Boy what a beautiful morning we had today! I met Tatum Nolan and her NEW fiancé Victor Jelici down at Sawpit Creek early and we made our way around to Sawpit bridge with slip floats and live shrimp, to no avail. I have fished with Tatum and Victor a few times in the past but this time they announced that they were newly engaged! We made our next stop at up Spanish Drop, fishing the exposed shell beds on a tide that still had a couple of hours of going out to hit bottom. We worked along that bank and could see some bait movement up along the edge, but we had no real bites.
After running up the river a bit we fished some dock pilings with jigs and live shrimp and here we finally "knocked the skunk off". Tatum reeled in a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum then she went back to the same spot and BAM! -Right off, had a hookup. She played it expertly to the net and landed a big 20.25" Seatrout, boy what a fish! This fish moved Tatum into 3rd place in the 2024 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We added one more fish, a Jack Crevalle, before we moved on.
Our next stop was up the Nassau, fishing between two docks. The duo added a small Flounder then it was Victor's turn to battle the big fish. Had cast up shallow, let his bait fall down the river bottom, and in about 20' of water, Big Fish On! Victor played it patiently and after a good battle landed another 20.25" Seatrout to tie his future spouse in that Bragging Rights Tournament!
We came back and fished Bubblegum Reef and caught a Mangrove Snapper, then made our way down to Broward Island to fish the very last of that outgoing tide. They had a flurry of catching a small Seatrout, a small Flounder then Victor had a strong hookup. He fought it to the boat and landed Slot sized Redfish.
We had had good weather, caught some fish, and celebrated a new engagement with a fishing trip, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
Storm a'coming tomorrow! But we the water was like glass this morning when I launched at Sawpit Creek and after meeting Allen Webb, we made a long run up the Nassau, all the way to Broward, and pulled up to fish jigs as the tide had been coming in for about an hour. It didn't take long and Allen was on a fish - he played it perfectly and landed a "just in the slot" Redfish. He also picked up a keeper sized Seatrout down deep with the jigs. We moved down the way and fished the bank close and this paid off with a couple of more feisty Redfish catches and a good handful of just undersized Sheepshead. After fishing down with the Bald Eagles, we moved on.
Our next stop was back at Nassauville, fishing between a couple of docks and here we had a handful of Seatrout caught, again, down deep, and also a Catfish. We then made the run way up the Nassau, and into a creek to fish a log lined bank. We both marveled at the beauty and peacefulness of the area, but I think we only had one bite that was a fish, and one Blue Crab that we brought to the boat.
Our final stop was back down the Nassau, around at Seymore's, fishing the last of an incoming tide with float rigs. We caught another small Trout or two, a Bluefish, and then our float disappeared with a vengeance. Allen fought it patiently, kept that rod bent while it ran and the drag ripped, and we both were guessing, "Redfish". But when Allen got it to the boat and I went to dip it, Boy What a Trout! We got it in the the boat and she measured right at 24.75". A whopper of a Trout -she just couldn't pass up one more shrimp for her morning meal! That fish moved Allen solidly into the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).
We fished a bit more but the wind was now up so we headed back. We had a few good fish in the box, Bragging Rights in the bag, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I fished this morning with Leah and Brian Newsom and their grandson Caleb, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We put out 3 crabs traps on the way to the first stop, over at Tyger Island, but when we got there we began fishing jigs and live shrimp on an incoming tide. We didn't have a whole lot of action but we did snag a nice Flounder that Leah and Caleb teamed up to reel in.
Our next stop was up the Jolley, sticking with the jigs, fishing Snook Creek for a bit, to no avail, then we came out and drifted float rigs down the bank and here Brian had a strong hookup going long and expertly brought to the net a keeper sized Seatrout (eventually released). We had a few good bites along there then fished back at Tyger Cut with the floats, then made our way back around to the outside of Tyger.
Here we had good action catching Bluefish, putting a good handful in the boat. Leah did have one bite that took it all -float, leader and hook so we don't know what that was! We then checked the crab traps with Brian pulling them up and Caleb supervising, but we had no luck. Don't call me a Crabber! But we had a beautiful morning, 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.
Back at it today, fishing south early this morning. I had met William and Dara Blalock out at Goffinsville as the sun came up and we made a quick run down the river to fish between two docks on a tide that still had a few hours to hit bottom. The two anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and makjng excellent casts and it paid off.
Dara kicked things off with a nice, keeper sized Seatrout catch, then added another, then another with each betting respectively bigger, the biggest measuring right at 19". All fish caught today were released. Dara also added a keeper sized Flounder to her catch total.
