Everyone's a Winner

We fished the south end again today where I met Michele and Robert Huffman and their kids Ashlyn and Jackson. Leaving the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, we made a short run up the Nassau River and made a stop at a marshy pointe on the very last of an outgoing tide. Robert and the kids were tossing jigs with minnows up current and letting them bounce down the river bottom and were getting plenty of bites, but no takers. But they continued to fish and soon Ashlyn's fishing rod heated up and she started landing fish. She "knocked the skunk off" when she put a hungry Seatrout in the boat
then she really focused and landed a couple of more. Jackson caught one of the Trout before we moved down to another point and here things really heated up. All three of the anglers were catching fish while Michele and I kept them baited. They caught a couple of keeper sized Seatrout and a good handful of feisty Redfish and two really hard fighting Jack Crevalle. As the day ended we realized that Ashlyn had caught the most fish, Jackson had caught a Redfish with the most spots (10), Michele was voted "Best First Mate", and with his last cast, Robert hooked up, played patiently, and landed the biggest fish of the day, a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish! Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Two and a Half Hours of Fish Catch'n Fun!

Back to "work" today! I met Howard and Emilly Williams and their daughter Maddy down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early this morning and with a clear sky and just a slight breeze, we shoved off and ran up the Nassau River. I had originally planned to run all the way to Broward Island but the tide was still going out so we made a stop at some exposed oysters and were fishing within 10 minutes of leaving the ramp. It took just a while for the anglers to get unwound and in a short time they were getting good bites, but
no takers.  Then, like someone flipped a light switch, they began to pick up fish. Emilly got things rolling when she landed a feisty Redfish then Maddy hauled in a hard fighting Stingray then everyone was catching fish! This trio of anglers landed small but feisty Redfish, then some keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today), then a couple of Jack Crevalle, then some Blue Crab (they must have been really hungry because they hung on all the way into the boat), then Emilly had a big bite. I was thinking, "here's a Slot Redfish" as it pulled hard and deep. Emilly kept the
pressure on and after a patient battle, landed a big 20.5" Seatrout! Now that was a nice fish! We continued to catch fish for about two and half hours and probably could have stayed there longer but we decided for a change in scenery and ran down to Broward Island. Although the bite wasn't not as fast they caught a couple more Trout and a Redfish before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everybody Catches Fish

We wrapped the week up fishing out of the south end boat ramp where I met Mike and Emilly Lefler and their friends Sam and Ashley early this morning. My intentions were to make the long run to Broward Island but the tide would still be going out there so we made our first stop at an oyster outcrop along the Nassau River. We had a bait well full of mud minnows and four rods rigged with quarter ounce jigs and within minutes the anglers were pitching their bait up current and to the shoreline and letting it bounce down the river bottom as they kept their lines tight. It didn't take long and
they were hooking up with fish. Mike tangled with and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle and minutes later they had a "triple" hookup - Mike and Emilly and Ashley all had fish on.  All three expertly fought their fish and all three landed them, two Trout and a Redfish. Sam was patiently fishing on the bow and he got in on the action when he landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. It turned out that Flounder catching was his forte because he caught a handful of them today. We had good action, catching hungry Seatrout and feisty Redfish and we even had a large Catfish put in
the boat. But when the bite slowed we ran down to Broward Island and fished it's incoming tide. Emily and Ashley both had Redfish, Mike had Redfish, and Sam had Flounder. We made our last stop back at a marsh line along the Nassau River and Emilly wrapped things up by putting another hard fighting Jack in the boat. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Which Redfish Was Bigger?

