A Tale of Perseverance

Although we've had some cloudy skies with rain predicted every day, I was able to get fishing with Michael Collins Friday morning, leaving the Atlantic Seafood dock early and heading up to the Jolley River to fish the very first of an outgoing tide after a heavy flood. The water was still up in the grass as we set up at the mouth of marsh runout and began to toss float rigs with live shrimp. We had a few nibbles but no real bites until the tide really started running out. But we hit a few spots and Michael's perseverance paid off. We were still fishing the float rigs and got into a flurry of fish catching. First Michael put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat, then another. We picked up a Sea Trout and then a Slot Red. We fished that area for a while then moved around to fish the logs of Tiger Island where we picked up another fish or two, Even though it was overcast, it made for some quality fishing and even though we had to work for our fish, we had a great day out on the water here at Amelia Island!

Birthday Trip Nets Slot Red and Big Trout

I fished George and Cindi Breslin this morning, running up the Nassau River, thru Jackstaff and to its mouth on the other side. We set up off the flooded marsh grass on a high and outgoing tide and began tossing live shrimp under floats. We had a bite on the first cast and shortly after the two anglers began catching Seatrout at the marsh run outs. Most we undersized but they did one keeper in that area. We crossed the creek to fish a point and her George had a
strong hookup, battled it for a good while, then poof, it was gone - the hook pulled! It might have been his next cast and he had another strong hookup. This fish fought so hard and pulled so deep we both were thinking big Red, but when George wore it out we found that that it was a big Jack Crevalle! Their Back! We ran back thru Jackstaff and around to Twin Creeks. Cindi was on the bow of the boat, still tossing a float rig, and picked up a couple or three of feisty Redfish, then a  Flounder to round out her personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Flounder. We then fished a dock with jigs and in short order Cindi had a hookup. We knew it was a big fish the way it fought against the drag but Cindi fought it patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice big Slot 25" Redfish! She followed that up with a big 18" Seatrout then we moved to the other side of the dock where George put another 18" Trout in the boat. Our final stop was down at Broward Island where we had no real bites, but as we headed in, we knew we'd just had another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

First Redfish for Young Angler

The thunderstorms were forecast to come in later this afternoon so we went with the scheduled trip to fish with Rob Becker and his son Isaac this morning. I met them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff to fish the first of an outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. I believe Rob knocked the skunk off early when he boated a hungry Seatrout, then another, but Isaac followed it up with a hard fighting fish, which he landed - a nice feisty Redfish- his first. We continued to fish the stretch of marsh grass and both anglers were catching
Seatrout regularly. We switched to jigs and shrimp, fished a sandbar, and found that we could catch Seatrout at will.  Eventually, we made the run through Horsehead, found a dock to fish, which we did for a while, with no real bites. It wasn't until we got ready to leave when Isaac made a nice cast up near a piling and it had no sooner hit the bottom and BOOM! FISH ON! Isaac played the big fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice Slot Redfish! We moved on to fish Bubblegum Reef, found a Seatrout, then made the run down to Broward Island where the two anglers picked up a handful of more Trout. We'd caught a bunch of fish early, had a big fish landed, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Fish On First Cast and Last Cast

I met Mark Humphreys and his two sons Milo and Liam down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we headed up the Amelia River to fish the mouth of Jackstaff on the very last few minutes of the outgoing tide. It was Milo's first cast when he hooked up with a hungry Seatrout then Liam landed a small Sea Bass. Shortly after that Liam had made an excellent cast to the exposed oysters and as he worked it back his rod bent and he
yelled, "I got a fish!".  He reeled the fish in and landed a nice Flounder. We fished the area to a large creek mouth then ran around to fish Bubblegum Creek on the first of an incoming tide. Milo was casting to the oyster bank and he too had a strong hookup. This fish fought hard but Milo was up to it and landed a big keeper sized Seatrout. Shortly after that Liam reeled in a nice Sheepshead then he and his father boated a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We moved on to some docks at Seymore's Pointe where they caught another Trout, a Bluefish and Milo got our first feisty Redfish, to garner the trio and Amelia Island Back Country "Super Grande
Slam" of Seatrout, Flounder, Sheepshead, Black Drum and Red Drum! We then made a run down to Broward Island, fooled around with some "baitstealers" then got back into some fish. We had a really strong hookup that threw the hook then Mark landed another keeper sized Sheepshead. Then BOOM! BIG FISH ON! Mark worked the fish patiently as it ran deep towards the downed limbs but he pulled it back out, keeping the pressure on. The fish went from Starboard to Port and then started back to the stern. Mark worked him up and we netted a nice 25" Slot sized Redfish! Boy what a fish. With that catch, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Redneck Fish

I had a great trip this morning, fishing with Traci Guinn and her teenage kids Bri and Logan who had brought along their friends Spence and Cam. We met down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and headed straight up to the Jolley River to fish the first of an incoming tide. The oysters were completely exposed and the anglers were tossing live shrimp on a jig. We fished a good stretch of oysters, picking up a couple of baitstealers and fighting off a handful of others, and were almost to the end of our run when BOOM! FISH ON! Bri had her fishing rod bend over and the line
was ripping out but she kept the pressure on and fought the fish patiently. The big fish stayed up  by the oysters for a while, rolling a couple of times then, BOOM! Another fish on! Logan had one on, too! We had a double! Logan went to the front of the boat and Bri's big fish took her to the stern and then went deep. We netted Logan's feisty Redfish and after a good battle, landed Bri's 22" Slot Redfish. Now that will wake you up! We fished the area briefly then ran back to Tiger Island. Spence picked up a feisty Redfish and during the same battle, Logan caught a nice Sheepshead which he dubbed a "Redneck Fish" due to it's buck teeth! He picked up another bigger Sheepshead later and added Flounder to garner his own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Sheepshead and Flounder. We fished the outside of Tiger with float rigs and here Logan caught a Seatrout to make it a "Grande Slam", then we ran over to Bell River where Bri put one more Trout in the boat. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island, Florida.

