Fishing For Rabbits

WhooWhoo! What a pretty day we had for fishing the back waters of Amelia Island! I met Bud O'dell and his longtime friend Fred Hough down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp on a high and outgoing tide and we made a quick run up the Nassau River, stopping at a flooded shell bank along the river - Spanish Drop area. The two anglers started tossing float rigs up current, drifting their live shrimp along the edge and BOOM! Fish On! BOOM! Fish On!...that's how it went for almost an hour of fishing. They were catching feisty Redfish and hungry Seatrout, with a Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle thrown in for
fun.

When the bite finally slowed we moved on up to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe. I had fished the same dock yesterday and we only picked up one Redfish and a small Snapper, but we had a better quantity show up today. Both Bud and Fred put a few Black "puppy" Drum in the boat that measured right at legal - we could have debated with the Game and Fish guy, but you know how that goes - so we tossed them back. We had picked up some finger mullet before we left the last spot and Bud hooked up and caught a nice Seatrout on one of the mullet.

Our final stop was down at Broward Island, again, the same spot as yesterday where my guests put a nice slot Red in the boat, but have something big pull lose later. Fred had hit the mark with his cast, kept the line tight, and we both saw something bumping his bait.  Fred gave it a second or two and then set the hook, UMPH! and Big Fish ON!  Fred played it perfectly, keeping that pressure on, and after a good battle landed a big 22" Doormat Flounder, big enough to tie him for the lead in the Anglers Mark 2018 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). And note, the minute the pressure came off the line when it was in the net, the hook popped right out!

We fished a few spots along Broward and picked up another handful of Redfish, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Saving The Best For Last

I was back to work today, meeting Daniel and Savannah Mullins down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We headed up the intercoastal and then into Jackstaff with plans to fish that first bank with jigs and live shrimp as the Rosette Spoonbills ate their breakfast along the bank. Both anglers started right off making excellent casts, working the bank slowly but they had to fend off "baitstealers", one after the other, after the other - what a pain! Although they both tangled with high flying Ladyfish, we had no other real bites.

Our next stop, after running thru Horsehead, was
down at Spanish Drop, fishing a large marsh run out. Here, Daniel did manage to "knock the skunk off" when he hooked up deep and landed a nice Seatrout. We moved down 100 yards, fished another shell bank, then headed back to Seymore's Pointe to fish some dock pilings. Both Daniel and Savannah were making pin point casts, working it hard, and it paid off when Daniel caught a feisty Redfish...but that was it. Tough fishing! But these anglers were game and here to have a good time. We had beautiful weather and another hour or so of fishing, so we headed south, down to Broward Island and began fishing the logs.

This did the trick! Savannah had a strong bite, she set the hook, and Fish On. She worked it patiently tot he boat and soon landed a nice feisty Redfish. Then Daniel got in on the action, hooked up and caught a Red, then both anglers were catching fish.  We worked the island pretty good, then just as the trip was about to wrap up, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Daniel was on the rod - he fought it from bow to stern then, keeping the pressure on, worked it slowly  to the boat. It made a couple of deep runs but it was no match for this experienced angler and he soon brought it to Savannah's waiting net - a 23" Slot Redfish!  Now that's the way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mixing Work With Play

We had a Snack Food convention in town and a few of us in the Amelia Island Guides Association got to take some of them out fishing on the back waters of Amelia Island yesterday afternoon. I had Mark and Tonya on my boat and we had a great time!  Our first stop was up the Lanceford Creek, fishing "Millies Spot" and again, just like this morning, first cast produced a fish. Tonya was on the rod and she worked it in expertly and landed her first Redfish. Now that's the way to start a fishing trip!  From then on for about an hour we were catching fish. Mark put a couple of keeper sized Seatrout in the boat then
he had a strange bite, set the hook and brought to the net a keeper sized Sheepshead! (all fish caught today were released).  Tonya and Mark were neck and neck in the fish catch count.

Our next stop was on the outside of Tiger, fishing an outgoing tide with float rigs and here the duo picked up a couple of Seatrout before the tide got too low to fish it.

We then made the long run back thru Tiger and around to the Jolley, stopped to fish the "bank" and after trolling for just a bit Mark had a strong hookup!  You could tell Mark had caught fish before because he played this big fish perfectly and soon landed a nice Slot sized Redfish.  We fished further up the Jolley, picked up another Redfish or two, then called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Birthday Fun Fishing

Yesterday morning I met Paul Leavy, his son Grayson, and brother-in-law Joe for Grayson's birthday fishing trip!  We left the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and shot across to Tiger Island and fished the tree tops with jigs and live shrimp and wouldn't you know it...first cast, Boom! Fish on!  Grayson was on the rod and he worked it patiently to the boat, knocking the "skunk off" in fine fashion!  We had a good flurry of action for a good while, catching smaller Reds, then Paul had a stronger hookup and boated a keeper sized Slot Redfish. Grayson added keeper sized Flounder to the

catch.

