Bulky Slot Redfish

The winds of yesterday afternoon died down just a bit for today, so I met Jimmy Haverstick and his two sons James and Henry down at the City marina early and we headed out to fish the last of an incoming (and very high) tide. We ran a short ways up Bell River and fished some flooded oyster beds with no luck then we moved around to fish the outside of Tiger Island. All three anglers were tossing float rigs and live shrimp. Jimmy, myself and Henry all saw Henry's float submerge slowly, come up, then go under again and when Henry lifted his rod and reeled, we knew he had the first fish
of the day, an hungry Flounder. The wind was still kirking pretty good so we moved around behind Tiger and fished the logs on a high and outgoing tide, which is very difficult. But we were out of the wind so we did the best we could, and it paid off. Henry tossed his bait into a likely spot and had a strong hookup and FISH ON! He worked hard at getting that fish in and even though it took him deep and from one end of the boat to the other, he stayed with it and landed a big, fat, Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish!  Later, James had a strong bite and he too had a nice fish on. He played it patiently and soon landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We fished the area thoroughly then made the long run back up and into Bell River to fish some docks with deep slip float rigs. Although we worked 2-3 docks, up and down, we had no real bites.  Our last stop was over in Jolley River and as the guys wrapped it up, Jimmy picked up a nice keeper sized Whiting. Although fishing was difficult with the wind blowing, it still turned out to be a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slam Then a Grand Slam

I had the Hardy family this morning - Tom, his son-in-law Bryan and grandsons Jake and Ethan, fishing out of the City marina with plans to fish the very first of an outgoing tide. I set up all the anglers with float rigs, set shallow, and we made our first run up a short distance in the Bell River to fish some flooded marsh grass. We got a few good bites and then Jake "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hungry Seatrout. After Bryan put another Trout in the boat we ran over to Eagans Creek to fish some docks with float
rigs set deep. We had to work 2-3 docks but we found a Trout here and there. Bryan landed a couple with one of them being a keeper sized 18"s. Ethan was drifting a float closer to shore and when he had a bite he set the hook and had a good fight on his hands. He played the fish perfectly and put a keeper sized Sheepshead in the boat.  We continued to fish the docks, picked up a Trout or two, then headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some docks. After Bryan found one Trout, we made our last stop at Tiger Island. Bryan was fishing a pocket with a jig and shrimp when he felt
something heavy on his line and as it began to pull back, he set the hook and had the fish on. He worked it slowly to the boat and we netted a nice 17" flounder, rounding out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Trout, Sheepshead, and Flounder. But they weren't finished yet! Tom had been pitching here and there in between the young anglers and he finally had a window to make his cast where he produced a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to make it a Grand Slam and another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Are The Flounder Coming In?

Boy what a beautiful morning! It was still a little chilly but only one light jacket chilly! The sun was coming up when I met Scott Alphers, his daughters Sidney and Quinn and their friend Misty, down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. We headed up the intercoastal, dipped into Jackstaff, and began fishing a marsh run out with float rigs and live shrimp. We had a nibble here and there them Quinn yelled that she had fish on and sure enough, she did! She reeled it in like a pro and we counted the Bluefish catch as "skunk off the boat". As we were getting pictures, Scott reeled one
in, too. We fished a stretch of marsh grass, crossed over and fished another stretch, and here Scott caught a nice Flounder.  Then Misty put a Flounder in the boat and a small Seatrout. Sidney was making excellent casts - probably the best of all the anglers - and she patiently and persistently worked her bait and jig. We then made a run through Horsehead over to the Nassau River and fished some still submerged oysters that produced no bites. We eased up to Bubblegum Reef and it was Misty's first cast when she had a big hookup and, FISH ON!  This was a big fish that was having nothing
of begin caught. It ripped the drag, making run after bull run and I thought, surely a big Redfish or Black Drum. Misty fought it valiantly but eventually the wily fish made it's way for some structure, locked the line down, and broke off, OUCH!  But Misty was not to be deterred, continued to fish, hooked up with a Ladyfish, then landed a nice 17" keeper sized Flounder. Scott had a good bite, too, one that ripped drag for a brief second, then threw the hook. Our last stop was down at Broward Island, and even thought the tide was down, we had no real bites. But it had warmed nicely to shirtsleeve temperature and as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Trout Window Opens

