Best Ham Sandwich Ever

Over the last ten years of my guiding "career" I've had guests bring me stuff - cigars, T-shirts, beverages and snacks. Fishing with Dale Bullard I'm almost guaranteed a good old homemade ham sandwich - glazed ham, a slice of cheese and old fashioned white bread - and I make the claim that it's the best ham sandwich ever! Today was true to form, and when Dale said he'd brought some extra ham sandwiches I thought  about them all morning long. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and with clear skies, headed
west and up the Nassau River. The weather forecast predicted that we'd have beautiful sunny skies for the day but it was also predicted to have winds of 9 mph to start with and rising to 20mph by noon, winds that can make fishing somewhat of a pain. Our first stop was at Broward Island and we found the conditions perfect with the last of an outgoing tide and only a slight wind. Dale began casting a jig and live shrimp combo to the shoreline and his first shrimp produced a nice 18"+ Slot Red! He was nibbled off on the second shrimp, but the third produced another 18" Redfish. That's the way to start a fishing trip! We fished the area up and down with Dale boating a feisty Redfish now and then and he also picked up a good handful of small but hungry Seatrout. After catching a small Black "puppy" Drum, Dale tossed to the outside of some tree limbs, let the bait fall, and BOOM, fish on!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 19" toothy Sheepshead. And shortly after that he had another strong hookup. This fish was Big and made a surge to the downed logs but Dale kept the pressure on while I pulled us out to deeper water. This fish took him from bow to stern and from port to starboard and once it was in the outgoing current all Dale could do was keep the pressure on lightly.  This he did and after a good battle he landed a big 24" Slot Redfish. We fished the area thoroughly, catching another couple of Redfish and a Seatrout then we ran back to the Seymore's Pointe area. After fishing one dock where we picked up a feisty Red and a small Mangrove Snapper, we hit one last spot. Dale fished it with a jig at first and caught another couple of the Snapper and one small Grouper, then we switched to a float rig in order to fish the structure and it was Mangrover Snapper catching from then on until we needed to head back in. Two of the Snapper were a tad bit over 14" each. Although the winds had picked we found a way to stay out of it and turned out to be a great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters, and I had a great lunch of homemade ham sandwiches afterwards!

Another Big Red Starts The Day

Today was probably the prettiest day we've had in the last week - just a little cool, clear, slight breeze and sunshine as the day wore on. I had met Anthony and Cindy Alejandro down at the City marina and we headed north to fish Tiger Island on an incoming tide with live shrimp and a few mud minnows. At our first stop Anthony had a good bite that ripped his drag, but it didn't stick. Shortly after that, BOOM! FISH ON! We knew that this was a big fish because it was having nothing to do with coming to the boat. It stayed deep and tried to get up into the logs but Anthony kept the pressure on. He had a good battle that took him from the thoroughly after that, had some good bites but no takers, then ran up to the Jolley River to fish a flooded oyster bank with float rigs. Here, Cindy got on the board with a nice fat Seatrout. Our next stop was on the outside of Tiger and here things heated up. Both anglers caught a few Seatrout each and three times we had rather strong hookups but the fish must have crossed some oysters and they cut themselves off. But we stuck with it and Cindy soon landed a keeper sized Seatrout. Our last stop was over in Bell River. We had a few nibbles but no takers - the tide had gotten up in the grass - so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Strong Start With Slot Red and Big Trout

"Breezy" is what the local weather forecasters like to call it. I always tell my customers that any wind over 10mph is going to be a "pain" but it's fishable, and that's what we had today with forecasted winds to be up around 12mph. But as it turned out, it was a very pleasant day to be out on the water, fishing with Don Norman and his dad, Don. We met out at Goffinsville Park early and with the tide still coming in, we eased on down to Broward Island to fish some downed logs before the water got up too. high. It wasn't long
before Don Sr. put a feisty Redfish on the boat, fishing with jigs and live shrimp then the younger Don put a nice  hungry Trout in the boat. He continued to pick up a handful of those small but hungry Trout then his Dad had strong hookup and, FISH ON! We could tell right off that this was going to be a big fish and it was. Don played the beast perfectly, keeping it out of the logs but staying patient. It went deep then ran to the stern and into the current to make it extra tough but after a good battle, Don landed a nice 24.5" Slot Red. And shortly after that Don Jr. had a good hookup and landed a big 18+" Seatrout. We fished the area thoroughly, picked up another Red and a couple of more Trout, then ran back to Christopher Creek. Here we had one Trout on a float rig. Our next stop was all the way over to the mouth of Jackstaff and the two anglers had a good run of catching smaller but hungry Trout.  Our last stop was back at Seymore's Pointe and although there were a bunch of nibblers, we no takers, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Ladies Day Out Fishing

