The Trout Bite Is On!

 Another beautiful day (it looks like this weekend is going to have terrible weather), but today, sunny, cool, and a slight breeze. I met Garland Clark and his friend Suzanna down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we ran up the intracoastal to Poteat Point with plans to drift float rigs and live shrimp and minnows on a tide that had been going out for about an hour. Garland was fishing off the stern and he began to pickup Seatrout right off. He had to deal with some bait stealers fishing with the shrimp but he expertly caught those Trout. At least one of those was of keeper size (all fish caught today were released). Suzanna got on the board with a Trout catch of her own before we moved over to Jackstaff.

We fished a large drainage over in a creek offshoot, then moved back to Jackstaff and switched to jigs. Joanna had a strong bite, she set the hook and patiently played a nice feisty Redfish to the boat. Garland was pitching off the stern, over a submerged sandbar and hooked and landed a handful of Trout. We ran thru Horsehead and over to the Nassau River and fished Twin Creeks with the jigs, then moved down to a large drainage and here the duo caught a handful more fo the Seatrout. After fishing some dock pilings  up at Seymore's Pointe where we picked up another Trout, as small Sea Bass and a Flounder that Garland reeled in, we moved on.

Our final stop was on a bend in Middle River, drifting the floats again and here, again, more Trout were caught!  There's a bunch of Trout in the river right now and with the good weather, as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Friday Wraps The Week Up

 5 trips this week, all five with absolutely beautiful weather! Today I met Bob Kossman and his friend
Shelley down at Sawpit creek and after running up the Nassau River we set up to fish at the very last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. That first drainage produced nothing - they were getting good casts but nary a nibble. We ran up to Seymore's and fished some dock pilings and picked up one miniature Mangrove Snapper, then we came back to Twin Creeks and worked it good. Shelley finally got the skunk off the boat when she hooked up with a float rig and landed a nice Flounder (out of season) then Bob picked up a feisty Black "puppy" Drum then they both boated a couple of feisty Redfish. We had a fish or two on that may have ripped some drag but they expertly "threw the hook"!

We then made the run down to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs with that incoming current. Bob's first drift produced a hungry Seatrout and after that we picked up a handful.  We worked that bank then down the other side and got another Trout or two and again, we had some "big" bites that took the bait, one made a huge "roll", then spit it out, OUCH!  It had been and absolutely beautiful day, we had some action and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Redfish Blowout

 I don't think this has ever happened to me in the backwater. After having to cancel 4 trips last week due to the weather, I was bouncing off the walls to get out and fish. I met John Raker and his fishing buddy Gantt Williams down at Sawpit mid morning and we headed up the Nassau to fish some flooded marsh grass on a tide that had been coming in a few hours. We went with mud minnows under a float and that's all it took. Every time I turned my back the drags were ripping, and I mean REALLY ripping!  We counted at least 14 hookups with Big fish. This duo landed 10 of them. Three of those were in the upper slot (we had to measure, re-measure, and re-measure), and the other EIGHT were Oversized, the biggest being caught by Gantt, measuring at 31.75", big enough to move him into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We fought fish for an hour and 45 minutes. And after that? Nothing! But the pictures can speak for themselves! Click on images to enlarge.

The Fiddler Dance

What a great way to wrap up a week of fishing here at Amelia Island! Today I met William and Dara
Blalock out at Goffinsville Park as the sun was coming up with an outgoing tide that still had about an hour to hit bottom, especially up at Broward Island, so that's where we headed! We had a smorgasbord of bait - live shrimp, fiddler crab, and about 2 dozen finger mullet and as it turned out, they all caught fish. These two anglers were mixing it up so it was hard to tell what was catching most, except in a couple of cases - stay tuned!

We hadn't been long at Broward before William had a strong hookup that was ripping some drag - he played it patiently and soon boated a nice 22" Slot Redfish (all fish caught today were released). From then on we were catching fish. Dara followed that up with a couple of multi spotted Reds and between the two they caught a good handful of Redfish with a couple of them being in the Slot size. Dara put the only Seatrout in the boat - it too was legal but tossed back. 

