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.  

Punching Above Their Weight

 Another beautiful day, maybe the last before this next storm hits!  I met Glenn and Patti Langford up at Old Town Bait and Tackle this morning - the high had just hit bottom as we eased out of Eagans Creek and made our way up and around to the Jolley River. I turned into the "bank" just as the tide line moved past us and the two anglers began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the exposed oyster beds. We worked along for just a bit before Patti "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. She added a couple of more then Glenn began to get in on the action. When we reached the "hot spot" they really began to put fish in the boat. Most of the Reds were about 16", feisty and hard fighters - they were "punching above their weight" as Glenn described it! 

Lately, when we get into these schools of Rat Reds we'll eventually get one in the slot and sure enough, Patti had a strong hookup and, Fish On!  This one was ripping drag and digging deep but Patti kept the pressure on, worked it to the back of the boat and around the engine and back, and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We worked further up the bank, then dropped back down and again put a few smaller Reds in the boat, then Patti hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.

We left the fish biting and ran further up the river, just past Snook Creek, turned into the current and switched to float rigs. Both anglers were getting good drifts and again, when we reached the "hot spot", they began to get fish. There were at least three times when I yelled "we got a double" with both anglers fighting fish. Glenn had made a good cast up to a gap in some oysters and after just a few seconds we began to see his float bob, then move up current, and GONE!  Glen reeled in the slack, lifted the rod and let the circle hook set and, Big Fish On! It was ripping and digging and ripping!  Glenn played it expertly, worked it in, and eventually landed a big 25" golden copper Redfish, boy what a fish!

We left 'em biting again! We ran back down the Jolley, fished a point with the floats to no avail, then made our way around to the outside of Tyger and worked the bank on a higher incoming tide with jigs, in hopes for a Flounder. Unfortunately we caught no Flounder but Patti did battle a big Jack Crevalle to the net for release. Our final stop was around at Bell River, fishing another point and here Patti finished things up by battling a 4' Bonnethead to the boat. 

We had had a beautiful day of fishing, had caught a bunch of Reds, had two 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. 

Uptick In Redfish Bite

 

We waited to go until the top of the tide today, meeting at 9am out at Goffinsville Park.  John Raker and Kenny King met me at the dock and where we were the tide was still coming in. So we made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill and drifted float rigs and live shrimp down a flooding marsh bank. We had not a single bite for that stretch but after we dropped back and fished a pocket and here John found a Slot Red on the back side of the pocket which he handily brought to the net. 

We then made a run back to Seymore's Point and fished a large drainage. The duo picked up a handful of Mangrove Snapper, four of which were of keeper size. Kenny battled a bigger fish for a bit but it thru the hook half way to the boat. Ouch.  After running thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Pointe we continued to fish the floats and it paid off. Kenny picked up a Jack Crevalle then as we eased along the grass we saw some movement up in a pocket. John made an excellent cast to the grass and the float slowly went under, and Fish On!  John played it perfectly and brought another Slot Red to the boat. He and Kenny both had good hookups later and added another Redish to the fish count. 

We moved around to Jackstaff and fished a creek and here Kenny got hot, adding a Redfish and Bluefish the catch count. John battled a FBPPB (Fat Bellied Probably Pregnant Bonnethead) worthy of some sort of Bragging Rights to the boat for photograph and release.

After running back thru Horsehead we headed down to Twin Creeks and fished it a bit with jigs and shrimp, then we moved down to a drainage and here Kenny expertly played a Slot Red to the boat while at the same town John landed a hungry Seatrout. We finished up over at Back River, fishing floats. Kenny caught a 11 Spot Redfish to wrap things up which made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fish Bite Better Today

 

All week long we've had beautiful days, today included, but for the most part, we had to really work to get some fish in the boat. But today we had the beauty and we caught more fish!  I had met Robert Stettner and David Vice out at Goffinsville Park early and with a tide that had been coming in for about an hour, we made a quick run down to Broward Island and set up to fish jigs and live shrimp. After tossing the baits up close, we let the slow current slide the bait down the river bottom.

