Cold Day But Hot Fishing

When I checked the weather report last night I saw that that we'd be battling the wind today but it'd be nice, sunny and clear. I forgot to look at the temperature though, so when I stepped outside I realized I better head back in and get some back up jackets, and boy I'm glad I did! I met Jason Lane, his son Robbie, his father-in-law Tommy and brother-in-law Chad down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and luckily all of us had some cold weather gear on as the temperature was hovering just over 40 and the wind was blowing 12-15mph. But we were all in for some fishing so we headed up the Amelia River and then tucked in to Jackstaff to fish an exposed oyster bank on the last of an outgoing tide with jigs and shrimp. These anglers were making excellent casts (and into the wind) but we had no real bites after fishing a good stretch so we headed over to Seymore's Pointe to fish some docks and this did the trick. After fishing for just a little while Jason "knocked the skunk off" the boat when he landed a hard fighting keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. There must have been a school down there because they all began to haul in fish. Young Robbie hooked up and played his share of fish, casting and reeling in  a few of  his own.  I think Tommy had the biggest one, a 20"er and he and Chad had a double on at one time. Then Chad spiced it up by landing a fat keeper sized Seatrout. They put a good "mess" in the boat then we ran down to Broward Island to fish the still outgoing tide. They were getting nibbles here and there when Jason had a strong bite and, FISH ON! This was a big one! He played the big fish perfectly with his light  Fenwick HMG 6'6" rod, battling the fish smoothly with the Stradic 1000FJ and 10lb braid. He worked it out from the bank then it went deep and into the current but Jason kept the pressure on and landed a big 25.5" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish! We worked the area up and down and Chad completed a personal Slam when he put a keeper sized Sheepshead in the boat. Our last stop was back at Seymore's Pointe where Jason wrapped things up when he caught another Slot Redfish, this one on a float rig and live shrimp. It was cold and windy but the day turned out to be another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Black Drum Makes an Appearance

We had a low tide that had just started back in when I met Brian Cochran and his friend Phillip down at the Altantic Seafood dock today. There was just a slight breeze and overcast skies as we headed north to fish Tiger Island with jigs and live (kinda) shrimp. It was somewhat slow fishing although both anglers had a couple of good bites, fish on for a while, then off. Ouch.  But they persevered and when Brian had a strong hookup we knew it was a nice fish as it bulled its way deep and fought to keep from coming to the surface. But Brian kept the pressure on and after a good battle
landed a nice 22" Black "puppy" Drum. Shortly after that Phillip put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. We had one or two more Trout here then ran around to the Jolley River to fish the now covered oysters with float rigs and live shrimp. The wind had picked up which made for some difficult fishing - and the fish didn't cooperate, so we continued further around and into the Bell River to fish some docks. It was almost immediately that we had hookups with hungry Trout (back to fishing the jigs) and we had one on a jig and grub, white with red tail. Our last stop was back near the marina where Phillip caught a small Flounder to round out the duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Drum, Seatrout, and Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Trout Kind of Day

We had a third day in a row of picture perfect weather today. I had met Shane Ward and his buddy Doug down at the City marina and after running north we made our first stop outside of Tiger Island with a high and still incoming tide. The two anglers were tossing float rigs with live shrimp up near the grass and the water was like glass! Although they had a couple of nibbles their were no takers so we ran through Tiger and around to Bell River to try the same tactic again. Here, both anglers found some Seatrout and we had a good flurry of fish catching. When it slowed down we ran back through Tiger and again to the outside where we set up at the mouth of a large marsh runout on the first of the outgoing tide, and again, picked up a few Trout. We fished the Jolley River with no real results then finished up over it Bell River, fishing some docks with jigs and shrimp. Both Shane and Doug found some Trout down deep and caught a good handful which was a great way to wrap up a beautiful day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Beautiful Day to Fly Fish

Count it as another beautiful day to be out on the water today, and with no real wind it was great day to be casting a fly. I had Mark Thibodeau set up to fish today out of Atlantic Seafood and our first stop was at some exposed oysters up Bell River on a tide that was still going out. Mark was tossing a shrimp pattern with an 8w rod and worked the oyster bed thoroughly with excellent, pin point casts. It was a spectacular site with some serious potential but he had no takers. We made the run further up Bell and fished some docks before working our way around and into the Jolley River.
Mark fished the MOA spot and worked the oysters outside of Snook Creek, but again no takers. If the weather hadn't have been so good I'd have gotten discouraged! But our last stop was behind Tiger Island and with Mark fishing a weedless black fly he finally "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a nice 18" Slot Redfish. We worked up and down the island and the neat thing about the fly was that it rarely hung up and Mark was able to toss it up and in between the logs and stumps. He picked up a handful more of the Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Ten Spotters

The weather forecast this morning was predicted to be a "10" and they nailed it - a outstandingly beautiful day - sunshine, mild temperatures, and just a slight breeze. I had met Davis's - Ed and Tricia and their daughter Kristen down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we made a run up the Amelia River to dip into Jackstaff and fish a high tide that had peaked at 7:30am and had just begun to flow out. The anglers were tossing mud minnows under float rigs and it wasn't long before Kristen "knocked the skunk off"
when she landed a hungry Seatrout. We worked the shoreline slowly and every once in a while they'd get a nibbler then Ed put a nice sized Blue in the boat. We crossed the creek, fished another marsh line, and here they picked up a pretty good handful of "almost keeper sized" Trout. We made the run around to Seymore's Pointe and I think it was one of the first casts when Kristen had a strong bite and FISH ON! She played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice Slot sized Redfish that had 10 spots on it. We had one more good bite there then moved around to fish a dock and here they picked up another small Trout or two.  We ran down to Broward Island and both Ed and Kristen picked up a Redfish with Kristin's having another 10 spots on it. Tricia got on the board when she boated a Seatrout and we wrapped up the trip with the anglers landing a handful of Trout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Two Trips Canceled Due to High Winds But Third is the Charm

