Slow Start BIG Finish

We had an outstandingly beautiful day today, with just a slight breeze and some nice clouds overhead to keep the heat off. I met Russ and Denice Kesel and their two sons Noah and Sam down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we ran north up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff on the very last of an outgoing tide. The anglers were tossing live shrimp and jigs and even though the conditions seemed just right for fish, we had only a few bites and no takers. We moved across the creek and fished a still flooded
sandbar and this heated things up just a little bit. Noah did the Captain a favor and 'knocked the skunk off" when he landed a nice Seatrout then his dad put one in the boat then Noah followed it up with another. Russ tangled with and landed a small Bonnethead Shark and Denice caught a Stingray. We then ran through Horsehead and to Bubblegum Reef where again, the conditions seemed right but  we found only one Seatrout. We fished Twin Creeks briefly, had no luck and even though we had put a few fish in the boat up until now, it wasn't what I'd have called a "fish
catching day". But our last stop made all the difference. We had not been fishing some dock pilings for about a minute when Noah had a strong hookup, and FISH ON! He fought the fish in and out of the piling and after a good battle, landed a big Jack Crevalle. Then BOOM! FISH ON! Russ had a good hookup. His fish fought hard a deep and went from stern to bow and back before the crew landed a Tournament Sized 26.25" thick Redfish!  And shortly after that, FISH ON! It was Denice's turn at a big fish and she played it like a pro. Her fish ripped back and forth and fought doggedly but Denice kept the pressure on and landed a big 21" Sheepshead, big enough for her to squeeze into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament -Sheepshead Caterogy (scroll down right side of this report for standings). Sam got in on the action, catching Black "puppy" Drum, and Sea Bass while Noah answered with a big Blue Fish and Redfish of his own. The anglers already had an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Red Drum and Black Drum, but Russ capped it off when he put a small Flounder in the boat. We left 'em biting, calling it a day, another great one here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Fish Are Scattered

I fished this afternoon with Kevin Hagan and his friends Cole and Johnny, fishing out of the Atlantic Seafood dock. We met mid- afternoon and headed north to fish outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp on a high and outgoing tide. It didn't take long for Cole to find the "hot" rod - he was on the bow and tossing to the flooded marsh and began picking up small but feisty Seatrout. The others had bites but no takers so after fishing the area thoroughly we ran further up to Jolley River and to Snook Creek. The wind was at our backs and even though the anglers were making
excellent casts, we had no takers. We eased up into Snook Creek, fished some jigs and shrimp on the bottom, had a few bites, then ran back to the mouth of Jolley and back to the float rigs. Again, bites but no takers. Our final stop was around at Bell River and here we finished with some action. Johnny had stuck with the float rig and landed a Seatrout and then a feisty Redfish. Cole hauled up a Stingray then we bounced to another dock where Cole put another Redfish in the boat. The wind was whipping but the sun was out and even though the fish catching was scattered, it was another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Slot Reds

I fished this morning with Dennis Brizzi who had brought along his friend Hal. We met at the City  marina and headed up to Eagans Creek to fish the very last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. The anglers were getting pecks at their bait by bait stealers but  no much else until Hal had a strong bite and FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We switched to another dock and Hal picked up another feisty Red. Our next stop was at Tiger Island where we had to ease over the sandbar at the entrance as the tide had just started back in. We fished the logs up and down picking up a small Black "puppy" Drum and a couple of Lady Fish. After running up to Jolley River to fish the "bank" we found a small Snapper, some pinfish, another Ladyfish and Dennis caught a nice, but small, Seatrout. Our last stop was over at Bell River and here we found another couple of puppy Drum and Dennis worked in one more keeper sized Redfish to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Flounder Getting a Tad Bigger

We had a beautiful morning today when I fished with the Nickel family - Eric and Ali and their young angler, Tanner. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff Creek on the first of an incoming tide. The fish bite was kinda slow but every once in a while we'd have a good bite - first what I thought may have been a Shark, then another that seemed to be a Redfish. Then Eric knocked the skunk off when he landed a nice Seatrout. Ali tangled with a high flying Ladyfish before we made the run around to fish a dock at Seymore's Pointe.