After running way up the Nassau, we pulled into a small creek and the fish catching continued. After a

handful of Reds were caught, they started picking up some small Sheepshead then Dara "danced her fiddler" on a 1/8 oz jig across the bottom and BAP! She had a hookup. This was a nice fish and Dara played it perfectly and soon brought to the net a big 16" Sheepshead. During that battle William was working a Redfish to the boat. Dara wasn't finished with the Sheepshead - she hooked up and landed an even bigger fish, this one measuring at 16.5" which put her on the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Board in 3r place-Sheepshead Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We fished out of there, catching multiple Reds(and one small puppy drum), then we moved on.

The tide was up back at Pumpkin Hill and we could see some action along the grass so we drifted with
float rigs and the few shrimp we had left over. Then William switched to a finger mullet and hooked up and battled a big Jack Crevalle. Shortly after that, still using the finger mullet, he went up to the mouth of a drainage with a good cast and BAM! That float was gone! We settled in for a big battle - the big fish stayed up by the grass, then came out, then went back in, then headed north, then south. We were debating whether it was another big Jack or a Redfish - we didn't won't to get our hopes up (yes we did), but it sure was ACTING like a big Red, and sure enough, after slowly working in in, we netted a big 26.5" "Tourney" Redfish, boy what a fish, and a good way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

We Threw Everything We Had At 'Em

 We had another beautiful day today- I was up early and at the bait shop only to find out they were
temporarily out of minnows AND shrimp. But they had some fiddler crabs, and I had about a dozen minnows left over and still alive, and when I launched at Sawpit I cast netted a good couple of dozen of finger mullet to add to the ammunition!  I had met Tim and Laura Wolfe down early and we made the short run up the Nassau and turned into the current that had just started in, and we baited up with what we had, alternating between the minnows, the fiddlers and the mullet, and all three caught fish. 

It was Laura's year - she boated a couple of Seatrout and a feisty Redfish as we worked the bank, tossing jigs and slowly working them back. Tim made it close, he hooked up and landed the biggest Red of the day, and also had a Seatrout. We fished Broward Island then Pumpkin Hill, had a bit of action there, then made our way thru Horsehead to fish a few spots. We had a beautiful day out on the water, had caught some fish and so as we headed ack to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

It Was a Big One

 We passed on the early morning fishing today with thunderstorms rattling the windows before the sun
came up, but we met at Noon up at Old Town Bait and Tackle to take in an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip. David and Ellen Capps met me at the dock and after easing out of Eagans Creek we made our way up to the Jolley River and further up to JC's spot to catch the first of an incoming tide and toss jigs with mud minnows to the exposed oysters. It only took a minute or two before David hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. Both anglers had numerous nibbles after that but no takers.

We came back to Snook Creek and fished that stretch with floats and the minnows, then came further back to Jolley "bank" and drifted it with floats, then back to Tyger Cut and again, fished teh floats. The bites were few and far between. But after running back and around to Lanceford Creek we hit BM#2 spot and here we had some pretty good action. Ellen hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout, David found a trout up deep in a cove, then he caught a nice Redfish, then another. Then he hooked up and when his drag started ripping we knew it was big. The fish came charging to David and he cranked up the slack, thenit drove back into the marsh and over a hidden shell bed - it rolled up, a HUGE back, then BAP! big fish off! Ouch, it was a big one! We finished the day over in Soap Creek and Ellen topped it off with a small Flounder catch. Other than that one spot, most of the others we "sparse", but it was a beautiful day, we had caught a few, and it was a great day to be out fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Lollie and Pops Went Fishing

 Lollie and Pops went fishing at Amelia Island.

Lollie caught a Red Drum real fast! We call them "Redfish". 

Then Pops caught a lot of Speckled Seatrout. We call them "Trout".

Lollie caught a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. 

We fished near an island with trees and logs. We were using mud minnows for bait.

Lollie caught a Redfish that was 23" long! Pops netted the fish. 

