Beginning with a Bang

I fished this morning with Joanne Esch and her friends Frank, Kim and Jim, launching from the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina in downtown Fernandina Beach, and running up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  I think it was the first cast when we hooked up with a keeper sized Seatrout and Joanne worked it in patiently to the landing net.  Only a minute or so later Kim caught a high flying Ladyfish.  We had a few more Ladyfish hookups that threw the hook then Jim landed another keeper sized Seatrout then  a nice feisty Redfish.  We fished up a small creek, had a few nibbles, then, hit the MOA spot with no real bites, then ran to Jolley Bank and switched to jigs and shrimp.   It didn't take long for Kim to land another keeper sized Seatrout and Frank put a larger Whiting in the box.  All of the anglers had their share of dealing with the pesky Croaker.  It was an overcast morning but that and the light breeze made it a perfect day to be fishing out on Amelia Island waters!

Keeper Sized Trout

Another beautiful morning and a great fishing day!  I met Aaron Perlstein and his day Mitchell down at Big Talbot Island Park and we headed up to the Horsehead area to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We had exactly (9) shrimp...and a bait well full of mud minnows and we began fishing with the float rigs.  It wasn't long before Aaron had a hookup and he soon landed a thrashing keeper sized Seatrout.  What a great way to start a fishing trip!  Shortly after that he had another hookup but this fish buried deep then boiled at the grass line - a nice Redfish!  Aaron played the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a slot sized 22" Redfish!  We fished the bank for a while and when we came to a large creek mouth Mitchell switched to a jig and minnow and it may have been his first cast - BOOM!  Fish on!  He fought the fish from bow to stern and around the engine and eventually landed another big keeper sized Seatrout.!  We worked the bank a second time with jigs and picked up a couple of more keeper Trout then another feisty Redfish.  Our 2nd stop was at Twin Creeks over in the Nassau River and found a nice Ladyfish to battle with.  We then made a run over to Broward Island fished the deep river bottom and BOOM!  Both anglers had a hookup - a Double!  Mitchell boated a nice feisty Redfish and Aaron landed another keeper sized Seatrout.  After Mitchell fought and released another Ladyfish, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Poor Man's Tarpon

I had the pleasure of fishing with Dale Bullard again, who brought along his high school and college buddy, Steve.  We met down at the City docks yesterday afternoon and made a run up to the Jolley River to fish an incoming tide with jigs and shrimp.  The conditions seemed perfect but it must have been just too hot cause all we did was feed the oysters and Croaker!  We then made a run to fish the logs of Tiger Island and here we picked up a couple of Sheepshead with Steve's being the largest and of keeper size.  We fished outside of Tiger over some now flooded oysters, had no luck then made a move further south and this did the trick.  By this time all of us were just looking for some action and we found it with a whole handful of 24" long high flying Ladyfish.  It was almost non stop action for about an hour with both anglers tangling with the acrobatic fish.  We then checked out some marshes as the tide was supposed to flood and even though there were a few spots that flooded, we saw no Redfish tailing.  One final stop at Temptation Cove produced a few bites and one very good hookup but it just wasn't to be.  We wrapped the trip up, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Grande Slam

I got to fish again with the Moore family again yesterday - Daniel and Donna and their kids Ansley and Landon.  This time we mixed it up, launching from the Atlantic Seafood dock down at the City marina and with picture perfect weather, headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings on the first of an outgoing tide.  The anglers were getting Croaker bites when Landon and Daniel finally hooked up,  boating a nice feisty Redfish. A little later Daniel had a strong bite and this fish was ready for a fight!  But he and Landon were up to the task and after a good battle, landed a big 18" Black "puppy" Drum!  We then made a run around to Tiger Island and here Ansley got in on the action, catching a hard fighting Redfish and then a fat keeper sized Seatrout.   Landon followed it by outsmarting the sneaky Sheepshead.   The Moore family now had an Amelia Island Grande Slam of  Redfish, Drum, Seatrout and Sheepshead.  We made a run up into Jolley River, sparred with the Croaker, then Daniel's patience paid off when he boated one more feisty Redfish.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Total Team Effort

