Good Cast Nets Big Fish

 With a 50% chance of rain forecast for today my guests and I had decided to take the chance and get out fishing today.  I met Paul Clark and his fishing buddy Steve up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early and headed over to Tiger Island to fish the logs on a tide that had been coming in for about an hour.  Although we didn't tear them up, we did catch a couple of hungry Seatrout and a few feisty Redfish, a couple of which were right under the Slot size. We were fishing with jigs and live shrimp and minnows - the bait stealers are still here, so we gradually gravitated to the minnows more and more. 

After making the run up to the Jolley River, we eased in and fished the "bank", sticking with the jigs, but had no real bites. We then ran further up the river, just past Snook Creek, and switched to float rigs and minnows. We slowly worked the oysters as the tide came in and just when Steve had a made a perfect cast up near the oysters we both saw his float ease under - Steve took up his slack and lifted the rod firmly to let the circle set and, Fish On! We could tell that this fish was big 

because the drag was ripping and the fish was heading south! But Steve kept the pressure on and slowly worked it to the waiting net - a fish that turned out to be a 25.5" upper Slot Redfish, boy what a fish!

We came  back around to Tiger, ran thru the marsh, and over to Bell River where we set up on a point of grass with the tide flooding over a big oyster bar. We weren't getting any bites but after one of our minnows drifted into a small pocket, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Unfortunately the fish ran across the bar, around the corner, and is still going! We drifted some marsh after that and Paul hooked up and landed a nice Seatrout. 

Our last stops were over in Lanceford Creek fishing a real high tide. We hit a couple of spots with no real bites then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Windy Window of Opportunity

 After two cancelled days of fishing due to high winds, and after looking at the forecast last night for today, we decided to get out and give it a try this morning. Unfortunately the forecast had changed just a tad and the wind was already at 16mph when I got up this morning. But I thought we could find a spot or two to find shelter so I drove down to Sawpit Creek to meet Dan Giffiths who brought along two of his kids, Daniella and Samuel. 

We wanted to try our hand at some flood tide tailing Redfish later in the  day but we started off with a run up to Seymore's Pointe...and out of the wind.  Dan unlimbered the fly rod and tossed a slow sinking shrimp to the rocks while the young anglers threw spinning gear and mud minnows. On the first cast we had a bite and hookup!  Samuel was on the rod and he expertly reeled in a...Grouper! It's not the first time we've caught Grouper in the back water - they're not real big but always a neat surprise.

Then Daniella got in on the action. She was making pin point casts and it paid off with some good Mangrove Snapper bites. She really had the hang of it and caught a good handful. Even though Dan was putting the fly right where the Mangroves were biting, he had no takers. 

We headed down to Pumpkin Hill to see if we could get something bigger but we were now out in the wind and it made for some real uncomfortable fishing conditions. We worked our way back to Christopher Creek and saw that the grass was flooding. As we eased up to the grass, we were greeted with Redfish tails everywhere!

Dan had been making excellent casts up at Seymore's in some good shelter but here it was at true challenge. Just when you thought Dan had the perfect cast the wind would catch the line and blow it way off course. The times that the wind cooperated and the cast landed in the right spot, the fish didn't see it. 

We moved around the flat a bit and approached it from a different angle. There were some small tails out there and some huge tails out there but are efforts were to no avail. We tried another spot, again the selection was limited to the shelter from the wind but by this time the water was seriously high and we saw no more tails. We were treated to a huge flock of birds - Egrets, Herons, Spoonbills, and Storks which made for a great way to wrap up a day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

 

HUGE Tripletail Caught In The Backwaters of Amelia Island

 As you can see, as the sun rose over Goffinsville Park we were headed for a beautiful day! I had met Bob and Cindy Hice and Steve and Joy Hastings early and we made a quick jump across the river with plans to fish the far bank with float rigs and mud minnows. That first stop, even though these anglers were getting excellent drifts, produced zero bites. We moved further down the Nassau River and fished past Pumpkin Hill and here we did get some false starts with oyster shell catches, but then some real fish! Steve had a strong hookup and had it boat side when a nice fish threw the hook. But he went back in and pulled out a nice hungry Seatrout. 

