bringing in a small Catfish Bart again got some excitement going with a bigger fish which he played expertly to the boat, only to find it was a bigger Catfsih!

We ran thru Horsehead and over to some docks at Seymore's and fished the pilings out of the stern. Here Bart hooked and landed a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a couple of which were of keeper size, and he also battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to the boat.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide. He caught and landed another keeper Mangrove, then we moved down the way, worked it thoroughly , then moved on. Back at Pumpkin Hill we drifted float rigs long and did pick up one small but feisty Redfish, then we continued back down the river to some rocks at Nassauville where Bart finished his limit on Mangroves. We started culling smaller ones and ended up with a nice catch of the Mangroves, good enough for "Fish Tacos"!

Our final stop was over at Twin Creeks, drifting floats and after landing another Ladyfish, Bart finished the day off with a feisty Flounder catch. We had had some pretty good action, had caught a variety of fish (and crab), so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slam at First Spot

 

I was back to work today, fishing with Chris Sneed and his buddy Chuck, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We eased out of Eagans and then ran up to the outside of Tyger and set up a drainage to pitch jigs and minnows on a tide that had been going out for just and hour. It didn't take long before we got bites then Chris put a Flounder in the boat, then a Seatrout, then a Redfish to get a Slam started right out of the gate. He added another Flounder there before we moved on. 

Around the corner along Jolley "bank" we tossed float rigs with mud minnows and live shrimp and here Chuck got on the board with a feisty Redfish catch.  After fishing that stretch and catching a Bonnethead and Bluefish,  we moved up to Slip Creek, fished it a bit with floats, then eased on up to Snook Creek and fished it. We caught a couple of small Redfish then moved on. 

Around at Bell River we fished a deep area for a bit with the jigs, then moved in closer and fished the
some dock pilings Chris found a hot spot that produced three Flounder, one after the other. After moving down a dock he added another Flounder, this one a ice 18" keeper. The wind had picked up so we made a long run back to Fernandina and got in behind Rayonier warehouse which stopped the wind, but we had no luck. But as we eased around it Chris had a strong hookup and put a fat keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat. We worked that bank, got another Flounder, then moved up to some rocks at Cooks where Chris caught a feisty keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. After Chris put one more Flounder in the boat (I think we had caught 7-8 during teh trip) we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Snapper Boys and a nice Red

 I fished with the Palmore boys this morning, Justin and his sons Will and Bentley, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We headed up the intercoastal then in to the Nassau and after a brief run, pulled up at Spanish Drop and began fishing with jigs and live shrimp and mudminnows on a tide that still had about an hour and a half of going out. We worked along a shell bank and picked up a Jack and a tangled with a couple of high flying Ladyfish. 

After moving up the way to fish a large drainage, young Bentley had a good bite, a hookup, and after a good battle he landed a keeper sized Flounder - first in the box! After fishing Bubblegum Reef briefly, and to no avail, we ran across the river and tried a new spot, but alas, we caught no fish. We then fished between a couple of docks at Nassauville and picked up a couple of small Mangroves, then we moved up to Seymore's Pointe and really got into some Mangroves. All three anglers caught fish with one of Will's Mangroves being the biggest. Will also had a strong bite off the stern, up near the rocks, and this fish was ripping drag - it wasn't a Mangrove! Will played it expertly but this fish was having nothing of it, it dug deep and broke the leader. Ouch!

But Justin went back with a cast to the rocks, opened his bail and let it drift with the current and when it reached an outcrop, BAM! Big Fish On!  Again, it was digging deep and ripping drag but Justin kept the pressure on and soon brought to the net a nice 24.25" Slot Redish.

Our final stop was over at the mouth of Jackstaff, working a bank with float rigs and the trio caught a handful of small but feisty Redfish. It had been a beautiful day and we had 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. 

Temperature Drop Helps

 I fished today after we had a slight temperature drop over the weekend, one that caused the water temps to fall too. We didn't "tear them up" today, but we had a little better action than we had last week in the backwaters.  When I pulled away from the boat ramp this afternoon my thoughts were to, "fish the oyster beds".

I met Frank Wytiaz and his brother-in-law Dennis down at Sawpit Creek early this morning and with calm seas and hardly no wind, we ran up the Nassau and made our first stop at Spanish Drop. The tide still had an hour or so of going out to do so we went with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows, tossed to the exposed shell bank. That first stretch produced no fish but when we moved up to a drainage and continued with the jigs both anglers hooked up and caught feisty Redfish. They also tangled with some high flying Ladyfish. 

We then ran up to some docks at Seymore's and fished the jigs and this paid off. Dennis had a strong hookup and fought a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum to the boat, Then Frank had a strong bite and he too expertly played the fish to the net - a big Mangrove Snapper (for the backwater) which measured right at 14".  They caught a couple of more Mangroves, a Bluefish, and a Jack Crevalle. We moved around to Nassauville and fished some rocks and picked up a handful more of keeper sized Mangroves.

After running down to Broward Island where the conditions were absolutely perfect - the tide had just started in, the increasing wind was blocked, there were no gnats and other than one more Mangrove, we caught nothing. Ouch.