We worked the pilings pretty good with jigs and dead shrimp and minnows then picked up and ran to "pirate island" and here things heated up. We had a strong hookup and young Tanner was on the rod quick then his dad jumped in to help. The fought the fish patiently and soon landed a slightly undersized Redfish. Then both Ali and Eric had hookups - we had a double! Ali got her fish to the boat and just before I netted a nice Sheepshead, it through the hook, OUCH! But Eric still had his own and it was big. He eventually landed a nice 18" Flounder that puts him in First Place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings).Shortly after that the Eric landed another keeper sized  Flounder and then young Tanner reeled in a small Flounder of his own. We made our last stop back at Seymore's Pointe and did battle with some small Mangrove Snapper and Ali's perseverance paid off when she put one in the boat! With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Afternoon Trip Beats The Storms

I fished this afternoon with Tim Flusche and his dad Tim Sr. and his mom Peggy. We had scheduled to meet down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and although we had a good tide, we were somewhat concerned about the forecasted thunderstorms. But the skies were clear so we headed up the Amelia River and turned into Jackstaff to fish a flooded bank with the tide going out. I had all three anglers tossing live shrimp under a float and it was only a few minutes before Peggy "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a
nice Flounder. We continued fishing and Tim Jr. tangled with a high flying Ladyfish before we crossed the creek and fished a sandbar with jigs and shrimp. We had no real bites so we ran through Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe where all three anglers were getting bites. It took a while to get the hang of it but soon they landed a handful of hungry Mangrove Snapper. Our next stop was around the corner and here Tim Jr. picked up another Snapper on the jig. Our last stop was down at Broward Island. The wind was blocked which made for some very pleasant fishing conditions. The anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp and although they had some bites, we caught no fish. We did see a big Redfish smash bait up near the shore but it wouldn't take what we were offering. We eventually called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

Shark Frenzy

I fished this morning with Jim Jeffers and his wife Becky who brought along their niece Hannah. We met at the City marina and headed north with clear skies and almost no breeze. Our first stop was on the outside of Tiger Island and I had the anglers tossing float rigs with live shrimp over flooded oyster beds on the last couple of hours of an incoming tide. It didn't take long before the trio began to get bites and soon Jim knocked the skunk off when he landed a hungry Seatrout. We had a good flurry of Trout catches with both Jim and Hannah reeling in a few each. Then Becky had a
good bite and a good battle which she soon won, landing a hard fighting Blue Fish. We fished the area a while longer then ran up to fish Jolley "bank", easing along the shore line tossing the float rigs. But the fish weren't home and we had no real bites. We ran further up into Jolley and into a large creek where we tossed the anchor into the marsh grass and began fishing the bottom with jigs and shrimp. Within minutes the angles were into Bonnethead Sharks! Jim was on the port side of the stern and was getting a bite almost every cast. The light 14# test just wasn't doing the job so I switched one of the float rigs to a jig setup, tied on a 17#lb leader, and this did the trick. After a good battle Jim patiently landed a nice Shark. We had a few more hookups then Becky put her Shark in the boat. In between both Hannah and Jim caught a couple of Black "puppy" Drum, then Hannah wrapped the trip up when she too landed a Shark. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

High and Incoming

The high and incoming tide is not my favorite tide to fish but when that's what you have you've got to make the best of it. That's what Billy Rowe and is two sons Cameron and Greg did today. We started off fishing the bank at Jackstaff and had a strong hookup with what I thought was a big Redfish on the 2nd or 3rd cast. Cameron fought the fish perfectly but it was not to be as the big fish threw the hook. OUCH! But we fished on and had some good hookups later. Billy knocked the skunk off when he landed a feisty
Jack Crevalle then he put a nice Slot Redfish in the boat. Cameron had a big bite and, FISH ON! This fish made some strong runs and I thought sure it was a big Shark but after a good battle we found it to be a large Jack Crevalle.  Greg got in on the action when he caught a nice multi-spotted Redfish. We crossed the creek, fished another stretch of flooded marsh grass, then ran through Horsehead to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe with jigs and shrimp on the first of an outgoing tide. The two anglers at the stern had no real bites but just as we were getting ready to move, on, Greg yelled,
"Fish On" and sure enough, he had a Redfish!  We hit some rocks along Seymore's and the action picked up drastically. I believe every Mangrove Snapper the trio caught were of keeper size (no fish were kept today) and one was the biggest I've seen in  while. It was a good way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Ethan's Snapper Bank