We fished out of Fernandina Beach today, leaving the Atlantic Seafood dock and heading up to fish the Tiger Island logs on an outgoing tide.  I had Jim and Ronnie Voigt along who were visiting Amelia Island and staying at the beautiful  Elizabeth Pointe Lodge - an easy 5 minutes to the Marina.  Jim was tossing a fly and Ronnie was pitching a jig and shrimp with a spinning outfit.  We fished the logs thoroughly, had a few good bites, but only picked up a single fat Seatrout.  We then made a run up to Jolley River to fish "the Bank" on the last of an outgoing tide and this did the trick.  Jim picked up another hard hitting Seatrout, then a good Slot sized Redfish.  I was thinking "it'd be nice to get a Slam" when Jim hooked up on a good bite.  This fish fought differently than the rest and sure enough when Jim worked it to the surface we saw that it was a 16" keeper sized Flounder, giving these anglers an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  All fish caught today were released to be caught another day!  We continued to fish the bank, caught another Trout, moved further up the river, caught another Trout, then move on around to the "Mother of All" spots where both anglers picked up Trout.  We made one last stop back at the Bank and after landing a couple of Rays were almost ready to call it a day.  I had tossed a jig and shrimp up near the bank and handed off to Ronnie who patiently fished it when BAM! FISH ON!  She fought the fish away from the oysters then handed it off to Jim who patiently played the fish.  It went deep, back to the stern then back around towards shore but Jim kept the pressure on and we eventually landed a big 26 1/2"  "Tournament" Redfish!  Boy what a fish!  And that was a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing the back waters of Amelia Island!

Ladyfish, Jacks and a Big Red

I met the Moore family, Daniel and Donna along with their two kids Ansley and Landon down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we headed up to the Horsehead area to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  We were fishing with jigs and shrimp, slow on the bottom and it took a while to get some bites.  It was one of the first days I've seen where there was a lot of bait movement up in the shallows and maybe  the fish had too much to eat!  But these anglers were patient and eventually young Ansley "got the skunk off the boat" and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  She followed that up with a high humping Ladyfish - the "poor mans Tarpon".  We fished the area for about an hour and half, had some bites, but no real takers, then headed around to the Nassau River to fish Bubblegum Reef.  Again, we had nibbles and luckily Ansley was doing her thing because she landed another Jack.   The rest of us had a good hookup or two, lost them, then Landon reeled in a couple of feisty Croaker.  We then made a run to Broward Island to fish the very last of an outgoing tide and once again, Ansley found a Ladyfish!  But shortly after, Daniel had a subtle nibble, a strong bite, and he set the hook, FISH ON!  He put young Landon on the rod and together they fought the fish away from the tree limbs, out into the deep water, then from bow to stern.  The big fish got into the current and gave a valiant fight but he was no match for the Moore family!  Ansley was "coaching 'em up" and Donna manned the catch net and they soon landed a big 26 3/4" "Tournament Red"!  Boy what a fish and boy what a fight!  The anglers added one more keeper sized Seatrout then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Clay Roberts Memorial Fishing Tournament

Plan to fish the Seventh Annual ClayRoberts Inshore Slam Fishing and Junior Angler Tournaments scheduled for Saturday June 14^th, 2014.  Clay's parents Gary and Terry Roberts founded In River Or Ocean (IROO)  in memory of their son Clay.  In River Or Ocean is dedicated to promoting the protection, restoration and rational management of all river and ocean resources, working as a steward of the waterways by providing educational opportunities regarding conservation and responsible use and care of our natural resources for this and future generations.

The ClayRoberts Inshore Slam Fishing Tournament has become a tradition for the fishing community on Father’s Day weekend and is fun for the whole family.
Clay’s two greatest passions in life were being on the water fishing, and spending time with his family and friends. The IROO strives to make sure that Clay’s tournament is an event the whole family will enjoy.  Whether people fish or not, they welcome them to come on out for the weigh-in and enjoy the food from Terry’s Kitchen.  It is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  They hope people will discover the magic that Clay found in our rivers an oceans.

