Fish Catch'n Day

Whooo Whooo! It was a fish catch'n day today! I had met Bryan and Janet Roach and their son Michael down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we made the run up the intercoastal and into Jackstaff to fish an outgoing tide with live shrimp under floats. I think the first three of four casts produced Seatrout! Most were just undersized until young Michael put a keeper sized one in the boat. We had a good flurry of catching and when it slowed we eased on down the bank and caught more Trout and a handful of Ladyfish. When Janet hooked up with something big enough to rip the drag
we were thinking "Slot Redfish", but no, it was a fun-to-catch big Jack Crevalle!

We ran thru Horsehead, made a stop at some docks at Seymore's, long enough for Michael to put a Redfish in the boat (his first?) then we continued on down to the Spanish Drop area of the Nassau and set up along some now exposed oysters. Janet got hot when she landed a few Redfish of her own then Michael caught one that was
just a tad bit undersized, but the biggest he'd ever caught, then he and his dad teamed up to get a "double" catch of Redfish.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island and although the bite wasn't so great, we did pick up a few fish.  We buzzed back to just east of Twin Creeks and here the Trout bite was on fire. Bryan got things started and kept it going by catching a good handful of the Trout, then Janet joined in and caught a few, too.   We went back to the Spanish Drop spot and now fished it with jigs and basically put Redfish in the boat until we ran out of bait! Now that's a great way to wrap up a fun fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

GoPro Debut

There were dark and stormy skies....when I met Bob Blalock up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp this morning, but luckily they were offshore and stayed offshore!  I had been playing with a GoPro camera for the last few days, shooting videos in my back yard and home, but I just had to bite  the bullet and get it out on the water and see how I could make use.   Bob was in the service and one of his jobs was to shoot video so he was a prime candidate to be the "star" of my first movie!

We made the quick run over to Lanceford Creek on the first of an incoming tide and set up 50 feet from some dock pilings. Bob's first cast produced a bite and his second produced a fish - a nice feisty Redfish. I think he got bites on almost all of his casts and he landed a handful of those small but fun-to-catch Reds. We moved around the dock and her the "baitstealers" took over so we picked up and ran back to Tiger Island.

The fish bite was kind slow but we found one spot where Bob hooked up and landed a keeper sized Trout and later, after we had worked up and down the bank, Bob hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder from the same spot!  We then ran to the outside of Tiger and fished large marsh run out to no avail, then continued on to the Jolley River and again, no real bites.

Our final stop was back at Bell River and even though we were getting excellent drifts with float rigs and live shrimp, we had no takers until finally, BOOM! We had a bite, the float disappeared, and fish on!  Bob worked it patiently to the  boat and landed another keeper sized Seatrout. We had started strong, had a long lull, but finished good so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Found a Couple of Strays

There wasn't a lick of breeze when I launched out at Broward Island this morning. I had met Bob Blalock and we had plans to fish the first of the incoming tide so we motored down to Broward Island and set up to toss jigs and live shrimp. Bob's second cast produced a feisty Redfish and from then on he was catching fish, and I joined in, too!  We both caught two handfuls of the small but fun-to-catch Reds, and we added a couple of Trout and Sheepshead to the mix, too.

We decided to break one of the rules of fishing - leave fish to find fish- but we moved on down the way, and again, we were catching. More Reds, a few Trout, and a couple of Sheepshead. Finally, after Bob had made a pinpoint cast to a niche, BOOM! Bigger fish on. As you can see in the below video, Bob played him perfectly, took him around the engine, and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish.

Our next stop was back towards the ramp where we switched to float rigs, but we had no real bites. We moved further down the
river and as we were free lining the float back in the current we had good bite, and Big Fish On!  Bob kept the pressure on, fought it to the boat, and landed another Slot Redfish. I think that was the only fish we caught in that spot!

Our last area to fish was even further down the Nassau, near Spanish Drop, and we did have one good hookup on the now high tide (and flooding) but it threw the hook. After tangling with some large Ladyfish, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

MIxed Bag

I fished with a fun group from Sports Clips today, meeting them at the marina early and after the safety orientation, headed north and west and around to the Jolley River with plans to fish float rigs and live shrimp on the last of an incoming tide. All four anglers - Cindy and Chris, Becky and Connor - were making excellent casts to the marsh grass and getting good drifts, and getting nibbles here and there and here and there, but we had no real takers. Finally, Chris hooked up, knocked the "skunk off" and landed a couple of small
but hungry Seatrout.  After also fishing the "bank", we headed back east and around to the Bell River.

Here we had a little better action. Chris put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat (donated to my Veteran neighbor) and then Cindy landed a couple of Trout, too.  We buzzed back thru Tiger and fished the outside. Again we had a numerous bites - picked up a couple of Ladyfish, a couple of Pinfish, and a couple of Snapper. After we moved across the way we had our best action. Cindy
landed two hard fighting feisty Redfish and Connor boated a good handful of the Seatrout.