We moved around the pointe and fished a flooded grassy island and again Steve picked up a couple of Seatrout. There was a little cove that I advised Steve to pitch to the back of, which he did with an excellent cast, but he had not a nibble. When he switched to the other side of the boat Cindy cast to the area, just shy of some sparse grass, and BOOM! Big fish on!  This fish took off and was ripping drag and heading deep and I thought

for sure, "Big Redfish". Then the fish started back to the marsh grass but Cindy kept the pressure on and worked it expertly to the boat. When I saw it flash to the boat I saw a Huge Tripletail! We netted the fish and measured it at 22.25" and weighed it at 9lbs - a fish tied for the biggest Tripletail ever landed on the Anglers Mark and one of only 7 caught on my boat in 16 years! Boy what a fish!

Seymore's Pointe was our next stop and here Steve, and Cyndi and Bob all tangled with and landed some Mangrove Snapper. We ran through Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff and picked up another Trout or two, then came back to Spanish Drop and fished jigs on the bottom. Bob added another Trout and both Cindy and Steve added Redfish to the catch. Most of the trip Joy acted as assistant videographer, coach and mentor to the other three anglers. With only one "keeper" in the boat we headed in and after that big 'ole Tripletail was cleaned, it filled up a gallon bag which made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

First Redfish and First Hush Puppy

 We had another beautiful morning here at Amelia Island when I met Andrew Perrin and his son Sam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We had clear skies and just a slight breeze as the sun was coming up heading to our first stop up at Pumpkin Hill. We set up with an hour left of an incoming tide and began tossing float rigs and mud minnows to the flooded marsh grass. Both anglers were making excellent casts and getting good drifts. It was kinda slow but then Sam had his float disappear and he had a good strong hookup. Sam was working him to the boat when the fish threw the hook, OUCH!  But Sam went back and within a cast or two he had another hookup - this one he expertly brought to the boat and landed a keeper sized Seatrout, which we photographed and released. 

We fished around the corner for a bit, had a couple of nibbles, then made the run around to Seymore's Pointe to fish the first of an outgoing tide with the float rigs. The bite was slow but Sam did manage to put a feisty Mangrove Snapper in the boat. 

Our next stop was down at Spanish Drop. The tide was going out and the duo were getting good drifts but we weren't getting any bites so Sam decided to switch to a jig and minnow and that did the trick! He'd only been fishing it for a minute or two when, BOOM! Fish On! Sam played it patiently and worked a nice Redfish to the boat - his first ever. From then on it was like someone flipped a light switch - Sam hooked up and battled to the boat a good handful of Redfish. Andrew had been "laying back" but when he switched to the jig it paid off  BIG!  He had made a good cast to the edge and when he hooked up we know right off this was a big fish. His drag was ripping and the fish was digging deep but Andrew kept the pressure on, fought it to a standstill, the worked the big fish to the boat and waiting net - a 26" Tournament sized slot Redfish!

Sam picked up another Red or two, Andrew added a Seatrout and a Red to his catch total, then Sam finished things off with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle that he boated handily. The father/son fishing team reported that they had Kitchen 251 in the Amelia Island Marina cook their catch and Sam was able to try Hush Puppies for the first time! That's a great way to wrap up a day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Mother Of All Pays Off

 

Finally, back to some beautiful days out on the water! I met Nick and Penny Tenpenny up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning and we had the sun coming up on a beautiful clear day. We ran over and up into Lanceford Creek, then into Soap and set up at a large marsh run out with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp. It didn't take long before Penny "knocked the skunk off" with a nice keeper sized Seatrout (the keeper fish we caught today were donated to a disabled veteran neighbor).  We fished that area thoroughly, had some bites here and there but no real takers, then we moved on. 

Our next stop was over at some dock son Lanceford, fishing jigs and minnows and shrimp. The "baitstealers" had me hopping baiting hooks but we had no real bites so on we went.  The oysters were beginning to show and as we were passing BM's hot spot I pulled up and we gave it a try. Nick had made an excellent cast to the shells with a float rig and when it disappeared he gently lifted his rod, set the hook and had a nice

feisty Redfish catch. The duo followed that up with another, bigger, keeper sized Redfish, then another smaller Trout or two. 

