Drum Bonanza

I often offer to "local" anglers the option to pick another day if the conditions aren't expected to be so

great and that's what I did with the Newkirk's, Bruce and son Tyson. Today was forecast to begin with 8mph winds but creeping up to 14 which makes for some challenging conditions. But both Bruce and Tyson had the day off and had caught good fish in the past so we elected to go and boy were we glad we did!

We met at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and boat ramp and headed straight for Tiger Island knowing that we had the first of an incoming tide. We had a bait well full  of live shrimp and some jig

rods ready. Tyson set up on the bow and Bruce set up on the stern and they began pitching the pockets with their jig/shrimp combo. It took a few minutes, then the "baitstealers" began to peck, then the anglers began to put good fish in the boat. Bruce got things started by landing a couple of feisty Redfish then Tyson got in on the action and landed a couple, too. Bruce put a Slot Red in the boat then Tyson did, too.

We bounced down the way - Bruce found a nice keeper sized Seatrout, added a 14-spot undersized Red, then wrapped things up with a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  We had blown thru about four dozen shrimp so we made a quick run back to a bait house and picked up some more before heading back out.

Our next stop was over in Eagans Creek, now trying to seek shelter from the wind, and we set up down current from a crusty old dock and began to pitch the jigs. Tyson took the point and got hot, catching Redfish after Redfish. Then he put a couple of more keeper sized puppy Drum in the boat. Bruce stepped up and caught a couple then they had a "double" hookup. Bruce worked  his in quickly, an undersized Drum, but Tyson's was ripping drag. He played it patiently around the bow of the boat, kept the pressure on, and landed a 6lb Black Drum, the biggest fish of the day.

Somewhere in there the two anglers added two keeper sized Whiting.

We hit a couple of more spots, fishing float rigs over submerged oysters, but I believe the wind was kicking the mud up so much the Trout were no where to be found. So with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flood Tide Fly Fishing A Challenge

I wrapped up a flood tide week of fly fishing today with Rick Klann, fishing out of the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide was low and coming in so we ran straight to Broward Island to fish the downed logs. Rick was making excellent casts to the bank, to the logs, and to the creek mouths, but he had no takers even though the conditions were absolutely perfect to be fishing this spot.

We move back down the Nassau River and fished some shell banks, tossing an intermediate line with a shrimpy fly and this did the trick. As Rick let his fly bounce down the bottom he picked up a small but hungry Seatrout.  We moved around the corner, switched to a small gurgler pattern and fished the edges of some grass islands and exposed oysters, to no avail.

Our next stop was back toward the bridge, still in Nassau and again, Rick picked up another, larger Seatrout letting his line sweep down through the water column.

The tide was up and the grass was flooding so we switched to some floating line and began to poke around in the spartina grass. I think we had hit one or two spots and maybe the third as we eased up into the grass, Rick spotted a tailing Red! Whoooeee! He's was just out of range so I gave Rick three options: 1) Try to hit 'em with a long cast 2) Get out and wade to him or 3) Wait and see if he comes towards us.   We didn't have to decide because within seconds we could tell the fish was moving closer to us!  Rick made some excellent casts with a Dupree Spoon fly but the fly was having trouble getting down through the grass and the fished moved on and soon disappeared, darn it!

We bounced around again, hit a few spots and again, as we eased up to nice flat: Tailing Redfish. I had switched the fly to sinking black Troy James Fly  and this definitely got down thru the grass. But again the fish moved on and disappeared.

We moved up and down the Nassau, then ran thru Horsehead and around to the mouth of Jackstaff and poked the bow into a couple of the flats. The tide was up pretty high now but we had one final shot at a tailing fish, this one a Sheepshead. I thought Rick made one of his best casts of the day, putting the fly right on the fish's nose, but it snubbed it, moved on, and disappeared.

At some point Rick had commented, "this is a little more challenging than I expected" and that nailed it. When flood tide fishing for Reds all the stars have to align. The tide has to be right, the water and wind conditions need to be right, the fly has to be right, the cast has to be right, the fish has to see the fly and eat it....it's a challenge, but well worth it when you get that hook up! At any rate, we had a great time fishing the flats here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Back at The Fly

Peter Brookes and I did a second day of fly fishing today, but this time we met down at the Big Talbot Island park boat ramp at sunrise and made the short run up the Nassau River to set up at Twin Creeks on an incoming tide. The shell banks were still showing when Peter started out with a top water Gurgler to see if a Trout would hit, which they did not. He switched to a root beer colored Troy James Fly and worked it deep on an intermediate line and had no success with that either.