Biggest Flounder to Date

We've had an outstanding run of good weather lately and my Minnesota guests Nick Cress and Marnie Brown were glad to have it!  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning to take advantage of the first of an incoming tide and headed north, making our first stop behind Tiger Island.  Nick was tossing a 7w and 8w fly rod and was making excellent casts to the exposed bank while Marnie was using a spinning outfit with live shrimp on a jig.  It appeared the fish liked the live stuff better because Marnie had good bites right off and landed a handful of hard fighting Sheepshead.  We worked the island back and forth, had a bite here and there, then had a subtle bite and hookup up, FISH ON!  Marnie played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 18" Flounder - the biggest we've had all year.  This fish puts Marnie in 1st place in the Anglers Mark 2014 Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  We fished for just a while longer, then headed up to Jolley River to fish the Bank.  Nick showed some real persistence with the fly rod, but the fish just weren't taking the flies.  Marnie had bites of small Croaker, caught a few, then we headed further up the river.  Our last stop was in Snook Creek and both Marnie and Nick boated hungry Seatrout.  Nick also caught a very nice Whiting.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

His First Redfish

If yesterday was pretty then today was outstandingly beautiful in the back waters of Amelia Island!  I fished with Ricky Weber, his son in law Patrick and grandson Taylor. We had met at the Atlantic Seafood dock in downtown Fernandina Beach and headed north up to Jolley River to fish the first of an incoming tide.  We fished Jolley Bank with jigs and shrimp, with Ricky putting the first fish in the boat, a hungry Flounder. But even though the anglers had bites the entire length of the bank,  they landed only pesky Perch.  We ran further up the river, fished another bank with jigs, had no real bites, then switched to some float rigs, and BOOM!  Caught fish right off! Crazy.  Patrick had been the first to switch to the float and he picked up a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  Then Taylor tried his hand with the float and he too put a Trout in the boat. Patrick landed a high jumping Ladyfish then Taylor took up a battle with a feisty Redfish - the first that he has ever caught.  We fished a large creek then headed over to Tiger Island to fish the logs on a high tide, which is something I don't normally do.  But the anglers had strong hookups, big fish that bent the rods double and caused the drag to sing, but this fish were wily and found their way back to the tree branches and broke themselves off.  Ricky did have a good hookup and landed a nice keeper sized Sheepshead, giving the anglers an Amelia Island Grande Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Flounder, and Sheepshead!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Most and Biggest

We had a beautiful morning today, clear skies and sunny, a bit cool, but a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters.  I met Verne Murray and his son--in-law Pete down at the City docks and headed up to Tiger Island to fish a tide that had been coming in for a couple of hours.  The anglers tossed jigs and live shrimp to the deep bottom and had a few bites here and there before Verne knocked "the skunk off" by landing a hungry Seatrout.  We continued to fish the area, had some bites but no takers, then headed up to fish the Jolley River and Jolley Bank.  Again, they had bites, this time on float rigs with shrimp underneath, and eventually Verne picked up another Seatrout, this one somewhat fatter than the first.  Our next stop was further up Jolley where we fished the mouth of a creek then we eased into the creek. Verne again landed a Seatrout and Pete was beginning to feel the pressure of a potential "skunk" on the fishing trip!  But no, only moments after he switched to a jig/shrimp combo he had a subtle bite and even though we knew it was a fish it first seemed rather small but then the fish took off, FISH ON!  Now it began to fight, running off the stern for a good 40yards, ripping the drag and putting  a deep bend in the rod.  Then the fish went under the boat, around the stern and back to the bow.  It ran between the trolling motor and boat to where Pete had to pass the rod between the two, but he kept the pressure on and stayed with the fish.  After a couple of more trips around the boat Pete was able to tire the big fish out and we soon netted a 3 1/2' Bonnethead Shark!  Boy what a fight!  We fished the area for just a little while, hit one more spot, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!