Tarpon Under the Moon

I had another "flood tide" fishing trip set up for this morning, this time with Dale Bullard who has fished with me a few times in the past.  We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at sunrise and with a bright full moon overhead,  headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island with topwater lures as the tide crept in.  There was a lot of bait action but we had no real takers on the mullet pattern.  As we were fishing some flooded oysters both Dale and I noticed something big was busting bait at the point of some marsh grass.  I had initially thought it was dolphin but when we we saw something long with pointed fins we knew they were Tarpon.  We dropped an anchor at the point and within minutes saw that the Tarpon were rolling and busting bait right behind the boat.  Dale was casting the largest top water lure I had and within minutes he had a strong (I mean STRONG) hookup, and FISH ON!  The big 70lb Tarpon came out of the water shook his head then dove deep.  Dale's rod bent over and the drag ripped out and... FISH OFF!  Boy that was exciting!  We continued to fish the pod and had a few fish look seriously at the lure but had  no more takers.  We began to check the flooded grass and even though conditions were perfect again, we saw no fish.  As we were motoring to another grass flat we could see fish striking in the river and seagulls were diving to pick up the pieces.  Dale grabbed the lure rod again and within a few casts was hooking up with hard fighting Bluefish.  He had one on and we're not sure if it was another Tarpon or a big Blue because it dove deep and snapped the 17lb leader!  Dale picked up a couple of more Blues then we continued on our way in search of Reds.  All of my grass flat spots looked amazingly perfect but there were no fish!  But we ended up having a good time out on the water and counted it as another great day of fishing at Amelia Island!

Experience Angler Comes Through with Big Redfish

I fished this afternoon with the Ahrens family, Brian and Jenifer and their young son Henry, and they also brought along Jenifer's grandfather Richard.  We left the City marina and headed up to Jolley river to fish an outgoing tide with the oysters already exposed.  I set up outside a large creek runout and the anglers began to toss out float rigs with mud minnows or shrimp. They almost immediately began to get bites but they turned out to be small saltwater Perch and then they picked up a couple of Croake and a couple of hungry Seatrout.   For a while there the breeze died down to nothing and it almost felt like August again!  We made a run back to Jolley "bank" and fished it with jigs and minnows and shrimp.  We thought we had a good shot a couple of times at a Bonnethead Shark but it just wouldn't eat what we were offering.  Then, at a marsh runout, Brian hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder.  Shortly after that we had a another bite and young Henry fought the fish.  He did an excellent job of reeling it in and landed another nice Flounder, just a tad bit bigger than his dads!  But Brian wasn't finished yet and pulled another Flounder out of the same spot!  After catching a Stingray we made a run around to Tiger "pirate" Island and fished the downed logs.  Things heated up hear.  Henry caught a nice feisty Redfish to garner the anglers an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder and Redfish.  Henry followed that up with another keeper Flounder then Great Grand Dad Richard got in on the action.  And boy did he!  He had a strong hookup and this one bent his rod double, FISH ON!  He played the big fish patiently and as it dove deep and tried to go under the boat he applied some gently pressure and brought it back out.  The big fish made a couple of drag ripping runs but it was no match for Richard.  He brought the fish to the surface and we netted a big 24" Slot Redfish!  Boy what a fish!  We continued to fish the area and Brian landed a couple more feisty Redfish.
And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Redfish No Show

We had a full moon last night and a forecasted high flood tide this morning at 9:12am so I met James Machado at 7 and we headed out with a boat load of fly rods to hunt for tailing Redfish.  We were on time and immediately saw that some areas were flooding so we eased up and began to look for tails.  At the first spot we saw none so we crossed over to where some mullet were cruising the bank and James tossed a topwater lure until he had a hungry Seatrout explode on it and he hooked it up. We then got serious about the flood tide and hit flooded grass flat after flooded grass flat - to no avail.  Everywhere we looked seemed perfect conditions, but not a one did we see.  Luckily I had a good handful of mud minnows left over from yesterdays trip so we rigged up some float rigs and began to toss them to the edge of the flooded grass. You gotta do what you gotta do!  We soon began to get bites and when James' float went under with a surge we knew he had a decent fish on.  He played the fish perfectly and soon landed a nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout.  We fished the area for a while and we both had a couple of Seatrout and then James landed a feisty Redfish.  We made a short run to the mouth of a large creek and tossed the minnows again.  James had a few more Seatrout with one of them being of keeper size.  We also had a Redfish or two.  The weather was outstanding, the fishing peaceful, and it turned out to be a great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Afternoon Fishing Produces a Variety

