Keep Your Bait In The Water

 

I fished Monday and Tuesday in beautiful weather and today was more of the same. After meeting Kevin Owensby, his son Jake, his father-in-law Doyle, and Doyle's brother Ronnie down at the Sawpit Creek, we made a long run up and around to Pumpkin Hill with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp and minnows on the first of an outgoing tide.  Kevin and Ronnie were on the bow, Jake and his grandfather Doyle were at the stern and all were making excellent casts. But it was Doyle who was drifting long with the current who had the first hookup, a hungry Seatrout.  We worked that area pretty good, then eased back and around a point to fish a flooded shell bank.

As we worked along we weren't getting many bites at all but Doyle had put a good cast up near some exposed oysters. We both saw his float dip, then pop up. Then it dipped again and stayed under and as Doyle tightened up the line, Big Fish On! I didn't realize how big it was - it battled up near the bank for a bit then boiled and ran out to deeper water and the fight was on.

But Doyle was up to the task, played it perfectly and soon landed an Oversized 29" Redfish, boy what a fish!

After running back to Seymore's Pointe we fished a large outflow, sticking with the floats, but had no luck. We then ran down to Spanish Drop and here the action picked up. Kevin and Doyle were on the stern and drifting floats and caught a good handful of Seatrout, a couple of which were of keeper size. Doyle added a small Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Flounder. Then Jake had a hookup, played it perfectly, and landed a nice Trout.

We worked along that bank, hitting 2-3 spots, found one Trout on a jig and shrimp, then fished the docks back at Seymore as the tide had drop. But the sun was up, the tide was hitting bottom, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Cat and Mouse

 I thought Spring had sprung! But boy was it cool this morning - 39 degrees as I was launching out at Goffinsville Park to meet William and Dara Blalock on the last few hours of an outgoing tide. But it was clear and the sun was coming up to make for a beautiful day so we headed north to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe with jigs and live shrimp. Dara and William are fine casters and were "putting them on the money" but we had no takers for quite a while. It wasn't until we had crossed the river and fished some exposed shell banks that William finally "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Seatrout catch.

The forecast called for increasing winds and with the tide hitting bottom at Nassauville around 9:20, we tried to fish Bubblegum Reef, a spot that had produced some good fish last week, but not today. William did find a hapless Bluefish to boat and release (all fish caught today were released).

We then ran down to Broward Island, passing under the watchful eye of a Bald Eagle and fished the shore as the tide got down to

the bottom. The wind picked up and as I struggled with the boat, and William trudged on with his casting, Dara seemed to thrive. She began to pick up Seatrout after Seatrout. The two anglers found that the Trout seemed to be playing "cat and mouse" with the shrimp - bumping it hard, then coming back and taking it. Once they figured that out they put 4-5 keeper sized Trout in the boat.

We had two nice fish take our baits and rip drag. One, a Big one that Dara hooked, ran for a good bit. She had a good battle but the big fish headed straight for a downed tree, wrapped itself, and broke off. William had made a good cast right up along side a log, BOOM! Fish ON! And BAP! Fish Off as it went right over a long. We wrapped it up after that but the sun was out and we had caught some good Trout so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Origins of the name Tyger Island

 I was giving  a boat tour the other day and as we passed thru the inlet between the Tiger's my guest, Bill McKenna asked "why was it named Tiger Island?"

Local lore has it that the island has the highest concentration of Rattlesnakes in North America. I'm not sure who took the survey or even if that's an accurate statement but a couple of years ago I had a customer yell, "there's a big fish back there!"  as I  entered Tiger Basin.  I thought he had seen a Porpoise or a Tarpon roll but he said, "NO, it's swimming on the water!"  I turned around and went back and sure enough, there as a huge Rattlesnake swimming from  Little Tiger to Big Tiger. We snapped a couple of pictures as it slithered up onto the mud bank.

My wife found an old map published in November of 1769 that labels the island as Tyger Island(before that Spanish Maps called it Tigre Island)  So at least that far back the island has been called Tigre/Tyger/Tiger Island. I have heard a rumor that someone probably saw some sort of cat - a big Bobcat or maybe a Florida Panther and called it Tiger Island, but my guest Bill sent me some interesting information he found on Wikepedia.

