Slowly Built a Nice Fish Catch

We had another beautiful day today. The skies were clear as the sun came up and we had a slight breeze the entire day. I had the pleasure of fishing again with Mark Richardson, his dad Allen, and his son Braden. We met down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and I had a bait well full of mud minnows. We ran up the Amelia River and into Jackstaff with plans to fish a long edge of still flooded marsh grass. I started all three anglers off with float rigs with the plan to toss their bait up near the grass and let it drift

naturally along the bank. They worked those for a good 30 minutes and had no real bites. When Mark switched to a jig and minnow he got a bite real quick, a nice keeper sized Flounder that Braden reeled in. We continued to fish and when Marked picked up a 17" keeper sized Trout, all three anglers switched to the jigs! Young Braden made an excellent cast and hooked up and caught a feisty Catfish. We ran around to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks and picked up a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, then ran down the Nassau River and fished some now exposed oysters. They had a another weird bite...Braden was on the rod...and after a good fight he landed the largest Flounder of the day. They put one more small Flounder in the boat and a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle before we headed down to Broward Island. The conditions were looking right but the bite was slow until a fish chased our bait out from some tree limbs and, FISH ON! Braden played the fish patiently..it took him from the bow to the stern but he kept the pressure on and after an extended battle, landed a Slot 21" Redfish, which ended up being a great way to wrap up a great fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Tide Got Right

We had another beautiful day that greeted us this morning, not a cloud in the sky and only a slight breeze as the sun  came up. I met Cory Relling and his father-in-law Keith down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we made a run up and into the Nassau River with a few hours left on an outgoing tide. Our first stop was at a small marsh run out and even though the conditions looked perfect with bait getting busted all along the bait, we had no real luck other than picking up a hard fighting Stingray. We trolled the bank for a while then ran down to Broward Island to fish the logs as the tide got lower. Finally, Cory hooked up and hauled in a feisty Redfish. We were getting bites here and there but had no more takers so we ran back to Seymore's Pointe to fish Bubblegum Reef. Again, we had bites, but no takers. We hit another marsh run out and with the tide down and the oysters showing, this did the trick. The anglers had a good flurry of fish bites and fish catches, landing a handful of Redfish then Keith said he had a fish that hit and hit and hit his bait as he slowly worked it back, then it picked up the bait and ran with it. Keith set the hook and patiently worked in a nice keeper sized Flounder. Today was one of those days where I think the fish were there but the tide had to be just right for them to bite. But it still was another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Reds and a Grande Slam

I fished north of the island today, meeting Dennis Brown and his sons Jeb and Sam down at the City marina. We had about an hour and a half of an outgoing tide remaining so we ran over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings with jigs and shrimp and mud minnows. I think it was Jeb's first cast and he hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout! Now that 's the way to start a trip. We continued to fish - Dennis picked up a feisty Black Drum and Sam landed another Trout. We worked the docks up and down and was
about to leave when Sam had a strong bite and, FISH ON! He played the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot Sized Redfish. Then it was FISH ON! for a while! Sam had another Slot Redfish then Jeb got in on the action and landed the biggest of the day, a 24.5" Red. Dennis had a big one on too, but it through the hook after an extended battle, but he came back and got his Slot Red catch. We caught a keeper sized Flounder to make it an Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Seatrout, Black Drum, Red Drum and Flounder, and added a couple of smaller Reds, too. When the bite finally slowed we ran around and into the Jolley River, fished Snook Creek with no real bites (other than some Shark sitings) then we finished the day up at Jolley Bank, catching more fish. The trio of anglers landed Trout, Flounder, a whole bunch of small Reds, and then Jeb put another Slot Red into the  boat. Sam tangled twice with Lady Fish and somewhere in there Dennis tangled with a Jack Crevalle. It was a super "Fish Catching" day and another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wow! Fish Catching Day!

