Left The Trout Biting

From aggravating winds the last two days to almost none today.  I met Dr. Paul Wozny and is cousin Andy out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and we were spraying insect repellant right off to chase off the sand gnats! We headed over to and through Horsehead to fish the other side of Jackstaff with the tide still having a couple of hours of outgoing. Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp in the calm waters and although we had perfect conditions, we were only able to pick up one hungry Seatrout that Andy caught. We
fished that area for a good while then ran back through the marsh to Nassau River and found some exposed oyster beds. Here, they both picked up a couple of small Trout then we bumped up the river a ways and fished a marsh run out. Again, a couple of Trout and one of them of keeper size. We moved on up to Twin Creeks and here things heated up a bit. Both anglers began catching feisty Redfish - 3 or 4 apiece, then Paul had a stronger hookup. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice keeper sized 20" Slot Redfish. After the bite slowed, we ran up west of Bubblgum Reef, fished the oysters, but had not bites, so we ran down to Broward Island to fish the very last of an outgoing tide there. We immediately began to catch fish. The Trout were biting out deep and most all were of keeper size. We also picked up a couple of more Reds. We got down to the last of the live shrimp and it was time to go so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Brotherly Love

Again the wind. But not so bad that we couldn't get out and fish today. Just enough to alter the fishing "plan" though. I had met Sherri Rinker, her dad Lee and her Uncle WC down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp this morning and although we had clear skies, there was already a brisk wind blowing. We ran up the Nassau River and fished some exposed oysters on the last of an outgoing tide. WC was first on the board when he put a couple of feisty Redfish in the boat. I soon learned that these two brothers would keep an easy banter going amongst themselves as each
caught a fish or had a good bite! It made the trip real fun because the two could fish and as the day wore on, we picked up a fish here and then a fish there. We bounced up the river to marsh run out and immediately, BOOM! Trout bite. Both Lee and WC had a flurry of catches. We had an artificial grub out the back and as I was netting WC's fish I saw the rod tip bouncing, FISH ON! Sherri grabbed the rod and worked the fish in expertly, landing the day's only keeper sized Seatrout. We continued on up the river, picked up one more Trout west of Bubblegum Reef, had no real bites at the Reef, then
jumped over to some docks. The first set produced on bites but WC found another Redfish, caught on a float rig (we were using live shrimp all day). The tide had changed and started back in so we decided to go back to where we had caught fish earlier in the morning and it was a good move. We hadn't been fishing long before Lee had a strong bite and his drag began to rip. This was a nice fish! He played it patiently and after a good battle, landed the biggest fish of the day, a nice Slot sized 23 1/2" Redfish. And shortly after that WC put the only Flounder in the boat, a keeper sized one at that. We picked up another Red or two somewhere along the way.  We bounced up and down Nassau River and picked up a couple of more Trout then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Battle With Oversized Redfish

Back fishing after a good weekend of rest! I met Tom Davis and his brother in law Al down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning and we headed up the Nassau River with some clear skies but breezy conditions. Our first stop was at some exposed oyster beds on the very first of an incoming tide. The two anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and it only took a while before Al "knocked the skunk off" when he caught and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Then shortly after that Tom had a hookup but the fish must have came
toward the boat because we didn't think it was much of a fish until it moved on past and began to rip some drag! FISH ON! Tom had a good fish and he played it patiently as it went deep and long. He kept the pressure on and after a good battle landed an oversized 29" Redfish! We worked the bank, picked up another Red, then moved on up the way and fished a marsh run out, but with little luck. Our next stop was at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here Al put a keeper sized Trout in the boat. We ran through the marsh and fished the other side of Jackstaff and picked up another trout, still fishing with jigs. Tom put a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. We moved further up a creek and broke out the float rigs. This produced another keeper sized Seatrout (all fish were released today).  Our final stop was back at Christopher Creek and although we had a few bites, we had no real takers other than a hungry Mangrove Snapper. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Nine Pound Tripletail