Evidently the Tyger is an imaginary beast used as a charge in heraldy. From Wikepedia, "It is supposed to have its home in Hyrcania in Persia and its swiftness is supposed to have given its name to "tygris", the Persian word for "arrow", and to the swift River Tigris. If pursued by a tyger, it was supposed to be possible to get away from it by leaving a mirror, which would perplex the tyger. As a result, tygers are sometimes depicted looking in a mirror" .  Maybe some aristocrat with Tyger in their coat of arms named it "Tyger"?  Maybe some drunken sailor saw a mythical beast?

Digging deeper I see that the famous English poet William Blake wrote "The Tyger" in 1794, just a few short years after this map was published. Did William Blake ever visit Amelia Island? And as his ship passed between Tyger and Amelia, he was struck with inspiration? Probably not. But he didn't much care for how the English Monarchy was treating America and  maybe he had gotten a glimpse of the map and maybe he was thinking of Rattlesnakes....

I've fished along Tyger Island (I'm gonna spell it like that from now on) and have never seen a cat of any kind. Of mammals, I've seen a huge Buck Deer, a wild Hog, Raccoon, and Salt Marsh Mink And in the water, Porpoise and Manatee. They're all mammals but I don't think any could be confused with a Tiger. Or a Tyger.  UNLESS, there happened to be an extremely drunk sailor who made the sighting. 

While my grandkids were visiting last August we beached on the East side of Tyger, just across from Old Towne and while the kids were beachcombing for shell I walked up onto a little knoll of woods to "explore". I was quite surprised to see an old brick "cistern"  sunk into the ground. I have heard that the island was used as a quarantine area where those with Yellow Fever were sent to recuperate (or die).  But I also see in Amelia Island Museum's archives the mention of a family that lived there and raised oranges. That's another story for historians to sort out. 

There are plenty of old families that still live here at Amelia Island that surely have more information on Tyger Island - hopefully they will chime in and I will add those to this account. You can email me at lwpiper@comcast.net

Good Variety Here at Amelia Island In March

I fished with Tom and Betty Lane Owensby this morning, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park
early with plans to fish a tide that had been coming in for about an hour. We made our first stop around at Tiger, fished the logs, and picked up a few fish. Tom reeled in a couple of sneaky Sheepshead and a feisty Redfish, and a minnow. No kidding - he tossed out a jig and shrimp and brought back a minnow that was smaller than his bait! Betty had a good hookup and landed a hungry Seatrout. 

We then ran around to the Jolley River and fished
the "bank" and it was Tom who had the pleasure of tangling with a big Gar Fish! Crazy. I thought it was a big Trout when it hit a shrimp under a float rg up in the shallows. After fishing Snook Creek for a bit, we continued on around to Bell River and switched back to jigs. Both Tom and Betty hooked up with some nice sized Seatrout and Betty reeled in big Whiting to wrap things up. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Amelia Island Bait And Tackle Has New Home

 The next time you visit Amelia Island you just have to stop in and check out the new home of Amelia Island Bait and Tackle...and it won't be hard to find...it's just 4 doors down from the original location. Just walk down to the north end of the building and you'll find the spanking new store loaded with all the tackle, rods, reels, accessories and knowledge to help you catch more fish while visiting our island. And they've got a bunch of new angler shirts and hats to make you look good while you're fishing.  Need Ice? They've got it out front. Need bait? The new Bait Pod will be right out back, with some new fangled lights and air condition to keep the live bait kicking!  Pull your boat around back and come in the back door for all your tackle needs. Stop in and say hello to Nic and Lisa and Chris the next time you're in the area or need some bait and tackle. CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE.

Heading South To Bubblegum Reef

 ....should be the title to a Buffet song!  When I met Fred Wammock up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park this afternoon the boat ramp was just crazy - and boats and kayaks and PWC's were buzzing around..so we decided to make the long run south to get away from it all. We made a brief stop behind Piney Island and fished some docks where Fred picked up a hungry Seatrout, then we continued on down the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff. The tide was low and still going out as we worked the exposed shell bank with jigs and live shrimp but we didn't get a even a nibble. 

