First Red and a Slot

An outstandingly beautiful day greeted  me and Froilan Esclusa, his dad, and his son (all Froilan's) when I met them down at Atlantic Seafood dock this morning. Another day with a slight breeze, not too hot, and not a cloud in the sky. We ran north once we got out of the no-wake zone and then eased into a small creek on the outside of Tiger Island. The three anglers were tossing live shrimp under float rigs and at first they had to fight off the baitstealing Perch, Pinfish, and small Snapper.  But then Grandad had a good hookup and landed a hungry Seatrout. The youngest Froilan landed a small Snapper then his dad put a fat Seatrout in the boat. We eased across the creek and here Froilan caught two feisty Redfish and Grandad quietly put another Seatrout in the boat. We made the run up to Jolley River, cast netted some finger mullet, then fished a grassy bank that had the oysters still flooded. Young Froilan had a strong bite and fought the fish perfectly, landing what I think was his first Redfish!  Shortly after that his dad had an even stronger bite, FISH ON! The big fish zipped the drag on the reel then charged deep, taking Froilan from bow to stern and from starboard to port. But he played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish!  We continued to fish the area then made the run around to Bell River to fish some docks. The anglers picked up a couple of keeper sized Croaker, then we headed back to the dock to pick up the rest of the family for a tour of Old Towne, Fort Clinch, Cumberland Island (yes, we saw wild horses) and Tiger Island then we wrapped it up, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Father Son and a Grande Slam

We had an beautiful morning to fish today, sunshine and  slight breeze. I had met Colin Ah and his dad Robert down at the City marina and we made the run up to the Jolley River to fish an outgoing tide, tossing flies to begin with. Colin had a topwater gurgler fishing the bow while his dad was tossing a Clowser on an intermediate line. The conditions were right and the anglers were hitting their mark but the fish did not cooperate. We ran further up the Jolley and switched to spinning gear and live bait and after working some now exposed oysters, they both picked up some feisty Redfish. We fished the MOA then moved on around to the Bell River to fish some docks. Colin hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder (all fish were released today) then he made it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he caught a keeper sized Sheepshead. They had another Redfish or two then we moved to another dock. Here things heated up for a while when the two anglers had a good flurry of fish catching. Colin topped it all off and made it a "Grande" Slam when he reeled in a hungry Seatrout. We hit another oyster bank on the way back, tossed flies at Bonnethead Sharks and Gar, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Flounder Kicks It Off

If fished this morning with John Sykes and his two brother-in-laws, Shane and Derrick. We made the long run from Sawpit Creek boat ramp, up the Nassau River and to Broward Island with plans to fish the ougoing tide with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. The anglers unlimbered the jig rods and began tossing to the bank, bouncing the jigs on the bottom as the current swept it along. We could see bait being busted along the edge and after a brief while, Derrick had a strong hookup and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. We had a few good bites after that but no real takers so we ran back to the Seymore's Pointe area and fished some docks. Here things heated up and all there anglers were putting fish in the boat. Shane had a good bite, set the hook and put a fat Mangrove Snapper in the boat. I believe he had another one then Derrick got on the board when he landed another big Snapper. Derrick and Shane were running neck and neck in the variety count, catching the Snapper, Flounder, etc. We fished Bubblegum Reef briefly but the wind had picked up and was proving difficult to fish in. We made our last stop over in Jacksaff and John wrapped the fishing up when he caught a feisty Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

We caught a Bunch

I fished again to day with Chris Sorah, his dad Ken, and his father-in-law Carroll. This time we met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River, running all the way to Broward Island to catch the last of the outgoing tide. This paid off as the anglers began to get bites right off. Ken hauled in a feisty Redfish, then another, then he picked up a hungry Seatrout. We had a another couple of small but fun to catch Trout then Chris had a strong hookup. He played the fish perfectly and landed a  nice
keeper sized 18" Seatrout. Then Ken followed that up with a fat Weakfish, which we haven't seen in a month or so. Already with a "Slam", Ken added to that with a Flounder. We then made the run back to the Horsehead area, fished Bubblegum Reef briefly, but had no real bites, then moved over to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. And boy it got hot here! Ken had a strong bite and a good battle with a nice sized Jack Crevalle then they were all catching fish (Carroll was taking in the scenery, enjoying the excellent weather, and providing moral support) and soon they began to pick up keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, one after the other. Ken hauled in a small but hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum to round out a Super Grande Slam! I may have missed a species but we had a good time, left 'em biting, and headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two That Got Away