We then made the long run north, back past Tiger and around to the Jolley River where we pulled up and fished the "bank", to no avail. After running further up the river to Snook Creek we switched back to jigs and here Nick put a couple of more hungry Seatrout in the boat.  We fished further up the river, had no real luck and were about to call it day but the MOA was right there beckoning so we decided to make one more stop.  Fishing jigs and minnows, both Penney and Nick were making excellent casts. Nick and I could see a fish tailing up in the "pool"  so we eased up and fished the mouth of the horseshoe. Nick went in with a good cast to the mouth, let it fall and felt a gentle "bump". When the big fish bumped it again Nick set the hook and, BIG Fish On! This fish was ripping drag on the Florida Fishing Products size 1000CE reel but boy was it smooth!  Nick worked it away from the oysters then the fish went deep, ripping drag as it went, then it got back into the current. I let off the anchor on the Minnkota I-pilot and let the current take us along with the fish. After a good battle Nick landed a big Oversized 29.5" Redfish - boy what a way to wrap up a day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

October Grande Slam at Amelia Island

 As we worked thru today we began to tally up a good mess of fish! I had met Jack Dickens and his fishing buddy Wally down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and as the sun came up we made the run up thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill. I was expecting the tide to be a bit higher even though it was going out and we may have "bumped bottom" as we left the Middle River and entered the Nassau! But we made it around to Pumpkin and began tossing float rigs and live shrimp to the shore line. The current really wasn't running much but it was fairly quick when Jack "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a nice feisty Redfish. We moved around and into Pumpkin and again, Jack had the hookup up near shore and brought another Red to the boat, this one with 8 spots. 

Our next stop was down the Nassau at Spanish Drop. Wally got in on the action and boated a couple of feisty Reds and a small Trout or two. We moved up to Twin Creeks, had not a bite, then moved on up to Athens Drop where we again picked up a Red or two. 

We made the run back to Seymore's Pointe and set up current from some docks and here the action heated up. Wally put three keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum  in the boat, all caught on shrimp and jigs while Jack landed a keeper sized Weakfish. We played cat and mouse with the Mangrove Snapper then we had a strong hookup and, Fish On! Wally was on the rod and he patiently worked to the net a nice Slot sized Redfish. 

The tide had reached  bottom so we went back to Athens Drop and the move paid off. BOOM! Fish on - this time Jack was on the rod and he played it perfectly, landing another Slot sized Redfish. We picked up a keeper Trout out deep to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Redfish, Weakfish, Black Drum, and Seatrout.....In the Box!

After fishing Spanish Drop for just a bit, we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

 

Naval Asset Protection

 

When I stepped out the door this morning at 5:45am it was drizzling rain but the forecast called for clearing by sunrise and they got it right! By the time I picked up some live shrimp and mud minnows and got launched up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park, there was no rain and the skies were clearing a bit. I met the Whitehurst family - Wes and Elizabeth and their two children Callie and Levi early and we headed north and west towards the Jolly River. I was rounding the north side of Tiger Island and I noticed Elizabeth was looking behind us intently so when I turned and took a look, there was a Coast Guard gun boat chasing us with blue lights on! "Uh Oh, what did I do?", I thought. But they just pulled up, asked where we were heading, and told us to stay out of the channel as there was a "Naval Asset" coming thru soon. Code speak for Submarine!

We continued on around to Jolley "bank", eased up and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp on an outgoing tide. All four of these anglers were making excellent casts and it was Wes who "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. He followed that up with a nice Seatrout.  Elizabeth, Callie and Levi played cat and mouse with some "baitstealing" perch - and landed a handful. 

Our next stop was up at Snook Creek. The wind was at our backs and Callie had put one right up near the oysters. The story goes....when she saw her float get bumped, she tightened her line, gave it a twitch and when it slowly went under she patiently waited a second or two, then lifted her rod and set the hook, and Fish On! Callie played it perfectly, worked it slowly to the boat, and landed a fat and feisty Redfish.

Not minutes later, Wes - fishing a jig and minnow- had a bump and set the hook and Big Fish On! This one was ripping drag, not wanting to come in, boiled up, and ran some more. But Wes was up to the  task and played it perfectly. The big fish went from starboard side around to port then Wes brought it to Callie's waiting net, boy what a fish - a 24.5" Slot Redfish.

