Oversized Redfish Followed By a Tourney Red

The water was like glass today and even though we had almost no breeze, the bugs really didn't become a factor, thankfully! I met David Traul and his son Andrew at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp and we made a short run over to the entrance of Bell River to fish some flooded oysters. Although the bite wasn't automatic, David picked up a keeper sized Seatrout, then Andrew hauled in an even bigger one. Then David had a weird bite that "bobbed" his float a few times and then he set the hook gently and
reeled in a hungry Flounder! We ran around to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded marsh grass on a tide that was beginning to rip out. David hit the outside of some sparse grass and BOOM! BIG FISH ON!  This fish was ripping drag and had no intentions of being landed, but David kept the pressure on, handed the rod off to Andrew who worked it in a while, then they switched off again and wore out the beast. After a good battle the anglers landed a nice oversized Red Drum that measured in at 28.5". This fish put David squarely in 2nd placed in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings) We got some good pictures and released it to swim off. Boy what a fish! David went
back to the same area and within a minutes, BOOM! Another big fish on! He fought this fish patiently and young Andrew helped his dad by netting another big Red, this one "tourney sized" at 26.5". It was getting so shallow that the skeg of the engine was scraping bottom so we eased out of the area and bounced over to another shore line to fish the floats. After getting no bites, we picked up and ran over to Eagans Creek, fished some dock pilings and fished with both float rigs and jigs. Andrew was working a slip float on the outside of a dock and after picking up a couple of smaller Trout he hooked up a with a big one. He patiently worked the fish to the boat and landed the biggest Trout of the day, an nice 18" fish. David picked up another Slot Redfish, a smaller Red then a big 20" Black "puppy" Drum to round out the anglers Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of  Seatrout, Red Drum, Flounder and Black Drum. After hitting one more spot where Andrew kept the  hot hand catching a couple of more Trout, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Buggy Slow Start Leads to Big Fish

We had a nice morning today, albeit somewhat "buggy" with the sand gnats present. I met Andy and Gracie Wakeford along with their kids Victoria and Christian up at the north end boat ramp and we made run over and up Eagans Creek with plans to fish the flooded marsh grass on the very first of an outgoing tide. All four anglers were tossing live shrimp under floats and making excellent casts but we had absolutely zero takers. However, the gnats were having a field day at our expense. But these anglers were game and at our next stop at some docks pilings we began to get some fish.
Christian started off when he hooked up with a  nice fish that was ripping some drag. After playing the fish expertly, he landed a nice 19" Slot sized Redfish. Victoria picked up hungry Trout, Gracie added one, too. Then Andy hooked up. This fish was big too and wanted to get back in the pilings but Andy hauled him out and worked him to the boat, another 19" Slot Red. We continued to fish, picked up a keeper sized Trout, then it was Victoria's turn at a big Red. She fought it valiantly and after a good battle landed the biggest one of the morning, a nice 21" Redfish. When the bite slowed we made the long run around to the Jolley River and began fishing a deep bend with slip floats and live shrimp. By this time the breeze had picked up and blown the gnats away. Although the bite was slow, the ones we caught were big! Andy had his float disappear and after patiently working it to the boat, he landed a nice 21" Seatrout. And after moving to another dock, Victoria copied him - hers was just a tad over 20"- both nice Trout. We made one more stop back a Tiger Island where Christian got hot catching feisty Black "puppy" Drum and Gracie wrapped thing up when she landed a keeper sized Seatrout using a jig and shrimp fished slowly on the bottom. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Trout Beginning To Bite

We did a double boat group this morning - myself and Capt. Brian Soucy- with each of taking four guests out to the back waters of Amelia Island. I had Duane and Kim Drape and their kids Madeline and Jackson and we made our first run down the Amelia River with plans to fish some dock pilings on an outgoing tide using the traditional "slip float" Trout rig. We arrived after a cool run and began to drift our live shrimp off the stern of the Anglers Mark. It only took a few passes before the anglers began to have hookups-
Jackson put the first one in the boat then all four were catching fish. A good handful were of keeper size. When the bite slowed we switched to jig and shrimp and began to catch fish again. Jackson had a strong hookup and this one was really bending the rod. He valiantly fought it and eventually landed a nice 21" Seatrout, a fish that puts him squarely in first place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report to see standings).  Kim put a couple of nice fish in the boat, Duane had Trout and then a really nice Sheepshead and a Whiting and Madeline, who was baiting her own hooks and making excellent casts, persevered and put a not-so-common Weakfish in the boat. As always, the fish quit biting so we made a run up to the Jolley River and fished some exposed oysters but the west wind was making things difficult so we dropped back to Tiger Island to wrap the day up. Kim came alive with a Bluefish and Trout catch then Duane wrapped things up with a the first and only Redfish catch of the day. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Spring Fishing

