Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam

Although we had windy conditions predicted, the sun was supposed to shine so I met Todd Schroeder and hid dad Dennis down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning for a half day of fishing. We made the run up the Nassau River and found a couple of docks to fish between with float rigs and live shrimp. We had only fished a bit when Todd hooked  up and "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch. We had a number of bites after that but no takers so we moved on around the corner and set  up as the tide began to stop moving. Luckily for us it was still moving and after Dennis had made an excellent cast, his float disappeared, he tightened

his line and the circle hook set, and FISH ON!  We could tell this was a big fish - the drag was ripping and the fish was digging deep. But Dennis kept the pressure on and after a good battle, landed a bulky 26" Redfish. Boy what a fish.

We worked up and down that stretch for a while to stay out of the wind and when the tide started back in it was Todd on the bow who got hot.  He landed a few Redfish, one of which was a 20" Slot size, then he caught a nice keeper sized Sheepshead to round out his Back Country Slam.

It seemed like the wind had died down so we buzzed down to Broward Island and began tossing jigs to the bank. Todd stayed hot by picking up a couple of more Redfish. We worked down the island and here Todd found a keeper sized Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Seatrout, Redfish, Sheepshead and Flounder.

After one stop, we headed in. The sun was out and had warmed things nicely. We had  few fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Trout Uptick

We had another beautiful morning today when I met Don McKenna and his son Ryan up at the north end ramp. We launched at 7am and it was still dark with the time change but when we got to our first spot at Tiger Island the sun began to peak up over the horizon. The two anglers were tossing jigs an live shrimp and the tide had only been coming in for about an hour - I thought we'd have some good action, but it took a while. We worked along the logs and finally picked up a small Trout or two, then a feisty Redfish, then Don landed a keeper sized Seatrout.

We then buzzed around and  up to the Jolley River and began fishing the bank, and again caught a Trout or two and then one of keeper size.  Our next stop was up at Snook Creek and although we had some good bites, we had no takers. After coming back to Tiger and around to Bell River we set up along a marshy pointe and drifted float rigs with the current. We may have gotten a fish or two there, but we decided to make the run around to Lanceford Creek. We were fishing a lone grass patch when both anglers began to put 14" Trout in the boat, one after the other. It was a good flurry of fun fishing. Ryan added a small Flounder and Don added a small Black "puppy" Drum to round out there Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam.

It was almost time to leave but we wanted to hit one more spot and it sure paid off! Both Don and Ryan landed nice keeper sized Trout and it made for a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Black Cat Got Nothing

I was heading to the boat ramp this morning when a black cat ran across the road in front of me and made me think..........nope, I thought, surely we're going to catch some fish - it was such a pretty day!  I met Bruce Byrd, his son James and grandson James Jr. (JJ) up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp, made short run, and fished the outside of Tiger Island with float rigs and live shrimp on an incoming tide.  I don't think we had  decent bite there but after running thru Tiger basin and setting up along some flooded marsh grass, James "knocked the skunk off"

when he hooked up and landed a nice Seatrout.

JJ soon found that he was skilled at netting fish and took over those duties for the rest of the day!  We had another trout or two then Bruce hooked up and expertly landed a fat keeper sized fish. We then ran over to Lanceford Creek and fished some flooded oyster between two docks - had no bites - so continued on around to a lone grass patch and this did the trick. Both Bruce and James began to catch Trout and had a double hookup once which kept JJ busy with
the netting. We moved on up the creek a bit and James was able to get his bait out first and BOOM! Fish ON! James worked it to the boat patiently and landed another keeper sized Trout.