David got on the board first with a strong bite, a hookup and after playing it expertly, he landed a nice feisty Jack Crevalle. From then on the two were getting bites and fish. Robert racked up on some feisty Sheepshead, a good handful of them, then he added a "barely legal" Slot Redfish. David put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. We moved down just a bit and added a couple of more Sheepshead to the catch total.  After fishing further down the island for a bit, we moved on. 

Our next stop was over at some docks at Seymores where didn't get much more than a nibble, then we
made a short run down the Nasau to Twin Creeks and tossed some float rigs up current and had it drift across the mouths. In just a few casts Robert was hooked up and it was big! The drag was ripping at the big fish headed north, then it turned and headed out to deeper water. I made the mistake of calling it a shark, because after Robert expertly worked it to the boat we saw that it was a huge Redfish!  Robert played it patiently and after a good battle landed a 28.75" over sized Redfish which we photographed and released.  Boy what a fish! And shortly after that he went thru another huge battle to land a 3' Bonnethead Shark while David put another Seatrout  in the boat. 

We fished down at Spanish Drop for a bit where Robert put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat,  then headed back over to Back River, fished s stretch, then finished up at Pumpkin Hill. The duo landed a Bluefish, another Trout, then David, after making an excellent cast to a grassy point, had a his float dissapear with a vengeance and Fish On!  David fought it expertly to the boat and landed a big 18" Seatrout. After fishing around the corner for a bit we called it a day and headed back to the ramp counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

One Fish Per Spot

 It seemed like we were in line to get one fish per spot that we hit today. I had met Phil Bailey up at Old Town Bait and Tackle on another beautiful day and with a tide that had been coming in for about 4 hours, we ran over and up the Bell River to set up on a point with plans to toss float rigs to the grass. If it wasn't Phil's first cast, it was is 2nd and Fish On!  He played it to the boat and landed a hungry Seatrout. But after that, we had no luck. 

We then ran thru Tyger and around to the downed trees and  briefly fished some jigs deep, then continued on up to the Jolley River and fished a stretch of flooding marsh. We were seeing some big fish "smash" bait but none took our offerings. The next stop was up the river, fishing a point and again, within a cast or two, fish on!  This was a fat Seatrout that was right at legal size. And after that, no real bites.

Further up the river, at Snook Creek, we worked the bank with the floats and picked up a feisty Bluefish,

then went inside and tossed jigs for a bit and barely had a nibble. The tide had hit high and was forecasted to be going out back towards Fernandina so we made our run back to the outside of Tyger and fished a corner and sure enough, BAM!  Phil had a hookup He fought it expertly to the boat and netted a nice Redfish. But other than a Needlefish catch, we had no more bites. After working a bank back out to the river, we called it a day and headed back to the boat ramp We had had a little bit of action, had been fishing on a beautiful day, so as we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Float 'em by the oysters

 I guess the Chamber of Commerce ordered up a week of fine weather 'cause today was another
outstandingly beautiful day!  I met Derek Wilson and his fishing buddy Tim down at Sawpit and we made a quick run thru some early morning fog, up the Nassau and pulled up at Spanish Drop. I keep waiting for this stretch of river to a"turn on" but today was not the day. We worked to areas with float rigs on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours, but had no luck. 

We then made our way around to the Back River and fished a stretch that has been good to me all week and today was no exception. We eased along the bank pitching the float rigs up to exposed oyster beds and letting it drift down the edge and we caught Redfish. The fish bite wasn't "on fire" but we did get 6-8 fish with two of them in the Slot range. 

Eventually we moved back to some docks at Nassauville and here Tim put a Flounder in the boat, then we finished up down at Broward fishing an outgoing tide. Tim added a couple of Sheepshead to his catch total at the first spot. But when we moved down the island we worked it pretty good but had no luck. It had been a beautiful day and with two friends getting together to get in a day fishing we counted it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Making the best with Fiddler Crabs

 The last thing I expected when walked in to the bait store this afternoon was for them to be (temporarily) out of live Shrimp AND Mud minnows. Oh lordy!  But they did have some fiddler crabs so I purchased a pint and a few packages of artificial baits and headed out to Goffinsville Park thinking we may be in for a long afternoon of fishing. I met William and Dara Blalock and their friends Brian and Janet Roach and we headed over to Broward Island to fish a tide that had been coming in for about an hour and half.