We had a beautiful morning here at Amelia Island, Florida today! I met Mike Snider and his son Ethan down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we made a run up into Horsehead to fish the last hour of an incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. It was slow going for a while but we finally had a hookup and Ethan reeled in a feisty Redfish. A little later he made a good cast to the flooded marsh grass and soon his float went under. We thought we had another Redfish but this one turned out to be a slimy old Catfish! We fished out that bank then hit another and although we
had a few nibbles, we had no takers. We made a run around to the Nassau River, fished Twin Creeks, and again had a few nibbles but no takers. Then Ethan experimented tossing a jig and shrimp out deep and when he felt a tug on his line he set the hook and caught a hungry Seatrout. Our next stop was at some rocks along Seymore's Pointe and it didn't take long to begin getting good bites. Ethan hauled in a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper then both anglers were catching fish. The bite was pretty steady for the rest of the trip. Ethan had a good hand at catching these sneaky fish so we dubbed the spot "Ethan's Snapper Bank". After landing a good handful of fish, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flounder Bash

I had the pleasure of fishing today again with the Self family - Aaron and his two sons Isaac and David along with their grandfather Charlie. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning with a few hours of an outgoing tide left and headed  up the Amelia River to fish Jackstaff. The oysters were still covered but I had the anglers tossing jigs and mud minnows up to the bank. We hadn't gone but about 50 feet when David had a good hookup and the skunk was off early! He landed a
nice keeper sized Flounder. And not minutes later Isaac put one in the boat, too. Then David had another hookup and this was somewhat bigger. He played the fish perfectly and soon landed another keeper sized 16" Flounder, a fish we're going to start off the Flounder Bragging Rights in the 2015 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament! See standings by scrolling down the right side of this report. We fished the bank thoroughly, had a few nibbles, then moved across the creek to set up along a submerged sand bar. Just like yesterday, the Trout were there and Isaac and David and Grandad put fish in the boat. We ran around to Seymore's Pointe and here Aaron got busy, catching a feisty Redfish, a nice Seatrout, and a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. Our last stop was down at Broward Island. We fished a small marsh run out where the bait was hopping and Isaac kept us in form when he landed another Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters!

All Around Good Fishing Trip

I had a sole angler today - Tim Gula - who met me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide still had a few hours to get to the bottom so we headed up the Amelia River and turned into Jackstaff to fish the exposed oysters with live shrimp and a jig. Tim was an excellent caster and was putting his bait in perfect position but we had no takers along an entire stretch of fishing. But we moved across the creek to fish a sandbar point and found that we could go across the bar, let our jig drift with the current along the bottom and BOOM! Trout On! There was one area where you could almost
count on a bite and we caught a good "mess" of Trout ranging from 13"-15". We decided to move on in search of bigger fish and different variety so we made the run around and down to Broward Island. My "spot" was taken so we fished a little north, had some bites, picked up a small Trout, then drifted north with the tide. Then Tim had a weird bite that took his shrimp softly then, FISH ON! This was a lot bigger fish than what he thought! He played the big fish a patiently, even as it got back in the current, and after a good battle landed a big 20.5" Sheepshead! Boy what a fish! This fish put Tim into third place in the Anglers Mark 2015 Bragging Rights Tournament -Sheepshead caterogy.  Scroll down right side of this report for standings. And just a little later, Tim had another good bite and landed a fat 18.5" Trout. We picked up another couple of Trout then ran back to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. After landing another Trout and a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper we ran back to the dock to pick up Tim's son Wyatt and his father in law Dennis for another couple of hours of fishing and boating. We made our first stop at a different dock at Seymore's but the wind was making it difficult to fish so we moved around until we had some shelter. It wasn't long before Wyatt was reeling in a nice Snapper, then another. Later he had a stronger bite and this fish was bending the rod. But Wyatt held on and cranked in a nice feisty Redfish! We fished Jackstaff for a while then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters!