Hot Start With Big Redfish

At least we can say that!  I had met Chris Pyle and his longtime friends John and Byron down at the City marina and we made our first run up to Tiger Island to fish the downed logs as the tide started back in. We had only fished for about 30 minutes when John had a strong hookup. He said he thought he was hung on a log at first but when it started pulling back he knew he had a big fish!  He played it perfectly and after a few good runs, he landed a nice 24" slot sized Redfish. Another angler was fishing ahead of us and
catching Trout on a slip float but we had no more luck (other than pesky baitstealing bites) so we made a run around to Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings (and to get out of the increasing wind). The conditions were perfect but I don't believe we got a real bite. We fished Oyster Bay and here Chris landed a small Black "puppy" Drum but there were no other takers. The baitstealing yellow tail perch were robbing us blind so we ran over to Eagans Creek and stocked up on some mud minnows before heading up Bell River to fish the docks, and again be out of the wind. Things heated up somewhat with a handful of Seatrout caught then Byron put the last fish in the boat, a nice feisty Redfish. We fished a couple of spots in Jolley River but the wind was really whipping us so we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water at Amelia Island.

Fishing Got Hot This Afternoon

I fished a 2nd trip this afternoon, this time with Mark and Nilda Laurint and their son Brent. We left the City marina and headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some dock pilings with the tide going out. Fishing with jigs and live shrimp, Brent "knocked the skunk off" real fast when he landed a nice feisty Redfish. Then Mark found a keeper sized Flounder over by some submerged oysters. There were some guys fishing on the dock and that had two strong hookups while we there but both fish broke off, OUCH!  We had some nibbles here and there but no more takers so we ran around to Bell
River to fish some more dock structure. Fish catching heated up! Mark was putting Seatrout in the boat at the stern while Brent was catching them at the bow. Although many were small, they managed to put 2-3 keepers in the boat. Then Mark put his bait up near a piling and BOOM, FISH ON! He worked this bigger fish out from the dock and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. Brent switched to a slip float, a typical Trout rig, and he picked up a few Trout with that technique. We ran around to fish Tiger Island on the last of the outgoing tide. Mark pulled a couple of feisty Redfish out from a pocket then he had a strong bite - this was a big fish. Mark played it patiently and worked it to the boat so that we could net a 24" Slot Redfish. The trip picked up a few more keeper Trout then Nilda placed a perfect cast right up beside a log, and FISH ON! This too was a big fish. She kept the pressure on and valiantly fought and subdued the fish and we netted a "tournament sized" 26.75" Redfish, which placed Nilda in third place in the 2016 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We fished the area for a while longer then headed in, counting it as another outstanding day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

First Cast Big Trout

After a slow morning yesterday I was hoping we'd have better luck this morning. I met Tim Carson and his fiancé Jeanne down at the Atlantic Seafood dock early and we made our first run up to Tiger Island to fish a tide that had been incoming for almost two hours. Tim made his first cast back to an old palm stump and before we could get Jeanne out, BOOM! Tim had a fish on! He played the big fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 22" Seatrout - the biggest of the year on the Anglers Mark - putting Tim squarely in
the lead of the Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down right side of this report for standings). From then on the two anglers had good action for almost two hours. Jeanne put a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum in the boat then both anglers picked up a couple of feisty Redfish. Then Jeanne hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout of her own, this one measuring at 18", and rounded out her very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam, and putting her in 2nd place of the Bragging Rights Tournament! We had a good handful of fish as we worked the island but when it slowed we moved to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded oyster beds. We had no bites there so we ran back through Tiger Basin and over to Bell River to fish the tide as it swept in over some oysters. Again, no bites. Our last stop was over near Rayonier and even though we again had no more bites, we counted it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island, Florida  - especially the first two hours!