Where did the cold weather come from? Although not frigid, the temperature was down to around 51 when I launched this morning, warranting a vest and fleece jacket for the morning. I was fishing with Dillon Herbert and his friends Eric, Ryan and Ezra who were down enjoying a spring break holiday from their jobs as coaches and teachers. We met at the Atlantic Seafood dock and made our first (cold) run up Lanceford Creek to fish some docks, which happened to be out of the wind. It was ideal conditions and with the
sun getting up, comfortable too...but we had no real bites. We ran back through Lanceford and over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings as the tide changed. The guys fished jig rods until I could get some Cajun float rigs changed over to slip float rigs and this did the trick. Ryan got the hang of it early and put a nice Seatrout in the boat then the others began to get bites. For about an hour and half  these anglers were playing cat and mouse with Trout down deep. Ryan put a big 20.5" Trout in the boat then followed that up with a keeper sized 16" one. Then Ezra hooked up with one,
played it patiently, and soon landed a nice 19" Trout.  He picked up another 17" Trout along the way. Dillon had one of the big ones hooked up that ripped drag and broke the 14# test leader! With time running out, Eric got on the board with a keeper sized Trout landed. The sun had warmed things up nicely and the fishing had picked up too, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island, Florida.

Fishing Before the Storm

I fished this afternoon with Cale Conry, is son Quintin and their friend Ryan - meeting them down at the City marina with plans to fish the last few hours of an incoming tide. We ran up to the outside of Tiger Island and fished some flooding oyster beds. Quintin had the hot rod early, landing a hungry Seatrout and a feisty Bluefish. Cale put a small Trout in the boat and Ryan had a nice fat one at boatside before he "quick released" it. We made our next stop further up the beach of Tiger and here we had a number of good bites but no takers.  After bouncing over to Manatee Cove the
fishing picked up a bit - they had a couple of more Trout come to the boat. We ran through Tiger Basin and over to Bell River, stuck with the float rigs, had a number of good bites but no takers, then made a move to fish some flooded grass in Lanceford Creek. Both Quintin and Ryan were making good, long casts but we had only been fishing for a few minutes when an approaching thunderstorm appeared to be coming too close so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Trout Big Reds and Bragging Rights

I had the pleasure of fishing with Tom Gaslin again and this time he brought along his son, Sam, meeting me down at the Atlantic Seafood dock early this morning for day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. We had a couple of hours before the falling tide hit bottom so we made a run over to Eagans Creek and began fishing deep. Sam got set up on the bow of the boat tossing up current with a jig and shrimp and before we could get Tom going with a slip float rig, Sam yelled FISH ON! His first cast had produced a big
bite. Sam played the fish perfectly and after a good fight landed a nice 19" Seatrout!  Then both anglers were fishing and catching fish and then Tom had strong bite on his deep float and he too had a big Trout, this one over 20". We fished 4 docks, up and down and the duo landed a handful of Trout with another one right at 20" and then Sam added a keeper sized Sheepshead. When the tide hit bottom we headed out and over to the Jolley River, making a brief stop at MOA where we had no bites then we eased back to Tiger Island. We hadn't been there but for a few minutes when Tom had a strong bite. We knew this was a big fish as it ripped the drag on the Shimano reel but Tom kept the pressure on. It was a good fight and Tom prevailed, landing a nice "Tournament sized" Redfish -26"-boy what a fish. They kept tossing jigs and a few minutes later Sam had a strong bite. It was immediately clear that this fish was even bigger! It stayed deep so long that I was thinking it might be a big Black Drum. It took Sam from one side of the boat to the other, but Sam stayed with it and eventually landed a nice, oversized 29.5" Redfish - a beast! Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island!  This fish puts Sam in first place in the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