I fished with Jim Petchar and his son Hunter again today,  this time meeting down at the City marina early this morning and heading out to Bell River to fish some docks on the very last of an outgoing tide. The two anglers fished them thoroughly with jigs and shrimp, mud minnows and later finger mullet and eventually picked up a small but feisty Redfish. We ran around to the Jolley River and had a pretty good stretch of fishing, landing small Reds, a couple of hungry Seatrout, some Croaker, a keeper sized Flounder and a few "baitstealers". Then Hunter had a strong hookup and I heard the drag "rip", FISH ON! But before either of us could react, Fish Off! Ouch, that was a big fish, but that's the way it goes some days. We fished a few areas in the Jolley then continued on around to Tiger Island. We had a few small bites then I saw Jim go risky and toss his jig up close to some logs and when he hooked up I could tell it was a big fish!  Jim did an excellent job of fighting the fish, trying not to horse him too much but still trying to work him away from the limbs. I thought had him there for a second but the big fish got to some branches and made a lunge, and Fish Off! Boy that was a nice fish!  I think I was more discouraged than Jim!  But it was a good fight and a beautiful day so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Shark Fight Wraps It Up

I fished this morning with Cathy Raulerson and her friends Craig and Greg, meeting down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the marina and heading north to fish the logs of Tiger Island on the last of an incoming tide. We had live shrimp and minnows fished on jigs with the anglers tossing their bait up to the bank. At the first spot the had a few bites and at the second spot Cathy "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a nice hungry Seatrout. We moved around to the
outside of Tiger and this did the trick. All three anglers were getting bites and soon Craig and Cathy were trading turns landing small but fun to catch Seatrout with a couple of pinfish and perch thrown in. We decided to make the move up to Jolley River, fished one bank, had no bites, then moved further up the river and tried it again. The fish weren't cooperating so we made the run back, passing through Tiger and over to Bell River. Here, Craig put another Trout in the boat then he had a strong hookup, FISH ON! This was a big fish and ripped the drag out, first running up the boat, going deep then turning and coming back to the stern and it stayed deep. But Craig was up to the challenge and after a patient battle he soon landed a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark to wrap up another great day to be out on the water fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Smattering of Everything

I had the pleasure of fishing with Zach Peyton and his dad Bob again today, leaving out of the the City marina early this morning and heading south to fish the Horsehead area on the last few hours of an incoming tide. We eased up into a creek and began to toss live shrimp and mud minnows under float rigs and things started out great when Bob had a strong bite and landed a feisty Jack Crevalle and shortly after that Zach caught a hungry Seatrout. We fished that bank thoroughly, had a few bites but no more takers, then crossed the creek to fish another bank but the fish weren't home. We made the run around to Nassau River, set up with heavy bottom rigs and began chumming with Pogies, hoping for  a Tarpon. After about 45 minutes we had nothing to show for it until Bob detected a bite, set the hook, and reeled in a small Hammerhead Shark. We ran down to Christopher Creek, fished some rocks with jigs and float rigs, then made our way back to Seymore's Pointe and back to float rigs. Here, things heated up - Zack put a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat then Bob added one, two. Bob tangled with a couple of high flying Ladyfish and managed to keep one on the hook for photograph and release. Our next stop was some docks on the north end of Seymore's and here both Bob and Zach landed Seatrout. Our final stop was back at Jackstaff and just as we were running out of bait, Zach had a strong bite. He played the big fish patiently and...then Bob had a hookup, we had a double! Zach worked his fish to the boat and landed a Slot sized Redfish then Bob put is in the boat, another Red. That was a great way to wrap up another good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

