Manatee Sightings

Today was the second day in a row that we've seen Manatee working the grass edge, and one was down at Sawpit Creek yesterday while today's was up around Tiger Island. I had met Joe Gasper, Adam Blanning and Adam's daughters Eliza and Megan at the City boat ramp with plans to make a run up to Tiger Island to catch the tide still coming in. The anglers were tossing shrimp and mud minnows on jigs to the pockets and even though it was an outstandingly beautiful morning...we had no bites! But we went to the outside of Tiger and switched to float rigs and they began to get fish almost immediately. Eliza was the first to hookup and it was a nice Trout. She worked it patiently to the boat and landed an 18" Seatrout (all fish were released today). Then all the anglers began to get hookups. Megan caught and reeled in a few Trout and Eliza added another couple. Adam had a Trout and also landed a Flounder. Then Joe had a strong hookup and the reel began to sing as line ripped out - this was a big fish! He fought the fish for a good while as it took him all the way around the boat. Joe let the rod do the work and after a good battle, brought to the boat a 4" Bonnethead Shark! We bounced across the river, stayed with the float rigs and Adam spotted a big mass, fins, and a nose -a Manatee working the grass. It's always fun to watch these gentle creatures and it's especially easy to see them in the water with my  Breakline Polarized sunglasses! We ran around to Bell River where Eliza landed a hard fighting Blue Fish and Adam put another Flounder in the boat, this one of keeper size. After one final stop we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Jack Crevalle On Light Tackle

We wrapped the week up fishing out of the Big Talbot Island Park where I met Paula and Dean Eldridge and their sons Malachi and Josiah. We had a little wind blowing already but we made the run up the Nassau River and made our first stop at Twin Creeks and began fishing with live shrimp under float rigs on the very first of an outgoing tide. It didn't take long before Dean's float disappeared and he had a hookup!  He worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice hungry Seatrout. Then, shortly after that, I saw a splash at Josiah's float and it too disappeared and, FISH ON! Josiah
held on and began to work the fish in slowly. His mom jumped in and they teamed up on this big fish. It ran right then left and went under the boat a few times but they kept the pressure on and eventually landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, boy what a fight! After fishing there for a while we ran up to Seymore's Pointe and got out of the wind. Although we had a few bites we had no takers so we bounced around and hit a another dock. Here, the anglers got into some Mangrove Snapper and it was like playing "cat and  mouse" - the float would drift along, go under, and we had to be quick to hookup. But Malachi was up to the challenge and landed a handful of the sneaky fish. Dean put a nice keeper sized Snapper in the boat, too. We fished some more docks as the tide got down, ran through Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Her First Fish

We got out to fish this morning before the storms hit...kinda! I met Brian Severin and his daughters Rhegan and Maddi down at the City marina and we headed over to Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded marsh grass on the very first of an outgoing tide. The three anglers were tossing float rigs with live shrimp and I believe it was 7 year old Maddi's first cast when she had a nibble and her float went under. She reeled in her very first fish, a hungry Seatrout! We fished there for a while, had some bites, then moved around and
fished some dock pilings. We had bites and young Maddi put another fish in the boat, this one a Croaker. The wind was kicking up somewhat so we elected to stay behind the land mass and ran around to Bell River to hit some  more docks. Here, we switched to jigs and shrimp Rhegan got in on the action when she fought to the boat a nice Stingray. Then she hooked up and landed the biggest Trout of the day. We ran around to Tiger Island and had just begun to fish when the bottom dropped out and some rather large rain drops began to fall. We picked up and ran back, got soaked on the way, but counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Daylight Topwater Fishing

