Schooling Reds

Bob Blalock and I fished yesterday morning, leaving out of the newly paved Dee Dee Bartels Park and heading over to Eagans Creek to fish some dock pilings right a the dead low tide. We were tossing jigs and mud minnows and it became apparent that we were in the midst of a large school of small "rat reds".  Bob could pitch his jig alongside some dock pilings and on almost every pass pick up a fun-to-catch Redfish. There just wasn't a whole lot of size to them. He also reeled in a couple of small Trout.

After we tired of catching we broke one of the
rules of fishing -leaving fish to find fish-but we wanted something bigger so we headed over to Tiger Island to fish the first of the incoming. This did the trick. Bob had made a perfect cast up in a pocket and BOOM! Bigger fish on! He played it patiently to the boat and landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. We worked up and down the bank and this time Bob's catch came on the outside of some downed limbs - a keeper sized Flounder. We backtracked and fished the entire island and one more time - Big Fish On.  Bob brought it to the net and landed another 22" Redfish.

We made one final stop on the outside of Tiger, looking for Flounder, but ended up playing with some high flying Ladyfish. It was a beautiful day, and another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Kind Of Day

We commented that the morning couldn't be better with slightly overcast skies and a slight breeze when Dennis Brizzi, his buddy Hal O'dell and I left the Goffinsville boat ramp and headed south down to Broward Island. The tide was still going out when we eased up to the bank and the duo began tossing jigs and minnows to "fishy" looking spots. It was just a few minutes before both anglers were catching fish - small but "feisty" Redfish, hungry Seatrout and even a small Flounder the size of your hand. But after a fish had rolled the bank chasing bait, Dennis pitched to it and had a hard strike, a hookup, and a successful landing of a keeper sized Seatrout.

We worked the bank for a good while and picked up a good handful of the smaller Reds and Trout, then we ran back north, fished Bubblegum Reef for a few minutes, then continued on around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe. Although we didn't get much, we did get another small Red then Hal reeled in the biggest Trout of the day, one that measured 19.5".

The tide had started back in so we buzzed back to Broward Island to catch that incoming and it paid off. Dennis landed a small Redfish or two then BOOM! He hooked a bigger, keeper sized Trout and landed it. As I scooped it up Hal quietly commented, Fish On, and he too had a big fish. This one was ripping some drag and after patiently playing it to the boat, he landed  a good 20" Slot Redfish.

Our last stop was at Pumpkin Hill and here we landed a couple of smaller Trout then one more of keeper size.  All fish were caught on Mud minnows today. It made for a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Tug is The Drug

I fished with the Bernot group this morning, Chris and Marianna, Mike and Katie, meeting them up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp. We motored out of the creek (and past a small 'gator) then made the quick run around to Tiger Island and set up to fish the downed logs with mud minnows on jigs. It only took minutes and all four anglers were making excellent casts to the pockets. Although it was a tad bit slow, we worked the bank patiently and it paid off. Chris was the first to strike when he hooked up and landed a nice 19.75" Slot Redfish. Later we had a hookup and Marianna reeled in a keeper sized
Flounder. Then she went back to where we had seen a wake up near the bank and BOOM! Fish On! She played the fish perfectly and soon landed a big 21" Slot Redfish - her first fish - ever. 

We worked back down the bank and just as we were planning to leave, Mike had made a pin point cast to a downed long and when he felt the tug - and you know, the "Tug is the Drug", he set the hook and picked up another Slot Redfish. We left there and ran out and around to the Jolley River, switched to float rigs and worked the bank slowly as we trolled up current. Even though we were getting some excellent drifts, we only managed one small "feisty" Redfish, and maybe a small Croaker.  After easing around the corner we found a good marsh runout and switched back to the jigs. Katie got on the board with a keeper sized Flounder catch and Chris and Marianna doubled up with keeper Flounder catches of their own. The two couples added a handful of small Trout and another small Flounder.

We made another couple of stops and saw two manatee at two different locations, and added another Trout or two to the catch, before heading in and counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Nice Day Nice Trout

You just can't beat a summer day fishing here at Amelia Island when there's a slight breeze and
slightly overcast skies, and that's what we had this morning when I met Hugh Haston and David Martin down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After we had made the run up Middle River and around to Broward Island, set up fishing off the bank, tossing jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows on the first of an incoming tide.

I think it was Hugh who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum then the duo combined to catch a couple of small Redfish and a Croaker. We moved down the way and it was just a short time when David had made a cast to some bait that had been "popped" and he had a good hookup. After patiently playing the fish, David landed a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout.