We moved around the corner and fished some dock pilings and here William hooked up and landed Sea Bass. We moved over to fish Bubblegum Reef, a spot I hadn't fished in years, and it was a good move. William caught and landed another, bigger, Sea Bass, then Dara put a small Sheepshead in the boat, then hooked up and landed a respectable 17.75" Sheepshead to give her a Slam for the morning. But She wasn't finished!
After running down to Broward Island we fished a spot on the last of the outgoing tide, really just killing time, and boy did we get into some fish. Dara found some nice Seatrout deep, then William began to get feisty Redfish off the stern. Then Dara's drag went off and the battle was on! Dara played the big fish patiently, let it run down river, then worked it back slowly, let it run, worked it back, and finally brought to the net a big oversized 28.5" Redfish, boy what a fight, boy what a fish!
The duo continued to catch fish - I lost count at 8 keeper sized Seatrout, but Dara did add a couple of Black "puppy" Drum for her Grande Slam, then later, fishing a jigs and Gulp minnow, added a keeper sized Weakfish to get her Super Duper Grande Slam for the day. The Redfish, Trout and Sheepshead put Dara on the Bragging Rights list in three Categories - maybe a first! (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We had caught a bunch of fish, had a beautiful day, and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
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!
I was feeling a little uneasy when after hitting our first spot today and the weather seemed like it was going to be a factor in our success. I had met Todd Schroeder, his daughter Allana, and his dad Dennis up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle early this morning and we eased out of Eagans Creek with the nav lights on. That first stop was around at Tyger Island, thinking that the tide had only been coming in for a couple of hours and maybe the downed trees would still be showing but when we arrived the tide was already up and the North wind was blowing right down the pipe. When my first "demo" cast hung on a stump it went downhill from there. We moved up the island and fished deep but had no luck and moved on.
After running thru Tyger Basin and over to Bell we set up between two docks and fished back to the pilings. Todd had two quick good bites and then he hooked up on the third - he played it patiently and brought to the boat a Slot Redfish to "knock the skunk" off. We sat there and tinkered with bait stealers but also caught Redfish. Allana did here share, hooking up and landing multiple Reds, one Slot that had 4 Spots. Granddad Dennis was stuck on the bow so I had him drifting a fixed float down the adjacent grass line. The next thing I new he had a hookup, a bend in his line and the drag was ripping. That drag ripping made me think it was a Redfish but then it started thrashing on the water and sure enough, we he landed it, it was a big 20.5" Seatrout - the biggest Trout of the year and big enough to move Dennis into first place in the 2024 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). When the bite slowed, we bounced down the docks and found another Redfish or two.
We then moved around the corner and fished a bulkhead and Todd picked up the action. Fishing a fixed float in about 6' of water, he had his float disappear and, Fish On! Todd worked it expertly to the boat and landed a big 19" Seatrout, a fish big enough to move him in to 2nd place in the Bragging Rights Tournament. He added one more Trout to his catch total there.
The tide had gotten up really high and we tried a couple of other spots but had no real bites so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island Florida.
The last couple of trips I've noticed we're picking up bigger Seatrout - in the 17"-18" range, and today was no exception. I had met Kimberly Manek and her friend Jeremy up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. As we eased out of Eagans Creek the wind was blowing around 10mp but it was expected to get up to 17mph before the morning was over. We made a quick run over to Bell River, up the river, and found a flooded point of grass to fish with float rigs and live shrimp. The anglers were throwing right into the wind, but they were still getting good drifts, but also had no bites.
We then ran up Lanceford Creek and got in between two docks and stayed with the floats and out of th wind, we caught fish. Both anglers had good hookups and brought to the boat a handful of Seatrout, the biggest being right at 18". We then moved around the corner and drifted back to a dock and caught another Trout. After easing over to a flooded grass patch, Jeremy managed his float along side it and picked up a couple of more Trout.
After running back down Lanceford, up the Bell, and cutting thru to Tyger we fished a large outflow with the floats, but had no luck.
Back thru Tyger Basin we went, over to the Bell, and then a long run up it to fish some docks. Kimberly got hot here, picking up one Seatrout after another off the stern. Then Jeremy went in closer to the bank and caught the first Redfish of the day. We bumped the boat in and fished a dock and caught 2-3 more Redfish. After dropping back and fishing another dock, to no avail, Kimeberly went to the bank with a cast and on the retrieve she had a "bump", set the hook, and caught and landed another big 18" Seatrout.
