Fish'n For Keepers

We had another absolutely beautiful morning today when I met Kip McNeil, his dad Stephan, and their buddy mark up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. The sun was out, we had a slight breeze, and a high and incoming tide. We made a quick run over to the Jolley River and set up to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp. Right off, Stephan hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish up near the bank then Mark followed that up with a large Bluefish catch. We worked along the bank and caught a couple of small Seatrout.

After moving further up the river with the tide we stopped and fish a small cove  and Stephan tangles with a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark which he landed expertly. We moved on up the river to Snook Creek and here Mark got in on the Shark action when he too hooked up landed a Bonnethead. As we eased along the bank we had bites here and there, caught a couple, then when Kip spotted a Redfish tailing up near the grass he made a pin point cast, waited patiently for the float to disappear and, BOOM! Fish on!  This fish boiled so we knew it was a Redfish then it went from bow to stern and out to deeper water. But Kip was up to the challenge and worked it to the boat to land a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish.

We came back to the outside of Tiger and fished some flooded oysters, caught a few Trout, then came back up to Tiger and landed a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then a whole lot of Trout. Our last stop was back towards Jolley, fishing a marsh run out and here, after Mark had put a winning Stingray in the boat, Stephan found a few more Trout, one of which was of keeper size.  We had a caught a whole bunch of fish and had a few keepers so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Not a Breeze

I fished with Doug Mackle, his granddaughter Montana, and her friend Thomas this  morning, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early with plans to fish the very last of an incoming tide, then the outgoing. We made a quick run over to the outside of Tiger and set up to fish the flooded marsh grass with float rigs and live shrimp, and minnows. We had pretty good action with Thomas "knocking the skunk" off the boat early with a hungry Seatrout catch.  The trio of anglers caught a good handful of Trout, a nice Jack Crevalle that Montana put in the boat, and a Mangrove Snapper.

We then ran around to Bell River and set up alongside a point as the tide began peak and picked up one more Trout. After running up Lanceford we fished a grassy island to no avail, then dropped back and fished some dock pilings. Thomas landed another Seatrout and a Mangrove Snapper then Doug had the strongest hook up for the day. He played it perfectly but the fish had some smarts and found something to wrap
around on the bottom and, BAP! Fish Off. Ouch.

It was an absolutely beautiful day but there wasn't a lick of breeze out there today!

Our next stop was around in Soap Creek, fishing a large marsh runout where we had no luck. We fished along some oyster bars that were beginning to show, had some good bites, but nothing to show for it. After one final stop outside Tiger where we picked up one more Trout, we called it a day, another great on to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

A Pair of Catfish Bookend Variety at Amelia Island Fishing

I fished with the Mitchell family today, Ryan and Christina and their kids Lucy and Ryan IV, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early with plans to fish the last of an incoming tide in the marshes of Amelia Island. We made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill and set up alongside a flooding marsh line to drift float rigs and live shrimp along the edge.  Lucy "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed a feisty Catfish!  This angling family then put a couple of high flying Ladyfish in the boat, then a Croaker, then young Ryan reeled in a nice keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught
today were released).

 Then, after Ryan Sr had made an excellent cast to get a drift across a flooded oyster flat when, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Ryan kept the pressure on as the fish ripped across the flat for deeper water then handed the rod off to Christina and Ryan IV. They battled it up close to the boat then handed it off to Lucy to finish it off. Lucy worked it patiently to the boat and landed a big 4' Bonnethead Shark!  It was true teamwork and it paid off with a nice fish, some pictures and release.

After a brief break back at Goffinsville, we moved on down to Seymore's Pointe and tossed the float rigs to some rocks and sure enough, the Mangrove Snapper were In House. All four anglers caught and released the sneaky Mangroves, all of which were released. We then fished down at Spanish Drop where Ryan and Lucy battled a Jack Crevalle to the net, then Ryan IV finished it off with a Catfish catch by trolling a minnow out the back. We had a good variety of fish caught which made for a great day of fishing with kids here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Oversized Red Starts The Day

I fished this morning with Paul Clark and his longtime friend Dean, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a long run thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up near some flooded oyster beds on the last of an incoming tide. Both anglers were tossing live shrimp under floats and were getting "nibbles" hear and there, but no takers. I had just switched Paul to a mud minnow when his float disappeared and, BOOM! Float Gone and Fish On!  Paul played it perfectly, worked it out between some crab pot floats and got it into deeper water then the battle ensued.  The big fish went deep a few times, and I was calling "Shark" but when it rolled up behind the boat I was changing my tune!  Paul worked it to the boat patiently and soon landed a 29.75" oversized Redfish - boy what a fish!

