Call it a Draw

The storm Arthur was off our coast today but the morning was beautiful with just a slight breeze.  I met Cory Freeman, his dad Glen and his son Carter down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we ran up the Nassau River to fish some structure on the first of an incoming tide.  I think Carter's first cast produced a hungry Croaker, then we had a few nibbles, then Cory hooked up with something big.  He played the fish patiently but unfortunately it just wasn't to be and the wiley fish threw the hook.  The anglers picked up a Catfish and a small Flounder before we left the spot to

fish some rocks along Seymore's Pointe.  This did the trick!  We were tossing shrimp under float rigs and almost every cast produced a bite from Mangrove Snapper.  All three anglers were catching fish with a number of them being of keeper size.  We threw back a good handful of smaller ones.  We didn't know it because we were sheltered behind the land mass but the wind had picked up.  When we  ran to Broward Island to fish the first of the incoming tide we found the wind was affecting our fishing and catching!.  After a good effort we ran back to fish the sunken barge in Nassau River and picked up a few more Snapper and an ugly Toad Fish.  We made our last stop in Jackstaff, fishing the now flooded oysters with floats and mud minnows.  Cory wrapped the day up by landing a hardfighting Jack Crevalle.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Back in the Saddle

The Anglers Mark was down for a week with engine issues.   I got it out of the shop yesterday and was chomping at the bit to get out on the water this morning with Patti and Brian Harnish and their neighbor John.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock and headed north to fish the logs of Tiger Island on an incoming tide.  The bait shops had no live shrimp but I was able to procure some mud minnows so that was what the anglers tossed with the 1/4 oz jig.  We fished an open area for a good while with no real bites, eased
down to fish another and again had no bites then moved north to try one last spot. I was beginning to wonder if the fish were on a vacation when Brian had a subtle bite.  He set the hook firmly and when his rod bent double I knew he had a good FISH ON!  Brian worked the fish patiently to the boat but it dove deep and then went from starboard to port so Brian had to play the fish around the trolling motor.  Then the fish came back from port to starboard then from bow to stern!  But Brian was up for the  task having fished for Rock Fish back in Maryland and after a good battle we landed a nice Slot Sized 24.5" Redfish - Brian's first Red!  From then on the anglers caught a good handful of Redfish with John adding one that was right at the Slot size then they picked up a Flounder, a second, then John boated a nice keeper sized Flounder.  We fished the area for a little while longer, then headed up to Jolley River, switching to float rigs.  The anglers had a few bites, saw some big fish up in the shallows, but no real takers other than a hungry Seatrout that gave them an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Flounder, and Seatrout.  After hitting one more spot on the outside of Tiger Island, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters!

These Girls are Anglers

It was nice fishing today with just a little over cast skies and a good breeze.  I had met Joe Gasper, Adam Blanning and Adam's daughters Eliza and Megan down at the City docks this morning and after a quick safety orientation, we headed north to fish Jolley River on the first of an outgoing tide.  We had just gotten started and even though the young ladies were just getting the hand of casting, we began to get bites!  After a few float disappeared young Eliza had a hookup and this was NOT a bait stealer! She fought the fish valiantly and after a good battle landed a nice Slot sized

Redfish -her first fish ever!  Whoooeee!  We continued to fish and after just a short while her Dad Adam and Megan hooked up and together landed another nice Redfish.   Most of the fish were biting on live shrimp.  We continued to fish Jolley "bank", had some good bites, and Adam landed "the poor man's Tarpon" - a Ladyfish.  Then Megan hooked up and reeled in on her own the only Jack Crevalle of the day.  In between all of the fish caught the anglers landed a handful of pesky Croaker.  We fished Snook Creek, had some good bites, the moved around to Bell River to fish the last of the outgoing tide.  The conditions were perfect and I thought surely we'd have a good bite, but the sun was up, it was getting hot, and not much was biting.  But Eliza was on her game and after an excellent cast, had a nibble and she set the hook, FISH ON!  She worked the fish to the boat and we soon landed the Sneaky Sheepshead to our variety count.  With that catch, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Fish Saturday