There wasn't much breeze and the sun was overhead, so we called it a day, but not after taking a short tour of the south end of Cumberland Island, Fort Clinch, and old town Fernandina. It was another great day to be on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Chip'n Away

I give up on the weather reporting!  We've had a week or so where rain was forecasted in the  morning and it was beautiful, then today there was only a slight chance and we got soaked! But Bob and Jana Pharmer were up for fishing so we did just that, even though we did it in some wet clothes!

I had met them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and we made the short trip around to the outside of Tiger and set up fishing a large creek mouth, tossing float rigs with mud minnows up current on the high and outgoing tide. I think it was
Bob's first or second cast and he had hooked up with a feisty Redfish. We worked along the bank and both he and Jana landed some fat Seatrout and another Redfish.

We then ran out and around and up to the Jolley River and we could see the rain coming from Cumberland. I hoped that if I ran far enough up in to Jolley it would pass us by, but nope, it came right over the top of us. We had just put another Red in the boat when we had to suspend fishing for just a few minutes, it was such a downpour. But once it passed the rainbows came out and we were fishing again. Unfortunately the water was
now real muddy and the fish quit biting!

After running back to the mouth of Jolley we fished the "bank" and kept chipping away at a good day of catching. Bob put another Red in the boat and Jana landed a nice keeper sized Flounder (all fish caught today were released). We also tangled with a couple of Ladyfish.

Our next stop was back at Tiger, fishing jigs on the bottom with the minnows. Fairly quickly Jana put her second Flounder in the boat and as we worked back and forth down the bank we felt sure there was big fish to be had. We then saw a fish bust bait up near a stump and after Bob made a perfect cast to the spot, he felt the "bump" and, UMPH! Fish On!  Bob couldn't have played the fish any better than he did - working it out deep slowly then patiently letting it wear itself out. After a good battle he landed a nice Slot Sized Redfish. Now that's the way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Limit

We had a crazy day today...I had to pick up bait from Browns Creek on Heckshire early this morning which put me running late to the boat ramp to meet Don Frank and his sister Mary and brother-in-law Larry.  And when we made it over to the outside of Tiger and broke out the float rigs we found that the live shrimp were super small and so soft they'd hardly stay on the hook. But these anglers were up to the task and  were glad to be out on the water and it paid off.

Mary "knocked the skunk off" when she reeled in a hungry Seatrout
at the stern of the boat, but even though we had some nibbles (actually a whole bunch of them) we didn't get many fish at that first spot.

After running around and up to the Jolley River and setting up at Snook Creek, the trio began to catch small but feisty Redfish with a Trout here and there. We had a real good flurry of catching but low and behold, we had already blown thru most of our shrimp in just

and hour and a half of fishing! We dropped back to the mouth of the Jolley, cast netted some mullet and then worked that bank. John landed a Trout on one of the mullet, then we tried some FishBite material and he landed a feisty Redfish on that.  After that, things fell off to almost no bites at all.

But the tide was getting way down so we buzzed around to Tiger and switched to jigs and worked the bank. I was able to cast net some smaller mullet (finger mullet) and as we worked our way back Larry had a tremendous bite and, Fish ON!  He played it perfectly and soon landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. We had fallen off the bank and after I got us closer Larry had another strong bite and he put another Slot Red in the boat.  I think he got one more then Don got in on the action. He had a good hookup and BOOM! Big fish on! He played it patiently and landed his first Slot Red, then he went back and got another Slot Red.

Then it was Mary's turn. Another Slot Red was on the line and she expertly worked it to the net and put the final fish in the boat. These anglers had limited out on Redfish, the first time I've had that happen in a while, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Saved The Best For Last

I fished with Jeff Dees and his son-in-law Jason this morning, meeting them out at Goffinsville Park early, and we made a quick run thru Horsehead to the mouth of Jackstaff with plans to fish the exposed oyster beds with jigs and live shrimp. I turned the bow into the outgoing current and we began to work the bank slowly, pitching to the edge and slowly working it back. And pitching to the edge and slowly working it back. And pitching it to the edge and slowly working it back. We fished it thoroughly but had no real bites, other than a Catfish and Ladyfish.

After running back thru the marsh and down the Nassau we set up alongside some  more oysters and this did the trick. It was like someone turned a light switch on. Jason "knocked the skunk off" when he caught and landed a feisty Redfish and from then on we were catching fish. Jeff tangled with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, landed a keeper sized Seatrout, and both anglers caught a good handful of feisty Redfish.  We moved up the bank and fished a marsh run out and here too, we caught fish.

