Snook at Amelia Island?

We couldn't have asked for a prettier day for fishing today...sunny skies, just a slight breeze, and temperatures in the high 60's to begin the day. I had met Marie George and her adult kids Claire and Colin down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at daybreak and we headed north to the Horsehead area to fish the last of an incoming tide. We were only a few casts into fishing with float rigs and live shrimp when Claire put a hungry Seatrout in the boat to "knock the skunk off". We continued to fish a flooded marsh line, first one stretch, then the other and although we had a few small bites, we
had no takers. But these anglers were not to be deterred and as we pulled up to our second spot in Christopher Creek, Claire had a good hookup and after a nice battle, landed a feisty Redfish on a jig and shrimp combo. Then after Marie had made and excellent cast to a grass patch, she too hooked up, FISH ON! She played the fish perfectly and landed another feisty Red. Colin got on the board, getting  a hookup on his jig and shrimp and as the fish came to the boat I saw that it was not a Redfish, but surely a Seatrout. He battled the fish patiently and when we netted it I saw that it was a
wayward Snook! This is only the second Snook I've had put in the boat in 10 years, both caught about the same time of the year. I noted that the water temperature was 74 degrees. We continued to fish the area then ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks with the float rigs and when the Mangrove Snapper turned on, all three anglers were pitting their skills against the sneaky fish. But they came out fairly well, putting about a dozen in the boat  before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catching and Amelia Island Slam

We did an afternoon trip today, taking advantage of the last of an outgoing tide and the first of an incoming tide. Jim Rifkin, his wife Jane, along with their nephews Travon and Mikey, met me down at the City marina and we made our way up to the Jolley River to fish a bank with oysters beginning to show on that outgoing tide. Travon and Mikey were tossing jigs and minnows while Jim positioned himself on the back of the boat with a float rig. Mikey "knocked the skunk off" the boat when he landed a nice feisty Redfish then Jim followed that up with on of his own. We fished
the entire bank then ran further up the river where Travon expertly landed a keeper sized Seatrout. Mikey put a Seatrout in the boat too before we ran around to the MOA where things heated up, somewhat. Mikey landed another feisty Red then Travon put another Seatrout in the boat then Mikey had a strong hookup that took his jig and zipped through the water, heading to the bow, taking Mikey with him, then back to the stern, boy what a fight! But the big fish was having nothing of it and after a good battle, it made sharp turn and, BAP! Fish off! Ouch! We ran back to Tiger Island,
fished it thoroughly, then Mikey put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat to round out the angler's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. We worked down the  island and again, Mikey got his chance at a big fish, FISH ON! He played the fish patiently and after a few strong runs deep, he landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish - now that's a nice fish! After putting one more Flounder in the boat we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Redfish Catching Heats Up

We had a beautiful morning today at Amelia Island, and the fishing was great too! I had met Pete Nolan and his friends Eric and Henry down at the City ramp and we headed up the Bell River to fish some flooded oyster beds just as the tide started out. The three anglers were getting bites on live shrimp and mud minnows (the minnows turned out to be the best bait) and picked up a good handful of Seatrout, along with another handful of "baitstealers".  We ran around to the outside of Tiger Island as the current picked
up and again found hungry Seatrout biting. Then, Henry said he had subtle bite, his float disappeared, and FISH ON! He played the big fish patiently as the drag ripped out and after a go od battle, landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. We ran up to Jolley River, fished a large creek runout and picked up some more Trout. Then Eric landed another Redfish before we moved back to the mouth of Jolley, fishing the "bank" with the oysters still covered.  All three anglers began landing Redfish! Eric and Henry combined for double hookups-twice!  Henry put another Slot 18" Red in the boat then it was Pete's turn to hook a big one, and boy was it big! This big fish tried to stay up by the bank but Pete worked him out. Then it ran deep up near the bow then it got back in the current behind the boat. But Pete kept the pressure on, stayed patient, and after a good battle landed a big oversized 28" Redfish. What a battle! Then Pete followed that up with another 22" Slot Red. We ended the trip catching feisty Reds  that measured just under the slot, a great way to end a day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish Battles

