Redfish and Manatee Thick as Fleas

If you've kept up with this months fishing reports you've seen that almost every trip has seen anglers having huge success's with fish catching and the Redfish have been so abundant that I proclaimed them today "thick as fleas". I've never seen anything like it! With the exception of a few trips, most of these Reds have been small "Rat Reds", but they're fun to catch and if their numbers are any indication, it won't be but a year or two and we'll be wallowing in Big Reds! Madelaine Cosgrove of Jacksonville set up an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip for her grandchildren so we met at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning at 7am. Son-in-law Sam Cutting came along to support his two sons, Henry and Charlie, and his niece Megan for a day of "catching".
There was very little wind and the temperatures were expected to reach the mid-90's so we headed up to Jolley River to fish a run-out. It wasn't long before Charlie hooked up with a feisty Redfish, then Megan did too. The tide was high and just starting out so all the anglers were using live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. We picked up a few more then headed back to a large creek mouth near Tiger Island and as we were easing up to the grass line with the trolling motor we was the Manatee rolling and lolling in the shallows. This had to have been the biggest herd of Manatee that I've seen; there were big ones and little ones and they were having a grand time cavorting in the water. We fished out the other side of the boat and soon everyone was catching fish with most of them being Redfish with a few Croaker thrown in to make it interesting. Henry hooked up with a nice Red and played it expertly to the boat and Sam picked up a few, too. With so many bites we eventually ran out of shrimp so we headed in to the Bait House for a few more dozen and took in a nice break to stretch our legs. We made a brief stop in Eagans Creek, picking up a few more Reds, then headed to the mouth of Lanceford Creek.
The tide had dropped considerably and the oysters were showing so we switched to the jig/shrimp combo and sure enough, started picking up Redfish again, with a few Croakers to add to the catch. We had a bump of excitement when Henry had a Bonnethead Shark chase down his bait, hookup and put up a brief battle before he broke off. The sun was now getting hot so we headed in; the anglers had kept track of their "catch" and we totaled it up: 31 fish caught, another great day out on the water!

New Law could Tax Fishing Guides

PLEASE call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to oppose H.R. 3619, Sec. 301. If enacted, this law would allow State and Local governments to tax the services of Fishing Guides. That means my 1/2 day trip fare of $350 could have an added cost of $45! Wow, when will these yahoo's every learn? Read more about H.R. 3619 here.

Family Day of Fishing

The John Fagan family was in town, visiting from Mississippi, and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip. We met up at the south end boat ramp this morning and headed up the Intercoastal, making a brief stop at the Longpointe docks to pitch some mudminnows to the pilings on the last of an outgoing tide. We had no bites so we cruised up to the mouth of Jackstaff and anchored just eastof a runout. John's wife, Nancy and youngest daughter Baileigh had the hot rods early, boating Redfish, Drum, Trout and hard fighting, hard pulling Jack. Ashleigh joined in on the action, catching a Redfish and then Bonnethead shark. We moved across the creek to fish a sandbar point where John hooked up and brought to the net a nice, fat, keeper sized Trout. We ran around to Nassau River, anchoring at a runout on the first of the incomiing tide and everyone joined in to catch Redfish. Baileigh added to the "species caught" list by catching the "poor man's Tarpon" - a Ladyfish. She also pulled in a Bluecrab which we promptly cut up for bait. It wasn't long before drag was being ripped off the reel of the crab baited rig! John fought the fish expertly and eventually brought the 4' Bonnethead to the boat for veiwing, then we broke it off to be caught another day. One more stop produced a few more Reds with John pulling in the biggest for the day, another great one to be out on the water!