We had avoided the wind for the most part, found Seatrout action here and there, had 8 soon-to-be-filets 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
Back to work after a long weekend off in Charleston, I met the Andreasen fishing party early up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. It was Pat Andreasen, his son-in-law Bryan, grandson Mason, and friend Frank as we eased out up Eagans Creek and found some dock pilings to fish on a tide that had been coming out for a couple of hours. We weren't ready for the "demo" cast of live shrimp on a jig because right off, BAM! Big Fish On1 Before we know it, the fish was around a piling and off. Ouch.
But these anglers were not to be deterred. Young Mason put a couple or three feisty Redfish in the boat before the adult anglers could blink. Finally, granddad Pat, who was tossing a float rig up over some oysters picked up a couple of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size, then he added a feisty Redfish to his catch.
We then ran down the Amelia River to fish some structure, casting to the edge and letting the jig fall down the river bottom. I was beginning to think that we may need to move when BAM! Pat hooked up and battled a big 25" Slot Red to the net. Then BAM! Mason was catching Redfish, one after the other. Then BAM! Pat hooked up and battled and landed a "Tournament" sized 26.75" Redfish. He and Mason had their number for a good while then Bryan finally joined in to put a Trout in the boat.
Our next stop was back up north, fishing deep with jigs and here we got in to some Seatrout. Frank had been "laying back" but he joined in to put some Trout in the boat. All four anglers were catching fish and added three more keeper sized Trout to the box. As time wound down, Mason took home the hardware, the coveted GPK! And as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
Hallelujah! The bad weather finally let up and we were able to get out and do some fishing today! I met Jason Ash and his buddy Tom up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early - the tide had been coming in for about an hour and a half so we eased up the creek and found some dock pilings to fish with jigs and live shrimp. It took a few minutes then Tom "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. Then Jason, fishing a little shallower near the bank began to catch Redfish. He could make a cast up to one spot and BAM! Fish On! He had brought a few to the boat before Tom took the "can't beat 'em join 'em" attitude and cast to the same area and caught fish too.. The duo ended up with a couple of Slot Redfish to go along with the dozen or so "Rat" Reds they landed. They also added another Trout or two one of which was of keeper size. Good start at the first spot!
We then made the run over to the outside of Tyger and fished a stretch of flooding marsh grass, had one small "bump", then moved on. Our next stop was up the Jolley River where we switched to Float rigs and the live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good drifts and picked up a couple of Redfish, one of which was in the Slot, then Tom had a good take and as his drag began to rip we knew, Big Fish On! Tom kept the pressure on, played it patiently as it bulled up to the grass, worked it out, let it run, and eventually landed a big 26.5" "tournament" Slot Redfish! Boy what a fish!
After running on around to the Bell River we fished deep with jigs between some docks and found that we could hookup and land Seatrout out deep. They had a good flurry of catches and put another keeper Trout in the box. Then they found that they could pitch closer to the shore and get feisty Redfish. Again, we had some great action at this last spot so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
Whenever I've seen this on a restaurant menu I tended to shy away from it because I didn't know what it was! Donna Givens sends this tasty recipe in, via her husband John, angler, who I run in to at the bait shop on occasion. It's easy to prepare, doesn't need a whole lot of ingredients and as mentioned, very tasty! Thank you Donna! I "fun" fished today and lucked up on this 21" Seatrout so the fish was FRESH for this recipe!
Makes 2 servings
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds(toast on stove top: 1 T butter, almonds - watch it! Be careful not to burn!) I did this first and set aside.
2 Trout filets
1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper both sides of Trout, then dredge in flour, shake off excess.
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
Heat in non-stick pan on medium heat a few minutes on each side until opaque white. Set cooked filets aside.
I fished north again today, meeting Scott Jones and his fishing team - Mathew and Andrew - up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We eased down Eagans Creek and made our way over to the outside of Tyger Island to set up tossing float rigs with live shrimp on the first of an outgoing tide. These anglers had made a good handful of casts and only had some small nibbles and I was beginning to get a bit worried when I heard Scott's reel "rip" and when I turned around and saw his rod bent I knew we hand a nice fish on. Scott said later he thought it was a nice Redfish but after expertly playing it to the net we saw that it was a big 22.25" Seatrout, boy what a fish, and big enough to move him into first place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).
Then Mathew had a strong hookup and this big fish was half way to Georgia before it slowed down! Mathew stayed patient, worked it in, let it run, worked it in, let it run, but eventually wore it out and brought it to the boat -a 4' Bonnethead Shark which we photographed and released.