The tide had been coming in for about an hour so we buzzed down to Broward Island and set up on the end and here things got hot!  Jeff caught couple of feisty Reds then he had a strong hookup and, Big Fish On! He played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. After he picked up another smaller Red or two, we let the boat drift back to let Jason get in on the action and sure enough, he too hooked up and landed a nice Slot Redfish. We fished both ends of the island and put  keeper sized Flounder and Sheepshead in the boat before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Oversized Redfish Knocks Skunk Off The Boat

I had met the Noble's - John and his two sons Christian and Conner out at the Goffinsville Park boatramp this morning and we made a short run down the Nassau River to the Spanish Drop area and set up fishing an outgoing tide with jigs and live shrimp. All three anglers were making excellent casts to the exposed oysters but all we were getting were nibbles for a good 20 minutes then, BOOM! Christian had a fish pick up his bait and start off and when he set the hook, the drag began to rip, Big Fish On!  When it headed for deep water right off I made the mistake of declaring it a Bonnethead Shark - we'd seen a few cruising the shoreline - and I stuck with that

assertion all thru the battle, right up until it came to the surface and we saw that it was a huge Redfish!  Christian played it perfectly and we eventually netted a 29.5" Oversized Redfish. After quick pictures it was allowed to catch it's breath over the side and swam off with and indignant swish.

From then on all three anglers began catching fish - small, but feisty Redfish and hungry Seatrout, and we fished it right up until a huge rainstorm ran us west!  We buzzed down to Broward thinking we could bypass the rain, but it was to no avail - we got wet! But the fishing made up for it. We fished the south end of the island and Conner got hot, catching one Redfish after the other. As we worked our way down the island John figured it out and began to pick up fish out deep, fishing his jig slowly. When we got to the northern end of the island the tide had started in and her Christian picked up where he had left off. He and Conner landed a couple of Redfish then Conner caught and landed a nice Slot Red. We also added a keeper sized Seatrout along the way. After a good battle with another huge Red, one that won the battle, we fished on down the Nassau for just a bit before making one final run.

That was to Twin Creeks and although we didn't get much, Conner capped the Amelia Island Grand Slam when he picked up a Flounder on a float rig. Even though we got wet, it turned out to be another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

50 Fish

After postponing our Tuesday trip due to rain, we were able to get out yesterday and had some fine weather to fish with the Cervino family - Nick and Tara and their daughters Lila and Julia. We met u at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and buzzed over to the Jolly River  and set up along the "bank", casting into the current with jigs and live shrimp. Non stop action. Boom! Fish on. Boom! Fish on. Boom! Fish on. Although most of the fish were not real big, it was great fun for the kids who caught Seatrout, Croaker, Red Drum, Black Drum, Pin Fish, Perch and Flounder. The bite did slow for just a tad as we
reached the point but after we had run up the river further it picked back up.

These anglers landed a nice Slot sized Redfish (all fish caught today were released) then the girls teamed up to battle an even bigger Slot Redfish. Tara was on the rod, Julia was on the reel, and Lila was doing the coaching and after a good battle they brought the 24" Slot Redfish to the net, boy what a fish fight!

We fished the outside of Tiger briefly and picked up a Trout and a couple of Flounder, then buzzed around and thru Tiger and over to Bell River, and again caught fish after fish. I guestimated that we had caught and released at least 50 fish which is great way for young anglers to experience fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Jean Jean The Fishing Machine

I had the pleasure of fishing again this week with the Davis's - Clint and Jean - meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and running up the Nassau River. I had intended to make it all the way down to Broward Island to take advantage of the first of an incoming tide, but those oyster beds along the Nassau were looking good so we pulled up, dropped the trolling motor, and began easing back against the current. Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and making excellent casts and although they got a nibble or two we didn't get a fish...until....Jean had a strong bite, a hookup, and BIG FISH ON! Hah!  She fought it patiently

(see below video) and after a good battle, landed an oversized 29.5" Redfish. Boy what a fish! After a photo, the fish was revived and released to swim off and multiply!  After Jean added a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to her catch, we moved on.

We fished the rocks at Seymore's Pointe to no avail, then ran down to Broward Island and fished deep. I think we may have picked up a small Croaker but that was it. Tip #3: when you're not catching fish, MOVE! So we did, back up the Nassau to Pumpkin Hill and this did the trick. Both Clint and Jean caught a few small but feisty Reds the Clint put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat, but keeper just barely so we tossed it back, then Jean did the same and her Flounder was about 16" so in the box it went. She also hooked up and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish.

After easing around the corner Clint finally had a "Big Fish Bite" -his drag ripped and his rod bent and he battled his fish to a standstill and soon landed a 2.5' Bonnethead Shark. The duo combined to also land a Whiting, a Weakfish, a few Trout, a Ladyfish, and a Black Drum -now that's a variety and it made for  great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.