We ran out and around to the outside of Tiger, set up at a marsh run out, and here Joe got on the board with a couple of Seatrout catches - giving the trio an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.
We fished the "bank" of the Jolley briefly with float rigs but after Grayson mentioned that he'd like a Shark catch, we went further up in to the Jolley and into Snook Creek. I put a heavier leader on one of the Shimano 2500 outfit and in a short time Grayson had the hookup he was looking for. He played the big fish patiently and
after a good battle, landed a 4'+ Bonnethead which we photographed and released.  Paul put a nice Redfish in the boat shortly after that.

Our next stop was back around at the Bell River and here Joe got hot with the float rig, catching a handful of hungry Seatrout. Grayson stuck with the jig rod up on the bow, tossing deep and picked up a couple of Weakfish which made my day. We had good action most of the morning and it made for a great birthday celebration fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish'n For Ham

Dale and Kay Bullard usually bring me a couple of their outstandingly delicious ham sandwiches when the fish with me here at Amelia Island, and today was more of the same! These aren't "out of the package" ham sandwiches, these are sure enough true Honey Baked ham sandwiches, and homemade!  But there is that tad bit of pressure to make sure they catch some decent fish!

We met early this morning up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and made a 10 minute run over and into the Jolly River and then up to "Snook Creek" to begin fishing with jigs and live
shrimp Both Dale and Kay honed their skills trying to pick off small Croaker and pin fish that were stealing their bait. The tide was coming in and almost covering the oysters so we switched to float rigs and continued to work the marsh grass...to no avail.

After coming back towards the mouth of the river we set up just south of a mud/oyster flat drainage and this did the trick. First, Dale had a strong hookup - we both saw the wake boil out of there, but the fish must have wrapped the wire stem of the float around an oyster because it broke!  Shortly after that Kay had  good bite - it didn't take - but it came back and BOOM! Big Fish On!  Kay fought it expertly and battle it from the shoreline to out deep and from starboard to port, always keeping the pressure on, and soon brought it to Dale's waiting net - a big 25" Slot Red, and boy was it thick!

Only a few minutes later we had another good bite - another Slot Redfish on. This time it was Dale on the rod and he worked it patiently to the boat and waiting net. This one measured right at 20".  We picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then made a move back to the outside of Tiger. The mullet were coming back in drovers and fish were busting them and finally, Kay got one to take shrimp and had a hookup. She reeled it in and tallied a 18" Seatrout.

We fished Bell River where Dale caught another keeper Trout then he put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat - they got a Slam! We finished the day back on the outside of Tiger. By this time our shrimp had died but it didn't seem to matter. The two anglers caught and released 4-5 more Trout before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Keeper Sized Trout Kinda Day

We had a beautiful morning when Walter Cochran and I left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning with the sun peaking over the south end of Amelia Island. We headed up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and began fishing the bank with float rigs and live shrimp on an incoming tide. The float rigs just weren't working though so we switched to jigs and this did the trick!  Walter began to get hookups  and landed a few feisty Redfish and then some Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size - (all fish caught today were released).

After running thru Horsehead we fished some

docks at Seymore's Pointe, picked up a nice sized Croaker, then moved on down towards Spanish Drop and fished a large run-out. Walter was making excellent casts and we worked the bank thoroughly. We tangled with a Ladyfish and picked up another Trout before we moved on.

Our final stop was down at Pumpkin Hill. The tide had been coming in for a while, was almost high, so we switched back to the float rigs. We were fishing in about 3.5 foot of water around some grassy islands and after Walter put his float in a perfect spot, let it drift, BOOM!  Nice Trout on! He continued to work that area and, BOOM! Bigger Trout on!  He went back to the area and BOOM! Biggest Trout on!  The float rigs finally payed off and it ended up making for a great way to wrap up a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

When It Rains It Pours

It's amazing how quickly a rain storm moves across the water! But more on that later!  I met the Ahrens family early this morning up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp, Brian and Jenifer and their two sons Henry and Oscar. We made a short jump across the river from the ramp and fished a submerged oyster bar on a high and incoming tide. The anglers were tossing float rigs with live shrimp and making excellent casts but we had no takers, other than "baitstealers". 

Further around Tiger we set up and it was young Henry that "knocked the skunk off" when
he hooked up and expertly reeled in a hard fighting Blue Fish. After we had crossed a creek and fished a point of grass, Brian put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. (All fish caught today were released). We then made the run thru Tiger Basin and around to Bell River and set up alongside some flooding marsh grass and here all of the anglers had action, catching hungry Seatrout.

The tide was just about to start out so our next stop was over in Lanceford Creek. And once that tide started out we had plenty of bites and a whole bunch of catches!  Henry quickly earned the name "Redfish King" after he hooked up, and in an epic battle, landed a big 25" Slot sized Redfish - with his dad on the net! Later, he found a hot spot and caught one feisty Redfish after the other.