I gambled this morning. I had about a dozen mud minnows left over from yesterday but I had a couple of fresh crabs and they've been making excellent bait for my minnow trap, so I skipped the bait shop and got down to the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early enough to launch and toss out my trap. In day's past I've been catching dozens of minnows within minutes but wouldn't you know it, I was only able to catch 1 MINNOW before my guests, Darrell Evans and his two sons Grant and Will, showed up! OUCH!  We
ran up the Nassau River anyway, tossed out the trap at a small runout, then began to fish an oyster outcrop with the bait that we had. Darrell came to fish this morning and before we knew it, he had boated a feisty Redfish, a keeper sized Flounder (all fish were released today) and a hungry Seatrout to garner his very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam, within the first hour of fishing! The boys we fishing earnestly with jigs but just weren't getting the bites so when Grant asked if he could use a float rig, I knew it couldn't hurt. And it was a good call on Grant's part because within
minutes he had his float disappear and he had a good fight on his hands. After a good battle he landed a nice keeper sized 18" Seatrout.  Will switched to a float rig and he too put a keeper sized Trout in the boat. We ran back to check our minnow trap and, no luck! But there was a ton of finger mullet milling around and with one cast we had enough bait to fish for two days! We ran up to Christopher Creek and fished the shore line, switching back to jigs tipped with the finger mullet and began to catch fish. Darrell picked up a couple of small but feisty Redfish then Grant had a good bite and, FISH ON! This was a big fish! Grant kept the pressure on and kept it away from some dock pilings and as the fish dug deep, Grant worked it patiently to the surface, and eventually landed a nice Slot sized 21" Redfish. Just a short while later, we had another big bite. Will was on the rod and he battled it valiantly. This fish was a big one but Will was up to the task after a good fight, he landed another 21" Red, boy what a fish! We worked our way out of Christopher then ran up to Seymore's Pointe to fish some docks, had no luck, then finished up over at the mouth of Jackstaff where Will wrapped things up with a ferocious battle with a large Jack Crevalle. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament

Plan to fish the Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament on September 17, 2016. This tournament is Amelia Island Guides Association and will be hosted at the Amelia Island Marina (formerly Amelia Island Yacht Basin).  A portion of the net proceeds will be  donated to the Folds of Honor organization. All anglers fishing from boats, shore, docks, and Kayak are welcome to enter. There is a youth division with prizes and trophies.  Food, beverages and live music will be on hand. Silent Auction and Raffle prizes. Captain's meeting  is Friday September 16, 2013 beginning GET RULES AND ENTRY FORM HERE!
at 6pm, Amelia Island Marina. 
being presented by the

First and Last Trout

We had another beautiful morning today when met Heather Floyd who had with here Josh and Larry, with plans to fish the last few hours of an incoming tide. We made our first and longest run up the Bell River and fished some docks pilings with jigs and mud minnows. I believe it was Larry's first cast along the outside of a dock when he had a hookup! He worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice Seatrout. Now that's the way to start out a fishing trip! We continued to fish the area and a little later Heather
had a good bite and a strong pull. I was thinking "slot Redfish" because it was fighting and staying deep. She worked it up from the bottom and we saw that it was a big Catfish, fun to catch but not so good to eat! Josh followed that up with a small Mangrove Snapper that he got to the surface. We ran around to the Jolley River and fished a couple of flooded grass lines with no real luck. Our next stop was on the outside of Tiger Island. We were getting some good bites - Heather picked up another Snapper and a Seatrout, Larry added another Trout then a nice keeper sized Trout, and Josh wrapped things up with a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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A Red, A Black, And a Flat(y)

Although I had some couple of dozen mud minnows left over from yesterday, I decided to try some live shrimp out today as I haven't used any in  a while. Not a good idea. I was fishing with Wayne McKenzie and his two sons Walker and Peyton, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning, with a  plan to run up the Amelia River and fish the mouth of Jackstaff.  Last week I had fished live shrimp on a high tide and did pretty good. But today was different - the three anglers were casting expertly to the marsh grass and although we had a few nibblers, all
we managed to pick up (by Walker) was a small Catfish! We ran through Horsehead, dropped a minnow trap at Twin Creeks, then found a dock at Seymore's Point to fish, sticking with the live shrimp under floats. Each of the anglers caught a couple of Mangrove Snapper, but none of them keeper size (all fish were released today).  Our next stop was over in Christopher Creek and here things picked up. Both Peyton and Wayne caught a couple of feisty Redfish then Peyton had a good bite and landed a nice Black "puppy" Drum. We continued to fish the creek and when Peyton hooked up again, we knew this was a bigger fish - it wasn't going to be reeled in. But Peyton kept the pressure on and patiently worked the fish to the boat and it turned out to be a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We ran down to Spanish Drop and fished the very first of the outgoing tide with jigs, tossing them up to a large Marsh Run out.  I believe it was Wayne who boated a Flounder but that was about all there was at that spot. We finished out the trip fishing the docks back at Seymore's and here Walker nailed a nice keeper sized Flounder, making it a great way to wrap up a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Forehand and Backhand