I wrapped up my week today fishing with Jack Dickens and his buddies Wally and James, meeting them down at the Eagans Creek boat ramp next to Leaders and Sinkers. While we were there, we found a likely dock to fish as the tide began to come in. Whoever said that catching a fish on the first cast was wrong because after our first cast produced a keeper sized Seatrout, we caught fish for a good while after that. All three anglers got in on the action, catching Trout, a small Redfish then Jack had a strong hookup and, FISH ON! This was a big fish - it was ripping the drag on Jack's
reel - and I was guessing BIG Redfish. It even boiled the surface a couple of times, then ran deep and strong. But Jack kept the pressure on and when he got it to the surface we saw that it was a huge Tripletail! Then it ran deep again! After a long and patient battle, Jack landed the beast which we measured at 22"+ and the Boga Grip scale showed right at 9lbs. Boy what a fish! After that, both Wally and James put some keeper sized Black Drum in the boat. When the bite slowed we ran around to fish the outside of Tiger Island but had no bites. We fished Jolley Bank, but had no
bites. After running further up into Jolley we found some more Trout, putting a couple more keeper sized ones in the boat. Both Wally and James did battle with some 4' Bonnethead Sharks then we dropped back to the mouth of Tiger Basin and wrapped things up with a few more Trout catches and then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fly Fishing Perseverance

I fished this morning with two fly fishers, Chris and Dave, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the Nassau River and made a quick stop to fish some flooding oyster beds on an incoming tide. One angler set up on the bow and one on the stern and they were making excellent casts to the bank as we eased along, blind casting to likely spots. Just as I thought, these fish would rather have a fresh live shrimp and fly fishing will be tough, but Chris and Dave persevered. They'd get a "bump" now and then, but had no takers. We fished down at Broward Island then back at Seymores Point. Dave took a break and switched to shrimp and spinning gear and picked up a couple of Trout - one of them of keeper size (all fish caught today were released). He also outsmarted a couple of small but feisty Mangrove Snapper. We ran down to Christopher Creek, fished it thoroughly with the fly, then made our last stop back in Alligator Creek. And wouldn't you know it, they had a good flurry of hungry Seatrout taking both of their flies! Almost all of them were at the mouth of a marsh run out, although the tide was almost at its peak of coming in. Although they had to work for them, their perseverance paid off and they succeeded in putting some fish in the boat and made it another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Recipe of the Month: Blueberry Peach Cobbler

6 to 8   cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (about 8 medium peaches)
1 1/2   cups fresh blueberries
1/4   cup bourbon
2/3   cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
2 1/2   tablespoons cornstarch
1   teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4   cup all-purpose flour
1   teaspoon baking powder
1/4   teaspoon salt
6      tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2   cup heavy whipping cream
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, blueberries, bourbon, 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add cream, stirring gently just until dough forms. Spoon fruit mixture into a 10-inch cast iron skillet; top with crumbled dough. Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.   Bake until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Recipe from Southern Cast Iron cooking magazine.

Bigger Trout

I'm slowly weaning myself off the mud minnows and going to live shrimp now. There's not quite as many "baitstealers" around and the shrimp are staying alive in the live well. I met Todd Billmire and his buddy Tripp Brown out at the Eagans Creek boat ramp Friday morning with the tide still coming in. So we crossed over to the outside of Tiger Island and fished some flooded marsh grass with float rigs and shrimp. Both anglers picked up some small Trout to get things started. We bumped up further north and fished some more marsh grass as the tide started out and here things picked up a
bit. Both Tripp and Todd picked up a couple of keeper sized Trout then Tripp put a Slot sized Red in the boat, fishing over some flooded oysters in about 4 foot of water. We ran up to Jolley, bypassed the "bank" because another angler was already there and ran further up to Snook Creek. Things really heated up here. Todd landed another keeper Trout then Tripp had a hookup. It was fighting like a Redfish but when Tripp landed it we saw it was a nice 20"+ Trout! Now that's a nice fish! Tripp picked up another feisty Redfish, a small Blue Fish, and both anglers added a couple of 17-18" Trout. Then Todd had a strong bite, fought it patiently, and landed his second Slot Redfish of the day. We stopped back by the bank, fished it with float rigs, picked up maybe one or two fish, then ended the day behind Tiger Island fishing jigs. Although we had no real bites here, we wrapped it up and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Non Stop Catching Action