We had a plan, meet early and fish the very first of a falling tide with topwater lures. I met Kye Stepp, his brother in law Matt and his father in law Tommy "Big T", down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up to the Horsehead area to fish the grasslines. I could tell right off that these guys were anglers - they were calling their shots and making pinpoint casts to points and pockets. We worked a long stretch near Bubblegum Reef but had no real "spits" at the lures. We ran around to Jackstaff, fished another stretch and again, no bites.  I had a few shrimp left over from the day before so we switched to a jig and it wasn't long before Big T had a hookup. After patiently playing the fish, he landed a fat but hungry Seatrout. And shortly after that he landed another. We worked a bank with the jigs for a while, ran around and fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe, fished the "Snapper Hole" to use up all of our bait, then fished one more bank with jigs and plastic grubs. Although this trio of anglers fished it hard, the bite was slow, but it still was a great day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

Summer Time Variety

I had the pleasure of fishing today again with Paul Landahl who brought along his friend Kathy, meeting them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. We ran up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff and to a large marsh run out to begin fishing with float rigs and live shrimp.  The two anglers had only been fishing a short while when Paul had strong bite that bent his rod over and, FISH ON! We new it was a big fish when the drag kept ripping, but Paul kept the pressure on and soon the fish slowed. He fought it for a good while then landed a nice 4’ Bonnethead Shark. We fished that spot just a short while then jumped over and trolled another bank, to no avail. We crossed back and fished a point and here things heated up a bit. Kathy hooked up, using a jig fished deep, and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Then Paul followed that up with one of his own. We had a few good bites and after Kathy picked up a Shark of her won, we ran over to some docks at Seymore’s Pointe. Tossing jigs, both Paul and Kathy had some Mangrove Snapper bites. We bounced around to another dock where Paul tangles with a high flying Ladyfish, then Kathy found her groove and began to put legal sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat. She was even able to coerce a large Blue Crab into the boat! The sun was up and we were hot so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hard Work Pays Off

Back to work today! I had Zach Luckie, his young son Tate, and his father in law Tommy fishing with me today. We had met at the Atlantic Seafood dock at the City marina early this morning and made our initial run over to Egans Creek to fish some docks on the last of an outgoing tide. All three anglers began to get bites right off and then they landed a handful of "almost legal" Black "puppy" Drum. Tommy had a strong hookup and he and Tate valiantly fought the big fish for a good while. After a good battle they landed a fairly large Stingray. Zach had a good hookup and he and Tate
hauled in a keeper sized Flounder. We ran over to Tiger Island and fished the logs, picking up another Puppy Drum then Zach had a good bite and with a little help from Tate, they put a nice Slot Redfish in the boat. After working the island thoroughly, we ran up to the Jolley River, fished Snook Creek and Zach landed a small, but feisty Redfish. We bumped around to the MOA, Zach found another Puppy Drum, then we made our last stop over in Bell River. The bite had slowed to almost nothing when Zach made a "bounce" cast off of a dock and BOOM, FISH ON! He applied some pressure and kept the big fish out of the pilings then Tate jumped in and together they fought and landed a big Slot Redfish, rounding out and wrapping up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Snapper Bite Comes Alive

I had the pleasure of fishing with Steve Foss again, who this time brought along his daughters Stephanie and Katie, meeting me down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning for a run up the Amelia River to with plans to dip into Jackstaff and fish the very last of an outgoing tide. The conditions couldn't have been any better - early morning, eager anglers, a slight breeze, current slowing, bait moving everywhere...and we had no real bites! Ouch! We crossed over and fished a point and we did have one hookup but  the wily fish threw the hook. We ran through Horsehead and began fishing an old oyster bed as the tide started in and again, the conditions and tide were perfect, but no real bites. We headed down to Broward Island and fished the downed logs just as the tide changes down there. Steve had a Flounder on for a while and typical of a Flounder, it threw the hook right at the boat. We had one more strong bite and Stephanie patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice feisty Redfish...Skunk Off The Boat! Whooeee! The sun was up and we were soaking towels in ice water to put on our necks. Luckily my new  Breakline Porlarized sunglasses were doing their job to protect my eyes!  We made a final stop back at Seymore's Pointe and fished some rocks with float rigs and the remainder of our live shrimp (which was a bunch!) And here, things heated up rather quickly. Both Katie and Stephanie were making excellent casts and all three anglers began to get bites and then began to hookup with hard fighting Mangrove Snapper. We had a couple of double hookups and a few of the Snapper measured to 14", which is a nice size for an Amelia Island back country Snapper. The trio landed a few handfuls of the Snapper and we fished until we ran out of bait, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Biggest, Most, and Most Variety

