The Trout Are Getting Bigger

We had a little more wind blowing this morning, and overcast skies, but it was kinda nice not having the sun heating things up. I had met Debbie and Jerry Corbett and Debbie's son Liam down at the Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina early and we headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded marsh grass on the very first of an outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. It took a little while but then Jerry's rod heated it up and he started putting one fish in the boat after another! I think it was his first fish that was his biggest, a nice 19.5" Seatrout that put him in 2nd place in the
Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament-Trout Category (scroll down right side of this page to see standings) and he continued to find the Trout along the same edge of the marsh grass. Then he had a strong hookup and this fish fought differently. But Jerry played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish! I think he put a couple of more Trout in the boat and maybe another Red. Debbie added a Croaker to the catch then we moved down the river to fish some dock pilings. Debbie was the first to hookup on a jig/shrimp combo, landing a feisty Redfish, then Jerry found his one :"honey hole" by drifting his trusty float rig up by the pilings and landing a couple of more of the Reds. We ran around to Tiger Island, fished the deep water and picked up a Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then we also landed a couple of more Trout. Debbie fought a big Jack Crevalle to the net and Liam got in on the action by landing a Stingray then a keeper sized Seatrout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island Florida!

Double Slam

The weather has been unbelievable great all week and today that held true. I met Scott Jones down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the Amelia River, cutting in at Jackstaff to fish an outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. We eased along the bank with Scott tossing the shrimp to the shoreline and after a short stretch he had a hookup. After playing the fish perfectly, he soon landed a nice Redfish. We continued to fish the area, tangled with a couple of Ladyfish, then crossed over to fish a sandbar that was still
covered. Scott picked up a keeper sized Flounder then we got into some Seatrout, finding that they were out deeper and that they would pick up our jig and shrimp as it swept along with the current. This gave Scott his Amelia Island Back Country Slam. We got a good handful of Trout and when Scott landed a big one we decided to move on and see what else we could find. Our next stop was at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where we had no real bites then we eased over to Bubblegum Reef where we each landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. We made the run down to Broward Island as the tide reached the bottom and picked up one more Slot Redfish and another keeper sized Flounder to give us a Double Slam. With that, we called it  day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Nice Variety Keeps Things Interesting

We had another beautiful day today - sunshine and  slight breeze, and no bugs! I had met Chris Moscoso and his cousin Rob down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and we headed up to Bell River to fish some dock piling on an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. The bite was kinda slow but these anglers kept at it and it made a difference - they caught fish! Chris started it off when he tossed his offering up behind a floating dock and almost immediately he had a hookup. He played the fish expertly and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Rob got in on the action and landed a
Seatrout then the anglers had multiple Ladyfish catches. When Rob had a strong hookup I just knew we had a big Red but as he patiently worked the fish to the boat we saw it was a rather large Stingray! We made a run around to Jolley River and fished Snook Creek and here the anglers landed a big Whiting. We fished further down the river and saw some big Bonnethead Sharks cruising the bank but they wouldn't bite. Our final stop was at Tiger Island and when we had another strong hookup we knew we had a decent fish. We fought the fish to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. Somewhere in there we had another Trout or two!  After a short tour of Cumberland Island, Fort Clinch and Old Towne, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Big Red in Same Spot

Boy what a pretty day we had today. Sunshine and just a slight breeze greeted us when I met Rachel and Marcus Longcrier and their friends Patrick and Ashley down at the Atlantic Seafood dock. We headed up the Bell River and set up stream from a dock on the last of an outgoing tide and the anglers began tossing live shrimp on a jig up to the pilings. It didn't take long for Rachel to "knock the skunk" off the boat when she landed a keeper sized Seatrout. Marcus followed that up with one of his own and then Rachel
followed that with a keeper sized Flounder. We moved to another dock and Ashley got in on the action when she had a good hookup with a  feisty Redfish, which she landed expertly. Marcus had really strong bite up between some pilings and sure enough, the big fish was having none of coming to the boat, instead, it found its way back into the pilings and broke itself off. OUCH!  I felt sure we'd left a fish back at the original dock and so we circled back and within minutes Marcus had another strong hookup. But it too was a wiley fish and stayed up in the pilings and it too broke it self off.