Three Generations Fishing

John Orr fished with me Saturday, courtesy of his wife Lynn, cashing in a Father's Day gift certificate. He brought along his father, David Orr and his nephew John, meeting me at 7am, Atlantic Seafood dock. We left promptly, but headed south to fish the Horsehead area. We eased up in to Jackstaff creek anchored, and unlimbered the spinning rods. "Little" John had the hot rod early, catching Drum, Redfish and Trout. Grandad David joined in on the action, picking up a few Reds and Drum, too. Then "Little" John caught a Trout and a hard fighting Jack.
David hooked something BIG and it kept going, ripping drag, and kept going until it eventually spooled the entire line and SNAP, it was gone! We all speculated that it was a large Bonnethead Shark, but in subsequent days, I've seen Tarpon rolling in the same creek - so who knows? "Big" John finally got in on the action by hooking up with another BIG fish -he fought it expertly from bow to stern and around the transom and almost had it up to the surface when it threw the hook and was gone! OUCH! We moved on up the creek, stopping to cast net for some finger mullet and young John tried his hand with the cast net to pick up a few shrimp. We stopped at a runout further up and Big John picked up a Redfish and a Trout. After a brief stop at Bubblegum Reef, we moved on down the Nassau River and with the tide just starting to come back in, found an oyster outcrop to wind the day up with number of small Redfish brought to the net. David topped it off with the biggest Red of the day then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Girls Braggin Rights

I had the opportunity to fish this morning with Mike Presley, his two daughters Meg and Sara Cate, and Mike's niece Becky. We left the South End dock promptly at 7am and headed straight for Jackstaff to fish the very last of an outgoing tide. There was only a slight breeze when we anchored at a runout and it wasn't long before the girls began to catch fish. Meg started it off by catching a Croaker then things started getting wild with Meg picking up a feisty Redfish then Sara caught a Trout. We all thought Becky might be getting left out of the "catching" but then she hooked up with something BIG and it wasn't running out drag like a shark. She fought the fish from stern to bow to stern, around the engine and then settle in for a tug-of-war, one that she eventually won by bringing to the boat an over sized, out of the slot
28" 7lb Redfish. Wow what a fish! The girls caught fish after fish after fish, bringing in more Reds and more Trout. Both Meg and Sara joined in by catching slot-sized Redfish; Sara and Becky both boated Black Drum while Becky picked up a ferocious Jack. Sara and Meg caught some small Bonnetheads, and they all hooked up with Croaker. With Redfish, Trout, and Black Drum in the boat you could pretty much argue the case for an "Amelia Island Slam", but the girls meant to make sure of it when Becky hooked up and caught a keeper sized Flounder! They returned to the dock with fish count of (14-15) Reds, (2) Trout, (4) Drum, (2) Jack, (1) Flounder,(4) Croaker, and (2) Shark and "2010 Braggin Rights"! What a great day to be out on the water!

Late Afternoon Fishing and lots of Fish Bites

Brian Deem was in town on business but took the time to get his older sons Jordan and Hunter out on the water for some Amelia Island backcountry fishing. We met at the South End boat ramp and headed up to Jackstaff to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. The oysters were already showing so we anchored up at a runout and it wasn't long before everyone was catching fish! In addition to some feisty Redfish action, they also hooked up to some Trout. Jordan had the opportunity to experience some BIG fish action by hooking up to not one, but two large Bonnethead Shark. He fought the fish like a pro for what seemed like an hour, but they eventually got their teeth across the leader and cut themselves off. We moved up the river and picked up another fat Trout, caught some nice finger mullet with the cast net, and then Hunter caught a very large Ladyfish and then we caught another Redfish. So far we had (7-8)Reds, (2) Trout, a Drum, a Ladyfish and (2) Shark hookups. We ended the trip fishing the last of the outgoing tide at Broward Island. Although it was a beautiful evening, the fish wanted no part of taking our bait, so we headed in as the sun set, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

Whole lot of Catch'n Go'n On

Jay Mathews was in town, visiting from the Rome, Georgia area with his family and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip yesterday with his two sons, Jim and Will. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock and ran straight to Jolley River to fish the east side oyster banks during the first of an incoming tide. The oysters were exposed, the tide was creeping in and it was prime time fishing! The guys had plenty of bites with Jim starting off by catching a Redfish, then they all joined in, catching more Reds, their share of Croaker and a few Trout. Then Jay hooked up with something big that ripped line off of his spool. He fought the fish expertly and eventually brought to the boat a 3'+ Bonnethead shark! Then Will hooked up with something with some "Umph" and the fight was on! He fought the boat around the transom and brought to the net a slot sized Redfish. We moved up the river and picked up a few more Redfish and Trout then ran back to Tiger Island and anchored in a couple of spots; Jay caught a nice Drum then we ran over to the jetties at Fort Clinch, had no bites, then moved around to the shoreline of Old Town to pickup a nice fat Trout and then a Bass to wrap up the day of "catching": (4-5) Redfish, (6-7) Trout, a Drum, a Jack, a Bass, (7-8) Croaker, and (2) Shark! What a great day to be out on the water!