I did an afternoon trip today, fishing out of the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina. I had met Marty and Lois Peltzer after noon and we headed up to Tiger Island to fish the last hour or so of an outgoing tide.  We were tossing jigs and minnows and after just a short while Marty hooked up with a nice fish, played it perfectly, and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder.  Shortly after that we had another strong hookup and it fought bigger than it's size!  Lois reeled it in and when we netted it we saw that it was a small Grouper!  That's a first in a long while! We continued to fish the island and Marty landed a feisty Redfish then a hungry Seatrout to round out his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder.  We then made a run around to Jolley River and fished the "bank" with jigs as the tide started back in.  There was tons of bait and we saw a big Bonnethead Shark cruising the oysters but it would have none of what we were offering.  We picked up another keeper sized Flounder and another Trout then ran further up the river to fish Snook Creek.  Although we had a few nibbles we had no real bites other than tangling with a high flying Ladyfish - the "poor mans Tarpon".  After cruising Cumberland Island to see some wild horses, we made one last stop outside of Tiger Island. Marty put one more Seatrout in the boat and we had another Ladyfish to wrap the day up,  another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Super Grand Slam for Young Lady Angler

I fished this afternoon with Kevin Flynn and his daughter Madelyn.  Again, the weather was super nice, warming to shirt sleeve temperatures and we had a slight breeze to help keep the bugs off.  We made a quick run up to Tiger Island to catch the first of an incoming tide.  I think it was Kevin's first cast when he had a strong hookup and a good deep diving battle.  He played the fish perfectly and patiently and after a good battle landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum - this is the first Drum in a long while.  We fished the logs thoroughly and a little late Maddy had a bite...we thought it got hung up in a downed log...but then it came free!  She worked the fish in to the boat and landed a keeper sized 16" Sheepshead, another first in a long while.  From the same spot Kevin had another strong bite and boated a 20" Slot Sized Redfish to give the anglers an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Drum, Sheepshead, and Redfish!  But these two anglers weren't finished!  They boated a couple of small Flounder to score a "Grand Slam", then we headed up to Jolley River to fish the "bank".  Within minutes Kevin's float disapeared and he had a good fight on his hands.  He played the big fish to the boat and we netted a nice 18" Seatrout.  Now they had a "Super Grande Slam"!  We fished the bank from south to north and just as we were about to leave Maddy had a strange bite.  She cranked the fish and it came to the surface it began to fight but it was too late and we netted a big 17"  Flounder!  We hit a couple of more spots, one in particular produce a good handful of Seatrout for Maddy, then we called it day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Flounder Bonanza

Boy what a pretty day we had today!  It was chilly enough to wear a fleece but there was only a slight breeze when I met Sean and Meagan Rosenquist down at the City docks at sunrise. The tide was high and just going out when we made our first stop outside of  Tiger Island.  I had Sean tossing a topwater lure up on the bow and Meagan was throwing a float rig with live shrimp and they almost immediately began to get hookups.  Trout were nailing the topwater lure and Meagan was hooking up with Trout, too.  We fished the area until the bite slowed then we made a run up to Jolley River and to the mouth of Snook Creek.  We had been fishing for just a short while when Meagan had a strong hookup and, FISH ON!  She played the big fish patiently and after good battle, landed a nice Slot 21" Redfish!  We fished for a short while longer, picked up another few smaller Reds and a couple of Trout, then we moved back to Jolley Bank, switching jigs.  Now Sean's rod heated up.  He landed a nice keeper sized 14" Flounder, then a 16" one, then his biggest, a nice 17" Flounder!  We had a few more Redfish and Trout then made a final stop back at Tiger Island.  Meagan got back on the board when she put another nice Flounder in the boat, a big 18" fish!  I think we had another Redfish or two, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Having the Hot Hand

I fished yesterday afternoon with Kevin Clickett and his son Jack.  We had met at the Atlantic Seafood dock with a weather forecast of a slight chance of rain, with winds 10-12mph with gusts to 20.  But we had a game plan to fish on the lee side of a land mass so with that in mind we headed out and sure enough, our first stop was like fishing on a calm pond.  It turned out to be a beautiful morning with our float rigs out and the sun coming up, but we had no real bites for the first 45 minutes!  At our second stop we went to jigs and minnows to fish some dock pilings.  We had a few nibbles then

finally a strong hookup, FISH ON!  Young Jack played the big fish patiently and even though it made a couple of strong runs, he kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish!  If we're only going to get one fish in two hours then it's great to get a nice fish like that!  But these two anglers were not going to be denied.  We made a short run to a second spot, began to fish some more dock pilings and in a short instance, Jack had hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout.  Then we a had a good flurry of catching small but feisty Redfish.  Just before we left neither Kevin or I were getting any bites so Jack stepped up with the "hot hand", made a  cast, and landed one more Seatrout to his catch total.  We then ran around to Tiger Island through some fairly choppy water but when we got in behind the islands it wasn't too bad.  Kevin had a strange bite and hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder to round out the duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  He then added one more feisty Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