We moved back east, down the Nassau and fished a long stretch of shell bed that tapered off

into 13' of water. Pete stayed with the sinking line and figured out that he could make his cast  up current (the same as when we fish live shrimp on  a jig) and let the current take his fly down along the bottom and when he felt a thump, set the hook!  Sometimes it was just the bottom but a couple of times, BOOM! Seatrout on! It turned out to be the method to catch fish.

We ran down to Pumpkin Hill and fished some more shell beds, now flooded, and used the same technique. This time when Pete hooked up we knew it was a bigger fish by the way it caused such a commotion! He worked the fish in with

his line hand, keeper pressure at all times on the fish, and soon landed a fat 19.5" Seatrout. Now that's a nice fly caught fish!

The tide was up so we went back to floating lines and ran over to Horsehead to check out some flooding grass flats. It took a couple but as I eased up to a nice looking flat Pete saw it first - a tailing Red! We were debating on getting out and wading to it then we noticed that it was coming our way!  It fed nose down into range and Pete made his cast and put the fly perfectly out in front. The fish did see the fly and kept moving and again, Pete picked up and laid it down. The fish turned to the fly, seemed to take it and Pete set the hook....BOOM! The Slot Red boiled out of there. It appeared Pete had him on for a split second but the hook just didn't take. But it was a cool experience. We moved on, checking out a handful of grass flats but saw  no more fish.  The sun was up, Pete had a plane to catch, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flood Tide Fly Fishing

Pete Brookes was in town and we had a scheduled fly fishing trip this morning for flood tide tailing Redfish. The high tide was expected around 10am so we met at 8am at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and headed over to the mouth of the Bell River where a certain spot floods the quickest. The water was just about high enough but there was no sign of fish. We cruised up and around to behind Tiger, checked a couple of flats out, then came back to Bell and blind cast to some flooded marsh grass. No luck here.

We cruised back to Tiger, checked out 3-4 flats and even though the water was high and the conditions were absolutely perfect, there was no movement in the grass, not a fish. So we decided to run further west and up into the Jolley and again checked out some flats. After 3-4 looksee's we went back to blind casting.  I thought Pete was going to wear his arm slap off!

We made one more stop back at the outside of Tiger where two creeks merged and now that the tide was going out, we had some success. Pete was tossing a "Troy James Fly", but in root beer color, fished with an intermediate sinking line and this did the trick. He had a good solid "bump" and he strip set the hook, and FISH ON! Pete patiently worked the fish in with his line hand and landed a nice hungry Seatrout. Only minutes later he duplicated the same cast and go the same results.

It was a great day to be flood tide fishing, but even though the Reds didn't cooperate, it was a beautiful day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Beat the Wind

The fishing's been pretty good the last couple of days but the forecast for today called for winds up to 14mph, and I think they were accurate. But father and son team Lester and Jason Johnson were up to the task so we met up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and headed over to Bell River to fish a flooded oyster bar with float rigs and live shrimp. The fish didn't cooperate! We had no real bites. But the tide had started out so we ran through Tiger and around to the outside of Tiger Island and set up where tow creeks poured out. This did the trick!

Jason got hot quick, catching a
handful of Seatrout and a feisty Redfish or two. Lester hooked up and everyone was on the board! We ran back through Tiger, over to Bell and down the Bell River out to fish some docks. The anglers switched to jigs and shrimp and fished them on the bottom on the outgoing tide. We picked up some hungry Trout on the bottom then Jason tangled with a big Stingray!

When the bite slowed we worked around to the Jolley River and set up along some marsh grass as the tide went out. Things got hot! Both anglers were catching feisty Redfish, with a handful of them right at 17 3/4", just under sized, then Lester hooked up and when his drag began to rip we knew that this was a keeper fish! He played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish.  The wind was kicking our butts but the fish were biting so we made do!

Our final stop was back around at Tiger Island, fishing the logs with jigs. I think Jason's first cast produced a Redfish. We had a couple of more Reds, a small Black "puppy" Drum, then Lester had a strange bite. The fish stayed down at the bottom, and I was guessing big Flounder but then all of a sudden it took off...we thought shark...but no, out of the water came a high flying Tarpon! It threw the hook but boy that was cool. Later Jason had another strange bite and his turned out to be a nice 19" Flounder. We added one more keeper sized Flounder then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

High Tide Slot Redfish

We fished north today! I met Daniel Tillotson up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early this morning and with the tide already high and still coming in, we decided to make our first stop on the outside of Tiger Island. It took a few minutes of casting live shrimp under a float but when the fish began to bite, boy did they!  We had a handful of Seatrout then a couple of small but feisty Redfish then after Daniel had a made a pin point cast to some flooded marsh grass, BOOM! Big fish on! You can always tell when a Slot Red
bites on light tackle - they don't want to come to the boat! This one rolled  and wallowed up along the edge of the grass and after Daniel patiently worked 'em out he made a couple of deep dives under the boat. But Daniel kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice 25" Slot Red.

We caught a good handful of Trout and Reds then took a peek at some flooded grass flats to see if we could find some tailing Reds. None in sight. So we ran through Tiger Basin over to Bell River and set up along a grassy point and went back to the float rigs and shrimp. The Trout didn't take long and soon we had put another handful of Trout in the boat.

We came back to the outside of Tiger when the tide started back out, fished another marsh line, and found  more Trout. After we crossed over and fished a point of grass where two creeks merged, Daniel got in some real action, catching Trout, feisty Reds, and then another Slot Redfish. Most of the Trout today were undersized but we did have a couple of keeper sized fish. It was a beautiful day - in addition to a beautiful sunrise, we saw many forms of bird life, river shrimpers, an osprey, and a Salt Marsh Mink cruising through the flooded marsh grass. What a great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Mixed Bag

We tried an afternoon trip today, with plans to fish at 1pm on a falling tide. I met Pat and Caress Garten, their son Matt and his wife Paloma down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a short run up the Nassau River, stopping at a couple of marsh run outs.  Caress, Paloma and Matt were tossing live shrimp on jigs to the exposed oysters while Pat slung a fly at the stern.  It didn't take long at all - Boom! Caress put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat (all fish were released today).

We worked the bank thoroughly, and Matt got hot, picking up a
handful of Trout and a couple of Redfish, one being of Slot size. After he put a beautiful (and aggressive) Blue Crab in the boat, Paloma hooked up and had a nice Whiting to the boat. But my net had broken on Matt's Slot Red so as Paloma got her fish close to the boat I could only watch as it flipped off and secured its freedom.

We hit a couple of the marsh run outs, caught a fish or two or three, then ran down to Broward Island to fish the last of an outgoing tide.

It was kinda slow until Pat put a jig and shrimp up to a protected pocket, had a strange bite, and a hookup. He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

We fished some oysters in Pumpkin Hill, had no real bites, then ran back and fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe, and again, no real bites. Our last stop was over at the mouth of Jackstaff and with evening approaching, the fishing and catching got real nice. Pat landed a couple of Seatrout to round out his personal Amelia Island Backcountry Slam and Matt put a few more fish in the boat, too. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

No Fly Zone

An absolutely beautiful day greeted Tom McDonough and I when we made it to the boat ramp early this morning. There was just a slight breeze and a few high clouds in the sky when we left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the intercoastal with a bait well full of live shrimp, some spinning rods, and a couple of fly rods rigged up. We dipped in to Jackstaff Creek, split off into a smaller creek and set up at a large marsh run out just as the tide hit peak high.

Tom started off tossing a 7w fly rod with a floating line and a Gurgler foam fly and was
making excellent casts right from the git-go. We worked the mouth of that run out then eased along the flooded marsh grass, but I can't say we had as much as one good hit on the fly. After crossing over Jackstaff and starting another pass with the trolling motor, and switching up to live shrimp under a float, BOOM! We started catching fish. Tom had a good flurry of catches using a circle hook under his float, which made for some quick releases after photographs were taken.  We did that bank for about 100 yards, caught  handful of Trout, then crossed over to fish a sandbar/point with jigs and shrimp, to no avail.

After running through Horsehead we made brief stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe to see if there were any Mangrove Snapper were around....there weren't...so we continued on down the Nassau River to Pumpkin Hill and went back to the float rigs. I was beginning to think the bite was done for the day when Tom made a pin point cast to an island of marsh grass. His float eased under and after setting the hook, Tom had a nice fish on. He played it patiently - this fish was pulling harder and digging deep - Tom landed a  nice chuncky Redfish. We worked that marsh grass thoroughly and put 3-4 more Reds in the boat.

Our last stop was down at Broward Island and here Tom went back to the fly rod, tossing the  7w with the floating line and trying an 8w with an intermediate line but the fish wanted none of the flies.
But it was a beautiful day and a great one to be out on Amelia Island waters!

Redfish and Black and Red Dogs

I wrapped up my Georgia Florida week today fishing with Hugh Haston and his buddies Randy and David who were all down for the big game tomorrow. As the week has gone by the weather had gotten better and better and today was the best with just a slight breeze, a cool nip in the air and then warm Florida sunshine! We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and made the quick run up the intercoastal and dipped in to Jackstaff on the last hour of an outgoing tide.

The three anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows up to the exposed oysters and before long David had "knocked the skunk off" with a hungry Seatrout catch. He followed that up with a Redfish catch then Randy matched it with a Trout catch. We picked up a couple of more fish - Seatrout and Reds then ran through Horsehead and around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe.

With the stern of the boat towards the pilings, the three anglers

tossed their jigs and let them sink  and fished them back slowly. All we found were hungry Mangrove Snapper. After landing a handful of them we crossed over to some shell beds, fished them, caught a Catfish then headed down to Broward Island.

The tide was almost at the bottom when we got there. David's first cast to a sandy bank produced a fat and feisty Redfish.  Randy pulled out another Mangrove, then.....BOOM! Hugh had a hookup that ripped the drag and, FISH ON!  He played it patiently, working it out from the downed tree limbs, got him out into deeper water, then kept the pressure on until the fish was subdued. After a good battle on light tackle spinning gear, we landed a thick 25" Slot sized Redfish. Now that's a nice fish.

Randy and David both went back to the Sandy bank and both pulled out keeper sized Flounder. Both Randy and Hugh caught smaller Reds off the same bank. When the bite slowed we worked down the island a ways then headed back towards the ramp.

Our final stop was at Twin Creeks. The tide had been coming in for a while here and the oyster hump was covered. I switched the anglers to float rigs just to give them a taste of that style of fishing and it paid off with all three fishermen hooking up with a good handful of Seatrout. If we could have kept 14" fish we would have had a "mess"!  One was right at 17" - a keeper. And with that, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Dog Gone It, We Caught a Bunch of Fish!

The "pre-Georgia Florida Football Fishing Week" continued today when I again fished with Bob Blalock and his brother-in-law Tommy and his wife Martha. We met up at the north end ramp but this time we made the long run out Bell River with plans to fish some docks. Although the wind had lessened somewhat from yesterday, it was still blowing, but here at the docks it was like fishing on a pond!

The anglers started off tossing jigs and live shrimp (whooeee, we had some shrimp) to the dock pilings on the very last of an outgoing tide and it didn't take long before they were getting some bites.
All three anglers put some hungry Seatrout in the boat and we ended up with a handful of them. Then the "baitstealers" took over so we decided to run over to the Jolley River.

We made a brief stop at the MOA, still tossing jigs, and here Bob picked up a keeper sized Seatrout. After bouncing around the corner and setting up alongside some still exposed oysters, I switched the trio to float rigs and live shrimp. That's when all heck broke loose. Redfish, Redfish, Redfish, Redfish, Redfish. Small but feisty and fun to catch. Then Tommy had a hookup and when that drag began to rip we knew he had a good fish.  It was a long and crazy battle where we had to deal with some lines getting tangled, but it all
worked out and with some patience on Tommy's part, he landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish.

Martha had caught Trout in the Bell and here she was matching the guys catch fish for fish with Redfish. She added 3-4 Black "puppy" Drum to here catch, a couple of Mangrove Snapper, then she too had a strong bite and, FISH ON! She played it perfectly and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot Redfish. Then it was Bob's turn. BOOM! Big fish On! This fish was ripping drag and digging deep but Bob kept the pressure on. After a long and patient fight, Bob put an Oversized 28.5" Redfish in the boat. After pictures it swam off in a blink.

We caught fish until we ran  out of bait! Now that's a good problem to have. We still had about thirty minutes to fish so we made one last stop behind Tiger Island and rigged up with soft plastic Egret Baits and fished the same runouts that had produced Flounder yesterday. Boom! Bob pulled a 17" Flounder out of the spot then Boom! Tommy reeled in a 19" Flounder. Bob was using a white with chartreuse tail minnow and Bob was using a chartreuse and brown minnow.

It was a beautiful day and a great day to be catching fish here at Amelia Island, Florida