With winds blowing at steady at 22mph and with gusts to 30mph, I had to cancel both Friday and Saturday's fishing trips.  This morning's wind was forecast at 14mph increasing to about 17 through the day so it was right on the borderline as to whether we wanted to be fishing. But fishing we did and I'm glad of it! I met Bill Lavery and his buddy Joe down at the City marina and we made our first run up Lanceford Creek thinking we'd be out of the wind to fish float rigs and live shrimp on a high and outgoing tide. Even though we were still pushed around by the wind, the fish were
biting. I think it was Joe's first or second cast and he had a hookup, a nice hungry Seatrout.  From then on it was fish catching time! Both he and Bill caught fish, Seatrout, one after the other with a couple of them being of keeper size. We fished one dock before the left the area but had no real bites. The wind had worked around from North to coming from the North East so we found a land mass to get behind and this did the trick. The anglers started by catching feisty Redfish, barely undersized, and they occasionally picked up a Seatrout. We moved around somewhat and really got into some fish, picking up another couple of keeper sized fish with Bill landing the biggest. Joe put a small Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then made it a "grande" Slam when he caught a handful of Flounder, the biggest being about 16".  Then he had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! This fish seemed to come from nowhere and it was BIG! Joe played the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a "Tournament" Slot Redfish which measured in at 26.5" - boy what a fish! And shortly after that he put another 25.5" Red in the boat. They added a few more fish then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Big Mangrove Snapper Still in the Back Water

"Breezy" is what the weather forcasters call it - 10mph wind, not too bad and still fishable. So that's what me and John Brown and his wife Martha did this morning - went fishing. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River, running all the way to Broward Island to fish the last couple of hours of an outgoing tide. The wind wasn't a factor and the tide was right but the fish weren't cooperating as much as they hoped. John picked up a hungry Seatrout fishing a jig and live shrimp then added a feisty
Redfish to his catch. I'm not sure if we caught any more fish there before we headed back to Seymore's Pointe to fish a dock structure. Here, John caught another Trout or two and Martha got on the board with a feisty Redfish. We worked along some docks and both anglers had a flurry of fish catching, Reds and Trout. Our last stop was at the Nassauville rocks and things heated up nicely fishing float rigs and shrimp. Both John and Martha started hooking up with rather large Mangrove Snapper and boated their limit of keeper sized fish (all fish were released today). We left 'em biting, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Slight Breeze Makes for Good Fishing

I was finally back to fishing after the Thanksgiving holiday, this time with Jeff Sousa and his father-in-law Chip who I had met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this afternoon. It was high tide and about to turn when we headed up the Amelia River to fish the creeks off of Jackstaff with float rigs and live shrimp. I was expecting fish from the start but they didn't cooperate. We had trolled a shoreline for about 75 yards before the two anglers began to get bites (as the tide started out) and they picked up a couple of Bluefish and some hungry Seatrout. We hit another bank and here
they caught a good handful of Trout on the float rigs and also on a jig and shrimp combo that Jeff was tossing. We ran through Jackstaff and fished Seymore's Pointe. Chip put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat and Jeff landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. We fished Bubblegum Reef, caught a Trout or two, then ran down to Broward Island before the sun went down. Jeff found some Trout out deep then had a somewhat stronger hookup and after a good battle, landed a feisty Redfish to round out his personal Amelia Island Back Country Slam - Trout, Flounder, and Red. We caught more Trout as the sun set and "left 'em biting", counting as a another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Tide Made All The Difference

 
I also got to fish this afternoon, this time with the Joseph family - Kevin, Philip, Elaine and their dad Mike. We had the last of an outgoing tide and we also had a baitwell full of live shrimp and mudminnows.  Our first stop was up Eagans Creek and out of the wind and it didn't take long for Philip to "knock the skunk off" the boat when he caught a hungry Seatrout, The anglers picked up another Trout or two then Kevin added a Flounder to the mix. We then ran around to Tiger Island and although it was windy and choppy in the River, when we got to Tiger we again had some comfortable fishing and the tide was just right . I think it was Philip's first cast and BOOM! Redfish on! He played the fish perfectly and landed a nice Slot sized Red. It might have been the second cast and another Red bit. From then on they were catching fish. Kevin added a Slot Red then they all began to get Seatrout, with a good handful being of "keeper" size. There were a couple of times when we had "double" hookups. Elaine persevered and put a few fish in the boat, too. We were about to wrap the trip up when
we went back to our original spot and Philip was on the rod when he had a strong hookup. This was a BIG fish! He fought the fish away from the logs as it made one strong run after the other. We got out deeper then Philip was able to subdue the beast by working it in slowly. After a good battle he landed a big Slot 23.5" Redfish. Now that's a great way to finish a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Flood Tide Fishing In The Wind

After taking off for Thanksgiving day it was good to be back on the water today, although it was somewhat windy, a week long condition.  I had met Brian and Amy Easley down at the City marina and we ran up Bell River to fish some flooded oyster beds with float rigs and live shrimp. Brian picked up a lone Seatrout then there wasn't much biting after that. We peeked at some flooded grass flats but there was nothing stirring so we ran around to fish a grass patch in Lanceford Creek. The tide was really up and with the wind blowing there wasn't a whole lot biting but these two anglers
were out to enjoy the being on the water. We ran over to Eagans Creek which got us out of the wind and made for some very pleasant fishing. Brian added a Seatrout then Amy got on the board with not one, but two Seatrout of her own. Although it wasn't a big morning of catching it was still a great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.