Finally a Decent Fish Bite

After about three days of very slow fishing, we had some really good catches to start off the morning. I met Matt McCollough and his two sons Conner and Jake down at the Atlantic Seafood dock early and we headed over to Egans Creek to fish some dock pilings with a couple of hours left in an outgoing tide. A couple of the anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp while Conner tried a Trout slip float rig, fishing deep outside of the docks. This did the trick as he had two good hookups with hungry Seatrout. He switched back and forth fishing jigs and had bites then back to the float rig. We moved

up and down a set of 4 docks and at one Conner had a strong hookup on the jig and we could tell this was a big fish as the drag ripped. Conner played it patiently and soon landed a nice 20.5" Seatrout (placing him in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament-Trout Category. Scroll down right side of this report for standings). We continued to fish the docks, picked up some smaller Trout then Jake had a hookup on the slip float rig. Again, we new it was big when we saw it running up current, ripping drag and putting nice bend in the rod. Jake worked it to the boat and we netted another 20" Trout!  Skipping from dock to dock pitching jigs, Conner found another big fish. He was out a little deeper and I thought sure it would be another big Trout but when he got it to the boat and landed it we saw it was a Slot sized Redfish. After that we ran around to the Jolley River and fished the Bank, had no real bites, then made a stop at Tiger Island to fish the logs, and again, nor real bites. After a short stop at the jetties of Fort Clinch we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Fishing Through It

We fished out of the south end today where I met Matt McCullough and his two sons Conner and Jake. We made a long run around to Broward Island to catch the incoming tide and conditions were perfect for fishing. Conner and Jake were doing most of the fishing while their dad "coached them up" and both were getting a bite here and there but we had few takers until Jake tossed is live shrimp and jig up near some logs and a nice fish hit it immediately and, FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and after a good battle landed a
nice 19" Slot sized Redfish - his first! We continued to fish the area, had a Trout on, then off, then we made a run back to Seymore's Pointe. The anglers switched to float rigs briefly, fished some rocks, then we moved around and fished some docks, going back to jigs and shrimp. Although we continued to have nibbles almost everywhere we fished, the good bite was very slow. But these anglers fished through it and we continued on. Our next stop was back at Christopher Creek, fishing some rocks and docks, but again, no real bites. With time running out we made a dash through Horsehead to fish a marsh run out on the very first of an outgoing tide. This did the trick!  I think Conner's first cast produced a nice hungry Seatrout which he landed easily. Then we had a good flurry of Trout catching with a nice feisty Bluefish to wrap things up. As we headed out we were treated to a Bald Eagle sighting - a great way to end a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Young Angler Lands Big Trout

I fished this afternoon, meeting Andrew Wakeford and his son Christian down at the City docks with plans to fish the first of an outgoing tide. We had a baitwell full of live shrimp so we headed up to the outside of Tiger Island and began tossing float rigs to some flooded oyster bars. The two anglers almost immediately began to get hookups. They landed a few feisty Bluefish and put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. We then ran up to the Jolley River and fished a marshline with the float rigs. Although the bite was somewhat slow the duo did hookup with our first Bonnethead Shark
of the year. Christian fought the fish for a good while - it made some good runs after it figured out it was hooked!  But after a good battle we landed a nice 2"+ Shark. We dropped back and fished the mouth of Jolley and here Christian put two Whiting in the boat, one a nice Bull Whiting. Our final stop was around at Tiger Island. We had just started fishing with jigs and shrimp when Christian had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! He kept the pressure on and when I saw the silhouette and thought for sure it was a nice Red Drum but when Christian brought it to the net we found it was a big 21.5" Seatrout! This put Christian in 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We continued to fish the area for while and after they landed a keeper sized Sheepshead, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Red Wraps Up A Monday Morning

Back to work after a rainy Easter Weekend! This morning I fished with Karl Shively and his fiancé Amanda who were visiting Amelia Island and staying at the Amelia Addison House. They walked down to the marina and we left with a brisk west wind blowing, so we ran over to Bell River to fish some docks. Although we weren't tearing up the fish the two anglers had some good action to get them started. Amanda put a hungry Seatrout in the boat then followed that up with a feisty Redfish. Then Karl got in on the
action and boated a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum, then Amanda landed one, too. When the bites got down to "baitstealers" we ran around to Tiger Island to fish the last of an outgoing tide. The two anglers caught a couple of more Trout and Drum, then Karl had a big bite, had it on for a while, then it threw the hook, OUCH! But he was not to be deterred and in  short while he had another, even bigger bite and, FISH ON!  Karl played the big fish patiently and after some deep runs he worked it to the surface and landed a nice 26" Slot Sized Redfish! Boy what a fish! we worked the island real good then made a brief stop on the outside of Tiger before heading in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.