We Got The Slot Reds

I fished this morning -another beautiful one - with Dut Leblanc and his son-in-law Stephen, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp as the sun came up over the horizon. We made a quick run up the Nassau River and made our first stop along some exposed oysters on an outgoing tide. Crazy how one day can make a difference - yesterday morning we fished the same spot with the same bait and just tore up the small but feisty Redfish. Today - not a single Red, but these two anglers were not deterred and began to get Seatrout, bouncing their  jigs and shrimp down the river bottom. Most were just undersized but finally Stephen put a keeper in the boat.

We moved further up the way, fished a large run out, and again, Seatrout but no Redfish. Crazy. After fishing some docks at Seymore's Pointe with no real bites, we made the run down to Broward Island and fished the jigs deep, and it paid off. I had caught some finger mullet and it was this that Stephen had a huge bite and, Fish On! He played it patiently to the boat an landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. Both Dut and Stephen picked up a couple of more smaller Reds before we worked our way down the island. We got a bite here and there - Dut had a huge bite and as he worked it to the boat - it let go!  We could see the teeth marks on his mullet but it didn't get the hook!

As we dropped back to the original spot before we left the island, Stephen had another good it, set the hook, and successfully fought to the boat another 21" Slot Redfish. We fished the rocks at Seymore's where Dut tangled with a big high flying Ladyfish, then fished the oysters at Spanish Drop one  more time before calling it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Three Way Tie

We've got a three way tie in the Anglers Mark 2018 Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). I had met Tim Parker, his brother Brian, and son Wes out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and we immediately made the short run down the Nassau River, heading east, and made a stop at some exposed oysters shells in the Spanish Drop area. The tide had been going out a few hours and the trio began tossing live shrimp up to the edge of the shell and almost
instantly began to get fish. They caught one feisty Redfish after the other and added a couple of hungry Trout, too.

We moved up the way and fished a large marsh run out and again, it was a great fish catch'n time. We found that if we kept the boat out a ways we tended to hookup Seatrout out deeper as our jig bounced the bottom. After making a quick stop at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where Wes added a Black "puppy" Drum to the mix (and garnered an Amelia Island Back Country Slam), we moved on
down to Broward Island. And again, more feisty Redfish.  We worked the bank thoroughly and eventually moved along a mud flat. Brian had a strong bite and looked like he was working in a concrete block - but it began to fight back!  Brian played it patiently and soon landed a 22" Doormat Flounder -which tied him for first in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament! Boy what a fish!

82 Years of Experience

You can't beat the Fall fishing weather here at Amelia Island, Florida!  I met Bart Hough and his
father-in-law Albert down at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early yesterday morning and we made the long run around to Broward Island to fish the very last few minutes of an outgoing tide and the start of the incoming. The "demo" cast produced a bite and Albert worked in a nice feisty Redfish to start the day!

From then on it was catching fish! And big fish!  Albert put an oversized 30" Red in the boat then followed that up with a Slot 23" Red and then a Slot 26.75" Red!  Bart got in on the action and
began to catch Redfish, too. We worked that area for about an hour. Bart landed a couple of keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum before we moved on.

We fished some docks at Seyomore's Pointe and then wrapped up fishing at Spanish Drop. Here, Albert boated a 21" Seatrout and battled a 4' long Bonnethead Shark to the boat for pictures and release. The duo ended up taking home a nice bag of fish for dinner and it made for a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Making a Day Out Of It

 

I pulled out of Sawpit Creek Friday around noon and headed north and after "re-baiting",  met the Hanna group - Jack and Motsy and their friends Glenn and Jan up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park. They had spent the morning playing golf and walking the beach and wanted to make a day out of it fishing the backwaters of Amelia Island.  We made or first stop at the Jolley River "bank" on a high and outgoing tide fishing live shrimp over the oysters and began to put one Redfish in the boat after another. All four anglers caught
fish on this beautiful afternoon. They also had Seatrout, Black Drum, Sheepshead and more.We wrapped up the day fishing the treetops of Tiger, then made it back to the dock with a couple of nice Slot sized Redfish.

 

Three Guys Fishing

I fished Friday morning with Howard McClure and his two longtime fishing buddies Brian and Joe, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made the run up to the Broward Island/Horsehead/Spanish Drop area and fished with live shrimp on the first of an incoming tide. The fish bite is really coming on strong! In addition to a whole bunch of smaller fish, the trio boated a couple of Slot reds, a handful of keeper Seatrout, a couple of keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and a big 19" Sheepeshead, which put Brian tied for 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2018

 
 

Bragging Rights Tournament (scroll down the right side of this report for standings)  Boy what a beautiful day and a great fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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.