 I did have have some left over mud minnows so we used them and the crabs and it didn't take long before Janet "knocked the
skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. And just minutes later Dara had tossed back to a large drainage, had a bump, set the hook, and landed a keeper sized Flounder. 

We fished that area pretty good and caught a good handful of fish with William adding a keeper sized Seatrout to the box. The fiddler crabs were getting fish - Reds, a small Sheepshead, and even a Seatrout hit 'em.  We then ran way up the Nassau and dipped into a creek and fished the bank, alternating between the minnows and crabs and both caught fish. They added another keeper Flounder, another keeper Trout, and three small Slot Redfish to their catch. 

The wind had picked up as we came back down the river and fished Seymore's Pointe with float rigs, which produced nothing. But in behind the land mass, we were out of the wind and  it was pleasant fishing so we decided to work the docks with those crabs and it paid off. They caught Trout, a couple of feisty Redfish, then Brian topped things off with a good bite, and better fight, and he eventually landed the biggest Red of the day, a nice 23" Slot fish. We had made do with what we had and we had a nice box of fish so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Big Bang at the End

 I was wondering who was crazier, me or my guests for wanting to fish this morning, especially when I
stepped out of the house and it was pouring rain. I got the boat ready to go, came in for some coffee, and as I headed to the bait shop it was still raining, and they were surprised to see me or anyone else heading out to fish. But the forecast called for the rain to stop mid morning, so when I met Steve Locke and his fishing buddy Jason out at the Goffinsville boat ramp we all had on our rain gear, and we headed out.

The first stop was down at Broward Island, fishing jigs on the very last of an outgoing tide. The water was a bit muddy, which had me worried, but Steve soon knocked the skunk of when he hooked and landed a feisty Redfish. Jason followed that up with a keeper sized Seatrout, then added another feisty Red to the catch total.  We picked up one or two more Reds and a Blue, fishing under the Bald Eagles, and we missed a couple of fish, too. 

We made our way around to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings, got a few nibbles, and Steve put another Trout in the boat.  After heading back around to some docks at Nassauville and here the water was calm with the wind blocked by the land mass. It took a few minutes but eventually both anglers began to get bites, and hookups. Steve took his chances up near a submerged log and caught another Red, a hard fighting Blue Fish, and then both he and Jason got in to some Flounder, catching and landing 5 of them with two being of keeper size. And we missed a few. 

Back Seymore's we switched to float rigs and they caught another Red, another Flounder, and another Blue Fish. On further around we fished a large drainage at the last of an incoming tide and this is when we had the Big Bang!  The duo began to get Seatrout of nice size, the biggest was 18.5" caught by Steve.  After Jason had made a cast that got him up alongside a grassy point, his float drifted and, BAM! Fish On!  He worked the fish out fairly quickly and we were thinking maybe a small Red, especially when it boiled, but then it began to rip drag with a vengeance and we knew it was big. There was a chance it may cut off on the shallow oysters but Jason stayed with it and finally brought to the net a big 26.5" "tournament" sized Redfish, boy what fish. They added a few more Trout to the boat, 6 keepers in all and of course there were a few that we missed. But as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as a wet fishing trip that turned out pretty good!

Grande Slam For The Day

 I fished with the Prolog's Hand and Mary and their daughter Mollie to day, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. And after running up the Nassau to our first stop at a dock at Seymore's I was feeling pretty confident that we were going to get in to some fish today. The tide was supposedly low and just starting in, and it was at this spot, but we struggled with bait stealers swiping our live shrimp off the jigs. We did outsmart a couple of them but had no luck with any bigger fish. 

Our next stop; was down at Broward Island and even though it had been "low tide" for about 45 minutes, it was still going out. We fished a good bit and dealt with the bait stealers again, then we moved on down the way and fished back. Here, we finally got into some fish - Mollie "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Seatrout catch. But again, that was it. 

Back up the island we went and now that the tide had begun to come in, we finally started catching.  Mary put a keeper sized Sheepshead in the boat, then all three anglers were catching Redfish, one of which was in the Slot. Mary had a Seatrout catch which gave here an Amelia Islands Back Country Slam. When the bite slowed, we move on, heading back to Nassauville. 