Our next stop was up at Pumpkin Hill, drifting floats and shrimp along some shell beds. Both Hugh and David landed Seatrout and Hugh fought and caught two Bonnethead Shark. We picked up one more keeper Trout along the way. After a brief stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where we caught one more feisty Redfish, we buzzed thru Horsehead around to the mouth of Jackstaff and eased along the marsh grass. Hugh landed a couple of more Trout and then tangled with a "needlefish"! Hah!  The sun was up now and even though the breeze was still blowing, it was getting hot so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Back In Action

I had scheduled my boat to be in the shop for a week to get it's 100 hour service and to get the tilt and trip motor fixed but I was back at it today, fishing with long time friends Alex and Laura Winter, their daughter Kelly and her boyfriend Keenan.  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the intercoastal and began fishing the mouth of Jackstaff with float rigs and live shrimp on the last of an incoming tide.  It didn't take long before all four anglers were making excellent casts and getting good drifts along the marsh line. They had a few nibbles here and there and finally it was Keenan
who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a hungry Seatrout. But it didn't get much attention because Kelly had a strong bite and she was battling a Shark at the stern. But it made a quick rush and snapped the leader. We fished that bank fully and had a couple of Trout, another Shark bite and we picked  up one two small but feisty Reds.

We ran thru Horsehead and down to Pumkin Hill, still fishing an incoming tide and here Laura was the one with the big bite! Fish On!  The big fish took here bait and headed deep but Laura was up to the task and kept the pressure on, battling the fish around the stern of the boat and working it up to th surface for the catch, some quick pictures, and release. An epic battle!

Both Alex and Laura landed another couple of Reds then we headed over to Christopher Creek to catch that high tide and we switched to jig rigs, with shrimp on the bottom. Kelly put a huge Blue Crab in the boat as we worked along some docks but when we got over to small lagoon things really heated up. Kelly had a strange bite and after she gave it a second or two, she set the hook expertly and had a hookup. She worked to the boat patiently and soon landed a nice 18" keeper sized Flounder. Only a minute later, Alex had the same bite and he too put a 17" keeper flounder in the boat. Alex worked the area thoroughly and landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum and another Redfish or two.

We made another couple of stops but the sun was up and it was getting rather warm, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

2nd Biggest....so far

Things are heating up in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. It was just this past Monday when Bob Blalock moved in to 2nd place with a 31" Oversized Red, but it was topped today, by a smidgeon, just four days later!  I had met Bart Mathews and his buddy Steve down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with the tide low and still going out. We ran west and up the Nassau River and made our first stop along some shell beds and began to pitch jigs and mud minnows up current. We slowly worked the bank, had a few bites and picked up a small fish or two. After
hitting one more marsh runout, we moved on to some docks at Seymore's Pointe.

The two anglers were making excellent casts to the dock pilings and right off, Bart had a strong bite and, Fish ON!  But the fish quickly wrapped around a piling and, Fish OFF! Ouch, boy that hurts! They kept fishing and Steve hooked up and landed a large Croaker. We fished a few docks up the way and after Bart had one of his minnows stolen, he went back to the same spot, felt the bump, set the hook, and caught a nice keeper sized Flounder (all fish caught today were released).

Our last stop was down at Broward Island and here, with the tide still going out, both anglers landed a handful of small but feisty Redfish. Bart was fishing a pocket between a stump and some limbs and his bait had gotten out deep when , BOOM! Fish On!  He worked it out from the trees and kept the pressure on as it made some deep, hard runs. It turned out it was bigger than we initially thought! But Bart was up to the task and eventually landed a big 31.5" Oversized Red which put Bart squarely in 2nd place in the Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  Boy what a fish! 

We fished up and down the island and not too long later Steve had a good hookup. He fought his fish to the boat and landed a nice Red that was just a tad bit undersized, but a beautiful copper color.  The sun was up, it was hot, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

You know it's summertime when you catch just about every species that could be caught. That was today's highlight when I fished with the Smith Fishing Team - Mark and Katie and Zach. I had met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we ran up the intercoastal and began fishing the mouth of Jackstaff with jigs and live shrimp on the last of an outgoing tide. Mark started things off with a WHITING catch, then Katie landed a big CATFISH, then Mark hooked up and landed a SEATROUT.  We crossed over the river and fished a sandbar point and here Katie landed a STINGRAY,
mark added a keeper sized FLOUNDER the Katie successfully fought a BONNETHEAD SHARK to the net.  Mark added another couple of hungry Seatrout to the catch.

We ran thru Horsehead and around to some docks at Seymore's Pointe and fished some pilings with the jigs. Zach got on the board when he landed a feisty BLACK DRUM, and at the same time, Mark landed one, too.

We ran down to Broward Island and fished the logs and here Zach

hooked up and landed probably the biggest Redfish of the day. Then Katie caught a sneaky SHEEPSHEAD and Zach followed that up with one of his on. Katie finished that spot off with a Redfish and Trout catch of her on and Mark added a couple of Redfish.

