Quick Start to a Slam and Slot Red

After a great July 4th weekend, I was back to fishing today, this time with Dean Jensen and his two sons Elijah and Tyler. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we ran north and west up the Nassau River to make our first stop at a marsh point lined with old oysters and bordered by a small marsh runout. The had been coming in a few hours but we went with the jig rods, baited with lively mud minnows and tossed up current and near the shore. These young anglers could cast! All we had to do was take up the slack as the jig and minnow bounced down the river
bottom and in just a short while Elijah had a hookup and expertly reeled in a fat Seatrout!  Then Dean hooked up with a fish and when it fought funny I thought,...."hummm" and sure enough, a feisty Flounder. Then Elijah found another Trout and while he was bringing it to the boat Dean had a strong bite and, FISH ON!  Young Tyler jumped on the rod and began to work it slowly the to the boat. After a good battle, Tyler won out and landed a nice Slot Sized 22" Redfish, boy what a fish! We continued to fish the same spot and picked up a handful of Seatrout (and even had a double Trout hookup). After Dean briefly tangled with a Ladyfish, we ran over to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe, but had no bites. We ran down to fish Christopher Creek on the last of the incoming tide, then bounced back to Seymore's Pointe to see if the Mangrove Snapper were there. Both Dean and Elijah outwitted them and landed a couple of small ones, but we had no keeper sized bites. After a run through Horsehead we made one last stop to fish the marsh grass as the tide reached it's peak then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

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Big Fish Day

The Williams family was back in town this week and I got to fish with Ricky and his two sons Riley and Cooper. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp on a high and just outgoing tide and ran up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Twin Creeks. I thought for sure we'd get a fish or two here, but not a bite! We skipped over to Seymore's Pointe and broke out the float rigs just to see a float go under! The trio of anglers tangled with small Mangrove Snapper and seeing that they weren't going to get any
bigger, we went back to some old oyster beds along the Nassau and this did the trick. Cooper knocked the skunk off with a feisty Black "puppy" Drum catch then all three anglers were putting fish in the boat. We had a couple of small Trout, Riley fought a nice Jack Crevalle, then Cooper hooked up and did battle with a big 40" Bonnethead Shark, which he landed. Someone caught a small Flounder then William had a good bite and fought to the boat a keeper sized 20" Slot Redfish. We continued to fish up and down the bank, picked a up a small Red or two, then Cooper had a big
bite and, FISH ON! After fighting that shark this fish was no match and Cooper landed another Slot Red, this one measuring at 23.5".  Somewhere in there William landed a keeper sized Flounder! We were about ready to leave when Riley had a big bite. His fish zinged across the shallow bar, ripping one way then coming back and ripping the other. But Riley was up to the task and after a long fight, landed a big 48" Bonnethead. Now that was a battle!  We ran up to the west of Bubblegum and fished the now exposed oysters but had no real bites other than an ugly old Toad fish! We made our last stop over at some docks, picked up a couple of small Snapper, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. Feeling blessed to be at the beach?  Check out Ricky's new website http://www.beachblessedlife.com/

One Shrimp One Shark

We fished the south end today, meeting at 7am down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. I had the pleasure of fishing again with Shawn Boggs and his son Jackson. We made the initial run up the Nassau River and made a stop at a marsh grass outcrop with some old oyster beds along side. We only had a few live shrimp and a couple of mud minnows but Jackson made the most of his first shrimp. After only one or two casts he had a strong hookup and FISH ON! This was a big fish and was ripping the drag as it ran like a freight train. But Jackson was up to the task and kept the pressure on as the
fish took him from the bow to the stern and back and forth across. We estimated it was a 10 minute battle and Jackson won it, landing a nice 4' Bonnethead Shark!  We went back to the same spot and shortly afterwards Jackson landed a hungry Flounder. He put a couple more smaller fish in the boat before we picked up and found a small creek to drop a minnow trap in. We fished the docks of Seymore's, landed a small handful of small Mangrove Snapper, then went back and got our trap which was loaded with mud minnows. Our next stop was around at Jackstaff but we had no bites there. We came back to the Nassau River side, fished some now exposed oysters, had a good strong hookup that eventually threw that hook and then made a stop at Bubblegum Reef where Shawn finally got on the board with a small Mangrove Snapper. We went back to the docks and Shawn got on a roll when he landed a nice keeper sized Flounder (and I picked one up too!) then we wrapped the day up with a "double" hookup of some nice 12" Snapper. We really had to work for fish today but we caught some and with being out on the water, that's what counts!

Steady Fish Catching

We had a beautiful day to fish this morning...I had met Mike Bennett, his daughter Michelle and his son-in-law Joey down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with plans to run up into Horsehead, which is what we did. The tide had been going out for a few hours when we pulled up to a small outcrop of marsh grass and oysters. We had a live well full of live shrimp and mud minnows and the trio of anglers began to work the point with jigs and it wasn't long before Mike "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Then only minutes later, Joey pulled in a keeper sized
Flounder. Now that's the way to start off a fishing trip. They continued to fish the same spot, picked up a couple of small Redfish, then Michelle had a strong bite and, FISH ON! She fought the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a Slot sized 22.5" Redfish. They now had an Amelia Island Back Country Slam in the boat! We caught a few more fish there then bumped up a short distance, fished a run out, then ran further up the Nassau River to fish just west of Bubblegum Reef. Joey caught a Trout as we trolled up to the Reef. We anchored there for a while and the anglers

caught a fat Catfish, a Jack Crevalle, and a couple of small Black "puppy" Drum. They also were able to put a few keeper sized Croaker in the boat. Our next stop was down at Broward Island where we picked up a couple of more Reds. We made our final stop back at Seymore's Pointe and tried our hand at catching Mangrove Snapper.  It was a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slam And Sharks