We fished some marsh grass. Pops caught a few Seatrout.

Our last stop, Lollie caught a HUGE Redfish. It was 27 1/2" long! Pops netted that one, too!

We let it go. It was too big to keep. 

Lollie and Pops went fishing at Amelia Island.

 

Two Asterisks and a Slot

 Finally, we had some good weather this morning -just a slight breeze, slightly overcast, and mild 
 temperatures greeted us when I met Lee Warren and David Vice out at Goffinsville Park. We made a short run back down the Nassau and pulled up to Twin Creeks to pitch jigs and mud minnows to the drainages. It paid off - we picked up a couple of feisty Redfish then David had a strong bite that ripped his drag and took him around the boat. I was managing the net and the Go Pro and trying to position myself when David yelled "big Sheepshead" and I was thinking, "naaaah, can't be a Sheepshead" and I even called out "Black Drum?" But then David expertly brought it up to the surface and we saw it was a massive Sheepshead, and when netted we saw it had been foul hooked*. and measured right at 20" - big enough to take first place in the Anglers Mark 2026 Bragging Rights Tournament-Sheepshead Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a fish!

We fished that area then moved down to fish another drainage. Lee had hauled in a couple of oyster clumps and when he had a heavy rod on another cast he was thinking "shell" but then it began to tug deep and Fish On!  Lee worked it patiently to the boat and landed a big 17" Flounder*. We added one more keeper sized Flounder along that stretch. We fished some dock pilings on the first of the incoming tide and picked up a small Sea Bass and a small Mangrove Snapper, then we made a move.

After making our way down to Broward Island we fished the very last of the outgoing down there and it paid off. We had a good strong bite that was ripping drag - we saw a big Red roll, then it went deep, and....thru the hook! Ouch! But shortly afterwards, David had another good bite, played it perfecty, and brought to the net a nice 22" Slot Redfish. We had good weather all morning long, we had some fish in the box, and so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Atmospheric Changes and Fronts

 We've had a little bit of weather the last few days - lot's of rain showers passing thru and some high
winds. Those winds died down just a bit today, so we decided to fish, but they were still an issue. Anytime we have some of those weather pattern changes it seems to affect the fish bite. Today, I met Larry Soper and his son Dustin up at Old Town Bait and Tackle. We had (what we thought was) a bait well full of live shrimp, with no mud minnows available, and after making our way out of Eagans Creek we made a quick run over to Lanceford Creek and fished some dock pilings with jigs on the very first of an incoming tide. Just as a I thought, the "baitstealers" were a pain- we fed 'em good!  But Dustin, fishing off the bow and out deep picked up a nice keeper sized Whiting. He hooked an had a bigger one to the boat, then a couple of more smaller ones. We moved around the dock and Larry hooked and landed a feisty Sheepshead.

We fished a drainage in Lanceford and here Larry put up a valiant battle with a big Bonnethead Shark which he expertly landed for photograph and release, then we made our way back around and up to the Jolley River. We worked the "bank" with float rigs and Dustin got back in action when he boated a feisty Redfish. We switched back to jigs and had some good action catching those Redfish.  After running further up the Jolley we tried JC's spot for a bit, then came back and fished Snook Creek then Tyger Cut with the floats. Our final stop was around at Bell River fishing the jigs and here Dustin hooked up and brought to the boat a small Flounder. We had gone thru 6 dozen live shrimp with the baitstealers  doing their thing so we ended up tying on some DOA Shrimp to get us thru the trip. We had some actionhere and there, and even though the wind made it a challenge, as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Saving The Best For Last

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

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

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

Brothers Fishing Bash

 

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

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

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

Weekly Wrap Up

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

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

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

Nothing Like Some Drag Ripping

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

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

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

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

Catchin Without the Muds

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

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

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

Fast And Furious Beginning

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

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

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

Right From The Start

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

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

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

We Had Some Drag Ripping Today

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

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

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

Oversized Red and Plenty of Trout

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

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

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

We Stayed Busy Catching

 

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

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

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