I fished north yesterday but went back to the south today, meeting John Ellington and his two sons Trey and Jason down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp. I had a baitwell slam full of live shrimp and mud minnows-about 11 dozen total-and we ran up and into the Nassau River with plans to fish the very last of an outgoing tide. The oysters were exposed, the current was running slow, the sun was just up and.....from the start these anglers were busy catching fish! They caught small flounder, keeper sized flounder, small Trout, keeper sized Trout, small Redfish, and a feisty Black
Drum (making it a "Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam"). John tangles with a Shark for a few minutes then Jason put a hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat then Trey hooked up with another big fish and finally, we had a nice Slot Redfish. They caught more Jacks, more Reds, more Trout, with a few of them being of keeper size, and more Flounder with a keeper sized one now and then. We blew through all 11 dozen shrimp with most of them being used on fish caught! Boy what a way to start the day. With just a few baits left we found a small pool and tossed out a minnow trap then eased
down the bank to continue fishing...and BOOM! Big Fish ON!  Trey put another Slot Redfish in the boat then they had another strong hookup. Jason was on the rod this time and he had to play this big fish patiently. After a good battle he landed a big 28" oversized Redfish, boy what a fish! While he was battling his fish John caught a released a just undersized one, too. We retrieved our bait trap and with another couple of dozen minnows, we were back in business. We fished the oysters for awhile longer, picked up another couple of fish, then hit some docks at Seymore's Pointe. After picking up one small Snapper we crossed over and fished some now submerged oysters. Trey added one more keeper Flounder before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Manatee Sighting Started The Day

I had met Matt Sedgwick and his son Luke down at the City marina this morning and as we left the dock Matt spotted a big Manatee swimming just ahead of us! We slowed down to a stop and let it move on out of the marina then we headed north and up to Tiger Island to fish the logs on the very first of an incoming tide. And a perfect tide it was...but we had no real bites. We ran out and around to the Jolley River, fished the Bank, and right off we had a bite. Luke worked the fish in patiently and landed a nice fat Seatrout. A
little later he had a Flounder hookup and got it to boatside for a "quick release". We ran around to Bell River, fished some docks, and a picked up a small Sea Bass. We came back closer to the marina, fished one flooding oyster beds with no luck then made one final stop outside of Tiger where Luke hauled in a feisty Redfish. It was a beautiful day, with sightings of Manatee, Dolphin and a ton of birds here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Flounder Kind Of Day

Boy what a beautiful morning!  I had met Bob McKee and his friend John down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning with clear skies and a slight breeze blowing. We made the long run up and around to Broward Island - I hadn't fished there in a while - but we had the first of an incoming tide which is the best for me.  Sure enough, when we got there bait was being popped along the shore. We had mud minnows to fish with on jigs and the two anglers began making their casts to the shoreline and slowly working them back. Within minutes John had a strong hookup -this was a nice
fish! He kept the pressure on and when he saw it heading for some tree limbs he tried to horse it out but the wily fish got around a limb and "pop", fish off! It woke us up though! Both anglers began to get bites and began to land fish. They had some small but feisty Reds, a "just undersized" Seatrout, a small Flounder, then Bob put a nice keeper sized Flounder in the boat. We worked up and down the island and picked up a few more fish then headed back towards the mouth of Nassau River to fish some oyster banks. The Flounder catching continued! Bob put a couple of bigger, keeper sized Flounder in the boat, then John followed that up with one of his own. The bite slowed a bit and just when I thought that we were through catching for the day, BOOM! FISH ON!  John had a strong hookup, one that stayed up near the shore for a good while, and I knew it was a bigger Redfish. He played the fish patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. We bounce down the river and Bob put one more keeper sized Flounder in the boat. After fishing some docks briefly, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

You Never Know What You Are Going To Catch

I fished today with Josh Snow and his son Ben, with the trip being set up by Patrice Paton. We had arranged to meet down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning with plans to fish the first of an incoming tide. After a brief safety orientation, we ran up the Nassau River and made a stop at some exposed oyster beds, tossing live shrimp and jigs up current and slowly fishing them back...and....FISH ON!  First Cast! Ben was on the rod and patiently worked in a nice feisty Redfish! Both anglers began to fish
and landed a keeper sized Flounder and another Redfish or two. We ran further up the river, fished some more oysters, and found a Catfish and Sea Robin to add to the variety count. We eased over to some docks, fished the dock pilings and Josh quickly found the knack of catching small but feisty Mangrove Snapper. Ben landed a rather large Pinfish then another keeper sized Flounder before we went around the corner, switched to float rigs, and tangled with some bigger Mangrove Snapper. We made one final stop over at the mouth of Jackstaff where Josh landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to round out another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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!