The Girls are First and Last

I fished yesterday afternoon with BJ Hall, his wife Lisa and his dad Barry and his wife Zoe. We left the Fernandina Harbor Marina and headed up to fish the Jolley River on the first of an outgoing tide. The anglers were tossing live shrimp and mud minnows to the flooded oyster beds and it wasn't long before Zoe "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a nice Seatrout. We continued to fish and shortly afterwards she put another Trout in the boat. We ease up
into Snook Creek and both Barry and BJ switched to jigs, fishing on the bottom and picked up a couple of more Seatrout while Zoe caught them off the back of the boat on a float rig. We made the run to Tiger Island where Barry boated a keeper sized Trout then we ran around and fished some docks at Lanceford Creek, where we had no real bites. We hit one more spot at the mouth of Bell River and Lisa put the final fish in the boat, a Flounder, wrapping up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing With Opa

I fished this morning with Tom Schmeltzer and his 12 year old grandson, Avery, meeting down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and heading north to fish Tiger Island as the tide started back in. We only had mud minnows this morning as there is a short supply of live shrimp, but we made do and caught fish. Avery reeled in a nice feisty Redfish then both anglers caught fish, Reds and Seatrout. We fished the area thoroughly and when the tide got up we made a run
around to Jolley River to fish some flooded oyster beds. Here, Avery snagged a 2' long Gar and had him to the boat and "quick released" him. Later, Avery picked up a Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Flounder. We cast netted some more minnows then headed back, making one more stop before heading in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Tourney Red Tops Off the Trip

I fished this morning with Glenn Aldredge, his son Nick and their friend Luke, meeting down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. We headed up the Nassau River with clear skies and just a slight breeze, running all the way down to Broward Island to fish the logs on the first of an incoming tide. We had live shrimp and mud minnows and the shrimp seemed to be the bait preferred. Nick knocked the skunk off early, landing a nice Seatrout and from then on it was "fish catching" for about 2 hours. All three anglers got in
on the action. Luke picked up the technique quick and landed a couple of feisty Redfish and Seatrout. They also landed a Sheepshead, Black "puppy" Drum and a Flounder to lay claim to a "Super" "Grande" Amelia Island Back Country Slam! Then Glenn had a strong hookup and the fight was on! This was a big fish on a light rod and reel combo but Glenn was up to the challenge. The fish went deep, went long and went from starboard to port but Glenn kept the pressure on After a good battle (during which Luke landed a smaller Red) we netted Glenn's 26 3/4" Tournament sized
Redfish.  Boy what a fish! We continued to fish the area, picked up a few more fish then ran around to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. Nick put another Trout in the boat then we ran through Jackstaff to fish the other side where Nick put one more Trout in the boat. After that, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

A Different Kind of Slam

This afternoon I fished with Kay and Dale Bullard, again out of the Atlantic Seafood dock. But we hadn't fished south in a while so we made the trip down thru the intercoastal and up into Poteat Cut, making our first stop at a marsh runout, on an outgoing tide.  It didn't take long for both Kay and Dale to boat a couple of hungry Seatrout. Our next stop was over in Jackstaff and here we trolled the bank, tossing float rigs and jigs with live shrimp. The conditions were right but we had no real bites. We ran thru Jackstaff over to
Seymores Pointe, fished a dock, and this did the trick. Dale had some nice hookups with Seatrout and so did Kay with both landing "keeper" sized fish. Then Kay had strong bite and we new this was not a Trout. The fish fought hard but Kay was up to the task and soon landed a hardy keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. Then Dale followed that up with a big fat Weakfish garnering the duo an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Black Drum and Weakfish - an unusual Slam, but a Slam in my book! They picked up one more keeper Trout then we ran further south to Broward Island to fish the last of an outgoing tide. The conditions were right but the fish didn't want to cooperate, although they did catch another Trout or two. It was getting late and we had a long run back to the marina so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Reds and Trout

We had a beautiful morning today as we left the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina on an incoming tide and headed straight up to Tiger Island to fish the logs while they were still exposed. It took a little while but these two anglers were excellent casters and it was only a matter of time before they started putting fish in the boat. First, Charles boated a nice feisty Redfish then
both he and Theresa traded the lead in the "most fish" count. In addition to a good handful of Reds, they had another good mess of Seatrout with one measuring in at 18". We fished the area until the tide got up too high then we ran thru Tiger Basin to Bell River and fished some flooded oyster beds - but we had no real bites. We ran up Lanceford Creek, fished a dock with no luck, then fished some more flooded oysters. Further up Lanceford we found a grass patch that held some Trout and another Redfish, then we wrapped it up south of Rayonier. All told, they probably had 10-12 fish for the day, so we counted as another great one to be fishing at Amelia Island, Florida