Tough Morning of Fishing

You just can't ever tell. We had a beautiful morning greet us today - clear skies, no wind, mild temperatures and I felt sure we'd have a good day of fish catching. My anglers - John Alexander, his son Nolan, and his dad Al all met me at the Atlantic Seafood dock - three generations of anglers. We headed up to Tiger Island to fish the logs on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours. We were tossing live shrimp on a jig and this trio were making excellent casts, but although we had few nibbles, there were no takers. We came back outside and fished the now flooded marsh line with float
rigs and here Nolan and I both saw a huge tail at the edge of the grass but it didn't eat what we were offering. We hit Nissen's spot and again no bites. I ran back through Tiger and around to Bell River and finally we had a hit - John knocked the skunk off with a nice hungry Seatrout catch. He picked up a few more as we worked the edge then Nolan picked one up too. We worked that area thoroughly then ran around to Lanceford Creek, fished a grass flat, then wrapped it up at one of the docks in Lanceford.  It was a beautiful day for three generations to get out on the water, albeit a slow fish catching day.

Late Start Windy Day Big Fish

I had a presentation to make today at the Oyster Bay Yacht Club but I was able to get out on the water late with Trey Dennard, his son Ivey and his friend Lydia. The wind had picked up which I knew would make fishing difficult but this trio was ready to get some fishing in. The tide was hitting bottom so we made our first stop at the small jetties off of Fort Clinch, fished jigs and live shrimp up to the shore line, and had zero bites! Oh well. We then ran over to Tiger Island and it was so shallow at the mouth I had to shut the big engine and troll in with the I-Pilot. Once we got into
deeper water we eased around and began fishing the downed logs. We got bites here and there but the wind was still kicking our butts but finally Trey "knocked the skunk" of when he landed a small Black "puppy" Drum. Then Lydia hooked up and after patiently playing the fish, landed a nice keeper size Drum. Trey followed that up with a keeper sized Drum of his own, then Ivey got in on the action and boated a hungry Seatrout. Lydia caught a feisty Redfish then Ivey had a strong bite and FISH ON! This was a big fish - ripping off line and taking Ivey to the stern of the boat. He played the fish perfectly and, FISH OFF! Ouch!  It threw the hook. But Ivey was  not to be deterred and went back to the same spot and shortly afterwards had another strong bite. This big fish ripped the line off the reel too, but Ivey kept the pressure on and after a good battle, landed a nice 24" Slot sized Redfish. We fished the area for a while longer and as the sun went down we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Three Slot Redfish BOOM!

Another beautiful morning greeted us today when I met Michael Huffer and his dad Ron down at the City marina. We had postponed the start time until 9am in order to catch the tide as it turned and started out. Our first stop was up Lanceford Creek to fish a flooded grass patch and even though we had a few bites, there were no takers. We fished a dock for a while and had "baitstealers" tease us then we headed over to Bell River and fished some flooded oysters. This did the trick - Michael found a hot spot and pulled three keeper sized Seatrout then his dad got in on the action and got
one too.  They caught a couple more small but hard fighting Trout then we ran on up the Bell to some docks. Ron and I fished out the stern at a dock system and had no real bites but Michael was tossing up current from the bow and found a couple of more Trout deep. We ran through the Jolley, stopped and fished some now exposed oysters, then made our final stop behind Tiger Island. Ron hauled in a feisty Redfish then Michael got real hot, landing three Slot Redfish in a row - all in the 23"-25" range. They added another couple of keeper sized Trout then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Keeper Fish Come Late

We couldn't have asked for a better day - forecast highs in the mid 70's, just a slight wind, and sunny skies greeted us this morning when I met Paul Haber and his longtime fishing buddy David out at the Goffinsville Park. The tide was right at high when we launched so we headed over to Horsehead, thru the marsh and set up fishing some flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp. And we fished. And we fished. Then we moved over to Jackstaff and switched to jigs and shrimp and finally David "knocked the skunk off" when he put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. But with few bites
happening, we decided to ran back thru the marsh and fish some docks. David was picking up a Trout here and there up near the marsh grass but we weren't having much luck on the jigs near some dock pilings. We repositioned and in just a few minutes Paul had a nice feisty Redfish on. We picked up a couple of more Reds and a couple of more Trout then made a brief stop at Twin Creeks (where we had no bites) before heading down to Broward Island. It wasn't an ideal tide - the current was really moving out - but these two anglers were able to handle it. Both were picking up small Trout out deep until Paul had a stronger than usual bite and a stronger than usual fight. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 18" keeper sized Seatrout.  We worked downed logs and found a few more Redfish with two of them being of keeper size. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Kicking Off March at Amelia Island