We fished around the corner briefly then made the run back to Seymore's Pointe where we set up and caught a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, a few of which were legal.  We then moved down to Spanish Drop and picked up a couple of Flounder, one of which was of keeper sized. I tried the new Athens Drop spot but I guess the guess Tuesday fished it out!  But we had had some action early in the morning, it was a beautiful day, so we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Athens Drop

We nailed down a new spot today, Athens Drop, named after my guest anglers who are visiting from Athens, Georgia. I had met Jeremy Hobbs, his son Judah, and their friend Steven down at the Sawpit creek boat ramp and after making a short run up the Nassau River we stopped to fish Spanish Drop with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows.  Judah kicked it off with a couple of feisty Redfish catches, a Seatrout catch, and a small Flounder catch. Then both Steven and Jeremy got in on the action, catching a few feisty Reds for themselves. We worked that bank thoroughly, caught a few more Reds, trout and
another small Flounder. Judah had a strong hookup, fought it to the boat patiently, and landed a nice Slot Redfish.

After moving up a bit we fished Twin Creeks where there was tons of bait getting "popped" then continued moving west and eased up along side a large shell bank that dropped off deep to 15' of water, the new "Athens Drop". Boom! Fish On!  a nice Slot Red was brought to the boat. Boom! Fish On!  Another Slot Red. Boom! Another Slot Red, Boom, Another Slot Red - we limited out on the Slot Redfish!  Jeremy decided to try a Gulp fluke and after he had bounced it off an oyster bed he had a strong hookup and brought to the boat a nice 18" Flounder.

We fished Seymore's Pointe and caught a good handful of small Mangrove Snapper, then finished up over in Jackstaff before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Start Early

Fishing with the Scott family this morning, Justin and Julie and their sons Porter and Noah, aftermeeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had run up the Nassau River and made a quick stop at Spanish Drop to begin pitching live shrimp on jigs to the oysters that were beginning to show on an outgoing tide. It didn't take long before they were hooking up with feisty Redfish. Noah got it started with a catch then Porter, then Justin. We had a handful of those before Porter, on the bow, had a stronger hookup and, Fish ON!  Porter played it perfectly and fought it from the starboard side to the port, wore it out, and landed a nice 21" Slot sized
Redfish.  Julie took over the video duties while I netted the fish!  The fishing was so good we fished a bit of that stretch again and Justin added a keeper sized Flounder to the catch and then Porter put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  Justin landed another keeper Flounder to top the box off.

We ran up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some docks, landed a small Mangrove Snapper then ran down to Pumpkin Hill and fished oysters. We fished the logs at Broward Island, the rocks back at Seymore's Pointe and the shell in Jackstaff but all we could do was feed the nibblers. It had been a good start for the day, we had some wonderful weather, so we still counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mixed Bag Makes a Mess 'O Fish Here at Amelia Island

We had an absolutely beautiful day that greeted us when I met Ben Windle and his fishing buddy Brad down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The sun was just coming up, we had a good breeze and not a cloud in the sky as we headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop along some exposed oysters on the last of an outgoing tide. The duo were pitching live shrimp on jigs to a marsh run out and in minutes, they both had Flounder hookups that they brought to the boat.  We also picked up a couple of feisty Redfish along the oyster beds. We fished a couple of those runouts then moved on up to fish some docks at Seymore's.

After picking up a small Mangrove and small Black Drum, we moved around to fish some rocks and here things really lit up. We caught one Mangrove Snapper after another with a few of them being of keeper size, the biggest being about 13" in length.  Although they're not real big, if you get a good
handful those palm sized filet's can be really good eating!

We run down to Broward Island after that, had at least two good hookups that released at boat side then we moved up to Pumpkin Hill to drift some floats over some shell bottom. This did the trick for the big fish - Ben hooked up, battled expertly, and landed a big 26.75" Slot sized Redfish.

The entire day we tangled with high flying Ladyfish and we wrapped the day up back along the Nassau at Spanish Drop when Brad battled two hard fighting Jack Crevalle, Ben put another Slot Red in the boat, and we had a couple of Croaker catches. It was getting hot but as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Two Big Reds in the Nassau

I was again fishing out of Sawpit Creek this morning, this time with Paul Deluca, his son Cole and
their friend Sean. We met early and headed up the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff and begin fishing the exposed oysters with jigs and live shrimp on the very last of an outgoing tide. We worked up the creek, pitching to the bank, had a few nibbles, then Sean "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up, battled, and landed a nice 3' Bonnethead Shark. Cole had a good hookup at a large marsh run out but the fish ran directly to the boat, under it, and BAP! Fish off!

