Grouper in the Back Country

Just another beautiful morning fishing the back waters of Amelia Island!  I had met David Howard and his son Graham at the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City of Fernandina Beach marina this morning at 7am and we'd made our first stop at the outside of Tiger Island.  We had only been fishing a few minutes on the glassy waters when we were treated to a Manatee popping it's head up just in front of the bow!  We also had a number of Dolphin sightings throughout the trip.  We had just a few bites but no takers and had a crowd of boats nearby so we headed up to Jolley River to enjoy our solitude.  Fishing a small marsh run out, Graham was able to haul in a feisty Redfish.  We moved around to "Snook Creek" and after fishing for just a little while, we had a strong hookup.  Graham again fought the fish and this one gave a pretty good battle, diving deep under the boat before being subdued, and as we netted the fish, Graham nailed the identity, calling "Grouper!"  And it sure was!  I've had guests catch some of these small Grouper but this was the biggest so far and I think I was more excited than Graham and David!  We continued to fish the creek and caught a keeper sized Snapper before moving down to Jolley Bank and trolling the exposed oyster beds.  The anglers picked up a couple of Trout, a Croaker, another feisty Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island
waters!

Young Angler Catches Big Fish

We were greeted by another beautiful morning down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park today.  I met Ron Cerniglia and his son Sam at 7am and the creek was like glass as we pulled away from the dock, heading towards Nassau River.  We made our first stop at a nice creek run-out and began to fish with live mud minnows under floats on an outgoing tide.  It wasn't long before young Sam had a hookup and reeled in a feisty Redfish.  Ron added another then Sam hauled in a pesky Stingray.  We made a move up the river and this time we switched to a 1/4oz jig with the mud minnows.  Sam caught a hungry Snapper then Ron's rod bent double and the drag began to sing, oh boy, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently as it rounded the bow a couple of times and as it dove deep to the bottom,  Keeping pressure on the big fish, Ron was eventually able to wear the big fish out and we netted a nice, 24" Slot Redfish!  Sam was fishing out the other side of the boat and it wasn't long before he too had a big fish on!  He fought the fish all by himself and landed another nice Slot Redfish which measured to 21 1/2"!   As the bite slowed we ran around to the mouth of Jackstaff and trolled the oyster bank.  The anglers picked up another feisty Red and Sam fought a high-flying Ladyfish.  The sun was up and with just a little time left, we ran back to Nassau River and fished the last 15 minutes of our trip.  Although we had a few nibbles we had no real takers, until Sam again had a good hookup!  Big Fish On!  He worked the fish in patiently and we were somewhat surprised to net a very large 20 1/2" Seatrout!  What a great way to wrap up another day of fishing here at Amelia Island!

Big and Bigger

Today I had the pleasure of fishing with friends and neighbors Mark and Nilda Laurint along with their son Brent, home from college for a brief visit.  For a change, we met out at the Goffinsville Park at 7:00am this morning and then headed over to the Horsehead area to fish Jackstaff as the tide was going out and the oysters beginning to show.  I eased The Anglers Mark along the marsh grass as the anglers tossed jigs tipped with mud minnows to the shoreline.  We had a few hookups of Jack Crevalle, feisty Redfish, and a nice sized Stingray.  Our next stop was around at Nassau River and again we had a couple of hookups with feisty Redfish.  The Bonnethead Shark were cruising the shallows at every stop.  As the tide got lower we moved to a nice creek outflow and the bite began to pick up as the morning went on .  Nilda reeled in a large Catfish and Mark and Brent picked up a good handful of hungry Snapper.  Finally, Marks rod bent over and the drag began to sing, FISH ON!  And a big fish it was.  He fought the fish from starboard to port and from bow to stern.  After a long and patient battle, Mark landed a BIG 29" oversized Redfish!  What a fish!  Not too long later it was Brent's turn to battle a big Red.  His drag was ripping but Brent kept the pressure on.  This fish wanted to stay at the bow of the boat and Brent had to dip his rod a couple of times to avoid the trolling motor. But he played the fish patiently and we soon netted a "Tournament Red" - a 26 1/4" Redfish!  We fished the area while longer, fished Broward Island briefly, then headed in ,counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!  Later, we had a great meal at Shuckers Oyster Bar to top off a perfect day!