We fished Soap Creek and landed a Trout or two, buzzed over to Temptation Cover and fished it a bit, then wrapped up the day back on the outside of Tiger. The bite had slowed but it was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Red Big Trout

Although the skies were overcast and a brisk breeze was predicted, we felt like we could find a few spots of shelter from the NW winds today, so I met Robert Fredericks and his fishing partner Dan down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the run up Nassau River to slip into Christopher Creek with plans to fish the top of the high tide. Both anglers began pitching jigs and live shrimp to likely spots...but we had no real bites for a good 40 yard stretch. I was just about to give  up on the spot when John's rod bent, his drag began to rip, and FISH ON!  I knew right off this was a big fish - it wasn't
turning - but John kept the pressure on and fought him to a standstill, then slowly began to work 'em in. The big fish made a few more runs then finally tired and came to the net - a nice 26" upper-Slot Redfish, big enough to take first place in the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). This bite must have turned a switch because both John and Dan put a few more feisty Redfish in the boat after that. John also landed keeper sized Flounder(this was the second one in a week we've caught)  But the tide was dropping so we ran out of there and came back to the Seymore's Pointe area.

We set up along some flooded shell-the tide was coming out now- and began to toss float rigs with live shrimp. It didn't take long until Dan began to hookup with Seatrout. He got hot!  He landed a couple of keeper sized fish, then a nice 18" Trout then he topped it with a 20" Trout - good enough to take second place in the Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category!  We caught a good handful of Trout before the bite fell off then we came back towards Goffinsville, fished some slip floats, and again, caught a handful of Trout. The morning  had gotten darker, the temperature cooler, and the wind had picked up, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Rain Put the Fire Out

I fished with three generations today - Bruce Byrd, his son Mark and grandson Jace, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early with plans to run over to Horsehead and fish the first of an outgoing tide. We set up along a marsh line and began tossing float rigs and live shrimp and it wasn't long before we were catching fish. Last week's struggles were a distant memory!

Mark got hot early and began to hookup with Trout and then he began to share the rod with young Jace. But Jace soon found that he could be in all the action if he ran the catch net so he landed both his dad and grandad's fish from then

on out. Bruce had just made a good cast up close to the marsh grass and when his float slowly went under he tightened the line, let the circle hook set itself and Fish On!  Bruce worked the fish patiently to the boat and landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. We picked up a couple of more fish then moved on down the Nassau.

We fished 2-4 marsh run outs with float rigs and jigs and caught one or two fish then as we were fishing Seymore's Pointe it began to rain then we had some lighting so we buzzed back to Goffinsville and let the storm cell pass. We thought we'd get some more fishing in so we bounced down to Pumpkin Hill, had one good bite, then the bottom fell out so we called it a day. Although the rain got us wet, we still had a great morning out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Out of Nowhere

You could slice the fog with a knife this  morning when I met Paul and Jana Richards up at the north end boat ramp -boy was it thick. But not so thick that we couldn't "putter" to our first stop around at Tiger Island. The tide was still going out so we set up current from the bank and began to toss live shrimp on a jig to "fishy" spots.  Jana got real good at catching the pesky bait stealers but that was all we could manage. We worked  up an down the bank when out of nowhere, BOOM!  Paul had a hookup. It was ripping drag and staying deep so we knew it was a big fish, but Paul was up to the task, played it perfectly and soon landed a fat Slot 25.5"

Redfish - big enough to put him in first place in the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category. Scroll down the right side of this report for standings.

We crossed the creek and fished a point and Jana caught a nice Whiting then we crossed back and fished the logs and picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout and another feisty Redfish.

Our next stop was up to the Jolley River. Although the first exposed oyster bank didn't produce anything, after making the run further up to the MOA, both Paul and Jana found a Seatrout each. We came back to Snook Creek and worked a bank. After drifting a float rig up near the bank it bobbled a time or two, sagged down in the water and, Fish On! Jana cranked it in and landed another Slot sized Redfish. The sun had finally burned most of the fog off and it topped off a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Flounder of The Year Earns GPK Award

I fished with Greg Bancroft today and boy what a pretty one it turned out to be! We launched up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and buzzed around to Lanceford Creek to fish the very last of an outgoing tide. The "baitstealers" were out strong but Greg worked thru them and picked up a feisty Redfish.

After fishing Soap Creek for a bit with no luck, we came back to Tiger Island and fished the logs. It was slow going for a while until the tide stared coming back in. Greg caught a few hungry Seatrout out deep with his jig and shrimp combo, then he landed a couple of feisty Redfish and wrapped up his Back Country Slam with a small Flounder catch - the first we've had on the Anglers Mark this year.

