HOT Amelia Island Fishing in February

A list minute trip proved to be successful this morning and with the temperatures getting up well into the 70's the fish catching was red hot, too!  I had met Didier De Bruyne at the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning and we headed north to fish some structure as the tide was coming in.  Didier was tossing live shimp on a jig, fished on the bottom slowly and it wasn't long before he began to get bites and then hookups. He boated a nice keeper sized Seatrout early then a whole handful of feisty Redfish then a very nice keeper sized Sheepshead which put up a nice fight.  Then he had even a stronger bite and the battle was on!  Didier played the big fish expertly and eventually we netted a nice big 26.25" Redfish!  This fish put Didier into a tie for 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  We continued to fish and continued to put them in the boat, adding a few more keeper sized Seatrout, another handful of smaller but feisty Redfish, another Slot Redfish (22") and a few more Sheepshead with one of those being about 20".  As the tide got up the bite slowed so we ran around to Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded oyster beds.  Even though it was absolutely calm and peaceful we had no real bites on our live shrimp under floats, so we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Big Red Tops a Slam

I had the opportunity to fish this afternoon too, and met Jerry Itzkoff and his friend Steve at the City marina at noon to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We went slightly up Bell River and fished some flooded oysters with float rigs and live shrimp, but had no real bites.  Our next stop was outside of Tiger Island, again fishing float rigs, and again no bites!  We move on to deeper water and switched to jigs and this did the trick as Jerry picked up a nice fat keeper sized Seatrout.  We continued to fish the structure and had a few bites but then Jerry hooked up with a BIG fish, FISH ON!  He said it was just a subtle nibble but this fish was putting up a fight.  Jerry played the fish patiently and after an extended battle we netted a "Tournament Red", measuring in at 26.25"!  Boy what a fish! This fish put Jerry into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament(scroll down right side of this report for standings).   After fishing the area a little longer we made a run to fish Jolley Bank but had no real bites.  Our last stop was at some docks in Bell River and after getting one bite, Jerry hooked up and put in the boat a feisty Sheepshead to round out his personal Amelia Island back Country Slam.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

First Fish, Most Fish, Biggest Fish, Smallest Fish

I had met Jeff Kantor and his wife Melinda, along with their daughter Shona and her husband Travis down at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning to get in some Amelia Island back country fishing.  We had a tide midway from coming in so we headed north to fish some structure while it was still visible.  It happens a lot in the spring but it really helps when the "demo" cast with the jig and shrimp pics up a fish and that's what happened today!  Melinda worked the nice fish in, a keeper sized Seatrout.  From then on we had a good number of hookups with both Jeff, Melinda and Shona putting feisty Redfish in the boat.  The anglers jockeyed for position to hit the "hot spot" and we caught fish for about an hour and a half.  Travis finally elbowed his way in, had a few good bites, then, FISH ON!  This was a larger fish that didn't want to be caught but Travis played it perfectly and after a good battle we netted a 19.75" Sheepshead, which rounded out the groups Amelia Island Back Country Slam! This fish also put Travis in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report to see standings).  After picking up a couple of more Reds we moved out to fish some flooded oyster beds and Jeff caught the last two Seatrout of the day.  We all commented that each could claim title to "First Fish,  Most Fish, Biggest Fish, and Smallest Fish"!  We wrapped up the trip by touring Cumberland Island to see the wild horses, made a stop by Fort Clinch, and watched as a submarine was escorted into the channel.  What a great way to wrap up an Amelia Island fishing trip!

