Head Shaking Big

The perfect summer weather just keeps on coming! We've been having clear mornings with just a slight breeze and the thunderstorms hold off until later in the day. I met Frank Wytiaz and his long time buddy John down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a quick run up the Nassau River on a tide that was still coming in for a couple of hours. No shrimp today for bait! But as you will see, the mud minnows did just fine! 

We made quick stop at a oyster covered shoreline and began to work back against the current. Both Frank and John picked up a small Redfish each, then Frank added a hungry Seatrout and later, John tangled with a high flying Ladyfish.  The tide was still coming in so we buzzed down to Pumpkin Hill and set up along a bank to fish the float rigs and minnows. Again, the duo picked  up a couple of feisty Redfish, then Frank hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

John was drifting out of the back of the boat, letting his float and bait work along the shoreline and when his float disappeared, he tightened up, set the hook, and landed a very nice 19" Seatrout. That got things started! Frank followed his lead and he put a 21.5" Trout in the boat. Then John hooked up, successfully fought, and landed a Slot Redfish. Then, when Frank's float disappeared and he set the hook, he commented, "this is a big fish and it's shaking it's head" - and ripping drag, I might add. But Frank kept the pressure on and after a tense fight, landed a 24.25" BIG Gator Seatrout. Biggest of the year on the Angler's Mark and it lands Frank squarely in first place in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). The two anglers added two more 19" keeper Trout to their catch before the bite fell off.

We fished Seymore's Pointe briefly, had no real bites, then fished an large outflow where John wrapped things up with another Seatrout catch. It was a fine catching day, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Doubling Up

It seems like I've made Sawpit Creek my "home port"!  I met David Ehrler, his son Jack, and his dad Rich down at the south end ramp early this morning and we headed up the Nassau River and made the slightly longer run around to Pumkin Hill to set up with float rigs and minnows while David cast the fly rod off the stern. Neither live minnow or imitation shrimp fly picked up anything until we worked our way around to a point and BOOM! Both Rich and Jack had simultaneous hookups. They both reeled in a feisty Redfish to "knock the skunk off" and get a double, to boot!

We worked and edge in Pumkin, then ran over to Christopher Creek and switched to jigs. David had made an excellent cast to some rocks and after hookup, his drag began to sing. We knew it was a nice fish. David kept the pressure on and patiently worked it to the boat and landed a good Slot Redfish - his first. The tide was already going out so we skipped out of there and around to Seymore's Pointe.

I had made a "demo cast" and I as I handed the rod off, the float disappeared. Young Jack was on the rod and he fought the fish valiantly. The fish made a run or two but it was no match for Jack and he soon landed another nice Redfish.

We fished the Nassau River where David added a keeper sized Flounder to the catch, then he landed a Seatrout to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam, then Rich and Jack wrapped things up with another "double" this time hungry Seatrout. Everyone caught fish and we had some nice ones, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Out of the Park

After a day off and a good day of rest, I was back at it today, meeting Dana and Julie Simmons down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made the 15 minute run up to Jackstaff and began tossing float rigs and live shrimp with the tide still coming in. The first stretch of marsh didn't produce much but the second did. Between the two anglers, they caught a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a couple of Bonnethead Shark, and a Catfish.

We buzzed thru Horsehead and around to Pumpkin Hill and stuck with the float rigs for while. But when we got to a stretch of clear
bottom we switched to jigs and shrimp and within minutes, BOOM! Julie had a big fish on. She played it patiently and when we saw it flashed we all thought, "Slot Red", but as she worked it to the net we saw that it was a huge Seatrout, which we landed. It measured at 22", the biggest Trout caught to date on the Anglers Mark, knocking the competition "out of the park" to garner 1st Place in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  And shortly after that, Dana had a strong hookup. Again, I was thinking big Red, but when it never "boiled", I had some doubts. Dana fought it valiantly and eventually landed a massive Jack Crevalle. We worked the bank thoroughly, then headed out.

Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe, floating shrimp along some rocks and although we had nibbles, we had no takers.  We finished pitching jigs to dock pilings but were feeding the bait stealers, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Pick'n Up One Here and There

We fished an afternoon trip yesterday, meeting down at the south end ramp at 1pm with a tide that was about to hit bottom. I met George Youmans and his buddy William and we made the long run around to Broward Island on the Nassau. When we got there the SW wind was still pushing the water out but it was really low so we began to toss jigs and live shrimp and minnows up to the bank.  I don't think we got a real bite until the tide changed, but when it did, these two anglers picked up some fish. We didn't count the Toad fish as "skunk off the boat" but George's Seatrout sure counted! We worked up
and down the bank and caught a small Red or two, a small Sheepshead,  then William put a nice sized Seatrout in the boat -keeper size - but all fish caught today were released.