We had a good one yesterday morning, fishing with Doug and Leslie Phillips, here at Amelia Island.  The couple were staying at the Blue Heron Inn, just a short walk to the marina and some great fishing!  We left the City dock at 7am and headed north to fish the logs of Tiger Island on an outgoing tide.  I think the first two casts produced fish, and maybe the 3rd!  Leslie hooked up with a Seatrout and Doug landed a nice feisty Redfish and from then on they were getting bites and landing fish.  Leslie must have found a
"puppy" Drum hole because she reeled in a few small ones then, BOOM!  FISH ON!  This fish was big and gave Leslie a fight but she was up to the challenge and played it beautifully.  The fish took her from the bow to the stern and from port to starboard then ran deep into the current.  But Leslie kept the pressure on and we soon landed a nice 23" Black (not so puppy) "puppy" Drum!  Wow what a fish!   We made a run around to the Jolley River, picked up a another Redfish, Seatrout and Ladyfish, then it was Doug who had the strong hookup.  His rod bent double and the drag on the 1000
Shimano began to sing as the line ripped out.  Doug too, was ready for the fight and this one seemed to last forever.  Doug was patient and let the rod do all the work and after a long battle, landed a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark!  Went further up the river to fish a large creek mouth and Leslie landed another feisty Redfish, then we made a run around to Bell River.  Leslie had caught a Trout or two then Doug had a strong hookup.  Another Battle!  Boy what a fish!  He fought this fish until it was subdued and landed a nice 26" Slot "Tournament" Redfish, wrapping up another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Trout Makes the Trip

I had an afternoon trip with George Youmans and his son Gus set up Friday so we met down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina at 2pm and ran up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the last couple of hours of an incoming tide.  The anglers were tossing float rigs  and live shrimp and started off with a bank, landing a couple of Jack Crevalled and a nice hungry Seatrout.  We moved around to fish the inlet of Tiger Basin and picked up another Seatrout.  The tide had peaked so we made our way around to the Jolley River and fished the "bank" for a while, moved further up the river and fished

the mouth of Snook Creek, then eased up into the creek to fish with some jigs and shrimp on the bottom.  Although the weather was beautiful and just getting out on the water was great, the fish "bite" had been kinda slow but George made up for it when he had a very strong hookup, and BOOM! FISH ON!  George was using a light 6' rod with a size 1000 Shimano Stradic reel, 10lb braid and he had a battle on his hands!  But George played the fish patiently and we soon landed a big 21" Seatrout!  Now that's the way to wrap up a day of fishing here at Amelia Island!

Wildlife and Fishing

It's hard to believe the outstanding weather we've been having here at Amelia Island, especially during our morning trips.  I had met John Allen and his son Andrew down at the City marina and decided to fish some dock pilings at our first stop on an outgoing tide.  It turned out to be a good decision because it only took a couple of casts for Andrew to hookup!  He landed not one, but two Seatrout, both of keeper size and then shortly after landed a nice keeper sized Flounder -even though all fish caught today were to be
tossed back to be caught another day!  Andrew was putting the pressure on his dad in the "fish catch category" but John picked up his game and began to land some fish. He put a couple of feisty Redfish in the boat then tangled with and landed a nice Slot Redfish.  After catching another Trout and Red we ran around to the MOA spot and although it looked real good with tons of bait, we had not real bites. Our next stop was at Snook Creek where we had a Ladyfish encounter then we made our way down to Jolley "bank".  As we began our first pass we had a Manatee come cruising by then shortly afterwards John spotted an Atlantic Saltmarsh Mink scampering along the shoreline.  John put not one, but two nice keeper sized Flounder in the boat, Andrew landed a rock of a Toad Fish, then John wrapped up the day by besting 3'+ long Bonnethead Shark.  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

His and Hers and Fish

I'd set up an Amelia Island back country fishing trip with Jonathan Vines and his brother-in-law Smith Marks this morning, and they had elected to do the "His and Hers" trip where we would fish for a few hours then come back in to pick their spouses up.  We left the Fernandina Harbor Marina at 7am sharp and headed up to fish Eagans Creek docks on an outgoing tide.  The two anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and although it took a few minutes to begin to get good bites, they did come!  Jonathan hooked up with a large Black "puppy" Drum that gave him a good battle but Jonathan played the big fish patiently and landed it - measuring in at 22".  Later, Smith was fishing out deep and picked up a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  They both had big, big fish take their bait but there was no keeping them out of the dock pilings with our light tackle - there's a reason why they're big! We made a run out and around to fish the Jolley River and within minutes they were getting bites.  Smith hooked up with a "FISH ON" and then Jonathan had one too - a double!  Both of the anglers played their  fish perfectly and were able to land two beautiful feisty Redfish!  We fished the oyster Olde Town Fernandina, Fort Clinch, Cumberland Island and Tiger Island.  We had a just a few shrimp left so the guys began to toss them deep at the Tiger logs and were able to pick up a keeper sized Sheepshead to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of  Black Drum, Seatrout, Red Drum and Sheepshead.  With that, we called it a day, another great on to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

lined bank as the tide began to creep back in, had a bunch of nibbles but no real bites until, BOOM!  FISH ON!  Jonathan worked the fish away from the bank, let it wear itself out, and landed a nice Slot Sized Redfish.  Just a few minutes later Smith had a strong hookup that bent his rod double and caused the reel to sing - the big fish went deep and a long battle ensued.  But Smith was up to the task and after the fish took him from bow to stern, starboard to port, he worked the fish slowly up to be landed - a nice 36"+ Bonnethead Shark!  We wrapped up the fishing, headed in to pick up their wives Katie and Kristin, and toured