We kicked off the week fishing down at the south end where I met Eddie and Marci Simpson and their daughter, Jolea early this morning. Our first run was up  the intercoastal and into Jackstaff where we found some flooded marsh grass with an hour and half of a tide still coming in. I had all three anglers on float rigs and live shrimp  and as the began to fish they got a few bites. It wasn't long before we had a hookup and Jolea reeled in a feisty Redfish to "knock the skunk" off the boat. We worked the marsh grass for a
while, crossed a creek and fished another bank, this time with jigs and minnows, then we ran around to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. This got some action going! Both Eddie and Jolea were getting bites and hooking up with sneaky Mangrove Snapper and on occasion they'd reel in a keeper sized one(all fish were release today). Marci was providing support baiting hooks and keeping the anglers in the game. Jolea was making excellent casts with her forehand toss and then she began to make backcasts that rivaled her dad's! We were catching fish when we left this spot to find a better variety and headed down to Twin Creeks. Jolea fished a float rig, her outfit of choice, and Eddie fished a jig at the stern and both caught fish. Jolea picked up a hungry Seatrout and while she was reeling it in Eddie had a strong hookup and patiently played a feisty Redfish - a double catch.  They picked up another Redfish or two then we moved down to Spanish Drop where Eddie rounded out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he had a weird bite, hooked up, and landed a keeper sized Flounder. We made one more stop back at Seymore's Pointe then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Fast Start, Quality Finish

I wrapped up my week today with a great fishing trip with Mike Snider, his son Ethan, and his father Danny. It was a beautiful day - when we got to the Jolley River I commented that it was so calm it was almost like fishing on a pond! We started working a flooded marsh line with float rigs baited with live shrimp and mud minnows. The tide had been going out for about 30 minutes and it was perfect conditions. And the anglers began to get bites right off, with both Mike and young Ethan fending off the "baitstealers" to
pick up fish. Mike was reeling in the small but feisty Redfish and Ethan was hooking up with hungry Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. Danny was getting bites and persisted and soon got in on the action, landing a nice fat Trout of his own, then he went for variety and put a high flying Ladyfish in the boat and then a feisty Bluefish. It was fast and furious for a while with a "double" catch in there somewhere.  We moved on up to "Snook Creek", fished another grass line, then we move in to the creek and switched to jigs. They landed a small pinfish or two and a small Croaker, then
we got out the cast net and picked up some more bait. Our next and final stop was around at Bell River, fishing some docks, and right off Mike hooked up with a  Flounder. We bounced up and down the docks and found a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum which Ethan expertly reeled in. We continued to fish, had bites, then had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! Ethan was on the rod and despite the coaching from Dad, Grandad and the Guide, he patiently reeled in a nice 22" Slot Redfish! Danny went back to the same spot and in  short while had a very good bite. He and Ethan teamed up on this one and reeled in the biggest Trout of the day. It had gotten real hot and we were at the bottom of our bait inventory, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

One Handed Catch

The weather pattern is holding all week...beautiful mornings, no clouds, and a slight breeze. Then by 10am, it's getting pretty hot! I met Greg Adams and his son Chris, along with their friend Kent down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we ran up the Nassau River to Seymore's Pointe to catch a high and just outgoing tide. We fished float rigs with mud minnows in hopes of getting some keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. The fish were there and all three anglers put some of the sneaky critters in the boat, but they didn't have much size to them. We ran back down Nassau and
found a bump out in the marsh grass and switched to jigs and minnows.  There a few nibbles here and there then Chris had a strange bite, one that just hung on until it got to the surface, then he made short work of landing a nice keeper sized Flounder. The three angles picked up a small handful of short but feisty Redfish here and there, landed a couple of small Flounder, then we ran back to some docks at Seymore's. Kent had his "Slot Arm" working and we picked up a couple of more Reds and a Flounder. Then, after we had set up in a tight squeeze between two docks, Greg had cast up under some pilings and while he was fishing, turned to hand his sunglasses to Chris and, BOOM! FISH ON! And a one handed hook up!  This was a big fish and it was trying it's best to stay up in the pilings. The boat was squeezed in between the docks and I was having a terrible time trying to get out to deeper water and keep the fish away from the pilings, but Greg gambled and applied some serious pressure and...we were out!  But as I was getting out the fish decided to do the same and it went under the boat with me pushing the boat right over the top of it! All we could do was hope the braid and fluorocarbon leader held as Greg leaned out and tried to keep the fish off the keel. It was a good battle. Greg did an outstanding job and luckily the tackle held and he eventually landed a fat 25" Slot Redfish. Boy what a mad scramble! We fished the docks for a while, hit Broward Island, made one more stop at some now exposed oysters, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island water.