We finished the day back at Seymore's, fishing the bottom with jigs and shrimp and again, dueled with the Mangroves, adding one more keeper to the box. We had caught a good variety of fish giving us a bit of action so as we headed back to the ramp we countedit as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Mangroves and Manatee

 We must be in a "faze" right now, not seeing Seatrout or Redfish or Flounder in the backwater. Water
temps are hovering right around 80 degrees and even though we're getting some fish, we just aren't seeing "bragging rights" fish, unless you wanted to count the 13" Mangrove Snapper we caught today!

I had met Chris Pyle and his fishing buddy Byron down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp on a tide that had been coming in for about two hours. We made a run up the Nassau and fished some dock pilings at Seymore's Point and had just a bit of luck catching a few small Mangrove Snapper, with maybe a keeper or two.  We had a visit from a curious Manatee and were supervised by a Bald Eagle roosting overhead. We then motored back down the Nassau and fished Spanish Drop and Twin Creeks with float rigs and may have had a bite or two but no takers.

We fished some rocks at Nassauville and had good action catching Mangroves on float rigs up by the rocks with Chris putting the biggest of the year in the boat, a 13"er, and then we swtiched to jigs and caught them on the bottom, bringing the "keeper" total to eight. 

The SW wind was picking up so we made a long run up the Nassau, ran thru Edwards and around to Shady Rest and tossed the jigs. I think it was Chris's 2nd or 3rd cast when he had a strong hookup.  He patiently played it to the boat and landed a feisty Redfish.  We were off to a good start here but that was the only fish we got working those docks. 

We came back out of Edwards, back to Seymore's and fished an outgoing tide with float rigs and picked up a couple of more small Mangroves, then after running thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point the duo finished up caching a large Ladyfish and Catfish. Overcast skies in the morning a brisk breeze in the afternoon, a box of Mangroves, and a visit from a Manatee made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Gradually Put Together a Mess

 It's great to see a grandmother taking her grandsons fishing!  I met Cindy Gray and her two grandsons Alex and Henry, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made a quick run up the Nassau River and turned into the incoming current to fish a flooded bank. We started out with jigs and minnows, fishing a deeper drop of the river, and we did have one big bite - it took the line, headed under the boat, and was gone!  We then worked along some flooded shell, now tossing float rigs and minnows, but didn't have much action. 

After dropping back to Twin Creeks, we fished the float rigs and here Alex put a small Jack in the boat then Cindy hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. One in the box! We then made the run down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted floats long, not having much luck, then we fished around the corner. Cindy put a big Jack in the boat, Alex caught a couple of small Seatrout, and Henry got on the board with a Pinfish landing. 

We came back to fish some rocks at Nassauville and after a cast or two Alex had a big bite, battled it to the boat, and landed a huge Mangrove Snapper.  Two in the box! Henry was fishing the same general area and when he had a good bite I thought for sure it was another big Mangrove.  But as Henry worked it to the boat it seemed to get bigger!  He played it perfectly and brought to the net a nice 19.5" Slot Redfish.  Three in the box!  This trio of anglers began to work those rocks vigorously, playing cat and mouse with the Mangroves, and ended up with numbers Four, Five, Six and Seven in the box.

We finished up around at a large drainage, drifting floats around a point and on Alex's first cast, BOOM! A nice Mangrove Snapper, Eight in the box!  Alex finished it off hooking up and landing another keeper sized Seatrout, number Nine. We left them biting and headed back and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. He is a US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator. 

Capped It Off With Mangroves

 

I fished with my son-in-law Nathan Taylor and friend Michael Silver this morning. We launched out at Goffinsville Park and made a short run down to Spanish Drop to turn into the current and toss jigs and live shrimp to the exposed oysters on the very last of the outgoing tide. Nathan "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. Michael followed that up with hard fighting Jack Crevalle catch and then when we reached corner that had a submerged "bar", the duo of anglers began to catch feisty Redfish. 

We moved up to a large drainage and here Michael put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat and we picked up a couple of more Seatrout out deep. We then fished some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide and although not much was biting , we did catch a small Croaker. After running thru Horsehead and fishing the mouth of Jackstaff with the jigs, we came back thru and set up to fish some rocks with float rigs and pieces of shrimp. And almost immediately, we were putting keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the box. We caught fish until this duo reached their 5-a-piece limit, then we culled a couple, then we moved on.

Our final stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting floats long. Nathan caught another Seatrout here and Michael tangled with a big Ladyfish.  

During the trip both anglers had brief battles with Sharks but we did land one for a quick release. The breeze had blown all day and we had some 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.  

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator

Down To The Wire

 Boy what a blow we had yesterday with steady winds up in the 20's and gusts even higher -glad I wasn't fishing! But sure enough, the wind died thru out the night and we had a glorious morning greet us when I met Mark and Jen Woodard and their daughter Lilli down at the Sawpit Creek Boat ramp. We made a long run up the intercoastal and dipped in to Jackstaff and then into a smaller creek and set up at a drainage on the first of an outgoing tide to pitch float rigs with live shrimp. Right off Lilli had a bite but it wasn't a taker then shortly after that Jen yelled, Fish On!  She played it expertly to the boat and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout.