Slot Redfish Makes the Day

We rescheduled Saturday's afternoon trip to this morning due to wind issues.  I met Nick Peet and his girlfriend Julia at Atlantic Seafood early this morning and even though it was somewhat chilly, there was only a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky.  We hit "Temptation Cove" south of Rayonier on the last of an incoming tide but had no real bites on live shrimp under a float then we headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded oyster beds but again, no real bites.  Moving back up the river we fished  a couple of docks with jigs and shrimp then eased along a grass line, back to tossing float rigs in 4' of water.  With almost two hours into the fishing trip and no real bites I was  glad to see Julia's float go under and her rod bend - we got a fish!  Whooeee!  Julia played the fish perfectly and as I was about to net this keeper sized Trout, Nick hooked up and he had a fish on, too!  Nick worked his bigger Trout to the boat and we netted it for a "double Trout" picture.  We made a run around to Tiger Island, fished some more flooded oysters, then moved into Tiger Basin to switch back to jigs and fish on the bottom.  I think Nick's first cast produced a nice feisty Redfish!  And on his 2nd cast, boom!  Redfish.  Julia elbowed Nick out of the way and put her bait up near the structure and in a few short seconds, FISH ON!  This was a bigger fish and took some patience to work it in and Julia did great.  After a good battle we netted a nice 21.5" Slot Redfish, Julia's first ever.  This fish moved Jilia into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfsih Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  We continued to fish the area and in addtion to the anglers catching a few more of the Reds on jigs and shimp, Nick picked up one on a weighted chartreuse plastic shrimp.   The sun had warmed things up as we headed in, so we counted it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Three Casts, Three Redfish

Come on Spring!  When Cheryl and Richard Freshour and I left the dock this morning at 11am the water temperature was 49!  But we had some good sunshine and very little wind.  We made our way north to fish the outgoing tide.  The oysters hadn't started showing but both Cheryl and Richard started off tossing jigs and shrimp, fishing the bottom real slow.  On Richard's first cast had a nice hookup with a feisty Redfish!  2nd cast?  Hookup!  3rd cast?  Hookup!  You can't hardly beat a start like that.  That's not only knocking the skunk off the boat but giving it a good boot in the rear, too!  From then on both anglers had good hookups with feisty Redfish.  Cheryl hooked up with one and this time the drag sang, FISH ON!  She played the big  fish patiently but it was a wiley old fish and eventually found some structure to cut the line, OUCH!  But later, Richard had a  big one and the fight was on!  He played the fish from the stern of the boat, to the bow, and back to the stern.   The big fish ran deep and hugged the bottom but Richard kept the pressure on.  After a long battle Richard subdued the beast and we finally netted a Big 26.75' Redfish!  Boy what a fish!  This fish put Richard firmly in 1st place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament, Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).  Not long after this fish was releasead, BOOM!  FISH ON!  Another Big Redfish!  Richard again fought this fish to the net, a nice 26.5" Redfish!  We continued to fish the area and picked up a few more feisty Reds then Cheryl landed the only two Seatrout of the day, caught in 30' of water, on the bottom.  We hit a couple of more spots but the bite was over so we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

We Got a Double! A Triple!

When you've got February days that are forecast to get into the low 70's and with only slight breezes, what do you do?  Go Fishing! This morning I met Mike and Ann Austin down at the City marina along with Mike's sister Susan and her husband Tom.  We headed out of the marina with sunny skies, no wind, and a tide that had been dropping for a couple of hours.  Our first stop was up Lanceford Creek and the anglers were tossing live shrimp n 1/4oz jigs.  It took a little while but the bite turned on.  Tom knocked the "skunk" off the boat by hooking up and landing a nice keepr sized Sheepshead.  Both both Ann and Susan and then Tom added some fiesty Redfish to the catch.  We relocated and Mike's rod heated up as he landed two nice Red's.  Tom was fishing deep and it wasn't long before he put the first Seatrout that we've had in a couple of weeks into the boat.  We made a run around to Tiger Island and here the anglers had good catches of Seatrout.  Most were caught deep in 25'30' of water, on the bottom.  At one point Susan yelled, "I got a bite", then Ann added "me too"!  We had a double hookup but as they were fighting their fish, Tom yelled, "fish on"! And we had a triple hookup!
What a great way to wrap up a beautiful fishing day at Amelia Island, Florida!

From Fog to Fish

Who would have thought we'd have such a beautiful afternoon just a few days from one of the worst stormsthat hit the southeast in years?  I met Michael Purser and his wife Robin at the Atlantic Seafood dock this afternoon with plans to fish the outgoing tide.  With only a slight breeze and temperatures in the 70's we headed north and surprisingly, we had to navigate some dense fog to get to our first spot - a marsh outflow just outside of Tiger Island.  The anglers started off tossing live shrimp under a float on water like glass, but had now real bites.  We then attempted three new spots but the recreational anglers were out in force

this beautiful day so we ran way back into Bell River to get some solitude.  It took lot of casting but Robin and Michael's patience paid off when Robin hooked up with a nice feisty Redfish that was just under the Slot.  A little later she put another one in the boat, identical size.  But the third time was the charm and we all knew this fish was big!  Robin worked the fish patiently (and despite Michael and my coaching) soon landed a nice Big 21.25" Sheepshead!  Boy what a fish!  Both the Redfish and Sheepshead put Robin in the standings of the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We made a couple of more stops then headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Recipe of the Month: Lo Country Boil