We crossed over the creek and fished a large drainage and here Scott put a couple of Slot sized Redfish in the boat and Mathew added another big Seatrout to the catch total. After running up and around Tyger, we tried our hand with some jigs and minnows at a run out, tangled with a couple of Ladyfish, and moved on. We then worked Jolley "bank" with the float rigs, battled the Ladyfish, and picked up another nice Trout.
On further up, at Snook Creek, Scott went in close to the shore with a float rig and hooked up and landed the biggest Redfish of the day, one that measured right at 22". Andrew woke up and brought a few Ladyfish to the net in quick succession, Scott fought and landed a Bonnethead, then Mathew had a "bump", set the hook and reeled in a Flounder to round round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Flounder. After fishing the MOA for just a bit, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I fished today with Mark Richardson, his son Braden and his friends Chris and Landon, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle ramp early. We made a run over to Lanceford Creek and fished some flooding oyster beds on a high and incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. Chris fairly quickly put a hungry Seatrout in the boat and shortly after that Braden had a strong hookup. This fish was "ripping drag" and I felt pretty sure it was going to be a big one, but it was not to be. It was thrashing in some shallow water over the shell bed and BAP! Fish Off! Boy that hurts!
We fished a couple of areas there, picking up a couple of Trout by Landon and Chris, then Mark battled a hard fighting Bonnethead to the net for pictures and release. We moved on around to "Millie's Spot" and again caught a couple of Trout, one of which was of keeper size.
We then made our way down the intercoastal and dipped into a creek and switched to jigs and shrimp. Chris picked up a Seatrout out deep, then Landon found a nice 16" Flounder at the mouth of a drainage.
Back out into the Intercoastal and down to some structure, fishing deep with the jigs, and in a cast or two Landon had a strong bite and Fish On! This was a big fish and was ripping drag and the fight was even more difficult when it got back into the current. But Landon was up to the task and patiently battled the big fish to the net, a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish which rounded out the team's Amelia Island Back Country Slam. And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
I fished a "double" today, both out of Old Town Bait and Tackle. The morning trip was with the Wolke crew -Jos and his brother-in-law Renzi and his son-in-law Rob and friend Nick. We had a high and incoming tide so we fished float rigs most of the morning with live shrimp. All four anglers boated fish -Seatrout and Bluefish and the highlight was a huge Seatrout that Nick battled to the boat. We ended the trip fishing some dock pilings with jigs and shrimp and caught a good "mess" of Black "puppy" Drum.
The afternoon trip I fished with William and Dara Blalock and now the tide was down and still going out. We fished some dock pilings where Dara caught a hungry Seatrout, then we ran up the Bell River where Dara continued her streak with another Seatrout catch and a couple of Black "puppy" Drum. I think William felt the pressure because at the next stop, the MOA, he had great cast, a strong hookup and then expertly played a Slot Redfish to the boat. From then on for about an hour we were catching fish. Dara took a turn at battling a Slot Red and at the same time, William reeled in a fat Seatrout. The duo caught another handful of feisty Redfish and a couple of more Seatrout. We moved across the river and worked a bank that seemed to be loaded with Sea Turtles, but Dara found her way thru to hookup and land another Slot Red. We fished outside of Tyger, behind Tyger and outside again then we headed back to the dock and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I was finally back out at Goffinsville this morning, meeting High School classmate Daniel Rhodes and his "Brother-in-Law" Jeff as the sun came up. We made a quick trip down the Nassau River and set up alongside a flooded shell bank on the last of an incoming tide and began to toss float rigs and live shrimp. I think it was Jeff's first drift and BAM! He had a strong hookup. I was even thinking it was a Redfish the way it thrashed up near bank. But after Jeff patiently worked it to the boat we netted a big 19.5" Seatrout!
From then on we were catching fish - both Jeff and Daniel were getting good drifts and they each hooked up with big Trout, and a couple of undersized ones. We moved around the corner and drifted another side and again, had some Big Trout caught. One of them had to go back because we had our limit already of one over 19" per boat. We fished some grassy islands, then came back around an fished a pocket, then moved on.
Our next stop was back around Seymore's Pointe, fishing a large drainage. Both Daniel and Jeff had some good bites, but not takers, until finally Jeff hooked up and reeled to the net a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. We fished Twin Creeks and caught a couple of Seatrout, then fished the rocks at Seymore's, to no avail, then Little Field, again, to no avail.