We then made a run up to the Jolley River and switched to a fixed float rig and shrimp. We had worked about 30 yards of oysters with not a nibble when Greg's float finally disappeared and, Fish On! Greg worked it patiently to the boat and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. He went back to the same spot and, Boom! Fish On. Another Redfish. He went back to the same spot and, Boom! Fish on...for just a bit and...fish off!  We must of gotten into a small school  and had some good action there for a while making it a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Getting the Kids Out

We had a foggy morning today, somewhat cool, but still a good day to go fishing! I met Robert Elarbee and his three kids down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the intercoastal (slowly) with a plan to dip into Jackstaff and fish float rigs on an incoming tide. Although the fist spot didn't off, Frederick was able to land a nice Seatrout at the second stretch of marsh that we fished.

We ran thru Horsehead and stopped at another length of marsh and this did the trick. All three of the young anglers began to catch fish

- namely Trout. We worked that area thouroughly, catch trout here and there, then moved down the way, and caught more trout.  All were on float rigs in about 4 foot of water, fishing live shrimp. Although the sun never came out, these youngsters had a great time landing hungry Seatrout so we counted it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Braggin Rights Times Two

Man what a beautiful morning we had today! I had met Jack Dickens, his sister Sparkle and her husband Roger down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the Nassau River and made the long run down to Broward Island to try and catch the incoming tide before the logs got covered up...and we did.  But we fished a few areas here and there and only managed to pick up one feisty Redfish. After fishing Pumkin Hill for a while with no real bites, we moved on.


Our next stop was around at Seymore's Pointe and this did the trick. We had no more than dropped the trolling motor and began pitching live shrimp under float rigs to the flooding grass when we began to hookup with Seatrout. Sparkle started it off, Roger added one too, then Jack got in on the action. Every now and then the trio put a "keeper" sized fish in the boat.

The tide began to get up, the sun was getting hot (in February,
right?) and we were running out of time but we hit one more spot and boy was it a good one!  Roger had made a perfect cast to some structure and when his float disappeared he lifted his rod, the circle hook set, and Fish On!  He played it patiently and after a few drag ripping runs, landed a stout 25" Slot Redfish, big enough to land him in first place of the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category! 

Then, just minutes later, Jack was getting a good drift along the shore line and something took his bait with a vengeance. It was thrashing around and putting up a heck of a fight  and I saw that it was a big Seatrout. Jack worked it perfectly to the boat and landed the fat 22" Trout - a fish big enough to kick off the 2019 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category! (Scroll down the right side of this report for standings)  What a great way to wrap up a fun day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Crazy Wind

Speaking of unpredictable February weather, yesterday afternoon had something weird happen. I had met Dennis and Barbara Lockard down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp.  We knew that a brief shower was forecast within the hour but we elected to try our luck anyway. The wind was down and we commented on how hot it was when we left the boat ramp and made a straight run to Broward Island. I was thinking we could get in an hour of easy fishing before the rain and wind go to us. But we had no more than dropped the trolling motor when the wind went from 6mph to about 20mph in seconds!  And the temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees. It was
crazy. But these two anglers were here to fish so we worked the bank the best we could with jigs and shrimp but with the wind whipping us around it was very difficult to feel the bottom or a bite.

So we ran back to the protection of Goffinsville and found a stretch where we could fish slip floats with our live shrimp 20' deep and this worked well. Barbara was the first to strike when she hooked and landed a hungry Seatrout. Then both her and Dennis, drifting the traditional trout rig, caught fish.
We tried a couple of areas doing that then moved to the Pointe, still out of the wind, and tried a fixed float up near the rocks. BOOM! Big fish On! Dennis was on  the rod and played it beautifully, working it patiently to the boat and landing a nice 24" Slot Redfish.

We fished those rocks a bit more, then some docks around on the north side for a while, then wrapped up the trip fishing Spanish Drop before calling it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.