Fishing between two docks we didn't get too much action, but Mary did have a strange bite, a hookup, and patiently brought to the net a almost legal Flounder to round out her very on Grande Slam. 

Our final stop was up the Nassau and into a Creek where we worked bank with logs. It was some finesse casting but they were up to it and caught a couple of Seatrout and Redfish. We had had a beautiful day and had pulled in some fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Steady Catch'n

 

I kicked off the week fishing with David Vice and his friends Robert and Henrietta, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp at sun  up. We made a quick run over to the Back River and set up to fish float rigs with mud minnows on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. It was only minutes when they began to get bites. David started it off with Seatrout, catching one after the other. Robert followed that up with some feisty Redfish catches then they were all catching fish. Redfish, Seatrout, Redfish, Redfish, Seatrout. Henrietta was on the stern and picked up a couple of her own.

We the ran down the Nassau and fished Spanish Drop, sticking with the float rigs and tangled with some Ladyfish, then moved up to a large drainage and caught more Redfish, more Seatrout, and Henrietta hooked and landed a keeper sized Flounder (released due to the closed season). We fished a dock later and caught a couple of Mangrove Snapper, a Whiting and a small Sea Bass. 

After fishing another dock where we caught a couple of more Mangroves, we made our way down to Broward Island on the last of the outgoing tide, but the wind had kicked up, and the bite fell off so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Variety, Good Fish at Amelia Island

 Although it was a bit overcast this morning, it made for a great day of fishing with only a slight breeze blowing. I had met Jonathan Valdez and his father-in-law Dan out at the Goffinsville Park on an "almost low" tide -it was still going out, so we went down a ways and fished between two docks with jigs and live shrimp. Both anglers had a "bump" now and then but it was Jonathan who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and battle a large Catfish to the net. We had a Salt Marsh Mink sighting there, too. 

We then ran down to Broward Island and set up to fish the still outgoing tide, under the watchful eye of a Bald Eagle. Both anglers were getting good casts to the exposed drop off and when we bot between two logs the action commenced. Dan hooked up  and when his drag began to rip we knew it had a bit of size. While he was battling that, Jonathan hooked up and brought to the net a feisty Black Drum. Dan patiently played his fish and soon landed a Slot Sized Redfish. And shortly after that he caught a keeper sized Seatrout.

After fishing Broward we made our way back to Seymore's Pointe, then down to Spanish Drop where the duo tangled with high flying Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle. Then Jonathan, after just switching to a float rig and live shrimp, had his float disappear. He tightened up the line, lifted his rod and let the hook set and Fish On! Jonathan expertly brought it to the net and landed the feisty Redfish.  As we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Redfish On Fire #2

 I fished a "double" today and went out this afternoon. After having a super fine-Christmas-left-overs-ham-sandwich at the Old Town Bait and Tackle picnic tables I met Tim Parker and his son Wes with plans to try and duplicate this morning's trip. I knew it would be a struggle early with that high tide we were facing - we're just not getting any fish on the high with these cold waters (water temp was 46 this morning).  But we had a plan! We made a cold run all the way  up to the Jolley River where we eased into Snook Creek and broke out some jigs and live shrimp to fish a deep hole. Although we had a nibble or two we had not takers. We worked some grass with floats then moved up into a small creek as the tide started out and tossed the jigs again. No bites!

But the tide was beginning to move so we made a run around to Bell River and set up above a dock and here Wes "knocked the skunk off" by landing a keeper sized 17" Sheepshead. He then hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. I was feeling a bit better and sure enough we began to get more bites and more fish. This duo landed a couple of more Trout, one of which was keeper size, then they put a few feisty Redfish in the boat. 

The tide was really getting down so we made the run back to Eagans Creek and to the "hot dock". The  minute we were set up we began to get bites - one Redfish after the other. Most of them were 16"-17.75" but we had a few that were in the Slot, the biggest being just over 20".  We fished and caught until the sun was about to go down had to "leave them biting", but as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

One After Another

 

Yesterday I fished with Gregg and Dannie Fitzgerald out of Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We fished some docks at Nassauville where I was sure we'd have good success using jigs and live shrimp,  but all we picked up were a couple of Sea Bass and a "bait stealer". We then fished the Nassau River, tossing the jigs, but to no avail. But when we switched to float rigs we began to get some fish. The duo caught a couple of feisty Redfish and a good handful of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size.