Although the mornings are still cool, it's warming up nicely as the day progresses. Today I met Jeff Dees up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and we made a quick run over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings with another outgoing tide. Jeff quickly landed a hungry Seatrout then I picked one up out deep. Then Jeff had a strong hookup and BAP! The leader broke. Darn it! But he went back to the same spot and within minutes had another good bite and FISH ON! Jeff expertly worked the fish away from the pilings and after a good battle landed a nice 20" Black "puppy" Drum. Now
that will wake you up! He went back to the same spot and BOOM! Another nice fish on. Another good battle and another 20" Drum in the boat. We picked up a couple of small Trout, then a keeper sized one then moved around to the other side of the dock and immediately picked up a feisty Redfish - there's the Slam! After catching a couple of more Trout we ran around to Bell River and fished some structure. We quickly picked up a small Sheepshead (Grande Slam) and a few Trout on the jigs we had been tossing all morning. But we experimented with a Trout Slip Float rig and got some live shrimp drifting near the bottom and Jeff began to pick up a Trout on almost every pass. And he began to put keeper after keeper in the boat. He reached his limit with the biggest being at 18" and we threw back a good handful of keeper sized fish after that. There was a Bluefish caught somewhere in that stretch.  We made one last stop over at Tiger Island, caught another feisty Redfish, then boom, boom, boom - three small but hard fighting Black Drum to finish off another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Cast Redfish Leads To Slam

It was another outstandingly beautiful day today! I met Jean and Mike Ryan-Fry up at the north end boat ramp and we made the short run around to Eagans Creek with plans to fish the last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp - hitting the dock pilings. I did a couple of demo casts then handed the first rod over to Jean and BOOM! Fish ON! She worked it patiently to the boat and after a good fight, landed a nice 19.5" Slot Redfish! Now that's the way to start a fishing trip. Mike was tossing out into deeper water and
found a "honey hole" of hungry Seatrout. After wading through a good handful of them, he landed  nice keeper sized one. When the tide hit bottom the bite stopped so we made the run around to Tiger Island and began to fish the logs. It took until the tide started back in but then the fish began to bite. We picked up a couple of more Redfish and again, Mike found the Trout and had a good flurry of catches. After working the bank up and down we were just about to wrap things up when Jean had a strange bite. It didn't put up much of  fight until it got to the boat but by then it was too late - we netted a 16" keeper sized Flounder to round out he duo's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. After that we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Black Drum Are Here

Boy, what a pretty couple of days we've had since that Nor'easter blew thru. Today was really nice, with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and just slight breeze. I met Patrick Verner and his friend Paula down at the Atlantic Seafood dock at Noon and we headed up the Bell River with plans to fish a flooded oyster bar. But I miscalculated and the bar wasn't flooded, so we kept on going and around to Tiger Island and even though I don't like to fish it on a high tide, we made a stop and began tossing jigs and live shrimp. Wouldn't you know it, first cast, BOOM! Fish On!  It was a hungry Seatrout and it wasn't the first. Patrick began making excellent casts and we found that the Trout were hitting out deep in 25-35 foot of water. We caught a few good handfuls with a number of them of keeper size. At one time both anglers caught and landed keeper sized Trout. Paula landed a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum and later we found couple of feisty Redfish. When the bite finally slowed we made a tour of Cumberland Island to see some wild horses, crossed over to historic Fort Clinch, and cruised by Old Town on the way to our next fishing spot. We fished the mouth of Bell for just a while but the wind had picked up so went further into the back water and found some docks to fish. We caught another keeper sized Trout then Patrick put his bait right up into some pilings and had a strong hookup. This was a big fish. He worked it out of the pilings then kept the pressure on and eventually landed a nice 20" Black Drum. He went back to the same spot and a few cast later hooked up and landed an even bigger one. Not that's the way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Two Slams Make A Grande Slam

Or, Big Sheepshead Tops the Board.  We could give this report a number of titles. It was my first day back since the big Nor'easter blew thru, canceling four of my trips due to high winds. But today was beautiful, and only a tad bit cold. I met Bill Pepe and his son Dylan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we made the run up the Nassau River with plans to fish some docks on the very first of an incoming tide.  Both anglers were making excellent casts to the pilings and it wasn't long before Bill had a subtle bite
and a hookup. He worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice feisty Redfish. We worked the docks and both Bill and Dylan added a Redfish then we begin to bounce up and down the docks. Again, Bill had a subtle bite and as he tightened the line this one put up a fight, FISH ON! Bill applied the pressure to get him away from the pilings and after a good battle landed a big 19.25" Sheepshead, the biggest on the Anglers Mark this year (see Bragging Rights standings by scrolling down the right side of this report).  All fish were released today. We hit another dock, had a
good bite, but this fish was smart and made quick dash around the pilings threw the hook. Our next stop was down at Broward Island as the tide was coming in and worked some downed logs. We had no real bites so we began to slowly work up current and this did the trick. Bill found some Seatrout out deep and about half of them were of keeper size, and then some. This rounded out Bill's own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of a Redfish, Sheepshead and Seatrout. Dylan was  not to be outdone. He picked  up some nice Trout, too ( a couple of these were in the 17-18" range) then as we were preparing to leave, he had  "bump" on his bait and after waiting patiently, Dylan set the hook. It was a weird bite and a weird fight a sure enough, the fish turned out to be a nice keeper sized Flounder. Dylan had his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Flounder. Together the two anglers could claim a "Grande Slam". We made one more run over to and through Horsehead where we worked a now flooded marsh line. After adding one small Trout Bill hooked up.
He slowly worked the fish to the boat and just as we were about to net a big Flounder it threw the hook! OUCH! But we'd put a good handful of fish in the boat today and it was beautiful one at that so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Kind Of Day