We had an outstandingly beautiful morning today when I met the White family, Joel and Brooke and their daughter Annibelle down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. Although the bait shop was out of live bait, I had purchased some dead shrimp and we threw the cast net to get some minnows, then we ran up the Nassau River and made our first stop at Bubblegum Reef. It was Annibelle's first fishing outing and in minutes she was making excellent casts. We had some small nibbles but no takers so we eased over to some docks and began to pitch to the pilings. Annibelle had made a good
cast and was letting her shrimp sit when the rod tip bent over and FISH ON! She held on tight and with the help of her dad, began to work the big fish to the boat. After a good battle they landed a big Jack Crevalle that looked like it had been in a previous battle with a dolphin. We ran down to Broward Island where Joel picked up a feisty Black "puppy" Drum and we were treated to a sighting of a Bald Eagle. Our last stop was back at Seymore's Pointe and here Annibelle made a pinpoint cast to the "hot spot" and hooked up and landed all by herself a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. She also outsmarted a wiley Pinfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

LIke a Light Switch

I got to do a late afternoon trip today with Allen and Ann Richardson and their two grandkids Anna Claire and Walker. We met at the City docks at 3pm and made a long run up the Bell River to fish some docks with the tide about half way down. We had some huge live shrimp which we baited onto 1/4 oz jigs and began to toss to some dock pilings. The anglers were making good casts and we worked a few docks diligently, but we had no real bites. We then ran around and into the Jolley River, up to Snook Creek and
fished some now exposed oyster beds. Again, we worked the area thoroughly, but, no bites! So we are two hours into a fishing trip and no fish in the boat. But these anglers were patient and it paid off. Our next stop was over at Tiger Island with about an hour to go until dead low. It was like someone turned on a light switch. At our first spot we hooked up with a hard fighting Slot sized 20" Redfish then put a keeper sized 16" Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. (All fish were released to be caught another day) We fished up and down the island, landed a small but keeper sized Flounder to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Walker made a cast to a grassy shore line, bounced it off the bank, and caught another feisty Drum.  As we fished the logs Allen hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout to make it a "Grande Slam" then Anna Claire wrapped things up when she fought and landed the biggest Flounder of the year, a 20" flattie, putting her in first place in the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Red Kicks Off The Day

I was wondering what the first day of fishing would be like after the tropical storm Colin came thru. I met Jim and Becky Jeffers and their "niece" Shelby down at the City docks with plans to run over to Eagans Creek to fish the docks on an incoming tide. There was just a slight breeze and a few clouds to make it a perfect morning for fishing. The three anglers were tossing live shrimp on 1/4oz jigs up to the dock pilings and were just getting small nibbles when Shelby hooked up and, BIG FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag and trying to get up into the dock pilings but Shelby applied the
pressure and worked it out then kept the pressure on as she patiently worked it to the boat. After a protracted battle that took her from the bow to the stern and back to the bow, she landed a big 26.75" "Tournament Sized" Redfish, boy what a fish! We continued to work the docks, had another big hookup but this one threw the hook, then Jim had a good fight with a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. Before we left the docks he also landed a keeper sized Flounder to round out the trio's Amelia Island Back Country Slam. We ran over to Jolly River and her Shelby got back into the action when she hooked up and landed a 3' long Bonnethead Shark. We fished Jolley Bank with no success, other that getting treated to a Submarine sighting, then hit Tiger Island where Shelby landed another Shark, then wrapped the trip up with a tour of Cumberland Island to see the wild horses, Fort Clinch,  and Old Town. It turned out to be a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida