Battle With A Beast For Bragging Rights

Celebrating his daughter's 16th birthday, Duane Schumaker treated his girls to an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip on the Angler's Mark. Duane had birthday girl Jasmine along with her sisters Samantha and Savannah "the Legend",  when they met me out at the Goffinsville Park and boat ramp early this morning. We made a quick run around to Christopher Creek and began tossing float rigs with mud minnows (no shrimp available today). It didn't take long before the girls were getting bites with their floats disappearing and within a few tries they got the hang of hooking
up!  Jasmine put the first fish in the boat, a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Samantha followed that up with one of her own then we added a couple of smaller ones. We were fishing the minnows shallow over some flooded oysters and when one float went under and the drag began to sing, we knew we had a big fish - FISH ON! Jasmine was on the bow fighting the fish with her sister Samantha and as their line plowed thru some marsh grass, Duane had a hookup - another big fish on! He and Savannah were battling their fish while the crew on the bow battled theirs - we had
a double!  It took a while but we got the first fish in and netted, which turned out to be 26" and in the Slot and then we got the second fish in, an oversized 28" fish. Now that will wake everyone up! We fished the area thoroughly, had a bite or two, then ran around and thru the marsh to Jackstaff. I eased  up the bank with the anglers tossing their floats but we had no bites. We crossed over to fish a sandbar and began to get fish. Duane was tossing a jig and some dead shrimp that we'd dug out and he picked up a couple or three hungry Seatrout out deep. Then Jasmine caught a hard
fighting Jack Crevalle on the dead shrimp and later, when her drag began to rip on another fish I proclaimed "SHARK". This fish was big and was ripping drag and had no plans of coming to the boat. But Jasmine kept the pressure own and played it patiently. When the big fish got back in the current I released the anchor and followed it down the river. It took Jasmine from the bow to the stern and from starboard to port and back to starboard and back to port as we drifted down the creek. It was a battle of wills and Jasmine won - eventually landing a whopping 34" oversized Redfish and grabbing first place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. Boy what a fish! (Scroll down right side of this report for standings). We fished a good handful of spots, picked up another couple of small Reds, a nice Bluefish, a hard fighting Ladyfish, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Morning Fishing's Best

Louis Welch consulted his secret book which told him that today it would be best to fish in the morning, so we did. I met Louis and his brother Kenny out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and we made a quick run around to Christopher Creek and began
tossing float rigs with live shrimp to some flooded oyster beds on the very first of an outgoing tide. It didn't take long before the two anglers began to hookup and one of the first fish was a huge Seatrout that Kenny hooked up with. It took his bait with a vengeance and was ripping drag, but Kenny kept the pressure on and landed a fat 22.5"
Seatrout - squeezing him into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down right side of this report for standings)  Boy what a nice Trout. From then on it was fish catching! Louis fought and landed a 23" Slot Redfish then both anglers were trading Trout catches. Louis added another big 21.5" Trout(tying him for third in the Bragging Rights Tournament)  then Kenny had a strong bite and landed another Slot Redfish. The fish catching was fast and furious for almost two hours, then it went cold. Really cold. We ran down the Nassau River and fished some marsh run outs, picked up a small Redfish and a couple of more Trout, and a couple of Jacks, too. We fished the docks at Seymore's, picked up one more Jack, then ran through Jackstaff to fish it's mouth. The tide was down, the sun was up, and it wasn't morning so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Battling Fish and Bugs

Today was a "10" according to the weather folks and I agreed with them. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the wind was listed as "calm". I met Rick Mowery and his friends Kathy and Don down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we headed up the Nassau River, making our first stop at a marsh line that had oysters just beginning to show on an outgoing tide. Don and Kathy were tossing jigs and shrimp forward and up to the bank while Rick followed them  at the stern tossing a float rig and shrimp. It was Rick that knocked the skunk off when he hooked up and landed
a nice Slot sized Redfish. Then all anglers began to battle the first Ladyfish of the year and Jack Crevalle's. There was action going on all around us with fish popping bait and the anglers getting a bite now and then. Things got real calm and the sand gnats began to swarm and we were all heading for the bug spray! Then Don had a strong hookup. He played it perfectly and soon put a another Slot Redfish in the boat. Kathy added another Jack Crevalle and a huge Ladyfish then Don hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout. We fished that bank thoroughly, and when the bite slowed we made
the run down to Pumpkin Hill and fished some fully exposed oysters. Although there was a ton of bait movement, we had no real bites. We made our last stop down at Broward Island, fishing jigs, and after fishing two or three spots, Rick wrapped things up when he caught another keeper sized Trout. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Dodging The Manatee