We ran thru Horsehead and around to the Nassau River and pulled up just shy of Bubblegum Reef with plans to drift floats and live shrimp along the exposed shell (yesterday we picked up a big Trout and Big Redfish in the same spot). But we didn't get much of a bite! We then pulled up to Bubblegum Reef and switched back to jigs and shrimp.

Fred had been making excellent casts all afternoon and his next pitch to the Reef proved to be on point and it paid off. He had a

"bump bump", set the hook and had a good battle with a nice keeper sized Sheepshead. We had a few more bites then we decided to ease to the outside of the Reef and set up current.

Dropping baits back proved to be the trick and led to a smorgasbord of fish bites. Fred reeled in another Sheepshead, then picked up a keeper sized Seatrout, then a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper, then he got into some nice Black "puppy" Drum - boating three that were of good size. He put one two more keeper sized Seatrout (the biggest was 16.5" before we moved on. 

Our last and final stop was down at Broward Island. The tide was right, the wind was blocked and boy was it beautiful!  Fred wrapped up with an Amelia Island Grand Slam by catching a feisty Redfish to go along with his Seatrout, Black Drum and Sheepshead. We headed back north and had a fly by by a majestic Bald Eagle and as we cruised back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Little bitty bite Little bitty bait and BIG fish

 

We had a beautiful morning today to fish with Jeff and Penney Parks. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp mid morning to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  We made our first stop up the Nassau River where we fished float rigs and live shrimp. We had bites but no takers so we moved up the river a bit and did the same thing at Twin Creeks and this paid off. Penney found a "hot" spot and plucked a good handful of Seatrout out of there while Jeff cleaned up the rest.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. We fished float rigs out an outflow then switched to jigs and shrimp to no avail. After making the run down to Broward our efforts paid off. Jeff was fishing a live shrimp on the bottom, letting the current sweep his bait

and he said, "I just had a little bitty bite..." and BOOM! Fish On!  The fight started out like a small fish but when it decided it was  caught, it grew up, ran deep and ripped the drag. We worked the boat out away from the logs and it then it was all Jeff applying the pressure. After a long battle and a lot of patience, Jeff landed a 29.75" Oversized Redfish, boy what a fish!  And shortly after that we picked up our first keeper Trout, 22' deep on the bottom.  Then Penney added a couple of keepers to the  box, fishing deep.  We fished the island pretty good, working the edge under the keen eye of a Bald Eagle, then made our final run.

Our last stop was back at "Bubblegum Reef" - we tried to fish the wreck but kept getting hung up so we eased back and drifted floats long along the now exposed shell bed. Penny had a good hookup, played it perfectly, and brought to the net the biggest Seatrout of the day - an 18" fish. Jeff followed her along the same edge with an "little bitty bait" - a "popcorn" shrimp - and had a hookup right along the shell -BAM- 
another big fish. We were hoping that this one would be in the slot but the longer he fought the more we knew that it too was going to be oversized and sure enough, after a good battle, Jeff landed another Oversized 28" Redfish!  We had to call it a day then, a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Wednesday and Thursday Trips

 I fished Wednesday morning with Chris Yarborough, his son Conner,  and his BIL Chris and nephew Magnus. We fished the outside of Tiger at a large runout with, jigs and live shrimp, but had no fish. We then  hit the Jolley, fished float rigs and live shrimp but again, no fish. After fishing Snook Creek to no avail, we ran to  Bell River, switched back to jigs and began to catch Seatrout deep! Birthday boy Conner got hot, an caught 6-7 Trout, while Magnus reeled in a "Bonus" fish, a Sheepshead, and then Seatrout. Later, Chris picked up a Trout. Conner coined a new slogan -  "Just Catch 'em"!

 

Yesterday afternoon I fished with Michael Boone and  his wife Ricki, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. Our first stop was around at Tiger Island where Michael picked up a couple of Black "puppy" Drum and a feisty Redfish. Ricki tricked a sneaky perch to take her hook. We then fished the Jolley River with float rigs - had no real bites - then motored around to the Bell where we picked up a handful of Seatrout on jigs and live shrimp and 3" Storm shad baits.