I wrapped last week up fishing with Mark Dennis, his brother David, and his nephew Jim. We met up at the north end boat ramp early Friday morning and ran over to the outside of Tiger Island to fish the first of an outgoing tide with live shrimp under float rigs. David got thing started off when he caught a couple of hungry Seatrout. We then ran up to the Jolley River and fished a large creek outflow, had no luck, then eased into the creek and switched to jigs and shrimp on the bottom. But again, no real bites. After a short run around to Bell River and some docks we found some more Trout. Both David and Jim were fishing up current and they found Trout down on the bottom at around 15' deep. They were "almost legal" but then Jim had a good hookup and this one had some size to it. After working it expertly to the boat, he landed a nice keeper sized Seatrout. We continued to fish the docks and all three anglers landed Trout. Dennis also put a feisty Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. We made a run around to Lanceford Creek, found another dock, and picked up one small Sea Bass. With the day getting long, we made one more stop back a the mouth of Bell River and wrapped up the day catching Trout on the jig casted up current. Of those, we had one more keeper Trout. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Bragging Rights Busted

We had a second day of breezy conditions, even though we had a lot of sunshine. The back waters are obviously fishable, it just makes it tough to find fish, especially if you're going to try and stay out of the wind. I met Lou Alvarado down at the Big Talbot Island Park boat ramp and we made the run up the Nassau River and pulled in at some docks to fish the very last of an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. Lou was making excellent casts but the fish were  not cooperating. We worked 3-4 docks, pitching to the pilings
and finally we found one that was  holding some fish. After one good bite and short fight that ended with the fish throwing the hook, Lou went back to the same spot and after a few casts, he hooked up with a nice feisty Redfish that he worked patiently away from the pilings. We had one more good bite but no more takers so with a strong east wind beginning to blow, we headed down to Broward Island, and boy was it nice. The sun was up and it warming us nicely. We had just a slight breeze to contend with as we worked the bank. There were no real bites until the tide changed and started back in and then, almost like someone thru a switch, the fish began to bite. Lou put a couple of Seatrout in the boat, then a feisty Redfish, then small Flounder that rounded out his Slam. Then we had a gentle bite and BOOM! Fish ON!  Lou worked the fish and the longer the battle went the stronger (and bigger) the fish began to get. It just wouldn't come up off the bottom. But Lou kept the pressure on and slowly wore the big fish out and when it came to the surface we saw that it was a huge Red Drum. We got it netted and in the boat and measured it to be 30.5", an Anglers Mark Bragging Rights busting biggest Redfish of the year! (Scroll down right side for standings). Boy what a fish! We continued to work the bank and Lou had another strong bite - this time it was a big Trout out deep. We  picked up a couple of more fish -one was another Slot Redfish - then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Windy Day? No Problem

The wind was forecast to be 17-19mph today, and they were accurate! But with a game plan to try and stay out of it, I met Jim Garner and his brother-in-law up at the Dee Dee Bartels park and boat ramp early this morning and we made the short run to Tiger Island with a baitwell of live shrimp and the first of an incoming tide. You know it's going to be a good day when the "demo" cast picks up a fish, which it did! Then the two anglers began to make accurate casts to the pockets and it wasn't long before they were catching fish. They caught a good handful of Seatrout and a small
handful of Redfish. A couple of the Trout were of keeper size and one of the Reds was in the Slot. Then Jim had a strong bite out deep and when it ripped some drag we were thinking Redfish but it turned out to be a nice fat 19" Trout. We caught a few more then picked up another big Trout. Just before we left Jim had another big bite. This one was a Red, a big one, and it ripped line as it dove to the bottom. Jim kept the pressure on and worked it patiently to the boat and....BAP! The big Red made one more dash and it was off to freedom! OUCH!  We picked up and ran through the marsh and
over to Bell River to set up on a flooding oyster bank, with the wind really blowing.  Here, Jim was tossing a jig out from the bow and Greg was working a float rig back near some marsh grass. BOOM! Greg had an nice fish on. The drag ripped, but Greg was up to the task and worked in a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish. He went back to the same spot and BOOM! Redfish. Jim was quickly switching over to the a float rig as Greg went back to the same spot and, BOOM! Redfish. Jim went in with his float and, BOOM! Redfish. Although there were a few undersized fish, there were jus as many Slot sized fish. Jim's next drift picked up another fish and this was a bigger one. He worked it to the boat and landed a nice 24" Slot fish. Both anglers picked up another fish or two then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.