The beautiful days just keep coming! Today I met Greg and Myrna Gray down at the City marina and we made a quick hop over to the Bell River to fish some exposed oysters on the last of an incoming tide. Greg was on the bow tossing a fly rod while Myrna was at the stern pitching a jig and live shrimp. Both were making excellent casts but it took us a while to hookup. Myrna had a couple of good bites on the shrimp then she had a strange one and when she reeled it in we saw that it was a feisty Flounder. When the tide hit bottom
we ran around to Tiger Island and fished the logs. Myrna reeled in a hungry Black "puppy" Drum and Greg battled a Redfish that was right at Slot size. But the bite was somewhat slow, even though the conditions were perfect, so we ran around to the Jolley River and fished the "bank".  There was all kinds of movement along the bank and even though we had bites, we had no takers. We did see a  huge Gar fish swim right up to the boat. We ran further up the Jolley and around to the MOA where Myrna picked up a Seatrout to round out her very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Flounder, Black
Drum and Seatrout.  We made one final stop up "Snook Creek", pitching jigs and live shrimp and sure enough, we got Shark bit. After a couple swirled at the boat Greg had a hookup with a large shark that had no intentions of being caught today - it spooled the reel and broke when it reached bottom!  Shortly after that Myrna had a hookup and we could tell this was another Shark, albeit a tad bit smaller. She played it perfectly and during the battle, a big Manatee came and checked us out! It eased right past the boat and under Myrna's line while she was battling the Shark. But Myrna maintained her composure, kept the pressure on, and soon landed a nice 24" Bonnethead Shark. Now that's the way to wrap up another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Quality Fish Makes For Bragging Rights Contender

You can't make the days any prettier! Sunshine, slight breeze, mild temperatures and a game plan for fishing! I met Olin Williams up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp for a "birthday" fishing trip.  The tide was still going out and I had a "plan" to hit different spots as it continued to drop and then come back in. First, we made a run over to Lanceford Creek with an hour to go in the tide and set up from a dock within casting distance of our jigs and live shrimp. Olin was making excellent casts to the pilings - we worked them thoroughly, then moved on along some exposed oysters teeming
with bait, but had no real bites. We made the run back to the mouth of Bell River and fished some more exposed oysters banks with the jigs and shrimp. We weren't there long when we had a strange bite, not much, then BOOM! Big Fish On!  Olin was on the rod and played the big fish masterfully. It made some long, deep runs, but Olin kept the pressure on. The fish went 'round and 'round the boat and after a good battle we landed a big 29.5" oversized Redfish - big enough to slide Olin into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Now that's a nice fish! We went back to the jigs and shortly after that  Olin had another hookup. Not quite as big, but big! He worked it to the boat and landed a 19" fat Seatrout. Our next stop was around at Tiger Island. The conditions were absolutely perfect. The sun wasn't up over the trees, the tide was low and just creeping in, and Olin was making pinpoint casts to the pockets. And no fish. I couldn't believe it. So we ran around and up into the Jolley, fished a couple of oyster banks with float rigs then the jigs - had no bites, then continued on around to make a pit stop at the MOA. And wouldn't you know it. Boom, Trout. Boom, Trout. Boom, Trout. We had a good handful of Trout then it shut down completely. Our final stop was at some docks on Bell River and I think it was first cast when Olin hooked another Trout (All fish were released today). We found a couple of more out deep then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Working for a Fish Bite

I fished this afternoon, too, meeting the Pleasant family - William and Shannon and their sons Alex and Benn up at the north end ramp at 2pm with plans to fish the first of an outgoing tide. We had live shrimp, Slip Float rigs, Cajun Thunder rigs, and jigs so we were ready! We made our first stop at a flooded oyster bank on Bell River and caught a couple of small Sea Bass. After running up Bell River further we fished some docks with jigs and Slip Floats and this produced a handful of small Seatrout - but  none of the nice
keepers we've been getting. Our next stop was around at Snook Creek in the Jolley River, going to back to Cajun Thunder rigs, and, no bites. We hopped down to the mouth of Jolly, fished the Bank, and caught baitstealers. Our last stop was over at Tiger Island and boy were the conditions were perfect.  The wind was blocked, the tide was fairly low, and the sun was going down. We fished and fished and fished  and finally, Alex put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. It was a beautiful afternoon and although the fish didn't cooperate, it was another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Flurry Wraps a Trip Up

We fished north again today, getting out early to fish the first of an incoming tide. I met Jeff and Jenny Key up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp and we made the quick run around to Tiger Island with a baitwell full of live shrimp. The two anglers were tossing jigs and shrimp to the shoreline and fishing them back slowly and it didn't take long before they began to get bites. Jenny got it started when she hooked up and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum then she put a keeper sized Seatrout. Jeff added another Drum then we caught a couple of more Trout out deep. Jeff
had made an excellent cast up into a pocket and when he had  a strange bite we all wondered what it would be - and sure enough, it was a keeper sized Flounder. We then ran around and up into Jolley River, fished a flooding marsh line, and I think it was Jeff's first cast with a float rig when he hooked up with another nice Trout. We eased up into Snook Creek where Jeff tangled with a couple of Bonnethead Sharks then we continued on to Bell River to fish some docks with jigs down deep. Jeff figured it out - he was dragging his shrimp so slow it was falling asleep, then, BOOM! He'd have a hookup and land a nice Trout. We caught fish until we got bored with it then made a final run around and to the outside of Tiger. Breaking out the float rigs, I think we may have had one more Trout. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Bragging Rights Trout