Double OUCH! We may have picked up another Trout or two at these docks but we eventually made our way into Jolley River and stopped to fish the MOA where we had no real bites, although we had a shark siting. Our next stop was Jolley Bank and as we fished we noticed that the tide was at its bottom. We eased along the shoreline, tossing to the exposed oysters, and had no real bites. But we passed the tide line as the water came in so we circled back and
fished a short stretch again and, BOOM! Big Fish On!  I had just commented that this was the same spot that Patrick had caught his "Tournament Redfish" last year and now Marcus had one on! He played the big fish from the oyster bank out to the boat and back to the oyster bank and then from port to starboard across the stern and soon landed a big 26 1/2"  Tournament Redfish of his own! Later he followed that up with a nice feisty Redfish. We continued on around to fish Tiger Island where the anglers had some good bites but it took Patrick to put the final touch on the trip when he caught a nice Seatrout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.,

Oversized Red Fish Starts Us Off

The winds slacked off this morning which made for a beautiful day for Jeff and Julie Bachler to get out and experience the back country waters of Amelia Island, Florida. I met them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River to fish some dock pilings on the first of an incoming tide. The bait shop was out of live shrimp today so the anglers were tossing live mud minnows on a jig to the pilings. We had a few bites here and there but no real takers until about 30 minutes into the fishing, then BOOM! BIG FISH ON! This fish ran straight for the pilings

(just like yesterday) but Jeff kept the pressure on and luckily the fish didn't make any sharp turns on the other side! About when I think it as out from the pilings it would make another run. But we were in luck because each time Jeff was able to work the big fish out and soon the battle was at the stern of the boat. After numerous plunges, Jeff subdued the beast and we netted an oversized 27.5" long and super thick Redfish! Boy what a fish to get the excitement going! Later, we made a run down to Broward Island where Jeff put a feisty Redfish in the boat and then a fairly big Ladyfish. Our next stop was in Jackstaff, tossing float rigs with the mud minnows to the flooded marsh line. Jeff found another Ladyfish then a roe-laden keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today).  Julie was making great casts but must have forgotten her lucky hat because she just wasn't getting the bites that Jeff was...until she  had a hookup and a high flying Ladyfish launched itself. Julie played the fish perfectly and soon had her first fish of the day!  And shortly after that her and Jeff shared catching another fat Seatrout to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Jack Fight

We had to postpone yesterday afternoon's fishing trip but I was able to meet Dennis Brizzi and his buddy Hal out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp this morning to squeeze in some fishing before the winds picked back up. We hit Bubblegum Reef first but the tide had already been coming in for an hour so the fish bite was lite. Hal did pick up two hard fighting Catfish and we also landed one fat Seatrout. We hit some docks at Seymore's Pointe and after a few minutes the fish catching picked up. Hal had two consecutive strong bites with his drag ripping out, but to no avail. Both fish went straight through some pilings and after a tense battle, broke themselves off. Shortly after Dennis had a strong hookup. But this fish stayed near the boat, pulled hard, but Dennis kept the pressure on. After a good fight he landed a 5lb Jack Crevalle. And then both he and Hal had hookups - we had a double! Hal got his in first, a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, and then Dennis worked his in, another big Jack. We had good bites there for a while, then moved around to another dock, this time fishing float rigs, and although we had a few bites, no real takers. We fished Broward Island briefly but the wind was too strong so we returned to Christopher Creek where Hal found a plump Seatrout. With that, we called it  day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

One by One

I fished this afternoon with Lou and Kathy Gauci who were visiting Amelia Island to celebrate their anniversary, and what a great way to do it, fishing the back waters of Amelia Island! Although we were buffeted by strong winds the entire day, these two anglers made the best of it and put fish in the boat. We made a run around to Bell River, fished one dock with a slip float rig, had no bites, then moved up to another and switched to jigs and shrimp.  The bite was slow but Lou finally had a hookup and landed a keeper sized Sheepshead. A while later he had a strong hookup and we knew that
this was a bigger fish when it ripped the drag out. But Lou fought it patiently and after a good battle landed a  nice Slot Redfish. We hit one more dock and even though we were getting some bites, we had no more takers so we ran into the wind and around to Tiger Island, and this really helped as the wind was partially blocked. The bite was still slow but Lou and Kathy's persistence paid off as they boated a Black "puppy" Drum to tally an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Sheepshead, Redfish, and Black Drum, but then they added a Seatrout to make it a "grande" Slam. One Croaker, a Bluefish, and a couple of more Trout rounded out the catch. As the day neared an end, Kathy had a good hookup, FISH ON! Then FISH OFF! Ouch! But she went right back to the same spot with a cast and FISH ON! She played the fish perfectly and landed her first ever Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing on Fire