We had a another nice morning greet us when I met Andrew Malen and his fried Katie down at the Atlantic Seafood dock today. We had postponed the trip until 8am to let the tide get started out and our first stop was at some flooded oysters on the outside of Tiger with the two anglers fishing float rigs and live shrimp. The baitstealers were in force but both Andrew and Katie landed a handful of Seatrout. We ran around to Jolley River and up to a large creek outflow where both anglers again put some Trout in the boat, including a nice 18" keeper sized one. Katie made an excellent cast
to the flooded grass and added a feisty Redfish to the catch. Then Andrew had a strong hookup, his drag ripped, he fought it patiently and, POOF, the fish was gone - it threw the hook! Shortly after that Katie had an even stronger hookup. This big fish took here around the stern and engine then up to the bow and around the trolling motor. Katie expertly worked the fish to the boat and there it was -a BIG Redfish!  But with one last quick turn, POP, the line parted and the fish was gone - the big one that got away!  We continued to fish, picked up a couple of more fish, then as the wind picked up, ran around to and behind Tiger Island and switched to jigs. Andrew caught a couple of Flounder here to round out the duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then we made one last stop up in Eagans Creek where they caught a good handful of Trout and another keeper sized Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Bigger Trout

We had some nice weather this morning, for a change, and it was great to get out on the water with Barry and Matt Shelor to fish the south end of the island. We had some extreme high tides last week and I thought that was past, but as I launched two hours after the high, water was still way up in the grass. But we were set up with float rigs and as we ran north to the Horsehead area we felt comfortable we'd be catching some fish! Our first spot was up a small creek and here the two anglers had a couple of good bites but
no takers. We moved back into a larger creek with both Barry and Matt tossing their floats and live shrimp to the bank and BOOM! Barry's float disappeared with a vengeance, FISH ON! I was thinking "Redfish" the way it was bending the rod but as Barry worked it slowly to the boat we saw that it was a big Seatrout. He played it patiently and soon landed a nice 20" Trout!  Matt got in on the action, landing a Ladyfish then a couple of fat Seatrout, then Barry put another big one in the boat, this one at 18", then Matt put a keeper sized 16" trout in the boat. I had Matt switch to a jig/shrimp combo and he caught a couple of fish on that, too. We ran around to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks with little success, then moved around to a dock where we picked a up a few small Mangrove Snapper and a feisty Redfish. Our last stop was down at Broward Island and it was a good last stop! Both Matt and Barry caught a few Seatrout, a couple of Redfish, with one of Matt's being right at Slot Size, then Barry landed a Sheepshead to round out the duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flood Tide Fishing

We had another flood tide this morning, forecast to be around noon, so when I met Brian Cohen down at the City marina at 8am, we made a quick run up to Tiger Island to get in some jig fishing before the water got too high up. Brian was making excellent casts and picked up a few fish before we moved around to the outside and switched to live shrimp under a float. This was very productive with Brian landing a good handful of hungry Seatrout and a feisty Redfish and then he battled a nice size Bluefish to wrap up our bait fishing. We then began to check the flooding grass. It took three
spots but on the third as we eased way up in the marsh we both saw a couple of tails working through the spartina. Just like yesterday, they seemed to be on the move and just didn't like what we were throwing. We moved around to another spot (one we had checked earlier) and their was another Redfish, this one "backing" as it cruised through the flat. It too didn't want what we were tossing. And like the last couple of days, the tide was pouring in so fast, the flats filled up quickly and made the water too high to see anything. It was a beautiful day, we caught some fish, we chased some fish, and had another great day out on Amelia Island waters.

