Fighting Off the Baitstealers

There was a shortage of mud minnows at the bait shop today so I went with live shrimp, and boy what a pain. I met Matt and Kaleena Kloepfer, her dad Mo, and his friend Joe down at the City marina early and we headed up to fish the outside of Tiger Island on a high and (just) outgoing tide. From the first cast we were getting bite, mostly "baitstealers", but on occasion they'd land a nice fish. Joe kicked things off, landing a hungry Seatrout, then all four anlgers followed that up with more, working through the baitstealers to get
a good fish. Kaleena put the first Redfish in the boat, a feisty one, then we pulled up and ran around to fish the Jolley "bank". We had a long flurry of fish catching - Matt landed a keeper sized Trout, Kaleena added a couple of more Reds, and Mo did battle with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. Joe was quietly putting fish in the boat up on the bow. Every one caught fish! But we were burning through the bait so when we finished fishing that stretch of river, we ran back to the bait shop on Eagans Creek and purchased some minnows. Before we left the creek, we fished a large marsh run out
and caught two Flounder, one of keeper size, caught by Kaleena. With only  short time to fish, we ran over to fish the Tiger logs and although the sun was up and the fish catch had slowed, they were able to hookup two more flounder to round out another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Nice Fish All Around

I had the pleasure of fishing with Rob and Elizabeth Torregrossa again today, and after I met them down at the City marina, we made a run north to fish the outside of Tiger Island on the very first of an incoming tide. The two anglers were tossing mud minnows under float rigs and it wasn't long before they began to get fish. Elizabeth put a couple of hungry Seatrout in the boat and Rob hooked up a Needlefish, then battled with a hard fighting Blue. When he had a another strong bite in the same spot we thought for sure it was another Blue, but this one was ripping drag! I then thought his drag
might be too loose...but luckily Rob could feel that it was a big fish! He played it patiently and landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish! They picked up another Trout or two then we headed around to the Jolley River. After one brief stop on the way to fish a marsh run out, we turned the corner and set up fishing the "bank". Within minutes Elizabeth had a good bite. She kept the pressure on and landed a big 20" Seatrout! Rob immediately followed that up with a keeper sized Black Drum (all fish were released today) before we moved on further up the river to fish Snook Creek. Again, Rob landed two more Redfish. Our last stop was back at Tiger Island and we wrapped up the day by catching one Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Grande Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Black Drum and Flounder. It was another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Rain Showers Can't Dampen These Hot Anglers

Well, the radar showed the rain storms off to the east, and heading north this morning and when I met Joe Godfrey, his son-in-law Cliff, and granddaughter Ansley down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp, the skies were clear as the sun came up. We ran up the Amelia River and dipped into Jackstaff and then into a creek to set up at a large outflow to fish with mud minnows and float rigs. Whoever said catching a fish on the first cast was bad luck didn't know this crew! We had just tossed out our first cast when Ansley's
float went under and when she lifted the rod, she had a fish on! She reeled in a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk" off the boat! We picked up a couple of more trout there, then crossed over to fish an oyster lined bank. I think we picked  one small Redfish and another Trout and after fishing a grassy point and landing another trout or two...the rain came! But we were all prepared with rain jackets and since there was no lighting, we continued to fish. Ansley was a true pioneer and hung right in there with us older anglers. When it slacked up we made a dash through Horsehead and over to the
Nassau River and down to Spanish Drop and here the fish catching really turned on. They all began to catch feisty Redfish then Cliff had a big bite and, FISH ON! He played the fish perfectly and patiently but it was not to be because after a hard run, the big fish threw the hook and FISH OFF! But Cliff was not to be deterred. He continued to fish the bank and within a few minutes he had another strong hookup. Again, Cliff worked the fish patiently and after a good battle, landed a nice 25" Slot Sized Redfish!  Ansley was patiently fishing a float rig and when I saw her float go under I looked at her and she too had realized just in time that she had a big fish because it pulled her up off her seat and, another BIG FISH ON! She fought the fish along with her dad and they put another Slot Redfish in the boat. As we fished up and down the bank Joe added another couple of Reds then Cliff and Ansley teamed up a for a double hookup, catching two keeper sized Flounder (all fish were released today) and rounding out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Rounded Out a Good Trip

