Last Cast Big Fish

You could almost feel the Fall nip in the air when I met Stephen Locke and his fishing buddy Jason down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made the quick run up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff to begin fishing with float rigs and live shrimp at a big marsh drainage.  We had just a few nibbles, then Jason picked up a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off".  After moving back into the larger creek and easing along pitching jigs and shrimp we were only able to add a lone Catfish to the catch. 

After buzzing thru Horsehead and around to Spanish Drop, we stuck with the jigs and it paid off. Both anglers began to catch feisty Redfish - first Stephen, then Jason, then Stephen. Each one added a Slot Redfish to the catch. Then, light a like switch, they began to catch hungry Seatrout - fun to catch but a tad too small to keep.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, pitching to some dock pilings and here Stephen hooked up and landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and Jason added a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.

The final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the logs, with the tide still going out. We did pick up a couple of feisty Redfish. We were about to wrap things up when Stephen made his final cast to the bank with a 1/4oz jig/shrimp combo, let it slowly sink and slide down the bottom when, BOOM! Big Fish On!  The fish rolled up almost immediately and we felt comfortable it was a Redfish, but then it went deep, and STAYED deep!  Stephen kept the pressure on, fighting the big fish on a size Florida Fishing Products Osprey 1000, and after a lengthy battle, landed an oversized 32.25" Redfish which slid him into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  After a quick measurement and even quicker pictures we lowered the big fish back into the water and, BOOM! He was gone. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Still Windy But Good Fishing

After yesterday's trip up north of the island with not a lot of action, we decided to go south today. Even though the wind was still blowing a bit (not nearly as bad as yesterday), we felt like we could find a few areas to fish. I met Adam Garner, his son Jacob, and Jacob's wife Allie down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and with a live well of live shrimp (there were no minnows available at any bait shop), we headed out, and around, and made our first stop over at Longpointe docks. Fishing west of one, back to the pilings, it was Adam who had the hot rod early - he boated a keeper sized Flounder, then, after going deep, had a strong hookup and, Big Fish On! Adam played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 22" Seatrout, a fish big enough to place him tied for 3rd in the Anglers Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We then ran up the Nassau River and stopped at a large run-out and continued to fish with our jigs and shrimp. Jacob got on the board with a Flounder catch, then he and Allie doubled up with a Redfish and Seatrout catch. We caught a couple of more fish - Ladyfish and a Stingray but the tide hit bottom and the fish quit biting.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island but when we got there the tide was still going out, so we moved down a aways and it paid off.  Jacob had made an excellent cast between some logs and when he felt a "bump" he set the hook and reeled in a nice 17" keeper Flounder.

When the tide started back in the fish really started biting. Jacob got hot early and put a couple of small but feisty Redfish in the boat then he had a strong bite and, Fish On!  He played it patiently and worked it to the net, a nice 23" Slot Redfish. We caught some smaller Reds, a  Mangrove Snapper, an ugly Toad Fish, a keeper sized Sheepshead, and even a Blue Crab! Then it was Allie's turn to battle a big fish - she was at the stern, patiently letting her jig slide down the bottom when, BOOM! Fish On!  She worked it to the boat and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. Allie went back to the same spot and
within minutes, BOOM! Bigger Fish On!  This fish was ripping drag and hanging on the bottom, back in the current and took some real effort to work to the surface, but Allie was up to the task and soon brought to the net a big 28" oversized Redfish. Boy what a fish! We snapped some quick pictures, made sure it was ready to swim, and released it.

After hitting one more spot on the top of the tide, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wind Blown Fishing

We knew that today the wind would be a challenge and boy was it! I had met Jim Merkey and his sons Justin and Derrick up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and even though the water looked fairly nice, I knew that the wind blowing out of the North East was being blocked by Amelia Island. Once we headed north from the ramp and got beyond the tip of the island, it hit us!  But we got turned west and made the run to Tiger Island where we had some fairly pleasant fish - but the fish didn't cooperate!  These anglers were making excellent casts but all we were getting were "baitstealers".

After making the run thru Tiger, back thru Bell and down Lanceford, we fished some docks exposed to the wind, but it paid off with, finally, some action.  All three anglers caught a handful of Seatrout and Jim dueled with a feisty Redfish. We fished further up Lanceford and picked some "Brookie" sized Trout and Ladyfish, then we made the long run around to Piney Island to get out of the wind. But it did no good- there were no fish to be found.

Our final stop was back at Bell River, fishing a flooding grass point and again, we found a couple of small Seatrout. The wind was really, really kicking  now so we called it day. The sun was out, folks on land probably thought it was a beautiful day, so we counted it as another good one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catch'n in the Current

I fished this morning with Roger Pickett and his buddy David, meeting them up at the Dee Dee
Bartels Park and boy was it a nice morning (for a while). The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours but we tried our first stop over a Tiger Island and we found that the logs were still exposed so the two anglers began pitching jigs and shrimp to the pockets. Although we had numerous "bait stealing" nibbles we had not luck until Roger hooked up and brought to the boat a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  He also tangled with a eel for a bit!