 

A Good Mess of Fish

We fished the south end today, launching from the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at Sawpit Creek to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide.  I met Adam Garner and his son Ryan and Ryan's girlfriend Morgan and we headed up the  Nassau River to fish the oyster beds with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows.  It didn't take long to get bites - first Ryan had a strong hookup and landed a huge Catfish then he picked up a couple of Croakers and then a  21" Black "puppy" Drum.  Morgan then had a strong
hookup that headed up river so we had to chase it with the boat!  She patiently fought and landed another huge Catfish.  Ryan added another nice keeper sized Drum and a few more Croaker, then Morgan landed a hard fighting Drum.   We made our next stop along some rocks at Seymore's Pointe and here the anglers had non-stop action,  catching keeper sized Grey "mangrove" Snapper.  We were getting low on bait, getting so many bites, we made the decision to run further up the river to see if we could get something bigger.  We picked a spot between the downed logs, began making casts and within minutes Ryan had a hookup.  He fought the fish expertly and after a good battle, landed our first Redfish, a slot 19" keeper sized one.  We fished some more, caught another Drum, a few Croaker and had what looked like a large Seatrout to the boat.  With that, we called it a day, another great day to be fishing Amelia Island, and with a mess of fish in the box!

First Fish Ever for Two Anglers

An outstandingly beautiful day greeted us this morning for a fun day of fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island.  I had scheduled to meet Barbara Montressor and her friend Christine Knoblauch down at the Fernandina Beach city marina.  The ladies had donated the fishing trip for auction to raise money for United Way back at their work and the winners of the auction, David and Cecelia, had won the trip and were coming to fish as a group - a great way to "team" build!  We headed north to the Jolley River with plans to fish the exposed oyster banks with jigs and live shrimp or mud

minnows.  After the anglers knocked the rust off they began to get their casts up near the oysters and it wasn't long before they began to get bites.  Christine got the "skunk off" the boat by landing a nice hungry Seatrout  - her first caught fish ever, then Cecelia followed that up with a high flying Ladyfish, her first fish ever caught, too!  David was making excellent casts to the bank and he soon had a hookup and good battle with a Black "puppy" Drum, which he landed.   We made our second stop at the logs behind Tiger and even though all the anglers were getting bites and the tide was right,

we had  no hook ups!  Our final stop was outside of Tiger Island and here the action really heated up.  Cecelia landed a Ladyfish then Barbara hooked and landed a Seatrout.  Then all of the group were catching Ladyfish.  Time was running short when David had a hookup but this time his rod bent double and his line began to zip out, FISH ON!  This big fish ran under the boat and was heading south!  But David applied the pressure, went to the stern of the boat and managed to turn the beast.  The fish took him from bow to stern, from port to starboard then back to the bow but

it was no match for David and after long battle we were able to land the Bonnethead Shark for pictures and release!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Lot's of Action

I was back in the saddle today after taking off for Father's Day and was eager to get back to fishing!  I met David Smith and his son Andrew down at the Atlantic Seafood dock, downtown Fernandina Beach and we headed north to fish the first of an incoming tide with jigs and live shrimp.  We made our first stop at the Tiger logs and boy was it a beautiful morning!  The sky was clear, the air was still cool, and there was only a slight breeze.  The anglers got the hang of fishing the jigs quickly and soon David outsmarted a sneaky Sheepshead.  Shortly afterwards Andrew battled a feisty Redfish to

the boat.  We fished the island south then north and Andrew picked up two hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum.  Our next stop was up at Jolley "bank", still pitching the jigs and even though both anglers were getting bites, we had no takers.  Andrew switched to a live shrimp under a float and it only took three casts before he had a strong hookup, "FISH ON"!  This fish was definitely  not a "bait stealer" and Andrew patiently played the fish to the boat where we landed a nice 20" Seatrout!  We fished the rest of the bank picking up a nice Whiting and then a Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Drum and Flounder, then ran further up into Jolley to fish a now flooded oyster bank.  The anglers again had good bites but no takers so we made a run around to the outside of Tiger Island and this did the trick.  They began to get good strong bites, landing a handful of high-flying Ladyfish and also boated a rather large Bluefish and a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  We then fished a grass line and between the two anglers they landed a handful of small but hungry Seatrout.  But on of the last ones turned out to be bigger and measured "keeper" size when we got him to the boat.  On the last cast David had a strong hookup but the fish was on the other side of a flooded oyster bed.  David played the fish perfectly but this fish was smart and as it got close the the bed it made a dash deep and cut the line!  So with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!