We then ran thru Horsehead and around to some docks to fish the piers with the jigs and shrimp. Sean caught a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum (all fish caught today were released) and Cole put a feisty Mangrove Snapper in the boat.



After moving around
the corner to fish some rocks, the fish "catching" lit up and was on fire. All four anglers found the
hot spot and began to pull one Mangrove Snapper after another out of the "honey hole". The Snapper are BACK!  Many of these were 12-13" and would make some great fish filet's for a fry - again-all were released to be caught another day. When we tired of catching fish (crazy, huh?)  We moved on.

The next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming. Fishing, not catching. I've about decided to give up on these islands for a while.








We moved north to Pumpkin Hill. Now drifting floats, both Sean and Cole hooked up and landed some high flying Ladyfish, then Cole had his float disappear, he hooked up, played it perfectly, and landed a nice feisty Redfish. Then it was Paul's turn for a Redfish. He was drifting his float up
close and each time his bait caught on the bottom he'd pull it off and, BOOM! Big Fish On! This fish boiled a couple of times up near shore -a Big Redfish - then finally worked its way out deep. But the crabbers have the bank lined with traps and floats and sure enough Paul's fish wrapped the line around the float. Luckily, that braided  line is strong so we inched back to the float, flipped it over the line, and, Fish (back) On! Paul expertly played the fish and brought it to the boat, an Oversized 29" Redfish - boy what a fish.

After fishing down the bank a bit, we moved back to where we started and again, BOOM! Big Fish On! Paul had another one. This time Paul was able to bring it out past the crab traps, play it like a pro, and land a 26 15/16" Tournament Sized Redfish - another nice fish. With two big Reds landed in the last 20 minutes of the trip, it was a great way to wrap up an outstanding fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida.

 

Drum City

I fished with Bob Blalock this morning, meeting him out at Goffinsville Park early with plans to fish the back waters of Amelia Island. We headed  north from the ramp to fish a particular dock but the owner was out doing some exercises so we kept on going as not to disturb him!  We picked another dock and Bob began tossing jigs and live shrimp to the pilings - he got a few nibbles but no takers - then, BOOM! He had a hookup. Bob played it to the boat and landed a nice18" Black "puppy" Drum. Fishing the pilings with shrimp paid off. Bob landed a good handful of the Drum, a couple of more "keeper" sized, some of which he threw  back. He also picked up some Croaker, some small Mangrove Snapper, a small Sheepshead, and a couple of small Seatrout.

We eased back around the corner and the exerciser was gone so we set up off of some rocks and began floating shrimp along the edge and began to get bites. You had to be on your toes but the Mangrove Snapper were feeding and Bob put 5 nice 12-13" fish in the boat before we moved on to find bigger fish.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide, an ideal tide to be there. But the fish didn't get the message!  Bob landed a couple of small Mangrove's and a small Flounder but that was it. We made a final stop up at Pumpkin Hill, fishing the float rigs. We picked up a small Redfish then one drift we both saw something "pop" the float. Seconds later the float disappeared, Bob tightened up and the hook set and, Fish ON! He worked it patiently to the boat - we were thinking "Redfish" but when it came to the net we saw it was a large 22" Seatrout, big enough to move Bob into a 2nd place tie in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament -Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). That was a great fish to wrap up the day - a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Croaker Croaker Croaker

I fished with the Hynote crew - Tom and his son Bennett, and his brother-in-law Chris and his daughter Briana, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning. We made a long run up and into the Jolley River to an exposed oyster bank on a low and incoming tide - a place that I had done really well a week ago on a similar tide. All four anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and making excellent casts. They were all getting bites but no real takers. Finally, Bennett hooked up and reeled in a Croaker. Then Briana did the same, reeling in an even bigger Croaker. The anglers caught and landed a good handful of those - I don't think the Reds and Trout and Flounder even had a chance!

We ran back to the mouth of the Jolley and fished the "bank" and here Briana hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish, then we landed another. Chris got on the board with a Seatrout catch before we moved back up the river. We fished up at Snook Creek with float rigs, then came back north. As we eased up to a pocket, Briana had made an excellent cast up between two grassy islands and BOOM! Fish on! She fought it valiantly but the fish cut the line on some oysters. Ouch. Then Tom had the same thing happen, BOOM! Big Fish on!  Then, BAP! fish off!  Boy oh boy. Finally, Bennett stepped up, hooked up,  and brought to the boat a nice 24" Slot sized Redfish

Our next stop was around to the outside of Tiger where we landed a small Seatrout or two, then we finished up over at Bell River, again with a Trout catch. The wind had picked up, the storm clouds were rolling in, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.