Fish Catch'n Day

We came back north today, fishing out of the Atlantic Seafood dock. I met Denis Collins and his two friends Ed and Rich this afternoon with plans to fish the first of an incoming tide, we ran around to Tiger Island and began tossing jigs and live shrimp to the shoreline. our two areas produced nothing but "baitstealers" so we bounced down and hit a third and boy what a move! BAM! Dennis had a strong bite. BAM! Rich had a strong bite. We had a double and they were big! There were drags ripping and fish running and it
was ....pandemonium! But these two anglers were up to the challenge with both playing their respective fish patiently and they soon began to tire the fish out. Rich's came to the surface first and we netted a 23" Redfish and shortly after Dennis brought his to the net, a 25" Red. We continued to fish the area and Rich landed a hungry Seatrout then Dennis had another big bite. This was the biggest fish so far and it put up a huge battle. Dennis worked it to the surface slowly and we eventually netted a nice 26" slot Redfish. Later, we ran around and fished Jolley Bank, caught a nice whiting
and a Seatrout, then moved further up Jolley to fish Snook Creek where we found no takers, We continued on around to Bells River and within minutes of arriving the trio began to catch fish. We stood out a ways and they tossed their jig/shrimp combo up to the docks and as the current swept their bait back they'd get a bump and a bite and a hookup on Trout. Many were of keeper size (all fish caught today were released) and all three were catching fish. I believe Ed put the biggest trout in the boat, and Rich had the biggest variety catching, in addition to his Trout and Redfish, a small Sea Bass, A Stingray, and a Blue Crab! Dennis added a small Black "puppy" Drum to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Black Drum. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Third Time is the Charm

The boys from Kansas were still in town and today was the third trip Chris Pyle had lined up a trip to fish with his friends John and Byron. We had a pretty good day yesterday fishing the south end so we elected to do that again today. But this time we wanted to try our hand at catching a big bull Black Drum so we brought along some heavy tackle and some large dead shrimp and clams (the bait shop was out of crabs).  We ran up to "Middle Marsh", dropped an anchor and began fishing the outgoing tide with three rods in the water. But after over an hour of fishing we only had a nibble or
two. So we eased across Nassau River and broke out the light tackle and live shrimp. It was Byron's first cast and almost immediately he got a big bite and FISH ON!  He played the fish patiently and after a good battle that took him around the stern and back he landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. All three anglers began to get in on the action, tossing their jigs up stream and slowly working it back in. Slowly!  Chris got the the hot rod as he got the hang of how they were biting and put Trout after Trout after Trout in the boat. And so did John and Byron. We hopped up to the next jut of land and oysters and repeated the catch rate. And then we move a third time and caught a few more. Our next stop was over to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here the trio picked  up a feisty Redfish and a hungry Seatrout. We went back to Bubblegum Reef, picked up one Trout deep then worked the old oysters west. For a second day in a row this turned out to be a good move as we found plenty of Seatrout holding on the drop off.  We slowly built a sizable well of keeper Trout. With just a short while to go, we made the run down to Broward Island and got there just as the tide started back in. And when it started in, the fish began to bite. They caught a couple of small Black "puppy" Drum, a couple of feisty Redfish and a good handful of Trout. We worked some logs and BOOM! Fish ON! Chris hooked, fought and landed keeper sized Slot Red and as we netted it Byron yelled, "FISH ON" then John yelled "FISH ON" -they both had fish. Byron patiently brought his fish to the boat but Johns was having none of it. It ran deep then long and from starboard to port but John kept the pressure on, letting the light tackle rod do all the work. After a good battle we netted a big 26" Slot Redfish - boy what a fish!  With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Variety With Some Keepers

We fished out of the south end again today, meeting Chris Pyle and his buddies Byron and John early and heading up the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff and fish the exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. These anglers were making excellent casts to the edges of the oysters but we had absolutely no bites on our jig and shrimp and mud minnows. We ran through Horsehead to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe and after a little "incentive" the action heated up!  Bryon "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and caught a
feisty Black "puppy" Drum, then he added a nice keeper sized Sheepshead.  They added a couple of more of those small Drum then John put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  We worked a stretch of docks thoroughly and the trip caught 3-4 more Redfish and a good handful of Seatrout. Most of the Trout were caught out a little deeper. We ran over to Bubblegum Reef and fished it for a while. John picked up another feisty Drum then we eased down an old oyster bed and found another good handful of Seatrout. The wind had picked  up and was really rocking us so we went back to
the docks as the tide started back in. Chris put another feisty Redfish in the boat then he had a strong bite back up in some pilings and sure enough, the wiley fish wrapped itself quickly around a piling and BAP! Fish Off.  We fished those docks again then hit Black Hammock docks before heading in, counting it as another great day to be fishing hear at Amelia Island.

Fishing Heats Up With the Morning Temperature

I fished the south end today, meeting Chris and Teresa Gohlke down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. We had an outgoing tide so I made the run around to Broward Island to fish the bottom of the tide. The two anglers were tossing live shrimp and  mud minnows and making excellent casts but we had no real bites other than the ever present "baitstealers". We ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished a dock on its east side, then the west, and finally Teresa "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a hungry Seatrout. We eased back to another dock and here things heated up. Teresa
landed a feisty Redfish then Chris got into the action when he had a strong hookup. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 19" slot sized Redfish. Shortly after that he tossed up near a piling and almost immediately had a bite and FISH ON! He worked the fish away from the piling and brought it to the boat - a keeper sized Sheepshead!  These two anglers had tallied an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.  But they were not finished. After they teamed up to get another Red or two, Teresa had a good bite and landed small (but hard fighting) Black "puppy" Drum to make it a "Grande Slam".  We ran over to fish Bubblegum Reef, had no bites down deep, then began drifting float rigs over near an old oyster bed. Chris picked up a Trout so we switched Teresa to a float rig and then both were getting bites and fish. They caught a good handful of Trout and a couple of Blue fish to round  out another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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.