After fishing the outside of Tiger for a bit, we ran over to Lanceford Creek, fished "Bill's" spot, now with float rigs, and here Wes quickly picked up a keeper sized Seatrout and feisty Redfish. Elizabeth jumped in and landed a nice Seatrout.  We finished up over in Soap Creek, getting a nibble here and there but no takers, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Hot Action Fishing the Backwaters of Amelia Island

 Today was the prettiest day yet this week here at Amelia Island. We had clear skies (other than a tad bit of early fog), very little wind, and the sun came out and stayed out. I had met Sean Higginson and his son Judah down at the South end ramp and we headed up and over to the Nassau River, making our first stop at the Spanish Drop area. Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and making excellent casts and it payed off! Sean "knocked the skunk off" with a keeper sized Whiting (all fish caught today were released) then both he and Judah were catching fish. Judah was making his own casts and hooked up with a good handful of hungry Seatrout. We caught a "mess".  The also caught a couple of feisty Redfish, tangled with a couple of high flying Ladyfish, and had a potential Stingray to the boat. 

We buzzed down to Broward Island and Judah had a quick hookup with a Seatrout which he landed expertly. We also picked up a small Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. We worked that bank briefly as the tide hit bottom then we moved down the way to catch the
incoming. This paid off too. The duo picked up a couple of Reds and Trout and at one time had a "double" going (see video below0.

Our next stop, a brief one, was back at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where we played cat and mouse with some Mangrove Snapper. We won once or twice but they won more than that! After running thru Horsehead we made one final stop along some flooded marsh grass, went to the float rigs and immediately caught a nice Trout which Juday brought to the boat like a pro. We made one final drift thinking "maybe another Trout" when, BOOM! That float disappeared with a vengeance! Sean was on the the rod and as it ripped drag there was nothing to do but hold on. Sean began to work him to the boat, let him run a time or two, pulled him out away from the submerged oysters and eventually brought to the net a nice 24" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish! And that's the way to wrap up another great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Fish Bite Picking Up With Double Hookup

I fished with two experienced anglers this morning - BJ Fitzgerald and his son Carson and finally, after 3 days of  a slow fish bite, we had some pretty decent action. We had met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and "eased" up the river - there was some pretty dense fog so we couldn't run full tilt. But we got up the Nassau River a bit and made our first stop at the Spanish Drop area. The tide was right at the bottom so we began pitching jigs and live shrimp to the bank and began to get bites almost immediately. Carson got things started off catching a hard fighting Jack Crevalle then he added a handful of Seatrout.  BJ joined in on the catching and caught more Trout, then we had a couple of feisty Redfish come to the boat.

Carson had made an excellent cast to the bank and it only had time to sink before, BOOM, Big Fish On! Carson was playing it patiently (see video below) when, BOOM! BJ had a hookup - we had a double!  I was back and forth with the net trying to figure out which fish to net first. When we saw that BJ's was another nice Jack, we concentrated on Carson's - his was a big Redfish. Carson worked it to the boat and we netted a nice 24"+ Slot Red fish.

We worked that area thoroughly then made the run around and down to Broward Island, set up south due to the tide still going out, had a few bites, then moved north as the tide started back in. Here both anglers caught Redfish and Trout.

Our next stop was back along Nassauville where we fished some rocks. Carson stayed with the jig while BJ switched to a float. BJ hooked up and landed a couple of Mangrove Snapper and Carson picked up one on the jig. We fished some docks on around Seymore's, then fished some oyster beds along the Nassau using float rigs and picked up one more Trout before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Had To Work For Them But We Caught 'Em

The weather was iffy for today as we kept track of the forecast last night but it got better and better and when I woke up this morning - just a slight breeze and minimal chance of rain! I met John Williamson and his father-in-law Dennis down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a quick run up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Spanish Drop. Even though low tide was around 7am the shell banks were already covering up so we went with float rigs and live shrimp, tossed to the bank and drifted naturally. 

We had nibbles here and there then Dennis "knocked" the skunk off with a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout catch (all fish caught today were released) then John followed that up with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. With think that was also what Dennis hooked up to a bit later - his ripped drag and kept on going!

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe where we put a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat, played "chess" with a whole bunch more then we moved on. After buzzing down to Pumpkin Hill, again using the float rigs. Here we had a good flurry of catches - Seatrout and feisty Redfish. We caught most on live shrimp but did get a nice Red on a mud minnow. We bounced around the corner and picked up another Trout to add to the catch.

The final stop was up in Christopher Creek were we pitched jigs and minnows to the bank. There wasn't much happening - it was almost noon and the fish had quit biting so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.