I was asked to cook up a pot of Lo Country Boil today for a group of 25!  I don't know if the temperature got over 40 today so it was some great comfort food to sit down to.  This was one batch:

4      T  Old Bay Seasoning

2     Cap fulls Zatarains liquid seasoning

1/2  Stick butter

8      lbs small red potatoes

3      16 oz smoked sausage (fully cooked)  cut into 1 inch pieces

4      Medium Onions quartered through root stem

10    Ears corn,  halved

2      Lemons  quartered

4      lbs shrimp

(This actually took  about 1hr 45 minutes from when fire was lit till done.  Maybe because it was so cold outside!)

Add water,  seasonings, butter,  to large pot of water filled half full .                                   

Bring to a rolling boil.

Add potatoes and sausage, lemons and cook   10-15  minutes                                               

Add Onions ,  cook  5 minutes                                                                      

Add corn,  cook    10 minutes                                                                                                    

Add Shrimp,  cook 3-5 minutes.  Don’t overcook                                                                

Drain and serve.

Fun Amelia Island Fishing

The low tide was scheduled for around 1:50pm so Frank Bioteau and I planned to meet at the City marina at 1pm to get in some Amelia Island back country fishing.  It was cool enough for a light jacket but there was very little breeze and the sun was breaking through some slightly overcast skies as we headed out the marina and ran up Lanceford Creek to fish the exposed oyster beds.  It was a good pick because we hadn't been fishing long before Frank began to pick up some feisty Redfish.  He encouraged me to join in so I picked up one of my light spinning outfits and began to catch some fish too.  We had a good handful of Redfish and a Trout or two before we picked up and ran around to Tiger Island to fish the first of an incoming tide.  Again, feisty Redfish and a couple of Seatrout.  Frank added a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum and  I had a a couple of keeper sized Sheepshead -rounding out an Amelia Island Back Country Grand Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Drum and Sheepshead!  We made a run up to the Jolley River where we picked up a couple more Redfish and Seatrout then made  our last stop on the big loop at Bell River.  Again, Redfish and Seatrout.  By this time the breeze had dropped to almost nothing making the water almost like a mirror as the sun began to go down.  What a fun fishing trip and a great way to spend the day out on Amelia Island waters!

Beautiful Day and Big Sheepshead

Boy what a storm we had last night!  The rain came down in buckets but when the sun came up it was cool and sunny with just a slight breeze.  I picked Jim Gaddy up at the Ritz Carlton, boat in tow, and we headed down to the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, launched, and ran up the Amelia River and in to the Horsehead area to fish an outgoing tide.  The oysters were just showing so Jim started off tossing a live shrimp under a float but quickly switched to an artificial jig and then alternated between that and a jig/shrimp combo.  As the sun rose higher we knew it was going to be a beautiful day out on the water.  We fished the banks of Jackstaff as the water dropped and had no real bites then we made a run over to the Nassau River, fished a spot, and also had no real bites.  Our next stop was down at Broward Island which we fished a good hour as the tides swept the shoreline.  Jim was quick on the rod and did pick up a couple of pesky "baitstealers".  We made a run back east and began to fish the now exposed oyster beds.  Jim commented that he had a weird bite then his rod bent double, FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently as his drag sang and when it came to the surface we saw that it was a BIG Sheepshead!  Jim worked the fish to the boat and even though the fish looked defeated, he was playing possum!  As I went to net the fish it made one last dash and BAP, Fish Off! Ouch!  But we weren't to be detered.  Shortly after that we had another weird bite and again the rod bent. Sure enough as Jim worked it to the surface we saw it was another Big Sheepshead.  This time we made sure the beast was subdued and after netting it we measured it to 21.25", a very nice Sheepshead!   As the tide came in we worked the rocks at Seymore's Pointe and caught 2 feisty Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!