Our last stop was along some flooding shell beds on the incoming tide and here Mark caught another Red and tangled with a high flying LADYFISH.  Although we didn't boat any real big fish, we had a good variety and it made for another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Biggest Fish Ever

It's great to do a "father/daughter" fishing trip and today I had Gary Krantz and his daughter Madison meet me down at the south end ramp, early.  After tossing the cast net for finger mullet, we made the run up the intercoastal and then into Jackstaff, turned into the incoming tide, and began to fish the bank with jigs and dead shrimp.  It only took Madison a few minutes and she was then making excellent casts. I saw that she had made one about 5 feet from the shore and it seemed like it had just hit the water when she had a big fish on!  She fought it to the boat an landed a big 18" Seatrout - the biggest fish
she'd ever caught!

We fished down the bank and both anglers landed a couple of feisty Redfish then Madison reeled in a small Flounder to claim and "Amelia Island Back Country Slam" of Seatrout, Redfish, and Flounder. She also netted some of her dad's catches.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island to fish the first of the incoming tide there. We didn't get a whole lot of bites until Gary had made a pinpoint cast to the bank, let it sank, then slowly worked it back and, BOOM! Big fish on!  He played it perfectly and soon landed a big 20" Seatrout. (All fish caught today were released).  We moved down the island, fished some logs and caught a couple of more Redfish. The sun was up, the island was blocking the breeze and with some nice catches under our belt, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Where's Your Rods?

There was only a slight breeze when Bob Blalock and I left the dock at Goffinsville Park and headed down the Nassau River. Although there was a bit of overcast skies, when we eased the throttle down on the north end of Broward Island I could tell that even the breeze was blocked by the island and I had this contented feeling that we were going to have a great start to a fishing day until Bob raised the question, "where's your rods?"  Oh lordy. I had left them in the truck. Ouch. We buzzed back to the ramp, I ran up to the truck and retrieved the rods - we surely needed them- then we headed back to Broward and set up outside an outflow to fish

with jigs and shrimp.

We had pretty good action, catching small Reds, small Trout, a small Black Drum and a small Flounder to quickly garner an "Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam". We worked the bank with jigs and caught a fish here and there, but nothing of any size.  The tide finally started back in so we moved up to the north end and within a few casts Bob had a good bite. This one was pulling drag and sure enough, when landed, turned out to be a nice 19" Slot fish.  We had few  more smaller fish before we headed back down the Nassau.

Our next stop was along some flooding oysters and here we had  short flurry of fish catches - a Red, a Croaker and a Catfish. After that we buzzed thru Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff. Bob was getting good drifts with a float rig and shrimp and it paid off. He landed a good 18" keeper sized Seatrout and a couple of hard fighting Jack Crevalle. All fish caught today were released (even the bloody Red - it lived in the live well for 3 hours and then swam off when released) We caught a bunch of fish once we had our rods and it made for a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Stroke of Billiance

We had a beautiful day this morning when I met Bob Blalock up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp - the weekend was over and the crowds diminished so I thought it'd be fun to fish "north" today. The tide was low and coming in so we made the quick run over to Tiger to fish the logs and we got some good bites right off fishing jigs and live shrimp - catching a couple of small Reds, small Croaker, a small Black Drum..and so on. We were about to leave but made one last effort at the north end of the island and BOOM!
Bob had a strong hookup, a good fight, and landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. He went back to the same bank and BOOM! Another Slot Redfish, this one at around 21".  Hanging around paid off.

After a short run up to the Jolley to fish the "bank",  turned in to the current (what little there was) and began working back with float rigs and live shrimp. Although we had a few nibbles, we had no real takers until we were back at the mouth and here Bob hooked up and
landed a couple of small but feisty Redfish. He also reeled up a corroded spinning reel!

Further up the Jolley we made a stop along some flooded grass and the conditions looked ripe for fishing catching!  Sure enough, after Bob had made an excellent cast with his float rig and live shrimp to a grass clump, he picked up a small but feisty Red, then another, then a Seatrout, then a Red. We worked up the bank and held at a point and I think it was Bob's first drift when his float disappeared with a vengeance and, Fish ON! He worked it patiently to the boat and landed a fat keeper sized Seatrout. He went back to the same spot and something took his bait and kept going and going and GONE!  It only took a drift or two and BOOM! Big Fish On!  Bob fought it expertly and soon landed another Slot Red, this one measuring in at 23" - a very nice fish.

We made one last run back to Tiger, thru Tiger Basin and around to Bell River and set up alongside a point. Bob was drifting his shrimp up near the grass and picked up a feisty Red right off the bat. After that, he got one nibble after another, feeding shrimp to a "bait stealer" and just before we left Bob had a "Stroke of Brilliance". We had some mud minnows in the well and hadn't used them all day so Bob baited one up and pitched it close. He had a nibble again, reeled it up, tossed it back and WOW! Both Bob and I saw a huge copper flash come up and engulf his minnow and BIG BIG Fish on!  We couldn't believe that what we saw was a Red- it seemed so big. Bob took his time, fought it to the boat, after working it around not one, but two crab traps, and landed a big 31" Oversized Red - the 2nd biggest of year caught on the Anglers Mark and setting Bob up in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. Boy what a fish and a fight!