I fished with the Blalock's again today, Dara and William and Bob, meeting them down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp early. Bob wasn't able to make it yesterday and after hearing about the great catches that Dara and William had,  he (and I) thought that it would be difficult to have two days in a row of good fishing. But wrong we were! You know it's a pretty good day when you debate amongst your selves "did we catch 50 fish? 60 fish? 70 fish?".  All I know is that we went through about 12 dozen's of bait and much of
that was used catching fish. We had run up the Nassau River and stopped at Twin Creeks right at the peak of high tide. It took a few minutes, but then the anglers began to put some Trout in the boat. William added a small but feisty Redfish to the catch. It seemed the fish started biting right when the tide changed. Although it was fun catching small Trout, we decided to move down the river to another marsh run out and here things really heated up. They caught a few more small Trout then began to pickup some keeper sized ones as we trolled along the bank. As we got to some submerged oysters,
BOOM! Redfish began to bite. They caught small ones, medium ones an big Slot sized fish. We had double hookups and Triple hookups. Just when you thought that there were no more big ones, there would be a strong ripping of one of the anglers drag and, Big Fish On! It eventually slowed so we moved up the river a short distance and got into some more fish. They added a handful of Flounder, a couple of small Black "puppy" Drum, and a couple of Stingrays. It was a great day of fishing and this one will be hard to duplicate!

Big Redfish For Big Weekend

We've got the big Georgia/Florida football weekend coming up and Dog fans Dara and William Blalock are in town to kick things off early with an Amelia Island, Fishing trip. I met them up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp early and we decided to stay in the creek while we were there. Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp, and on occasion a mud minnow and at a large runout William picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout. We moved further up the creek and both he and Dara put a few more Trout in the boat. There wasn't a whole lot of size to them so eased out of the creek
and ran up to the outside of Tiger Island and set up at a large runout and continued to toss the jigs. It wasn't long before William had a good hookup and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Then Dara's drag ripped and boy this was a big fish, FISH ON! She played the fish like a pro taking in line patiently as she lifted the big fish when she had the opportunity and letting it run when it wanted to. After a good long battle she landed a nice 27"+ oversized Redfish. What a nice fish! And just minutes after getting pictures and tossing it back William hooked up and another big fish on! He too was working it patiently and had a good battle all the way around the boat and...FISH OFF! The hook tore loose! But William was not to be deterred and in just a few minutes had another big fish on. He worked it slowly to the boat and landed a nice 24" Slot Sized Redfish. We had  one more Red then ran around and fished the back side of Tiger, caught one more Red, then made the run back to Eagans Creek and fished some docks.Things heated up as the tide dropped down. They caught another couple of hungry Trout, two keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum, another Redfish or two, and finally, a small Grouper! Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of pre-game fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Persnickity Fish

We had a beautiful morning greet Paul Benson and I when we met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. There was only a slight breeze, just enough to keep the bugs off, and the tide was getting right as we headed up the Amelia River with plans to dip into Jackstaff to fish a marsh lined bank. We had brought fly gear and spin gear and Paul started out tossing a Clouser on an intermediate line, blind casting to the bank and making excellent casts. We worked the entire bank and about half way through switched to a
sinking Shrimp fly on a floating line, but nothing induced a strike. I had Paul switch to a live shrimp and jig and BOOM! Fish on the first cast! Paul patiently played the fish and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. As we finished out the stretch, Paul landed a few Seatrout as he bounced his jig on the bottom. We ran through Jackstaff to the other side of Horsehead and down Nassau River just a ways and set up on the outside of two large marsh runouts. Paul had a few hits there but when we got up to some old oysters the fishing got hot. He began to hookup with one feisty Redfish after another, with a Trout thrown in on occasion. We bumped up one more marsh rounout, got another Trout  and then found a big Flounder to add to the catch. Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe but all we caught were a couple of Pin Fish. We bounced across the river and fished a large outflow in deeper water and we added another Trout (Paul had long since tallied an Amelia Island Back Country Slam). After fishing that stretch up to Bubblegum Reef, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.