We had the prettiest day of the week fishing today which made it just right for Karen Reimondo and her friends Kim, Valerie and Mary Ann who were visiting Amelia Island with 8 more of their lady friends. And these four were up for fishing so we met down at the Atlantic Seafood dock and made a run north to fish outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. Typical of this time of year, the anglers had bites right off and picked up a couple of Seatrout and Bluefish. We fended off the baitstealers, caught one or two more fish, then ran up to Jolley
River and a large creek runout. After getting a bite here and there they landed a couple of more Seatrout then caught a few feisty Redfish. Valerie switched to a jig and shrimp and I think it was on her first cast when she had a strong hookup, FISH ON! This fish was big and made a strong run, heading for deep water. But Valerie was up to the challenge and after a good battle that took her around the boat a couple of times, she landed a nice 2'+ long Bonnethead Shark. Our last stop was back at the mouth of the Jolley and after catching one more Redfish, the bite slowed to nothing. All four anglers were making excellent casts at the end of the day and everyone had caught fish so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Late Season Shark

After a front came through the last couple of days, we had somewhat cooler weather to fish this morning. The skies were overcast, there was some fog and mist, but the forecast called for clearing skies later in the day. I had met the Pullen family, Ken and Kathy, their son Josh and his wife Julia, down at the City marina right at the peak of a high tide. We ran north to the outside of Tiger Island and the anglers began tossing live shrimp and mud minnows under float rigs to the flooded marsh grass. I think the first couple
of casts caught Seatrout, with Julia "knocking the skunk off" the boat with the first one. They picked up a couple of more before the baitstealing Perch moved in. We crossed the river, fed the baitstealers, then Ken had a strong hookup, FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag and running straight away from the boat, just like a Shark, which we haven't caught in a month or so. Ken played the big fish expertly and after a good battle, landed a 2'+ Black Tip Shark. We ran up to the Jolley River after that and fished a large creek mouth and here things heated up. They began to catch
Seatrout again then Julia put a feisty Redfish in the boat. Kathy got on the board with another Seatrout and she quietly caught one after the other. Julia was on fire with the feisty Reds then when we switched Josh to a jig to fish the bottom, he began to catch them, too. After one excellent cast to the bank he had a stronger hookup. This Redfish was somewhat bigger and after patiently playing the fish, Josh landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. We fished the area thoroughly, picked up a good two handfuls of Seatrout, a couple of more Reds, then we made one last stop back at Tiger Island to fish
deep around the logs. The anglers had a few bites then Ken landed a small Flounder to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Red Drum and Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wrapping up a week with Reds and Trout and Snapper

I fished this afternoon with Michael Bresler, meeting him down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp with plans to run up the river to fish the Horsehead area. But our first stop was all the way down to Broward Island to catch the first of the incoming tide. Michael was tossing a fly rod early, an 8w set up with an Intermediate line and a shrimp like pattern. He was getting excellent loops and nailing shots up to the bank, in and around the logs, but we got no takers. After fishing the area thoroughly with the fly rod, we switched to mud minnows on a jig and BOOM!  Michael picked up
a Seatrout then a feisty Redfish on the first two casts! We worked up and down the logs, caught another Trout, then Michael put a nice Slot sized Redfish in the boat. Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe and with the oysters flooded, we eased along the marsh grass, going back to the fly. Again we had no takers, and when we went to the live bait we found a couple of Seatrout. Our next stop was around the rocks of Seymore's and here Michael found big (for our backwaters) Mangrove Snapper. We ran through Horsehead, fished another marsh line, caught the biggest Trout of the day, then we wrapped it up as the sun was going down and counted it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Second Day of Trout Bite