I fished north today for the first time this week. It's kinda strange seeing boats out and around! I met Todd Johnson and his son Oliver at the City marina early and we headed north up to the outside of Tiger Island to fish an incoming tide with jigs and live shrimp. We had fished for just a short while when Oliver "knocked the skunk off" with a good hookup. He played the hard fighting fish perfectly and soon landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. We had bites here and there then his dad put a Drum in the boat. Just as we
were about to move on Todd said he had a fish playing with  his bait, followed it out to deep water, then it took it with a vengeance! FISH ON! This was a big fish. It was ripping drag so I assumed a Redfish but then it zigged and zagged so I questioned myself. Sure enough, when Todd had patiently tired it out, we netted a big 23" Seatrout, the biggest on the Anglers Mark this year. Todd took over first place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We then made a run up to Jolley River and began fishing a flooding shoreline with the ever rising wind at our backs. Within minutes Oliver's float disappeared and he too had a big fish! Oliver worked him in like a pro and after a good battle, landed a big 19" Seatrout, boy what a fish! We slipped in to Snook Creek, caught our first Shark of the year, then ran around to Bells River docks where Todd jigged up another keeper sized Trout. After another run we went back to the floats and fished some flooded oysters and first cast, BOOM! Oliver had a Trout. After one more stop we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

WOOF! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Talk about a perfect day to be fishing! Sunny skies, a slight breeze, mild temps and two buddies getting out on the water for some Amelia Island back country fishing! I met Dale Bullard and his friend Jim down at the south end ramp and we made a quick run up the Nassau River to set up with float rigs and live shrimp as the tide just turned around and started back in. The two anglers were making excellent casts, expertly working the exposed oysters as we eased against the current, but it took a while to get a bite. Then, Jim had his float disappear and we had the skunk off the boat when he
landed a nice hungry Seatrout. He put a handful more of the Trout in the boat before we dropped down the river a 1/4 mile and started another pass. Dale had just made a beautiful cast up near the oysters, fished it for a while and as he started to reel it in a big fish rolled at his bait. Jim went in with his and within seconds, BOOM! FISH ON! This was a nice fish as it ripped some drag and put a big bend in the rod (see video below) Jim played it patiently and eventually brought it to Dale's waiting net. Boy what a fish!  Then shortly after that Dale had a strange bite - it was a fish - but it sure wasn't pulling like a Red or a Trout. Sure enough, after a good battle, Dale landed a nice keeper sized Flounder. Things seemed to slow after that so we ran down to Pumpkin Hill. I was expecting Trout like we'd been getting the last couple of days but Jim's first cast produced a 9-spot Slot sized Redfish. As we fished along some now flooded oysters Dale told a story about how another guide had a "Boat Dog" that would "woof" when it saw a float go under. Sure enough, the day was wearing on all of us and we began to miss a float go under now and then. I think Jim was watching Dale's float and Dale was watching Jim's float. Anyway, there was a "woof" now and then. Dale's float disappeared (woof) and he had another nice fish. He played it perfectly and landed another Slot sized 20" Redfish.  And finally we picked up a handful of keeper sized Seatrout. After hitting one more stretch, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Tournament Reds and Then Some

We continued to fish from the south end today when I met Gordon Williford and his sons Burton and Sutton down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. I decided to follow yesterday's game plan and fish the flooding oyster beds with float rigs and live shrimp. We set up down from a marsh runout and began to ease along the shore and it wasn't long before Burton "knocked the skunk off" with the fist fish of the day, a nice keeper sized Seatrout. Although we had a couple of more bites, we had no takers, so we bounced down the river and Redfish Spot Tournament!  We continued to fish that area for a while, fished some docks where Burton picked up a Mangrove Snapper, Gordon added the year's first Jack Crevalle, then we headed down to Pumpkin Hill and caught a good handful of keeper sized Trout.  Sutton added a keeper sized Flounder to round out his very own Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Flounder. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
tried it again. We had crept up to Twin Creeks and drifted a few times through their mouths when we all saw something attack some bait over the oysters. Sutton was able to get in there first and within seconds his float slid under and, FISH ON! We knew right off that this was a big fish because it was ripping drag and had no intentions of slowing down. But Sutton kept the pressure on and patiently played the fish. The fish took Sutton to the bow and around the Starboard side and back to the Stern then it go back in the current so we removed the I-Pilot anchor and took up chase. After a good battle Sutton landed a nice 26.75" "Tournament Redfish", boy what a fish. This fish put Sutton tied for 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2017 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category(Scroll down right side of this report for standings)  We had drifted way down the river and so we just picked up where we left off and good thing we did because in short order Gordon had a hookup and again, BIG FISH ON!  Gordon said it wasn't very big but I could tell the way it was running towards the shallows that it was big. But it was no challenge for Gordon who worked it in expertly and we soon netted another 26"+ Redfish - and this one had no spots - a sure winner in our