Today Dannie decided to stay home for some rest but Gregg brought along his father and his partner Ginnie and I met them at the Old Town Bait Shop ramp. We had a west wind still blowing so a quickly crossed over the intercoastal, hugged Tyger Island north and found some flooded marsh grass to fish with float rigs and live shrimp. But we had  no bites. We crossed over a creek and fished some more grass, and again, no bites. 

After running thru Tyger, around to the Bell and up Landsford we found a grassy island where Guy finally "knocked the skunk off" with a feisty Redfish catch. We fished that spot some more, moved over to a couple of more grassy islands, had some nibbles, then made a short run back to Soap Creek. There, we fished a large outflow with the floats, again, no bites, then we worked the bank for a bit, and again, no bites.  What the heck?

So we made the run back to Egans Creek, and found some dock pilings to fish, switching to jigs and the shrimp. The "demo" cast produced a bite - we hooked up and Ginnie reeled in a Redfish. And from then on....it was one fish hookup after another!  Rat Red, Rat Red, Rat Red, Slot Red, Rat Red, Slot Red, Rat Red, Rat Red, Rat Red, Black Drum, Rat Red, Black Drum, Rat Red, Rat Red, Slot Red, BIG REd, Rat Red, Slot Red, Rat Red, Black Drum, Flounder, Slot Red, Slot Red, Rat Red, Rat Red -- We would have had to have a "clicker" to count them. But we did count the Slot fish and ended up with at least 10( there might have been a few that I didn't measure that were right at the 18" mark). We had numerous "double" hookups and ended the day with Guy and his Dad reeling in double Slot Redfish. As we eased back to the dock we counted it as another GREAT day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe of The Month: Redfish on the Halfshell

This recipe comes from one of my angler guests, William Blalock. His dad showed me pictures of the end product and it looked so good I had to track William down and get his recipe! 

2 large or 4 small red fish fillets on the half shell (skin left on one side)

Marinade:

1/4 cup- Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup- extra virgin olive oil

1/4-1/2 -teaspoon- cayenne pepper (to your likeness 🔥)

1/4 tsp - dried thyme

1 Tbsp - paprika

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 - sweet onion

1 - lemon

2 - whole garlic cloves

1 - bunch - parsley (approx. 1 TBS)

1/2- stick (unsalted/diced)- butter

- Lay red fish fillets in a bowl/ dish flesh side up.

- Pour marinade ingredients over the fillets, rub in

well, and set aside.

- Thin slice the onion, garlic, and half of a lemon.

- Squeeze the reserved half a lemon over the fish.

- Lay the thin sliced onion and garlic over the fish

and allow the fillets to marinade for 30 minutes.

- Preheat your grill to medium heat, and place the

fillets on the grill flesh side down, reserving the

sliced onions and garlic. (We sear ours on the

blackstone, then transfer to the Green egg).

- After the flesh side has nice color and grill

marks, turn the fillets flesh side up, and add the

reserved onion and garlic slices from earlier.

- Once fish has been cooking for a total of about 20 minutes, place a cast iron
sauce pan on the grill.

- Add in butter. Once it is half way melted, remove the pan from the grill and add parsley. Stir.

- Season sauce with sea salt to taste and a squeeze of lemon.

- Remove the red fish from the grill and pour sauce over the top.  Garnish the top of the fillets with thin sliced lemon, and enjoy!

* this is adapted from The BBQ

Solid Lead

We had an uncharacteristic(for the week) forecast for some winds today, 11-14mph which ended up being correct, and made for some challenging fishing. But we persevered, fished, and ended up with a fairly decent day of "fish catching".

I had met the Latino family down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. Pete and Robin and their kids Marin and Jake were eager to get out on the water so we headed up the Nassau River and all the way around to Middle Marsh where we set up alongside some flooded marsh grass on a tide that had been going out for about two hours. I had fished this spot only once before but we had caught a nice Slot Redfish there. I wasn't feeling real confident when I

saw the west wind murkying up the water. Marin and Jake were out first with their casts, Marin on the stern and Jake on the bow and I think it was Jake's first drift when he had a hookup and a nice fish on! Jake fought the fish valiantly and soon landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish! That's the way to start a day! We fished that spot a bit, moved up to Pumpkin Hill and fished some edges there, then moved on. As I figured, that west wind was really making some mud along the shore.