Boy what a pretty morning we had today! I met Tandy Morton and his friend Tommy Zachary down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and we headed way up the Nassau River to Broward Island to fish the last of an outgoing tide with live shrimp and mud minnows on jigs. It didn't take long before these two experienced anlgers were catching fish. Both of them found feisty Redfish and at least once they had a "double" hookup. They picked up a couple of small Flounder and a couple of more Reds before we ran back to Seymore's Pointe to fish a dock at the bottom of the tide. After working through some "baitstealers" and a small Mangrove Snapper, Tandy picked up a nice Black "puppy" Drum then Tommy found a keeper sized Seatrout (garnering the duo a "Grande Slam"). I think they caught another Trout or two there then we made our way over to Bubblegum Reef thinking that we'd fish some structure on the incoming tide. But the tide had never gotten down low enough so both anglers started tossing float rigs up near an old oyster bank and BOOM! FISH ON!  They caught Seatrout after Seatrout after Seatrout, most being undersized but every once in a while they landed a keeper sized one, with the biggest being 18". We fished until we ran out of bait, switched to jigs and plastic grubs, caught one or two, then called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Black Drum Make and Appearance

We had an outstandingly beautiful morning today to fish a low and incoming tide. I had picked Terry and Bonnie Hancock up at the Oyster Bay dock and we then returned north to fish Tiger Island with jigs and live shrimp as the tide stalled and came back in. On the first cast, BOOM, FISH ON! Bonnie reeled it in, a nice feisty Redfish. That's a great way to start a fishing trip! From then on it was working through the "baitstealers" with the shrimp. Every once in a while one of the two anglers would hookup and reel in another
feisty Red then Bonnie had a good hookup and this fish stayed deep. After a good battle she landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We continued to fish out some "freshly dead" shrimp I had then ran back to the bait shop to pick up a few dozen mud minnows. Back at Tiger we had a few more Reds then Terry put another keeper sized Black Drum in the boat, this one on a minnow. Our next stop was up at the Jolley River and with the oysters covered on the incoming tide, we switched to float rigs. Bonnie landed a hungry Seatrout which rounded out the anglers Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Black Drum, and Trout then they began to get bite after bite and landed a good 15-20 Trout. It didn't matter whether they used minnows or live shrimp. About every 5-6 fish they landed (up to 14"), they got a "keeper" sized one with the biggest being 17".  There were also some nice Bluefish caught in there, too. It was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Sunset Red-Fishing

My guests this afternoon, Mary Haskell and her nephew Bryan, were coming in from the airport and to save time, we met out at Goffinsville Park with plans to get in a late afternoon fishing trip. We had a high and outgoing tide so I made the run around and through Jackstaff to fish a still flooded oyster bank. I think it was one of Mary's first casts and she had a Trout hookup to "knock the skunk off" the boat. We fished the entire bank with shrimp and jigs and found one spot where some feisty Redfish were holding. Both Mary and Brian put a handful of these hard fighting fish in the
boat and once they had a double hookup and catch. Our next stop was back around at Seymore's Pointe and here it seemed the baitstealers had set up house. As  the sun was setting we made our way down to Broward Island and just as we thought the baitstealers had a second home, Bryan had a strong hookup and FISH ON! He played the big fish perfectly and even though it made its way back into the current, he took his time and eventually landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. We fished a while longer but it got so dark we could no longer see the bank, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing and Football and Fun

I think we had the nicest day of the week with the weather Friday morning and it was great to get out on the water with two Georgia Bulldog fans - Lee Mathews and his buddy Vaughn -  who were visiting Amelia Island for the big game Saturday. We met early down at the City marina and headed north up to the Jolley River to fish the incoming tide that had already begun to cover the oysers. So the anglers went right to the float rigs, fishing live shrimp and mud minnows up near the bank. They had some early success,
catching some nice, hungry Seatrout. We moved further up the creek, picked up a Trout or two, then ran back to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the now flooded marsh grass. This was the same spot where we had some hot action the day earlier but today was exactly the opposite - no fish! After that we checked a few grass flats for Reds in the grass and even though it was flooded enough we saw  no tails. Our last stop was back at a grassy point. After we picked up a keeper sized Trout, Lee had a strong hookup and it was FISH ON! Did I say strong? This fish took off and didn't stop, ripping drag and taking the line right across a submerged oyster bed and, FISH OFF! Boy that hurt! But shortly after that, Lee, who was fishing a jig and shrimp along the edge of the submerged oyster bed, had another strong hookup. Lee forced the big fish away from the oysters then played it patiently. After the initial hookup at the bow of the boat, the fish took Lee to the Stern, port side, then around the engine, then to the starbord side. But Lee stayed with him and eventually landed the beast, a 33.5" oversized Redfish! Boy what a fish! And shortly after that the two anglers teamed up to catch another oversized Red (31.5")  that had a whopping 35 spots on it. These two fish smashed the Bragging Rights records, putting Lee in first place (and third) for the Anglers Mark Big fish catches (scroll down right side of this report for standings) Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island!