Our next stop was back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, pitching up to the dock pilings with jigs. The two anglers landed a couple of Croaker, a couple of Black "puppy" Drum and another small Redfish. We worked some oyster beds in the Nassau then came back to fish some rocks at Seymore's Pointe, here fishing a float rig.  George was working the float good and soon hooked up with what I thought was going to be our first big Mangrove Snapper of the year. When his drag began to rip, I thought surely it was just loose, but it turned out that this was a bigger fish! George worked it patiently to the boat and landed a Slot sized 22" Redfish!

We ran thru Horse head, fished the "bank" with float rigs to wrap things up. William tangles with a high flying Ladyfish and George put a couple of more Trout in the boat. Even though it was in the middle of Summer and in the middle of the day, we caught fish, and we weren't working! So we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

A Plethora of Fish

We had a pretty day that greeted us this morning when I met Drenner Tinsley and his adult sons Miles and Blake down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. There was a slight breeze blowing as we headed up the intercoastal with plans to dip into Jackstaff and then further up a creek. The three anglers started out tossing float rigs and live shrimp and mud minnows to some large marsh outflows on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours already. I don't think we had a nibble at that first spot so we moved across the creek and fished a marsh line. Drenner stayed with the float off the stern
while Blake and Miles began to fish jigs off the stern and we may have had a nibble or two then Blake hooked up and "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a fat Seatrout.

We crossed over to a submerged sandbar with all three anglers tossing jigs and it wasn't long before both Blake and Miles had hookups - we had a double!  Blake reeled in a feisty Redfish while Miles landed another Seatrout.

After running thru Horshead we made a stop at a likely dock and

here the action picked up.  Drenner got on the board when he landed a couple of Black "puppy" Drum then he put some rather large Croaker in the boat. Miles added a Drum then Drenner put a wayward Seabass in the boat.

We made a brief jaunt down to Broward Island. Miles hooked up with another Seatrout on his first cast - it hit just as his bait hit the bottom, but he wind was picking up, the current was still strong, and the fishing was really difficult. So we ran back to Seymore's Pointe and out of the wind and finished up when Miles caught a Flounder. We had a good variety of fish caught so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Fish Oversized!

We squeezed in a late afternoon trip yesterday, Mike DuBartell and I, meeting down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. At the time, we had partly cloudy skies and still some serious heat, but, it was time to fish! We headed up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff, first checking to see if the tide was going to get up for tailing Redfish (no) so we eased into a smaller creek and set up fishing with float rigs and live shrimp. The tide high and still coming in and even though Mike was getting excellent drifts, we had no real bites.

After running thru Horsehead we made a stop at some rocks at Seymore's Pointe, drifted the float, and again, no bites. Knowing that we had high water for a while, I thought it'd be a good idea to try Christopher Creek. After the short run we were tossing jigs and shrimp to the dock pilings and rocks. Mike noted that he had a bite or two, then he had strong bite and BAP! Leader broke!  But Mike kept at it and finally, BOOM! Big Fish On!  I thought it was odd that the fish boiled to the surface in 10" of water so quickly and even as quickly as Mike worked it to the boat. But when we saw that it was a huge Redfish I knew that the battle had just begun! Sure enough, the big fish began to make some surges to the bottom, but Mike kept the pressure on, working the fish left to right to left and he soon wore him out and landed an oversized 27.25" Redfish, boy what a fish! After pictures the fish was gently released to swim back to the depths. (All fish caught were released).

We worked the banks for a while, had some bites, landed another Slot Redfish, then moved on out of there before the tide dropped too much. We made another pit stop at the rock of Seymore's, had a few nibbles, and caught one "baitstealer" then we moved on down the Nassau River to fish some banks that were now beginning to expose oysters.

Mike was still tossing the jig rod, up current, and after one particular cast,  hooked up and landed a fat Seatrout.  He later tangled with a high flying Ladyfish. We had been keeping our eyes on the dark thunderstorms to the north of us and had having sprinkling rain for the last hour, but we never did get really wet, so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Islands, Florida.

BooKoodles

I met the Owensby's, Tom and Kevin, down at the south end early this morning - their first time fishing "south" from the many times that they have fished here at Amelia Island. It was a beautiful morning as we ran up the Nassau River with a couple of hours of the tide still going out. We stopped at a large marsh drainage and both anglers began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the bank. It took a while but when the "bite" began" they were catching bookoodles of fish. Many of the fish were juvenile Redfish but every once in a while they would get one that had some size. Then they'd tie into a hard fighting Jack Crevalle and have fun fighting that battle. A couple of Ladyfish were landed in the mix.

We moved on up to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and again, we had some good action. The duo landed a good handful of small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum, a couple of Croker and, a Catfish. We hit Bubblegum Reef briefly, picked another Catfish or two, another Croaker, and a golden colored Seatrout,  then bounced over to the rocks at Seymore's to try our luck with float rig. The tide was still going out and although these anglers were making excellent casts, we had no luck.