We came back to Nassauville and tried to fish some rocks with the floats but the current was ripping so we moved around and fished some dock pilings, now out of the wind. Robin was helping out, coaching and encouraging as the other trio of anglers began to do battle with Mangrove Snapper. I think I'd have to say that Marin was making the best casts of all, but little did I now that Jake was keeping count of the fish caught! At one point he announced the total and with a solid lead, sat down to take a break from the action.

Pete finally had a solid hookup and this one was pulling some drag - no Mangrove this time. He played it patiently and soon brought to the net a nice 18" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. He and Marin caught Mangroves until it was time to leave and as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Heat Rising

Yesterday afternoon the forecast called for about a 50% chance of rain for this morning, but when I got up early it was down to about a 14%. We had already decided to chance it and it was all the better of a forecast. I met John Williams down at the south end ramp and he had his two kids, Hadden (8) and Ruth (6) along to help with the fishing!

We made a short trip up the intercoastal, then into the Nassau and began fishing a tide that had been going out for about 4-hours - the shell were showing. We began working a large drainage with jigs and live shrimp, and minnows but had no bites until we reached a corner of shell then John hooked up and, Fish On1  John played it perfectly - the fish fought up near the shore then headed down river but John was ready and followed it back to the stern. He patiently wore it out and landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. 

Hadden moved up to the bow and began fishing the same spot and only minutes later he had a fish on. He had made an excellent cast and kept his line tight, felt the bump, set the hook and had a fish!  Hadden played it perfectly and soon landed a 20" Slot Redfish.

We moved down the river and fished Twin Creeks, had some bumps, but no takers, then we ran further up the Nassau and fished between two docks. Here, All three anglers boated some Mangrove Snapper, two of which were of keeper size. Young Ruth was casting on her own and was able to reel in one of these sneaky biters. We fished some pilings at another dock then made the run down to Broward and fished deep for a bit, to no avail. 

It had been getting hotter and hotter all morning but we made one last run thru Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff for a bit, then headed back with some cool breeze blowing. We had a few nice fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

A Good Flurry

 I fished again today with Bob Blalock who had along as his guests his in-laws Tommy and Martha. We left the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp as the sun was coming up behind us and headed over to Tyger Island to try our hand at fishing the logs on the first of an incoming tide. All three anglers were getting good casts as as we worked the bank. We picked up a handful of "bait stealers" before Bob finally put a barely legal Seatrout in the boat. 

We then made the long run outside of Tyger, down to the Bell, up into Lanceford and then we eased in to Soap Creek with plans to fish an exposed oyster bed. Bob and Wanda stayed with the jig and shrimp combo but Tommy switched to a float and drifted long out of the stern. Tommy found a hot spot back there and caught one, two, three Seatrout one after the other.  But Bob and Martha were getting good

casts and they found a good flurry of action, catching feisty Redfish on each cast. After working that bank until they quit biting we moved on. 

Our next stop was down at some docks on Lanceford and I think it was the first cast to the pilings when we had a hookup. Martha was on the rod and she expertly played another nice Redfish to the net.  The bait stealers moved in and we moved on. 

We stopped at BM3, a marsh drainage and fished the mouth with float rigs and in no time Bob hooked up and brought to the boat another keeper sized Seatrout-the biggest Trout of the day. After fishing a flooding oyster point at Bell River, then some more flooding shell on the outside of Tyger, we headed back across the river and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

The Last 20 MInutes

 We gambled to day, fishing early in hopes that we wouldn't stay wet the whole day! The forecast wascalling for chances of rain in the 70% range all morning and when I left the bait shop it was already raining. But after I launched it had quit and all we had were sullen skies. I met Derek Kessler and his son Eli up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. We had a high tide right at launch so we bounced over to the outside of Tiger and eased up to the grass and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp. The current wasn't hardly moving yet but we had some good action early, caching a couple of feisty Redfish, a small Trout and then Eli put the first keeper in the boat, a fat Mangrove Snapper. 