I noticed that there was a rain storm headed our way and we discussed "running for it" but decided to stay, and boy did we get drenched!  But these anglers were game and after we went back to fishing Brian and Oscar began to catch Seatrout with Oscar "Big Trout Guy" putting  the biggest in the boat for the day. Then he had a strong hookup and as his drag sang I saw a Shark flash by, Fish On!  Oscar worked it to the boat to be netted, photographed, and released.  This whole time Jenifer was getting pictures and helping out around the boat, a big help to the Captain. We fished until we ran out of bait, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Little Fall In The Air

After I met Steve Elmore and his brother-in-law Jason down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this
morning, we headed up the intercoastal and I could fill just a slight "nip" in the air - Fall is on the way!  We eased into Jackstaff and moved further up into a creek and set up outside an out flow to toss float rigs and live shrimp. Although we had a nibble or two then Steve "knocked the skunk" off when he landed a hungry Seatrout.

We moved across the creek and worked a marsh line with the float rigs and both anglers tangled with some high flying Ladyfish but that was it. After running thru Horsehead we fished a marshy point and a dock at Seymore's but again,  no real bites.

Our next stop was down the Nassau River at Spanish Drop and here we had an uptick in action. Both Steve and Jason had switched to jigs and shrimp and minnows and after a few casts to a marsh runout, Steve had a strong bite and, Fish On! We could tell it had some size by the way the drag was ripping - the fish took Steve from the bow to the stern and from starboard to port, but Steve kept the pressure on, played it patiently and with Jason on the net, brought a nice 20" Slot Redfish to the boat.

And shortly after that it was Jason's turn with a big fish. His was REALLY ripping drag and when it headed for deep water, and kept going, I guessed "Bonnethead". It's really difficult to land a 4' shark on my light Shimano 1000's but Jason was up to the task. He stayed  patient, worked 'em in, and landed a the big shark for pictures and release.

We fished a couple of those banks and then some more docks at Seymore's, and landed a couple of more Reds, a Stingray, a small Sea Bass, and a couple of "baitstealers", then we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Red to Start the Day

We ignored the weather forecast that predicted a 45% chance of rain this morning and met up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early. It was Chris Moscoso and his cousin Rob, back for some Amelia Island back country fishing on the Angler's Mark. We ran across to the outside of Tiger and set up along some marsh grass and fished float rigs over oysters with mud minnows. I don't think we had been there more than few minutes when Chris had a hookup and, Fish On!  He played it perfectly on his light tackle spin gear and soon landed a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish. Now that's the was to start a fishing
trip!  But the rest of the stretch produced no real bites, so we crossed the river and fished another marsh line. We had a few nibbles here and there, but no takers so we pulled up and  made the run up to the Jolley River.

Our first stop was along the "bank" and even though these two anglers were making excellent casts, we just weren't getting the bites. I think the tide was till to high. We buzzed up the river and fished a large marsh run out and may have caught a Redfish or two. After working further up the bank, Rob had a huge bite. He kept the pressure on, and held on! The drag was ripping and Rod was doing everything right but is was not to be.  BINK, the big fish was gone - it threw the hook. Ouch. But the tide had fallen, the oysters were exposed and the fish bite turned on with a vengeance. Both anglers were putting Redfish in the boat, one after the other, and they added a couple of small but hungry Seatrout. Rob hooked up and landed another Slot Redfish. (All fish caught today were released).

When things slowed we made the run around to Tiger Island and fished the "tree tops" with jigs and minnows and both Chris and Rob caught keeper sized Flounder, again, both released.  Once the tide had started out and the oysters were exposed was when  most of the fish were caught today, and it made for a great one to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fun Amelia Island Fishing

We had a beautiful morning today when I met Adam and Patty Garner up at the north end boat ramp and we made quick time getting north and west over to the outside of Tiger Island with a plan to fish the outgoing tide with float rigs and minnows and a handful of live shrimp.

Patty was fishing the shrimp at the stern of the boat and she was the first to strike (and maybe the 2nd and 3rd!) - she hooked up and landed  some hungry Seatrout. We worked along the bank, began to snag bottom with our hooks, then moved on, making our next run up to the Jolley River to fish a large marsh run out. Here, both

Adam and Patty had good hookups with feisty Redfish and handily brought them to the boat.  We worked that bank thoroughly, then ran back to the mouth of the Jolley to fish the "bank" and here we had some good Redfish action. Both anglers put fish in the boat.

You would have thought we were touring the Jolley because our next stop was back up the river and on to the MOA where we broke out the jig rods, now fishing exclusively minnows, but we had no luck. The MOA (Mother of All) is slowly becoming NOT the MOA.

Our next and final stop was back at Tiger Island. The sun was up, the breeze was blocked, but we did manage to put another Red or two in the boat and then a keeper sized Flounder (released). After touring the south end of Cumberland Island and Fort Clinch, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.