We came out and around and fished a run out onthe outside of Tiger to no avail, then continued on around to Jolley bank and switched to float rigs and the live shrimp. We all noticed that there was very little current along that stretch and we had no bites.

After running up the river we stopped just south of Snook Creek and began fishing the bank and here the current was running. David had made a good cast up above a grassy patch and as his float drifted by it slowly went under. David lifted his rod to set the circle hook and, Fish On!  We knew right of that this was a big fish - David's reel was ripping and the fish was running at-will. When it got up shallow I was concerned that it would cut itself off on the oysters in shallow water but David worked him out patiently to deeper water then applied the pressure and soon landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish.

We worked on down the bank and got into some Seatrout, a couple which were keeper size, and Roger battled two big Bonnethead Sharks to the boat, then we headed back up the river to fish another grass line. Again, there was very little current and we had no bites.

We could see some really dark clouds heading our way and when we checked the radar we could see  that it was definitely heading straight for us so we pulled up the trolling motor and raced back to the boat ramp to get shelter  from the storm , and boy was it a storm! But we had had a good stretch of fish catching early so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catch'n It Just Right

Back to work this week, fishing with Bob Blalock out of the Goffinsville Park. There was a forecasted low tide at about 6:15 for the area, and knowing that it takes about an hour or so for it to start back in at Broward Island, we decided to make that our first stop with plans to fish jigs and live shrimp.

Bob had only made a cast or two when he hooked up - a feisty Redfish. He caught a few more then had that BIG hookup we'd been
expecting. BOOM! Big Red On! Bob played it perfectly, forcing it away from the downed logs and out to deep water, and from there, it was all over but the (fish) cry'n!  After a nice battle, Bob landed a 21" Slot Red.

We fished some more and put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat, a couple of more Reds, then moved on down the way and under the watchful eye of a Bald Eagle to the north of us and an Osprey to the south of us, hooked up with an even bigger Redfish. Again, Bob eased him out from around the logs then kept the pressure on,

slowly working it in to the net - another Slot Red, this one measure at 23".  Bob rounded out his "backwater slam" with a nice 17" Flounder catch before we moved on.

Our next stop was over at Spanish Drop and although we didn't pick up any "game" fish, we did get a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a high flying Ladyfish, and a first in the back waters for the Anglers Mark, a juvenile Cobia!  We fished a couple of other marsh lines then tinkered with some Mangrove Snapper at Seymore's then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Before the Blow

As tropical storm Humberto headed our way, we had just enough time to get in a morning fishing trip yesterday before the winds really started blowing. I had met Nate and Tara and their friend Kevin up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp with a bait well full of live shrimp and we headed out, making our first run up to the Jolley River to fish the "bank" with float rigs on a high and still incoming tide.  Tara "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a hard fighting Bluefish. Nothing much else was happening so we moved down the way, and here Kevin caught a nice Seatrout and a Ladyfish, the
"poor man's Tarpon".

We made a short stop at Tiger Island and fished the flooded logs with jigs but all we had were "baitstealing" nibbles.  We continued on around and up into Lanceford Creek to fish a small grass patch and here things picked up just a tad. Nate got on the board with a couple of Seatrout catches then, after casting and letting his float drift by the grass, his float slowly went under and he hooked up. Nate patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice 17" keeper

sized Flounder (all fish caught today were released).

We made another brief stop at some docks along Lanceford and Nate stayed on a roll, hooking up with another couple of Trout on the jig, while Tara added to the catch with a Trout of here own, fishing a float up near the grass.

Our final stop was around at Oyster Bay. Tara had made an excellent cast, allowing her float to drift along a grass island and, BOOM! Fish On! She worked it to the boat and landed a feisty Redfish to round out the group's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder, and Redfish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Summertime Trends

Today Kenny Welch brought along his friends Terry and Mimi and met me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and fished the very last of an incoming tide with live shrimp under floats. At the first stop, Kenny knocked the skunk off with a hungry Seatrout catch. We crossed over the creek and fished another bank and fished the lull in the high tide to no avail.

After that we ran thru Horsehead, fished  an outflow as the tide had started out, and picked up a Catfish, a Ladyfish, and a Mangrove Snapper,
all summer time fish.

Later we also added more  Mangrove Snapper (a couple were keeper size) , a couple of hard fighting Bluefish, and more Ladyfish.
After running down to Spanish Drop and switching to jigs and shrimp, Terry hooked up with a Seatrout on his first cast, then Kenny found a "honey hole" at a grass point and caught Ladyfish, Trout, and a Puffer fish! 