The final stop was up the Nassau where we dipped into a small creek and fished the deeper part of the cut bank, tossing jigs and live shrimp. Jeff got us back into action when he battled a feisty Redfish to the boat, then Daniel wrapped things up with a nice Slot Redfish catch. We had some good action today and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida
We've had a rough week! That cold air seemed to put a real damper on the fish bite but today there was a slight uptick. Yesterday, I fished two trips and it was slooow going. We did catch a few trout in the morning with John Frederick and his buddy Dan Forche, but that was about it. That afternoon I fished with the Lafave family - Josh and Sally and their two sons and even though they had excellent attitudes and a strong character of Perseverance, we were only able to land a fat Whiting. Both trips we were limited to fishing mud minnows.
But today was a new day when I met Glenn and Patti Lanford up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We headed out of Eagans Creek and made the run over to Soap Creek where we set up fishing float rigs and live shrimp and Glenn quickly knocked the skunk off with a hungry Seatrout catch. He followed that up with another. After fishing some docks further up the creek we came back to the mouth of Lanceford and fished a run out and here Glenn put another Trout in the boat.
Our next stop was down near Piney Island, fishing some dock pilings, but we had no luck. We moved further down the intercoastal and here Patti got on the board with feisty Redfish catch. Glenn added one as well. We moved up to a small drainage and again Patti put another Redfish in the net, and Glenn added another.
Our final stop; was back at the mouth of Bell River and here Patti wrapped things up with a Bluefish catch and a Seatrout. Although we didn't "tear them up" we did have a bit of action, and it was a beautiful day so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I wrapped my week up fishing with Frank Wytiaz and his long time buddy and fellow Vietnam veteran Brad, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We eased around the corner and set up fishing Sawpit Creek bridge with slip floats and live shrimp on the very last hour of an outgoing tide. It was a our first "drop" of the slip float and it had drifted only about 5' away from the boat when it disappeared! But Brad was ready and "on point" - he slapped his bail shut and started cranking and hooked up and landed a nice hungry Seatrout - now that's the way to start a day of fishing! Both anglers got their lines out and both caught fish - another couple of Seatrout and a couple of Bluefish.
We then ran up the Nassau and stopped at a marsh drainage, the tide still going out. We did the drift floats first then switched to jigs an shrimp, but had no luck. Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here Frank hooked up and landed another Seatrout. We then came around the corner and fished between a couple of docks where Brad reeled in a feisty Redfish and we picked up another Trout or two.
We fished Broward Island on the incoming tide but the wind had started kicking out of the NE and it made for some "not so fun" fishing so we moved back to the shelter of Nassauville and drifted the floats (to no avail).
Our final stop was back at the Intercoastal, near Sawpit, and on Frank's first drift he had his float go under- he caught up the slack, lifted his rod and Fish On! Frank played it perfectly and brought to the net another Redfish - a good way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I kicked off the new year yesterday fishing with Allen and Lavern Webb, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early on a clear sunny morning - and just a small bit of breeze-a great day for fishing! We bumped around to the Sawpit bridge and set up just as the tide started out, drifting slip floats in about 12' of water, back to the pilings and picked up a good handful of Seatrout, most in the 14" range.
We then made the run up the Nassau River to a large outflow at Seymore's Pointe, now drifting fixed 4 Horseman floats and here we again caught Trout. Lavern "went long" and picked up a keeper sized one. We bounced around a dock, drifted the floats, then came back to the other side and pitched jigs and live shrimp, but had no takers.
Our next stop was over at the mouth of Jackstaff, throwing the fixed floats at a a drainage and then along some marsh grass. We didn't get a nibble so we ran back thru Horsehead and around to the Nassauville docks where we went back to the jigs and this paid off with some Seatrout catches, deep, 18' of water.
The final stop was back fishing some dock pilings with the tide down a bit. Both anglers were getting "nibbles" but no takers until we had a strong bite and Fish On! Lavern was on the rod and patiently worked the big fish to the boat. After a good battle she landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish. We had a beautiful sunny day and had some action here and there so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I wrapped up my week, and my year, fishing with the Averbuch's -Mark, his son Jared, and his 8yo grandson Max, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. And, coincidently, last year my last trip was with the Averbuch's! I even counseled them that last years' trip was going to be hard to top - we had a good trip!