For the first day of March we had a beautiful day. The weather report said "calm", sunny with temperatures getting up close to 80! I had met Russ and Olga Figman down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed north, all the way up and around to Broward Island to fish the downed logs on the last of an outgoing tide. It wasn't long before Olga "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a nice hungry Seatrout. We fished up and down, had some nibbles, then Russ hooked up and put a keeper sized Sheepshead in the boat.
Although the conditions and tide were great, we didn't have the action that I was hoping for so we ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks, then moved around to fish a dock. Again, the conditions were great as we fished the first of an incoming tide, but the bite was kinda slow until Russ hooked up with a hard fighting fish. He played it perfectly and soon landed keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We fished another dock, picked up a feisty Redfish (giving the duo an Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam) then Russ had strong bite and FISH ON!  He fought the fish expertly and after a good battle landed a Slot sized Redfish. We ran through Horsehead, fished the mouth of Jackstaff and found a good handful of Seatrout. Our last stop was back at Christopher Creek and we found one spot where the anglers landed 5-6 feisty Redfish which made for a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Fly Fishing Slam

We had a sunny day to greet us this morning, albeit with a slight wind that was expected to gain strength as the day wore on. I had met Cathy Case and here cousin Julie down at the City marina to get in a half day of fly fishing here at Amelia Island and with two 8w fly rods and a 7w rigged up, we headed up Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded grass with a Clouser Minnow tied on a long leader. Cathy was making excellent casts to the grass but we had no takers so we eased back a ways to fish between two docks with an Intermediate line and a shrimp pattern. I think it was Cathy's second
cast when she had a hookup and after playing the fish perfectly, she landed a nice hungry Seatrout. She switched to the 7w which had a floating line but a long 9' leader and drifted her small Clouser Minnow deep, bumping it across the bottom and after a few casts she said she felt a strange "bump" then the line got heavy, then, FISH ON!  She worked the fish to the surface and we saw why it was a strange bite - it was a nice keeper sized Flounder! After fishing that area we made the run to fish Eagans Creek (and get out of the wind) but no fish cooperated here. Our final stop was over at Tiger Island, switching back to the rod with the Intermediate line and shrimp pattern. Cathy made an excellent cast up near a downed log and BOOM! BIG FISH ON! And it was a big one! She kept the pressure on, kept her rod up, but gave it some line as the big fish pulled. When it got back in the current Cathy followed it to the stern of the boat and took the battle to the fish which she soon landed - a Slot Sized 25" Red Fish, boy what a fish! We worked the island from one end to the other then called it a day, another great one to be caching an Amelia Island Back Country Slam!

Trout Bring Us Back

After a slow day yesterday I was looking forward to redeeming myself today! I met Jim Hanger and his son-in-law Steve and grandson Nathan down at the Atlantic Seafood dock. We had a live well full of live shrimp and mud minnows and with the tide getting low and still going out, we made our first stop up at Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings. The three anglers began making their casts to the pilings and after a short while they began to get bites then hookups. Most of the fish were out deep, on the bottom and
very subtle - a bump, bump, bump and a hookup. Steve got it going with a keeper sized Trout then Nathan hauled one in then Jim got in on the action when he boated a keeper sized Redfish. Then all three anglers were jockeying for position to get their casts up to the pilings and it was a fish catching time for a good while. After putting a few more keeper sized fish in the box along with a bunch of throw backs we ran around to Tiger Island to fish the incoming tide.  We had neighbors fishing but we were able to find some spots to fish.  Nathan added another keeper sized Trout and all three
anglers had fish.  As the fish bite slowed to a halt we decided to head in and count it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.