We then moved over to Poteat Cut and fished an edge and within minutes it was Lilli's turn to battle a fish. She fought it valiantly and soon brought to the net a 20" Slot Redfish. Two in the box! We fished back at the mouth of Jackstaff, bumped across and fished jigs on a point, then made a run thru Horsehead and over to Back River to fish a bank with the tide running by, but to no avail.

Back to Nassauville we went and here Mark got hot, putting a couple ofkeeper Mangrove Snapper in the boat. He also landed a Croaker that we could have kept, but we tossed it back. Around to Seymore's Pointe we went to fish some more dock pilings. The "competition" heated up! Jen and Mark were neck and neck with their fish count, catching Mangrove's and small Seabass and they raced to the finish line matching each other fish for fish. It went down to the wire but I think Mark edged Jen by one fish! As we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Getting In Some Birthday Fishing

 

I fished with the Millers today, Robert and Lindsey, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early for a half day of fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island. It was Roberts "birthday trip", and time away from the kids, so we were under pressure to catch some fish!  We ran up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau, and made a short run to our first stop at Spanish Drop. I had a bunch of live shrimp and had caught a dozen mud minnows at the boat ramp - we went with the minnows and jigs to a large drainage on on outgoing tide. Lindsey had the first bite, played it perfectly, and landed a......Catfish!  But as we worked along the two anglers began to get into some fish and landed one feisty Redfish after another. They were all small, but fun to catch.

We then ran up to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings and here they caught a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, a few which were of keeper size. After a nice run down to Pumpkin Hill, we worked a shell lined bank for just a bit, then continued on down to Broward Island where we drifted with the current. I don't think we got but one fish, but it was a nice one! Robert had made a perfect cast to the bank and I saw that he might be "hung up", but he pulled it loose and, BAM! Fish On!  Robert played it patiently and brought to the net a nice Slot Sized 21" Redfish. 

We fished the rest of Broward and with time running out, made the run back to Seymore's where we set up  along a shell bank with the tide now coming in and drifted float rigs with live shrimp. Both Lindsey and Robert were getting excellent drifts. Robert had gone long and when we both saw his float slowly go under an move against the current, Robert tightened down, lifted his rod and let the circle hook do its thing and, another Fish On!  As Robert thought this fish I was expecting a nice Seatrout or Jack Crevalle but when he got it to the boat to be netted we saw it was another Slot Redfish - what a great way to wrap up a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good To Be Back Fishing!

My first trip back from "bad engine nightmare"!  I met Len Pelletiere and his grandson Scott down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the intercoastal, turned west into Back River and cut around to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill to set up fishing with float rigs and live shrimp on a high and incoming tide.

First drift, BAM! We had a fish on! Young Scott was on the rod and he quickly dispatched the fight with a expert landing of a Jack Crevalle. We drifted that stretch for a bit and Scott caught a Catfish and a hungry Seatrout. After moving around the corner Scott had made an excellent cast to a grassy island. His float drifted out and just before retrieving it, he had a bite and a hookup. When the fish headed east knew it was a Shark. Scott followed it to the stern of the boat, then back to midship, then back to the stern before we netted a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark.

We buzzed back to Seymore's Pointe, fished a large runout and here we picked up a good handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then we fished back around at Nassaville and again put some Snapper in the boat.  After buzzing thru Horsehead and fishing a drainage and picking up one more Jack, we came back to the Nassau and fished a couple of drainages there. 

Scott ended up catching another Seatrout, another keeper sized Manrove, and then he put a feisty Flounder in the boat to rap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fat Snapper

 

I wrapped my week up fishing out at Goffinsville Park today. I met Joe Callow and his fishing buddies Jack and Larry early. We made a quick run down the Nassau and made  a stop at Spanish Drop and fished the exposed shell bank with jigs and live shrimp. All three anglers were getting good casts and although we had a nibble here and there, we had not takers.  

We moved up the  river a bit and fished a large runout, then move further up and fished Twin Creeks. We had been seeing Sharks cruising the bank and sure enough, Jake had a "take" and when he set the hook, ziipppp went his drag as the big fish headed East!  Jake went to the stern with the fish, then back to the bow then settled in for a long battle. He kept the pressure on, stayed patient, and eventually landed a nice Bonnethead Shark. Minutes later he also tangled with and landed a high flying "poor mans Tarpon" - a Ladyfish. 

Back at Symore's Pointe we fished some dock pilings and played cat and mouse with some bait stealers, then move around and fished some rocks at Nassauville. Again, Jake had the hot rod and put a rather large(for May) Mangrove Snapper in the boat. From then on all three anglers were trying their hand at catching the sneaky critters. We added another bigger Mangrove to the box before we moved on. 

After making the run down to Broward Island we worked it thoroughly with the jigs and live shrimp. We did have a few nibbles but no takers, so we moved on, coming back to some docks at Nassauville. Again, we found the Mangroves and added a couple more for a "Fish Taco" dinner. It had been a beautiful day out on the water and a great way for three friends to spend some time together so as we headed back  we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.