After a long Shrimp Festival weekend I was back to work this afternoon, meeting Lewis Welsh and his friend Stanley out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. We headed over to Horsehead, ran through Jackstaff and fished it's mouth, starting with float rigs and live shrimp. Stanley knocked the skunk off when he landed a nice 18" Seatrout. We continued to fish the bank, switched to jigs and shrimp and had a few good bites, with Lewis picking up another Seatrout and tangling with our first Ladyfish of the year. We ran
back through the creek and made a stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. It wasn't long and we picked up a 18" Flounder. The conditions were right but we just weren't getting the bites so we relocated onto the other side of the dock and this did the trick! Stanley caught another keeper Trout then started catching keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. Then Lewis began to get the Snapper and then BOOM! BIG FISH ON! It was ripping drag and trying its best to get up under the dock pilings but Lewis kept the pressure on and patiently fought the fish. After a good battle he landed a slot sized 23" Redfish. From then on the two anglers stayed busy caching fish. Stanley landed another Slot Red while Lewis added keeper sized Sheepshead and Black "puppy" Drum. They continued to pick up the Snapper and caught another keeper sized Seatrout. We made one more move, fished a bit longer then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Variety Of Fish

I fished this morning with Tim and Sally Lackey who met me down at the City marina for an Amelia Island back country fishing trip. We headed north and up to the Jolley River to fish a large creek mouth on an outgoing tide. The oysters were just showing and I had Tim on a float rig and Sally on a jig. Tim was the first to hookup, landing a nice keeper sized Seatrout. He had a couple of more bites but no takers so we moved on up into the creek. Here, we picked up a keeper sized Whiting then Sally had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! This was a big fish and it ripped line off the reel as it ran. Sally

went from the bow to the stern and from port to starboard as she chased the fish. She put up a good fight but the tackle was too light for what I think would have been our first Bonnethead Shark of the year, and it broke off.  We moved to the mouth of Jolley, fished an exposed oyster bank with jigs, and Tim put a feisty Redfish in the boat and Sally followed that up with a Bluefish. We ran around to Tiger Island, fished the logs, picked up a couple of more Trout, then Tim garnered the duo an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he caught a Flounder at the mouth of a Creek. We continued to fish the area, caught a couple of more Redfish, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Big Sheepshead Claims Bragging Rights

For the second time in two days the top spot in the Bragging Rights has been claimed! I started out fishing with Bob and Anne Owensby who brought along Anne's brother David and his wife Emily for an Amelia Island light tackle fishing trip today. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and ran up the Amelia River to fish the flooded oyster beds of Jackstaff. Emily claimed the first fish, a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, then she put another in the boat too. Then David felt a fish bumping his bait
softly - he waited patiently, and then set the hook on a nice keeper sized Flounder (but all fish caught today were released). Bob got on the board when he boated a Stingray that wanted to hug the bottom. After that, we had no real bites for about 40 minutes! The wind had picked up a bit so we ran around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and it made for some real nice conditions. The anglers weren't getting any real bites, though, until Emily had a strong hookup, and, FISH ON! She played the fish calmly and even though it wanted to run under the boat, she pulled it out and after a good battle, landed 
a huge 22.5" Sheepshead to capture first place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament - Sheepshead Category (scroll down the right side of this report to see standings). Boy what a fish! We fished the docks for a while and Bob picked up a couple of Redfish and then Emily had one, too. They already had an "Amelia Island Back Country Slam" of Flounder, Sheepshead, and Redfish, but when we moved over to Bubblegum Reef, David made it a "Grande Slam" when he put a couple of keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. Bob landed  a couple of more Sheepshead, one that was a very nice keeper size, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!