Tim and Jeanne Carson fished with me today, and although I've fished with them a couple of times, this was the first as a married couple! We met down at the City marina and made a long run up the Bell River to fish some docks on an outgoing tide. We had mud minnows and jigs and the two anglers were tossing them up by the pilings, letting them sink, and fishing them slowly back a ways. Although we had some nibble, there were no real bites, so we made a run around to Jolley River and fished some now exposed oysters. This did the trick - Tim picked up a small Seatrout then a feisty
Redfish. We bumped back around to the MOA (Mother of All) Spots and we had even more bites. Both Tim and Jeanne caught fish - a couple of fatter Redfish, and Jeanne put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. We went down to the mouth of the Jolley and fished the bank where Tim landed another Red and Jeanne added a Croaker to the catch. After fishing the outside of Tiger Island briefly, we made a our last stop behind Tiger. We hadn't fished long we had a strong bite and, FISH ON! Jeanne was on the rod and was fighting it patiently. Although the fish put up a valiant effort, Jeanne subdued it and eventually landed a big, hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And just a  minute or two later we had another strong bite. This time Tim was on the rod and it was fighting just like the Jack did. But as Tim worked it to the surface we saw that it was a Slot sized Redfish! He worked it slowly to the boat and we netted a nice 22" Redfish!  These anglers teamed up to land 3-4 small Flounder, rounding out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam) then Tim wrapped things up when he landed another keeper sized Seatrout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Teamwork Lands Fish In Epic Battle

I had the pleasure of fishing with Jeff and Penny Parks and I met them down at the Big Talbot Island Park this morning with plans to fish the last of an outgoing tide. It was a beautiful day as we ran up the Nassau River to make our first stop at a couple of marsh run outs. I think it was Jeff's 2nd cast when he had a hookup and as he got his fish to the boat - a keeper sized Flounder - Penny had a hookup and she landed one, too! We fished that stretch a while, picked up another Flounder, then moved down to another run out
where Jeff caught a feisty Redfish, and so did Penny. Penny put a hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat before we ran further up river to fish some fully exposed shell beds. The two anglers "worked 'em silly", but we had no real bites until we got up to Bubblegum Reef. Greg landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper then the fun really began. Penny had made an excellent cast between the reef and the shell bed. But I had my back to the cast when I heard her drag begin to sing, and FISH ON! I could tell this was a big fish. Penny applied the pressure and tried to pull the big fish away from the reef and I took the trolling motor off anchor and tried to move further away too, but it was to no avail...the fish got wrapped up in the reef! Well, we trolled right up to it, with me standing on the bow and watching the propeller get inches away from the structure while Penny handed it off the rod to Jeff who reached out and with the tip, unwrapped the line and when it was free....FISH BACK ON!  Penny took the rod back and the battle was on.  Luckily the big fish headed away from the reef and so did we!  This time it was a short battle and as Penny got the fish close to the boat, Jeff reached out and netted it, a nice 25 1/4" Slot Sized Redfish! Boy what a fight! We made one more stop down at Broward Island, had a few nibbles, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Quality and Quantity

Fishing the back waters of Amelia Island is always fun because you never know what's on the other end of the line! Today, fishing with Bob and Nancy Stein, we had nine different varieties of fish caught. Redfish, Seatrout, Flounder (a Slam), Mangrove Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Stingray, Bonnethead Shark, Croaker, and Pinfish were caught on live shrimp. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River, making a quick stop to fish some exposed oysters with jigs. Bob "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a couple of feisty Redfish. We jumped down to Twin Creeks
and both anglers began to hookup with fish. Nancy put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat and Bob followed that up with one of his on. Then Nancy landed a hungry Stingray and then a feisty Bonnethead Shark. We moved back east in the river and they caught a couple of more smaller trout, then Nancy had a strong bite and FISH ON! She worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. Somewhere in there she also caught a hard fighting Jack Crevalle and they both landed a couple of more smaller Reds.  We ran up to some docks and fished the pilings and Bob got hot catching small Mangrove Snapper and a couple of Pinfish. We ran down to Christopher Creek on the last of an incoming tide, fished the rocks and Bob wrapped thing up with a Slot Redfish of his own, then topped it off with a small but hungry Flounder. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Jack Catch

I fished this morning with Adam and Patty Garner, meeting them down at the Atlantic Seafood dock as the sun came up. We eased north through the no-wake zone then ran up to Tiger Island to fish the logs as the tide came in. These two anglers were making excellent casts but there wasn't a whole lot biting. We did pick up a couple of "bait stealers", a croaker, and a hungry Flounder on jigs an shrimp and minnows. We ran around and up to the Jolley River and fished the "bank", tossing float rigs with live shrimp. I think they found two Trout and then Patty landed a small but feisty Jack Crevalle. We bounced around the corner, set up behind a grass patch with the current sweeping by, and within minutes Patty had a strong hookup, FISH ON!  This fish was pulling hard so we took the trolling motor off anchor and kept the fish off to the side. Patty kept the pressure on as she worked the fish slowly to the boat and after a good battle, she landed a nice, big Jack Crevalle. Boy what a nice fish! We fished that area with both floats and jigs, had some good bites, then ran around to the outside of Tiger. The flood tide was up so we poked the bow up into the grass in a couple of places, looking for tailing Reds. Out of 4-5 spots we saw a couple "backing" in the distance and so we tossed some weedless spoons at 'em, but had no takers. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