Horseflies, Spoonbills, Manatee and FISH!

You gotta know that when the "dead horsefly count" is leading the "fish caught count", things are getting dire! Chuck Petrakis was in town with his wife, visiting from Orlando, so Chuck booked a backcountry fishing trip with me this morning. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock promptly at 7am and headed up to Jolley River to fish the oyster banks before they were completely covered up by the incoming tide. We soon found that Chuck would get bite after bite on the jig/shrimp combo, but we were also keeping count of the horseflies that we slapped dead - and the dead fly count was winning! We made two passes along a stretch of bank then headed further up river to anchor in a large creek. More bites on the jig and a long awaited hookup finally produced the culprit - Croaker! We ran back to Fernandina, trolled Eagans Creek, pitching to the bank and stopped in at the Bait House for some more shrimp, then headed over to Tiger Island and with Rosette Spoonbills overhead, Chuck caught a nice keeper sized Flounder and then hooked up to a hard fighting, jumping and thrashing Ladyfish. We moved on to a creek mouth, anchored along the flooded marsh grass and soon began to catch fish. We were joined early by a pair of juvenile Manatee that hung with us the entire time we were there. Both Chuck and I were somewhat surprised as the sun was now overhead and in full force, but the Trout were biting and Chuck ended up pulling in 7-8 with a few being keeper sized. He was using live shrimp under a float and also added to the "Slam" by picking up a nice Redfish, and even had a few Blues to the mix.
Chuck's perseverance and determination paid off by making what started out as a rather frustrating morning in to a great fishing day and a great one to be out on the water!

Bottom Rigs Rule

Tim Schieffelin was in town with his family from Loganville, Georgia and he had scheduled a backwater fishing trip with me and his two sons, Eli and Ian. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock promptly at 7am and headed up to Jolley River, anchoring at the mouth with the tide still creeping in, not to top out until around 9:15am. With only a few casts under our belts, Eli soon hooked up with a feisty Redfish, bringing it to the net, then his father Tim hooked up with a fat Seatrout.
We moved up river to a run out and the guys caught another Redfish and Trout. Going further up the river to "Snook Creek", we anchored as the tide changed and started out. It wasn't long before everyone was catching fish: Tim caught another Trout or two and Redfish on a float rig while the boys enjoyed manning the bottom rigs. Tim hooked up with something big and played the fish like a pro, fighting him up one side of the boat, around the bow, then back down the other side of the boat to the stern - and then back around again! We eventually netted a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark for pictures then released the beast to be caught another day.
Both Ian and Eli hooked up with Shark and Eli soon was crowned the "Croaker King" as he pulled in a few of the species. As the sun got up high, the temperatures got hot and we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

Shark Blood

Dennis Shill of Baton Rouge was in town with his family for a conference and scheduled some time to get out and fish with his young sons, Davis and DC. We met at the south end boat ramp this morning at 7am and headed up Nassau River with the tide just starting out. Our first stop showed plenty of bait with fish feeding but we had no bites on our live shrimp floated under Cajun Thunder floats. We move on to a run out up river, anchored and it wasn't long before Davis hooked up with something that took his line downriver then back up, zinging across the water then finally hunkering down for a long battle. Davis did great for a young angler, eventually figuring out that he could relax and let the rod do the work, and after a long 10 minute fight, brought to the net a 3' Bonnethead Shark! We moved on to Bubblegum Reef where Dennis switched to a jig/shrimp combo and picked up a nice keeper sized Trout. After a while we moved on to Jackstaff, anchored and the young men caught their fill of sharks on bottom rigs. Everyone had hookups with Redfish, with DC and Dennis having a "double" hookup at one time and both bringing their Red to the boat and net for pictures. While the boys manned the bottom rigs, Dennis persevered with jig/shrimp and caught another Trout, a Drum and a tough fighting Jack. Total for the day: 10 Shark, 6 Reds, 2 Trout, 1 Drum, and 1 Jack. Another great day to be out on the water!