Bite Grows Stronger

It was smooth sailing as we pulled out of the marina today.  I had met Tom Meagher and his friend Steve Strickland at the City marina this morning at 7am and when we came around the last dock into the river it was smooth as glass.  We headed up to the Jolley River and made our first stop at an oyster outcrop on the last two hours of an outgoing tide.  These anglers had numerous bites on their mud minnow/jig combo and picked up a Snapper or two.  We moved around to Snook Creek and here Steve picked up a feisty Redfish.  We fished Jolley Bank and picked up another couple of feisty Reds then Steve landed a keeper sized Flounder.  Tom hooked up and had a good battle with a nice Jack Crevalle.  The bite had picked up just a little bit as the tide started to come back in.  We made a run to Tiger Island and here we saw plenty of action.  Steve caught another keeper sized Flounder and had a very strong battle with something big found its way into the tree limbs an broke itself off.  On the last cast of the day Tom had a strong bite and then he played the fish patiently.  It was a good battle, but one that this nice Redfish lost to a good angler.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Flounder Makes the Day

I got out this morning with Zack and Audrey Feldkamp along with Brian and Amy Deibler.  We met at Atlantic Seafood at 7am and headed up to the Jolley River to fish the very last of an outgoing tide.  Our first stop was at the MOA  (Mother of All) Spot and the water was like a mirror as the anglers tossed their jigs with mud minnows up to the fully exposed oyster banks.  We had good action early with Zack starting things off early by picking up a couple of Snapper and then Audrey and Amy had a double hookup, catching a feisty Redfish and Snapper respectively.  We were getting good bites until a heavy rain shower passed through and all of us had to turn our backs to the sheets of rain and work through it.  After the rain the bite slowed so we made a run back to Jolley Bank to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Again we had good bites, catching Snapper, a couple of Trout, a feisty Redfish and Brian had a good fight with a Jack Crevalle.   While fishing Zack spotted an Atlantic Saltmarsh Mink roaming the oyster beds.  We made our final stop at Tiger Island where the anglers picked up a couple of more Snapper and a Trout then Amy had a big hookup and her rod bent over, FISH ON!  She worked the fish patiently and after a good battle where the big fish hugged the bottom, she eventually landed a big 23" Flounder!  This fish puts Amy in 2nd place in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Flounder category (scroll down right side to see standings). We were surrounded by bird life, including a large flock of roosting Rosette Spoonbills.   Audrey picked up a keeper sized Snapper then another keeper sized Flounder to wrap the day up, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Left 'Em Biting

It's almost like a holiday for me when I have a sole angler on The Anglers Mark and that was what I had today, fishing with Alan Reeves this morning.  We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park at 7am and headed up the Nassau River to fish the very first of the incoming tide.  It's always fun to start a fishing trip off with the first cast resulting in, BOOM!  FISH ON! and that's what happened.  We had a BIG fish on first cast and the rod bent over and the drag ripped out.  But this big fish had been around for a while and it eventually made its way around some structure and broke itself off. OUCH.  But not to be deterred, Alan made another cast (his second), and, FISH ON!  He played this big fish patiently and we soon netted a big 21 1/2" Seatrout!  This Trout placed Alan tied for 3rd in my Anglers Mark 2013 Bragging Rights Tournament, Seatrout category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  We continued to fish and it was almost a bite on every cast.  Alan boated 10-15 Snapper, 8 of which were keeper sized.  He also landed a handful of Redfish with three being in the Slot and the biggest measuring to 24".  Before we left the first spot he had a nice sized Croaker and limited out on Seatrout over 20".  We made a run to Broward Island and were soon catching fish again.  Alan added another Slot Redfish, picked up some hungry Seatrout and we also tangled with a couple of Stingrays.  We had caught so many fish Alan had gotten his fishing "fix" in, so we called it a day, left 'em biting, and headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing on Amelia Island waters!