First Cast Redfish

We had a beautiful morning today with slightly overcast skies and just a slight breeze.  I had met Greg and Julie Gerken down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp on an outgoing tide.  We headed up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff to fish a still flooded oyster bank with jigs an mud minnows.  I think it was Julie's first cast, a good one up to the marsh grass, and she had a hookup!  That's a great way to start a fishing trip.  She worked the fish in patiently and landed a nice feisty Redfish.  We worked the bank slowly and a
little later Greg got on the board when a hungry Seatrout tapped his jig and Greg hooked him up!  There was tons of bait in the creek but we didn't have near as many good bites as I had expected.  We then decided to make the long run to Broward Island and this did the trick.  We fished the deep water for just a short while then the anglers began to get hookups.  They landed a good handful of Seatrout, Redfish and then Julie put two nice Flounder in the boat to round out her personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  We worked the area thoroughly, getting more Trout and Reds, then made a quick run back to Bubblegum Reef to fish the last 15 minutes of the trip.  Julie had made a cast out deep and was working it back slowly when, BOOM! FISH ON!  We could tell right off this was a bigger fish as it was having nothing of being reeled in. But Julie kept the pressure on as the big fish dove deep went form starboard side to port side.  She patiently played the fish and we soon netted a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish!  Now that's the we to wrap up an Amelia Island fishing trip!

Just Like Babe Ruth

The fishing seems to be getting better since all of the rain we had last week.  I met Jay Chincheck and his buddies Mark and Tim down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina this morning and we headed up to fish the logs of Tiger Island with about an hour left in a falling tide.  The anglers were tossing jigs and mud minnows and it may have been Tim's first cast when he had a strong bite and landed a nice Redfish!  Shortly after that he had an even bigger fish on.  He played the fish expertly but after a good battle the fish had other plans and ran up into the logs and cut itself off!  Then all three

anglers started catching fish.  Most all were feisty Redfish in the 15-17" range.  Jay had one Red that had 14 spots, a sure big money winner in the Spot Tournament when it grows another inch or two!  We worked the area thoroughly and just as we were about to leave, Mark had a good bite, and FISH ON!  He played the big fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish!  Then Jay followed that up with a keeper sized Flounder.  We hit our first spot one more time, picked up a few more Redfish then Mark put another keeper sized Flounder in the boat. We made

a run around to Jolley River, fished the bank where Tim put three Reds in the boat, then moved further up river to fish Snook Creek.  Again, Tim hooked up but this time it turned out to be a very nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout to round out the trio's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Flounder and Trout.  Jay picked up another Trout shortly after that and Mark added a feisty Redfish.  We ran back to the marina, made a pit stop for lunch, then ran south to fish the Horsehead Area. Our first stop proved fruitless as it appears the Mangrove Snapper have gone.  Our second stop was up in Christopher Creek where Tim added another Redfish.  We were visited by a small alligator who seemed to have no fear of humans because he swam right up to the boat and hovered for a handout.  We then made a run down to Broward Island and even though the tide was way up we fished the logs anyway.  Jay spotted a small protected pocket and called his shot, just like Babe Ruth, "I'm getting a big fish in there", and made his cast perfectly.  A split second later he had a hookup and FISH ON!  This was a bigger fish and even though it headed for the logs, Jay worked it out and when he got it out deeper, played it patiently.  After a good battle, we landed another big 22" Slot Redfish!  We hit one more area, fished some float rigs, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Slammin Redfish

I fished this morning with Don and Bev Horton, who met me at the
Atlantic Seafood dock with plans to fish the very first of an incoming tide.  We made our first run up to the Jolley River and began to fish the exposed oysters of a long bank.  Here the tide still hadn't made up it's mind to start coming in but the two anglers warmed up, getting used to my light tackle spinning gear.  Just as the tide started in they began to catch fish on our jig and shrimp combo.  Bev tricked a "baitstealer" into biting her hook then she
really knocked the skunk off when she hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  From then on the two anglers landed fish after fish, mostly feisty Redfish which were a beautiful copper color.  But Don added a Flounder then Bev landed on of her own to tally her first Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder!  We worked the area thoroughly, switched to float rigs as the tide got up, and landed a few more Redfish.  We ran further up the river where Bev switched back to the jig rig.  She caught Reds on the jig while Don caught them on the float.  We ran back and through Tiger Creek to Bell River and fished a little more with the float rigs then called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!