First Cast Trout

I fished this morning with David and Whitney Nofsinger and their two sons Harper and Willis, meeting down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early and heading up the Amelia River to fish some flooded marsh grass on the last of an incoming tide. We had live shrimp this morning for bait, and mud minnows, too. Starting with the shrimp, the anglers tossed float rigs to the edge of the grass and on the first cast, BOOM! Fish on! Harper patiently reeled the fish in for pictures and release.  I believe we had Trout on the next couple
of casts, with Willis getting in on the action.  We fished a long stretch of bank, picked up a few more Trout and then Harper had a strong bite. This fish was pulling hard but Harper was up to the task and hauled in a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And shortly after that David hooked up and this was even bigger. He played the fish patiently landed an even bigger Jack. We continued to fish and after making a perfect cast, Willis hooked up. It was fighting like a bigger Seatrout, and sure enough, he landed the biggest one of the day. We fished the bank at Jackstaff, followed that up fishing some docks at Seymore's where we had some bites but no takers, then wrapped up with a few casts at Spanish Drop. The morning had been overcast with a slight breeze which made for great day of fishing her at Amelia Island, Florids.

Shark Fight Makes the Trip

I had the pleasure of fishing with the Huffman family this morning, Michele and Robert and their two kids Ashlyn and Jackson. We had met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp at the peak of high tide and ran up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Twin Creeks. The anglers were tossing mud minnows under floats and jigs and minnows and even though the conditions looked right, we had  no real bites. We moved on up to Seymore's Pointe and here we had numerous bites but no takers! We bounced around to fish
some dock pilings and finally Robert had a hookup on jig and landed a nice Flounder. Skunk off the boat! Hooray! We ran through the marsh and fished the mouth of Jackstaff, easing along the bank tossing jigs and minnows and dead shrimp. We had a few bites then Robert felt a "thump" and then his line got heavy, and, Flounder on!  He played the fish patiently and soon landed the keeper sized fish. After crossing to a flooded sand bar and working it thoroughly we were about to wrap things up when ZIP, ZIP, ZIP - the drag began to rip. BIG FISH ON! Robert kept the pressure on and as the big fish ran it took him from bow to stern, from starboard to port, and then back to bow. It kept running off line so we chased it with the trolling motor and after along battle we were able to land a 3'+ Bonnethead Shark, boy what a fight! After pictures and release, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Hat and Howler Monkeys

The Maron's were back in town  this week, Mike and Shannon along with their "kids" Haley and Libby and Troy. We fished yesterday afternoon, meeting at the City marina and making our first run up to Tiger Island. But when we got there we found that there were already two boats fishing the area so we found a spot south of the island, fished it for a while, had few bites, then continued on to Jolley River. We started south of the "bank",  tossing mud minnows under floats to the bank, and worked the whole stretch with not a whole lot of luck. Then Haley, wearing her new "gilligan" hat,  tossed her bait to a small marsh runout an when her float disappeared we new she had the first fish of the day.When the drag began to rip we knew she had a big fish! She had fought it for a while before I got a video rolling and with her mom filming, Haley patiently worked the fish to the boat. It turned out to be a big, oversized 27.5" Redfish with nine spots, boy what a fish! After the
fish was photographed and released, Mike went back to the same spot, had a strong bite, missed it, then went back and caught another Redfish. Then Libby went in with her offering and I saw the float disappear then zip across the water, FISH ON! Libby played the fish like a pro and soon landed a nice, keeper sized Seatrout. The anglers picked up another Redfish here before we moved on up the river to fish another flooded marsh line. After working that bank thoroughly, we ran back to the outside of Tiger Island. Within seconds of getting the lines out, floats started disappearing regularly! Seatrout, Seatrout, Seatrout, Blue, Seatrout, Blue, Seatrout, Seatrout....It was over an hour of fish catching. They picked up one more keeper Trout and Troy added a couple that were just shy of the mark.  In order to get more distance in their cast, the Maron Trio had come up with a new technique which they dubbed the "Howler Monkey" cast.  It's kinda hard to describe so you'll have to watch the video!