Persistence Passed Down

I had the pleasure of fishing again this morning with Wade Dial and his son Pierson.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7am and headed out of the marina with the tide just beginning to come in.  We hit some dock piling early and picked up to feisty Redfish then reeled in a nice Flounder.   Our second stop was the logs at Tiger Island where Pierson got a fat Snapper and  Wade landed a keeper sized Flounder.  We moved on the Jolley River and after boating another Snapper and theaving Croaker Wade had a good hookup and battle on his hands.  He handed the rod off to Pierson who worked the fish perfectly and we landed big keeper sized Seatrout, to round out the anglers Amelia Island back country Slam!  Wade continued to work the bank patiently and every so often he'd  hookup and either reel the fish in or hand it off to Pierson.  Later, while fishing outside of Tiger Island we found some more Trout and this time Pierson was working the bank patiently and he hooked up, FISH ON!  Another Seatrout for a persistent angler!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Fish Catch'n Day

We had a beautiful morning today when I met Bill and Scott Kennedy down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at Big Talbot Island Park.  We headed up the Nassau River to fish the incoming tide with jigs and mud minnows.  Guess what happened on the first cast?  BOOM!  FISH ON!  Scott worked the big fish patiently and after a good battle he landed an oversized Redfish!  2nd cast? FISH ON!   Bill had a hookup!  It went like that for at least an hour with hookups, oversized fish, Slot Redfish, nice Snapper (some were keeper sized) and even break offs.  One nice hookup had a Slot Redfish but when we got it to the boat there was nothing left but the head!  OUCH!   We eventually made a run to Broward Island picked up a feisty Redfish, some more Snapper, then Scott hooked up and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder with his TFO Gary Loomis Tactical Series spinning rod.  Bill added another Slot Redfish then he rounded out their Amelia Island Slam by landing a hungry Seatrout.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Amelia Island Afternoon Fishing

We scheduled  a late afternoon fishing trip yesterday so  I met Ricky Williams along with his two
sons Riley and Cooper and their friend Conner down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at Sawpit Creek.  We headed up the Amelia River with a bait well full of mudminnows and "Tiger" minnows that I had gotten from another anglers who was heading home.  We started easing along an oyster lined bank at Jackstaff and Conner started things off, catching a Seatrout, then another, then another.   Ricky added a Trout, Cooper picked up a feisty

Redfish then a Ladyfish and Riley wrapped up the spot with another Trout.  We moved on around to the Nassau River where Cooper's rod began to heat up!  He landed a hungry Snapper then he had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  He played the big fish perfectly and we soon netted a nice Slot Redfish!   We eventually made a move up to the downed longs of Broward Island and after a little fishing we pulled in a small Flounder then Cooper had another strong hookup and boated another keeper Slot Redfish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Doubled Up and Oversized

Today was one of those once in a lifetime fishing trips that just makes you wonder, "can this be happening?"   I had met Robert Golden, his son Tanner and their friend Mark down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and you could see yourself on the water it was so calm and glassy.  We headed up the Nassau River to fish the Horsehead area with just a few hours of an incoming tide.  We held up at a marsh runout and began to fish jigs on the bottom with mud minnows.  The first casts by Tanner and Mark produced a hookup, a feisty Whiting and  a large Sail Cat.  Well that was cool to have fish on the first cast but little did I know that we were in for some serious fish catching.  Both Tanner and Mark began to hookup with oversized Redfish and two or three times they both had one on, FISH ON!  FISH ON!  Their light tackle TFO Signature Tactical Spinning Rods were bent double as one fought a big fish at the bow and one fought a big fish at the stern. They'd pass each other at amidships and continuer their fights at the other end of the boat.    I eventually had to ask each of the young men to keep a tally of how many of these oversized Reds they caught and released and by the end of this amazing day they each had released 4 fish, measuring to 30.5"!   In the middle of the extravaganza Robert was able to put a Slot Red in the boat and Mark added one, too.  After being checked out by the FWC officer, we moved back down the river and the anglers wrapped up the day catching Seatrout, Blues, and Jacks.  With that, we headed in, counting it as a super great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!