After buzzing thru Horsehead, over to the Bell, and up Lanceford we ran to a small grass patch an dfished it with the float rigs. Not a bite. We eased over to Dave's dock, fished it for a bit and again, not a bite. We then motored out and back around to Soap Creek and set up fishing a large marsh run out. Derek put a hungry Trout in the boat right off. As we eased along the shore line to an oyster/grassy island things began to pick up The duo of anglers caught one feisty Redfish after the other, and a couple of fat Seatrout.

Our next stop was around at some docks, fishing the pilings after switching to jigs and shrimp. After Derek had made an excellent cast to the pilings, he had a strong bite and, BAM! Big fish on. Derek played it patiently, worked it out from the pilings, then applied the pressure and brought to the net a nice 4-spot Slot 21" Redfish. 

We were running out of time so we made one more stop back towards town, fishing some expose oysters with the jigs. We had a couple of Catfish caught then Derek, who had switched back to a float, saw his float go slowly under and he lifted, set the circle hook, and Fish On! Derek reeled in a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder. We eased on along the bank, tossing jigs to a nice run out and BOOM! Another big fish on. Derek played it to the boat and expertly landed a big 23" Seatrout, big enough to put him in the 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. Boy what a fish. Those last two fish were caught within 20 minutes of wrapping up so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

40 Plus

 It was a tad bit cooler this morning, but clear and only a slight breeze, which made for an absolutely
beautiful day. And to top it off, the fish bite was on fire! I had met William and Bob Blalock out at Goffinsville Park and we made our coldest run down to Broward Island to fish with jigs and live shrimp on the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. My first stop didn't produce much but as we drifted back with the current the two anglers began to pick up fish. They caught a good handful of Redfish, a couple of which were in the Slot, but were released to see another day. Bob also put a big Black "puppy" Drum in the boat and William had a keeper sized Seatrout.

Our next stop was back at Nassauville -we fished a deep spot that I had had success at but not today! At William's suggestion, we moved up to one of our old "honey holes" and BAM! It was lights out. He and Bob both began to catch one Seatrout after the other. Most of the Trout were 14-14 3/4" in length, but they did get a couple of more keepers. Then Bob had a strong hookup and put another nice Black Drum in the boat, then he had weird bite, a hookup, and landed a big 18" Sheepshead. We caught 'em (Trout) until we got tired of catch'n 'em!

Our next stop was around at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. The tide had just started back in  and it didn't take long before we were catching fish. They put a few more Slot sized Redfish in the boat, then another big Drum. We moved a dock down and BOOM! Multiple catches of feisty Redfish. We tried to guess how many fish we had caught but couldn't, so we estimated 40 plus!  Boy what a day! Another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Drum City

I fished with Bob Blalock this morning, meeting him out at Goffinsville Park early with plans to fish the back waters of Amelia Island. We headed  north from the ramp to fish a particular dock but the owner was out doing some exercises so we kept on going as not to disturb him!  We picked another dock and Bob began tossing jigs and live shrimp to the pilings - he got a few nibbles but no takers - then, BOOM! He had a hookup. Bob played it to the boat and landed a nice18" Black "puppy" Drum. Fishing the pilings with shrimp paid off. Bob landed a good handful of the Drum, a couple of more "keeper" sized, some of which he threw  back. He also picked up some Croaker, some small Mangrove Snapper, a small Sheepshead, and a couple of small Seatrout.

We eased back around the corner and the exerciser was gone so we set up off of some rocks and began floating shrimp along the edge and began to get bites. You had to be on your toes but the Mangrove Snapper were feeding and Bob put 5 nice 12-13" fish in the boat before we moved on to find bigger fish.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide, an ideal tide to be there. But the fish didn't get the message!  Bob landed a couple of small Mangrove's and a small Flounder but that was it. We made a final stop up at Pumpkin Hill, fishing the float rigs. We picked up a small Redfish then one drift we both saw something "pop" the float. Seconds later the float disappeared, Bob tightened up and the hook set and, Fish ON! He worked it patiently to the boat - we were thinking "Redfish" but when it came to the net we saw it was a large 22" Seatrout, big enough to move Bob into a 2nd place tie in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). That was a great fish to wrap up the day - a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.