I fished with Chris Jones and his "boys" this morning, Alex and Andrew and son in law John, meeting them down at the City marina. We eased through the no-wake zone and made a brief stop at the mouth of Bell River to fish some exposed oysters on the last of an outgoing tide. Young Andrew put the first fish in the boat, a hungry Croaker, but that was all that we caught. We ran around to Tiger Island, fished the logs thoroughly, had no bites, then ran up to the Jolley River. Alex's first cast produced a fat and still hungry
Seatrout and later Chris worked a feisty Flounder to the boat. Then Alex caught a slightly undersized Redfish and John added a Black "puppy" Drum to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. We ran further up the Jolley, made a stop at Snook Creek as the tide started back in, and here John had a strong bite, and FISH ON! It was a big fish but John kept the pressure on and patiently worked it to the boat. After multiple runs and some serious patience, John landed a 3"+ Bonnethead Shark. During the commotion, Andrew caught and landed a nice Flounder. We made one more run around to Bell River Where Chris added to his catch when he landed a Seatrout then Alex wrapped things up by catching a feisty 2' Black Tip Shark. With that, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Following The Almanac

I had the pleasure of fishing the afternoon with Louis Welch again who this time brought along his wife Sue. We met down at the City marina and eased through the No Wake Zone to fish some exposed oyster beds on the last of an outgoing tide. Bait was moving and fish were blasting and it wasn't long before Louis had put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. He then landed a small, but feisty Flounder. We ran down to Lanceford Creek, fished a dock, and here Sue put a Seatrout in the boat and Lou landed a hard fighting and "almost legal" Black "puppy" Drum.  Then we made a long run
around to Bell River and fished some docks. We had caught fish at each spot and the sun was getting lower, we had a breeze and things just seemed "fishy". Louis told me that he and Sue had checked the Farmer's Almanac and it said this afternoon was the time to fish! We picked up a hungry Seatrout off the docks and landed another Black Drum then bounced up to another dock. Louis put his jig and shrimp between two dock pilings and BOOM! BIG FISH ON! This fish was ripping drag and staying deep and I thought for sure that he had a Bonnethead Shark. We worked our way out from the dock
pilings then Louis began to put the pressure on. I saw a big flash in the water with my Breakline Polarized sunglasses and was still thinking "shark" when it came to the surface and we saw that it was a massive Bull Redfish, measuring in at 31.5"! And boy was it thick! This fish puts Louis in 2nd place in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). After getting photographs and releasing it Louis went back to the same spot and with just a few casts, FISH ON! He worked this one to the boat a little quicker and we soon netted a nice 21" Slot Red, with 9 spots. We fished for a while longer, ran around and made a brief stop at the MOA, then continued on around to Tiger Island. After a cast or two we had a hookup - Louis worked it to the boat, and landed a fat 19" Flounder. This gave the duo an Amelia Island Backcountry Slam and again, put Louis in 2nd place in the Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder Category! We fished on and Sue got in on the action. She made an excellent cast to some logs, worked it slowly and BOOM! Another nice fish on! She played it patiently and soon landed a nice 19" Slot Red of her own. We fished the island thoroughly then headed in as the sun was getting low, counting it as another great day to be fishing Amelia Island waters.

Trip Saving Mangrove Snapper

We fished out of the South end today...there's not a lot of boat traffic and it was convenient for Shan Venable and his friends Bobby and Kirby to meet me there. We left the ramp and ran north up the Nassau River and with the tide just starting in, made our first stop at Bubblegum Reef. When Bobby had a strong hookup right off the bat, I was thinking, "allright! Here we go!"  He played the big fish patiently and after a good battle landed a....huge Catfish! It was a big one! Then he tangled with a Ladyfish and put a small Sea
Bass in the boat. We bounced over to some docks, fished the pilings briefly, then ran down to Broward Island. The anglers picked up a couple of small Redfish and "quick released" a Flounder at boat side. Although we had a few fish caught, it wasn't one of those days where the fish were just jumping in the boat, so we made our way back to the docks at Seymore's Pointe and set up with some float rigs. And here things got hot! The trio quickly began to put one nice Mangrove Snapper after the other in the boat. And most were 14"-15" in length, so some nice fish for our back waters. They had the catching down pat and after about an hour we limited out and moved on. Our next and final stop was over at the mouth of Jackstaff, tossing float rigs to the now flooded marsh grass. After fishing a good stretch Kirby had made a good cast to a sparse grassy area. I saw his float bob a couple of times then it slowly went under. Kirby quickly took in his slack, lifted the rod and firmly set the hook and, FISH ON! He fought the fish expertly to the boat and landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flounder Each Day

The beautiful weather continued today when I fished with Greg and Jodi Lane out of the Fernandina Beach City marina. We made our first stop up at Tiger Island, fished it thoroughly, and Jodi finally "knocked the skunk" off the boat when she landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. We ran up to the Jolly River and fished "the  bank" with float rigs but had no real bites. We came back to the outside of Tiger and stayed with the float rigs and here Jodi put a feisty Redfish in the boat then rounded out her very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam when she caught a hungry Seatrout. Greg put a
couple of Trout in the boat before we headed over to Bell River to fish a still flooding oyster bed. He had made an excellent cast and let his float drift naturally up to a grassy point and "BOOM", he had a fish on. He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout.  We had a nice variety and a couple of keeper sized fish to round out another great day to be out on Amelia Island waters.

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.