Outgoing Tide Makes for Good Fishing

I fished an afternoon trip today, meeting Keith Trammel, his dad Gene, and his brother-in-law Kevin down at the Atlantic Seafood dock with plans to go fishing for Genes "birthday week celebration". The tide had been going out for an hour or so but it was still extremely high so we headed up to the outside of Tiger Island with a bait well of live shrimp. The anglers were tossing float rigs at first and had no trouble finding some hungry Seatrout and a feisty Redfish, catching a good handful of them. We ran up to the
Jolley River, fished the "bank" and picked up one more fat Seatrout then ran further up the river where Gene put another feisty Redfish in the boat. The oysters were beginning to show so a couple of the anglers switched to jigs, but we had no real bites. We ran back to Tiger Island, fished the logs, and here things heated back up. All three anglers were catching fish on the jigs and shrimp. Keith put a few Flounder in the boat, Kevin picked up a couple of more Reds and they also had a small Grouper. But then Gene had a strong hookup and as his drag ripped out, we knew he had a big fish, FISH ON!  He played the big fish patiently, as you can see in the below video, and eventually landed an oversized Redfish, boy what a fish!  He followed that up with his own Flounder to claim and Amelia Island Backcountry Slam then upped that when he put a Black "puppy" Drum to make it a "Grande" Slam. We fished the area thoroughly, picking up a fish here and there, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Chasing Tails in the Grass

We finally had a break in the weather today and it made it a nice day to get out on the water. I had met Keith Lutz and his friends Bill and Don down at the City marina early this morning and we headed north up the river to fish some flooded oyster beds with topwater lures and live shrimp under floats. The two guys( Keith and Bill) tossing topwater lures had a handful of spits and Don picked up a Ladyfish on his float rig. Then Bill had a good hit that smashed his lure and then a hookup. He played the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. We ran up to the
Jolley River, fished a flooded bank then headed back to fish behind Tiger Island for tailing Reds up in the grass. The grass was flooding quickly and I believe it was our second stop when we all saw tailing fish. They were a little too far to cast to so we got out and waded, tossing weedless spoons on spinning and fly tackle. Although we had a shot at a few fish, they seemed to be on a mission and moving awful fast through the grass - we had no hookups. We checked a couple of more spots out but the water was already up too high, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Squeez'n In a Fishing Trip

We had a window in the weather this morning and Betsy Tansey and her son Ryan were able to squeeze in a fishing trip prior to Betsy's work engagement so we met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River to fish an extremely high tide that just started out. The grass was flooded still and on our first stop at Twin Creeks just had one feisty Jack on our live shrimp under a float. We fished a dock at Seymore's Pointe then ran through Horse Head to fish the mouth of Jackstaff, sticking with the float rigs and
shrimp. It took a while but eventually both Betsy and Ryan hooked up and landed some nice fat Seatrout. Then, after Betsy had made an excellent cast to a small grass island, her float went under with a vengeance and, FISH ON! The drag was ripping and I saw a big Red boil up on the edge of grass but it was not to be, FISH OFF! Ouch! But it was a good battle while it lasted.  We fished the area for a while, picked up another Trout or two, then moved over to fish another flooded bank.  Ryan switched to a lighter jig rig and soon got the hang of hooking up fish. He landed a couple of Croaker, a Whiting and another Seatrout with the rig. We fished back at Seymore's Pointe, picked up a couple of more fish and then ended our day down at Broward Island where Ryan wrapped it up with one more Seatrout. The rain held off, we had a nice breeze, over cast skies and another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Anglers Combine for a Grande Slam

We had another beautiful morning today and you could feel Fall in the air as we headed down the river. I had met Stephan Moje and his friend Keith at the City marina and we made our first run up Bell River to fish some dock pilings on an outgoing tide. I kid you not, Stephan's first cast produced a fat Seatrout - a great way to start a fishing trip! The two anglers were tossing live shrimp on a  jig and picked up a few more Trout then Keith put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat. We ran around to the Jolley River and fished some exposed oysters, catching Croaker and a couple of more

Seatrout. Our next stop was the mouth of Jolley and after a few minutes of fishing Stephan had a strong hookup, and, FISH ON! He played the fish patiently and after a good battle on the light tackle spinning gear, he landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish, rounding out the duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam. But they weren't finished! We fished Tiger Island on the first of an incoming tide and to my surprise, Keith caught a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to make it a Grande Slam! We fished the island thoroughly and after Stephan picked up a keeper sized Flounder, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.