We made a short run around to the bridge at Sawpit and set up to drift slip floats and live shrimp back to the pilings and it was Max who had the first hookup, yelling "Fish On". He played it perfectly to the boat but it was not to be -the Seatrout threw the hook right at the boat! But Max wasn't to be deterred, and began to get good drifts back and it paid off. - he hooked up another one and this time landed the Trout, a keeper! From then on he and his Grandad Mark were catching Seatrout off the stern while Jared was left on the bow to try his hand at tossing a DOA plastic shrimp - white with chartreuse tail. He did hook up an land one - another keeper. Mark had drifted long, past the pilings and into the rising sun but he saw his float go under, lifted, and let the circle hook set and Big Fish On! He worked it slowly to the net as it dug deep a few times but eventually he brought to the net a big 21.25" Gator Trout! Boy what a fish!
Our next stop as up the Nassau where we fished some exposed shell beds on the very last of the outgoing tide with jigs and shrimp. Jared kept the skunk off by hooking up and landing a lone Trout. We continued on up the river, fished a drainage, then continued on to Bubblegum Reef where we tried our hand at losing some jigs to the structure!
After bumping over to Seymore's docks we fished deep for a bit, dropped way back and fished some abandoned pilings, then moved back up a dock after it was vacated by another anglers. Here, Jared had a strong hookup, some drag ripped, then, Fish Off! Ouch. But Jared went back with another excellent cast and again hooked up. This fish was fighting different than the Trout and sure enough, when he brought i to the surface, we saw that it was a nice 17" Sheepshead - another nice catch.
We finished the day down at some docks at Nassauville. I had thought that we had a pretty good day going already, but this was just icing on the cake. From the first cast, Jared was catching Seatrout with the jig an shrimp. Mark got in on the action and caught a few. Max, who was doing an admirable job casting (better than most teen-agers- soon found his niche and picked up some Seatrout then he was the one that had the strange hookup. This fish was pulling hard but Max was up to the task and battled the fish to the net to land a feisty Redfish - the first one on the boat for a day. Then he teamed up with his Grandfather to battle in another Redfish, this one was digging deep- they tag teamed it and soon landed a fat 24" Slot Red - another great fish. The sun was up, the weather had warmed so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
Finally, a warming trend! It was just a tad bit warmer this morning and I noticed the backwater water temperatures were in the low 50's. I had picked up John Raker out at Oyster Bay marina and we eased around the corner to fish some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide. John picked up a couple of small Sheepshead - I had a nice one on but it "threw the hook", then John landed a good handful of feisty Redfish.
We made our way down the intercoastal and turned in behind Piney Island and set up off a dock and here it was John's turn to have a big one toss the hook! But boy did that drag ripping sound good! He then caught another few of the feisty Reds, then had a keeper size Seatrout chase down his jig and shrimp - he hooked it up and landed it. Then shortly afterwards he had another strong bite, hooked it up and landed an even bigger Seatrout.
We tried our hand at some other docks, but deeper, then ran further down the intercoastal to dip into a creek where I thought for sure we'd get some fish, but that's what I get for thinking. We then headed back to Oyster Bay and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
We had a fairly cool morning today, 46 degrees when I launched up at Dee Dee Bartels Park - but it was sunny and clear with just a breeze. James Bush and his High School buddies, Andrew and Mason, had all met here at Amelia Island for a few days of rest, relaxation, and....a fishing trip in the back waters of Amelia Island. We made a run north and west and over to the Jolley River and began fishing the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been going out of a couple of hours. Throwing it right into the sun made it difficult to see the float. These guys were getting good casts and good drifts but we only had a couple of bites that didn't "take".
After running further up the river to Snook Creek James was able to "knock the skunk off" with a hungry Seatrout catch. We fished the outside with the floats then moved inside and tossed jigs for a bit, to no avail. We stopped at the MOA and tossed the jigs briefly but the oysters still weren't showing so we were casting blind.
Our next stop was around at the docks of Bell River and we stuck with the jigs. Mason was fishing off the stern and went up to the pilings with a good cast and it paid off, Fish On! He worked it to the boat and landed a keeper sized Sheepshead (all fish caught today were released). James picked up another Trout off the bow before we moved down a few docks to the "honey hole".
And the move paid off! All three anglers began to catch Seatrout off the bottom with the jigs. Andrew was fishing off the stern and got in on the action, catching a few of the Trout. About the time I'd think we needed to move on, they'd catch another Trout. A couple of these were of keeper size.
Our final stop was back at Egans Creek, fishing some dock pilings on the last of the outgoing tide. It took a few casts but eventually we were able to get some feisty Redfish to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Sheepshead, and Redfish. Again, all three anglers put Redfish in the boat and James topped it off with another Sheepshead catch. And we that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