Our final stop was down at Broward Island and boy was the tide down....and STILL going out!  The water was a clear Coca-Cola color and almost all of the stobs were exposed. We worked almost the entire island, bait was everywhere, but we didn't have much luck. Although the bite slowed as the day warmed, we had some really good action early so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Redfish Boil

We had a beautiful day today, with almost no wind, clear skies, and sunshine! I met Jeff and Jess Kamenski up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park midmorning with plans to target tailing Redfish when the tide got a bit higher around noon. We made an initial run up to Jolley Bank and began working back against the current. Jess was on the bow tossing float rigs with live shrimp while Jeff unlimbered his fly casting arm. We worked the banks slowly while both anglers were making excellent casts, but we had no real bites. As we ended our run, Jeff switched to a float and shrimp, made a cast into shallow water, and we
all so a boil, his float disappeared, and Fish On! The fish came deep, Jeff's drag ripped, and we had a battle on our hands!  Jeff played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish!

We moved down the river and fished either side of Snook Creek. We had nibbles here and there then Jeff reeled in a large Gar Fish, then he battled a high flying Ladyfish. The tide was getting up and we had one more stop to make before we began to check the marsh for flooding so we made our way back to the outside of Tiger. Jess made a cast forward to some submerged oysters, her float disappeared and...no fish! But she was not to be denied and went back to the same spot and BOOM! She had a hookup! Jess played the fish perfectly and soon landed a keeper sized Seatrout (All fish caught today were released). Then Jeff had a strong hookup and his drag began to sing. And Sing. And Sing. Big Fish on!  But Jeff was up to the task and after a long battle, landed a big 4' Bonnethead Shark.

We then began to check the marsh and even though the forecast called for a 7.0' high tide, there just was not enough water up in the grass. We checked 3-4 areas but it wasn't to be. We finished up fishing Bell River and here Jess hooked up with another nice Seatrout. Although we didn't have a chance to target tailing Reds, it was still another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Father's Day Fun

The Owensby's were back in town - Tom and his son Kevin and grandson Jake - and we fished the early morning here at Amelia Island. I met them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and with the tide just starting in, I thought it'd be best to start fishing the logs at Tiger, a perfect tide to fish. Although we did pick up some small fish - Trout, Drum, Flounder, and Reds (a Grande Slam!) the anglers spent most of their time feeding "baitstealers", getting a nibble on almost every cast. After fishing the bank up and down, we moved on.

Our next stop was up at Jolley Bank and after easing along, tossing up current with jigs and live shrimp and working a float rig out the back, we hit a "hot spot". Kevin put a big Seatrout in the boat, Jake added Redfish, then Tom had a strong bite, and Fish On!  He played the big fish patiently and when it ripped drag a few times we know he had a nice fish on. And when rolled we know it was a big Redfish!  After a good battle, Kevin netted the 23" Slot Fish.  We tangled with a couple of Ladyfish, added another Seatrout then moved on up the River.

Fishing Snook Creek, we didn't get a whole lot of bites but when Jake's float slowly went under, he lifted the rod to set the circle hook and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder. We went back to the outside of Tiger and fished the edge of a flooding oyster bed and BAM! Multiple hookups quick. Jake and Kevin landed Seatrout, once of which was of keeper size, Tom battled a Ladyfish, then he had a real battle with a Bonnethead Shark, then, like someone turned a light switch off, the bite was gone.

We made one final stop back at the mouth of Tiger and even though there was a lot of bait movement there wasn't much action, until Tom caught one last fish, a keeper sized Flounder. It took all trip but we slowly put together a "mess" of fish so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Action

I wrapped my week up fishing with David Foster and his friend Tim and Tim's son Mathew, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. The tide had been coming in for an hour or so but the oysters were still fully exposed and I though for sure some dock pilings would be holding fish. We ran up the Nassau River and set up current from a dock and began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the pilings. Guess what - the Croaker are here! We picked up a few, a bait stealing Spot, a slimy Catfish, and had one feisty Redfish to the boat for a "quick release" - but no big fish.

The tide was still somewhat low so we ran down to Broward Island, fished the north end with jigs, then moved down to the south end and fished the logs. Tim had a hookup - dang it - just a Toad Fish - but we kept working the bank, tossing up current, and it paid off. Tim had a strong bite and we knew it was big when the drag began to rip. He played it perfectly and we soon landed a big Seatrout that was just shy of 20" -now that's a nice fish!  And shortly after that David hooked up and he too put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. We did land a small Redfish along the bank.

Our next stop was up at Pumpkin Hill, drifting float rigs and shrimp along the marsh grass. David got hot, landing a Bonnethead Shark and a big Ladyfish - the "poor man's Tarpon". We had another couple of small Reds and a small Seatrout.  We fished Christopher Creek for a bit with jigs -and again, a small Red, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.