Then Mimi hooked up and when her drag ripped we knew it was a bigger fish. She patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice Slot Redfish. We fished on, and caught more Ladyfish, a Jack Crevall, and Mangrove Snapper before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Back Fishing. It was Hot.

After being "down" with Hurricane Dorian passing thru, I was back at it today, meeting Kenny Welch and his adult sons Walker and Paul, down at the south end boat ramp. There was a high tide that had just started out and after a 10 minute run up to Pumpkin Hill, the anglers began tossing float rigs with live shrimp. One thing that hasn't changed for two weeks was that the "baitstealers" were out in full force! If you can get  mud minnows, fish with them!  We had umpteen bites but brought back only empty hooks.

On the way to our next stop I put out a minnow
trap then headed down to Spanish Drop and only minutes Walker put a nice keeper sized Flounder in the boat.  Then all three anglers, now pitching jigs and shrimp, began to catch small but feisty Redfish.  Paul added another keeper sized Flounder.

We checked the trap, got some small mud minnows, then thru the cast net for some finger mullet them eased back down to Spanish Drop where Paul hooked up and landed a big Flounder. Later, Walker put another big Flounder in the boat.  But boy was it getting hot!

We decided to make one more stop, this one up at Seymore's Pointe at some docks and here the anglers wrapped things up with a Redfish catch and a couple of hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum.  And with that, we called it a day, another great one for fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Anglers Mark Alert: Vintage Reels

I came across these vintage reels the other day and it reminded me what the "Anglers Mark" is all about. These reels are not of any real value, other than the coolness of their design that takes you back to the 60's and 70's - times when we were growing up and getting out on a jon boat with cousin Chuck and doing some fishing.


This vintage automatic fly reel was manufactured by the Shakespeare Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A. The Shakespeare NO. 1822, Model ED, OK AUTOMATIC fly rod reel offers silent winding, a chromed line protector, and will hold 80 yards "G" and 34 yards "D" line. According to Lures And Reels.com, This model was made in 1967.  What the heck is "G" and "D" line? Evidently fly lines were given an Alpha rating way back. Here's an article that explains the switch from the Alpha to numerical rating.

The Shakespeare Model 1810DK was designed to be used on spinning rods which hade either sliding reel seats, sliding rings, or fixed reel seats which were mounted behind the hand, and under the rod, in a similar position to that of a fly reel. The DK stamp indicates that it was produced in 1970.

Shakespeare's Model 1837 GB Tru-Art Automatic Fly Reel could hold 80 yards of "G" line and 35 yards of "D" line. The
Silent Tru-Art was made from the middle thirties till 1977. This reel was made in 1949.












 

The Shakespeare Model 1795 Wonder Cast Model EF was manufactured in 1965. The push button Wonder Cast  has a dual drag system. A push of the button releases the line and the reel retrieves it. 






The Shakespeare OK Automatic Fly Reel Model 1824 EK was made in 1961.  Many are listed as "silent stripping"

The Shakespeare Wonder Cast 1977 EK  was manufactured in 1971 according to Lures and Reels. com
This is a push button spin casting reel.










Shakespeare's International 2852 Fly Reel was manufactured in the 1970s from bar stock magnesium for lightness and strength when Shakespeare wanted to go up market. It's a little strange that the literature mentions made in Britain but there's a "made in Japan" sticker on the mount!







The Pflueger Polaris 86 was made in the early 1960's here in the United States.

Blowing Thru The Bait

The last couple of days of fishing we have blown thru dozens of mud minnows - and that's a good thing! Yesterday (Saturday) morning I had met the Jones family, Kim, Terry and Luke up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and we headed north west, over towards Tiger.  We were running parallel with Capt. Brian Soucy, he on the inside, and sure enough, he pulled in to where my first stop was going to be!  Hah!  But it all worked out...we kept going and eased in to the Jolley River, dropped the trolling motor, and began to work the "bank".  It paid off.

In no time flat both Terry and Kim began to hookup with small but feisty Redfish, one after another. Luke was on the bow and was making excellent casts but was having no takers until, BOOM! Bigger fish on. Luke fought it from the bow to the stern, wore it out, and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. We continued to work that bank and caught umpteen fish - Redfish, Seatrout, Ladyfish,  and a lone Mangrove Snapper.  A bit down the way Luke had another big bite, and Fish On!  He worked it patiently to the boat and put another 23" Slot Red in the boat.

We fished Snook Creek and caught a few more Reds, saw Dolphin busting fishing, then worked around to the MOA where Terry tangled with a big Catfish.  Kim created some excitement when she hooked up and fought to the surface a nice Jack Crevalle.   We made one more stop at Tiger Island but the sun was up, it was getting hot, so we called it day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.