They Each Had Big Fish

After a two days of non-stop working at the Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament I was back to fishing this morning, this time with Dennis Brizzi, his daughter Ginger, and his son-in-law Joe. We met out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and headed back towards Nassau Sound to make our first stop at Twin Creeks. The anglers began tossing live shrimp and mud minnows on float rigs up to some already flooded oysters and within seconds, they began to get bites. Ginger had a big one on for a good 10-15 seconds but it threw the hook. But shortly after that Joe hooked up and we had
another big fish! He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice 20" Seatrout. Dennis picked up a small trout then we began to bounce down the river, hitting runouts and points. At our third one things heated up when they got into a school of small but feisty Redfish. All three anglers put Reds in the boat and both Ginger and Joe tangled with Ladyfish. Dennis picked up a Mangrove Snapper and Joe put a Stingray in the boat. We ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks briefly, then headed over to Christopher Creek to catch the very last of the incoming tide.
Fishing some more rocks, Dennis landed another feisty Redfish then he made an excellent cast between two docks and found a keeper sized 16" Flounder. A short while later he went back to the same area and BOOM! Fish on! He kept the pressure on and worked the big fish out from the pilings and even though it went deep a few times, he worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish. We trolled our way out of Christopher - Joe caught one of the biggest Croaker I've seen - and just as we were about to leave, Ginger had a strange bite. She worked the fish in and we netted a very nice 18" Flounder to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slow Fishing But Dawged Perseverance Pays Off

I had the pleasure of fishing again with Bob Blalock, meeting him down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early, and with cloudy skies. Although tropical storm Julia had passed through yesterday, we saw a window of opportunity to fish, and we took it! We ran up the Amelia River and dipped into Jackstaff and further into another creek to begin fishing with float rigs and mud minnows at the very peak of a high tide. Both of us had some soft bites but no takers as we fished the flooded marsh grass. We crossed over a creek, switched to jigs and minnows, and again, no real bites. I wouldn't have thought that the storm that passed by would have affected the fish bite, but it may have, because even thought the present weather was very comfortable, the bigger fish just weren't biting. Bob tangled with a and caught a couple of high flying lady fish before we left, ran through Horsehead, and fished some dock pilings. He caught a few feisty Mangrove Snapper then we ran down the Nassau River to fish some marsh runouts. The water was coming out of the marsh by now and bait was moving and fish were beginning to bust and sure enough, BOOM! Bob had a nice fish on. He played the fish patiently and after a good fight, landed a nice Slot Sized 21" Redfish. YAHHOOH (I said).  We worked that bank some more, then bumped up and hit three more, only to find one hard fighting Jack Crevalle. It was a nice day under gloomy skies but Bob's perseverance paid off and put one nice fish in the boat, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing, here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Squeezing in a Late Afternoon Trip

I fished yesterday afternoon, too, meeting Dale Steinkamp and his friend Graeme down at the City marina at 3pm with plans to fish into late evening. We had both live shrimp and mud minnows as bait when we headed north up to the outside of Tiger Island. Both anglers were making excellent casts and getting nibbles here and there, but we had no takers for awhile until Graeme landed a hungry Seatrout. We pulled up and ran up to Jolley River and fished the "bank". Again we had some bites then Dale began to put his rig up into a large run out and caught a few Seatrout. We also had a small
Flounder along the way. We bumped around and fished the outside of Jolley and here things picked up. Graeme reeled in a nice keeper sized Flounder then Dale put one in the boat, too, then he had a strong hookup - a bigger fish! This fish fight brought Dale from the bow back to the stern and from starboard to port as it ripped the drag but Dale played it perfectly and eventually landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. The caught another Flounder or two and Graeme put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat before we moved on to our last stop, behind Tiger Island. The fish bite wasn't on fire, even though the tide was getting right, but we did have two nice fish caught - a large 19" Flounder(which put Dale tied for 2nd place in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament 2016 -Flounder Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings) and a nice 18" Trout - a good way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.