This morning I fished south, meeting Lee and Emmett Kubersky down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We fished Seymore's Pointe a bit and picked up a Seatrout on a float rig, then fished some docks in Nassauville with jigs to no avail, then we ran back to Twin Creeks on the Nassau and had some good action catching Seatrout under the float as the tide was going out. Our next stop was down at Broward Island and boy did things "light up".  Our first cast produced a BIG bite and Fish On! Emmett was on the rod and he patiently fought it, working it in slowly as it made deep runs. Once in the net, the big Redfish measured at 26" - a fat "Tournament" sized Redfish. We went back to the same spot and BOOM! Bigger Fish on!  This fish stayed deep and ripped drag but Emmett was up to the task and eventually landed an Oversized 29.5" Redfish! And he wasn't done yet! Emmett caught and landed a nice 17" Seatrout (all fish caught today were released) and rounded out an Amelia Island Backcountry Slam with a Sheepshead catch.  And that wrapped a good two days of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Perseverance And the Tide Flips The Switch

 After a terrible weekend of blowing winds, we were back to fishing today when I met Justin Palmore and
his son Will down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a short run up the Nassau and eased up to fish a shell bank as the tide still had a couple of  hours of going out. Both anglers were getting good casts up current with their jigs and live shrimp, but we had no takers. We moved up a quarter mile and fished a marsh run out and again, not a nibble. 

The tide had only an hour left of outgoing so we decided to fish some dock pilings with the jigs and shrimp. We were working the pilings good, getting a nibble here and there, but we had no fish. Ouch.

After making the run down to Broward we fished the last of the outgoing - no
bites. This was getting serious! Even the Bald Eagle perched in a dead pine was getting disappointed! We moved down the way as the tide turned, fished one area, moved to another and....somebody flipped a switch! BAM! Fish On! Justin worked it to the boat and landed a Slot Redfish. BAM! Big Fish On!  Will played it like a pro, worked it to the net, and landed a big "Tournament" sized Redfish - 26"!  BAM, another Slot Redfish. BAM, BIG FISH ON!  Justin fought it valiantly for what seemed like 20 minutes, brought it to the net -32" Oversized Redfish! This fish moved Justin in to first place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category.   WHUMP! Will had a hookup deep, worked it in, and landed a nice 18" Seatrout. After that Will was in his "honey hole" and pulled out one 18" Seatrout after another. These fish moved Will into a tie for first place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings) 

We threw back a handful of smaller fish, kept a handful of Slot Reds, and a good "mess" of Seatrout. It brought home - just keep on fishing 'cause you never know when the "switch" will flip and it will be another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We had a B.A.D. Trip

 We squeezed in a fishing trip this morning - after last nights storm with high winds and rain and expected blow tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. I had met my cousin Jim Garner and his brother-in-law Chipper out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early this morning. The wind was blowing the forecasted 12mph which we thought we could deal with and soon the sun came out to make for a beautiful day. 

After a short run around to some docks at Seymore's we set up to fish with jigs and live shrimp, tossing them to the base of the dock pilings on the last of an outgoing tide. The duo of anglers started off with a nibble here and there then WHAM! Jim had a hookup and a battle on his hands. The fish tried to get into the pilings but Jim applied the pressure, worked it out and fought it to the net - a nice 20" Black "puppy" Drum.  Shortly after Chipper followed that up with one of his one. He played it perfectly, worked it out from the pilings, and landed another nice 18" Black Drum.

A short while later Chipper had one chase his bait down, hooked up, and Big Fish On!  It was pulling hard and deep but Chipper was up to the task and fought it valiantly to the boat. We netted it, weighed it at 8.5lbs and measured it to be 24.5" - a Big Az Drum!

I know folks are catching the big Bull Drum right now, some weighing 50-60lbs and typically being caught in big reels and heavy line, but these fish we caught are being landed on size 1000 reels, 10lb test. It makes for a good fight!

We fished Broward Island for a bit and picked up a good handful of Seatrout, then came back to Nassauville Rocks and again caught a handful of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. The sun was up, the fish box had some nice fish in it, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.