Long Lost Hat

 If you've ever boated more than few times then you've probably lost a hat along the way. I had met Frank and Joanne Wytiaz down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we headed up the intercoastal then up the Nassau to our first spot...but along the way Joanne noticed that her brand spanking new hat had blown out. We turned around and cruised back along our wake with all three of us keeping an eye out, but to no avail. Hat Lost.

We then continued on our trip to the first stop at Spanish Drop, turned into an incoming tide that still had a couple of hours of coming in. We eased along pitching float rigs and live shrimp. Frank picked up a small Catfish then a fat but still hungry Seatrout. Then Joanne had a strong bite and fought a pitched battle with a Jack Crevalle.  We moved down the way and fished Twin Creeks for a bit then moved on.

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting the floats. Frank caught a couple of small but feisty Redfish then it was

Joanne, again, who fought the big fish. This time it was a 4' Bonnethead Shark. She played it perfectly and landed it for pictures and release. We moved  around and fished a small grassy island. Joanne had made an excellent cast to the grass and when her float disappeared she set the hook and Fish On!  This fish was ripping drag but not making the long run like the shark so we felt comfortable it was a big Redfish. Sure enough, Joanne worked it to the boat and landed a nice 22 1/2" Slot Redfish.

The final stop was down at Seymore's Pointe and here I felt comfortable we'd find some keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. But Frank had other plans. He drifted a 3/4 piece of shrimp along the rocks and, BOOM! Float gone!  He worked it patiently to the boat, and after a few drag ripping runs, brought to the net another 22 1/4" Slot Redfish.  Then he and Joanne played cat and mouse with the Mangroves. Joanne figure out she could let them take the bait for a second or two then set the hook and she contributed to the majority of the "keeper" fish in the box. Then Frank found another big fish, this time it was a 21" Slot Redfish!

We headed back feeling good about the fishing trip, with fish in the box and a seafood feast planned but as we got to the mouth of the Nassau River Frank yelled and pointed - Joanne's hat! It was almost unbelievable, but the hat must have drifted for 2 hours coming in with the tide, then drifted back for two hours and was almost in the exact location that it became missing! What a way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bait Management-Net Princess-Future Biologist

She can take her pick, but young angler Lenora has a bright future ahead of her when it come to fishing! Her mother Marnie Bird and her Uncle Dave met me down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we made the run thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up along side some flooding marsh grass. Marnie and Dave began tossing float rigs with live shrimp to the bank and letting it drift with the current.  Lenora was already managing the bait buckets of live shrimp and mud minnows. Marnie "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and battled a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark to the boat.  Only minutes later, Dave, who had made an excellent cast to the point of some grass, had a hookup and, Fish On!  He played it perfectly and brought to the net a 21" Slot Redfish (with 8 spots). He followed that up with a big Bonnethead Shark catch of his own. 

We came back to Seymore's Pointe, fished a large outflow and here Marnie put a hungry Seatrout in the boat, and then a small Mangrove Snapper.  After moving around the corner we got into the bigger Mangroves and the duo began to catch one after the other. Lenora reeled in the biggest one of the day, but she spent most of her time netting her Mom's and Uncles fish! She handled most of them and released the smaller ones back into the river.

After running thru Horsehead we fished the mouth of Jackstaff. Dave was fishing a jig and picked up a couple of feisty Redfish. We then headed back to the dock where I cleaned the Slot Red and Mangroves. Lenora was keen on seeing what was in their stomachs so we dissected those that had their belly's full. Most had our shrimp! Bud one had a minnow! We had a good day of fishing so we counted it as another great day to be out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Taking A Bow

 Another beautiful morning greeted us today when I met the Latino family - Pete and Robin and their kids Marin and Jake - down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp.  I haven't fished down there in over a week and was looking forward to seeing how the "bite" was. We made a run up the intercoastal just as the tide was starting out and pulled into Jackstaff to begin fishing a large outflow with float rigs and live shrimp.

First cast -boom! We weren't ready for it - it was the "demo" cast. I think it was a shark and it came rushing right to the boat, turned and BAP! Fish Off. Second cast-BAM! Big fish on, again, another shark. This one Marin fought valiantly and had it up to the boat before again, it made a sharp turn and BAP! Fish off!  We were "0" for two!

But these anglers were up for the game and as we eased along the banks of Jackstaff tossing floats it was Jake who "knocked the skunk off" with nice hookup. He expertly worked it to the boat and landed a nice Redfish that came in just under the 18"

mark.  We fished on and Robin got on the board with a hungry Seatrout catch. Jake was the "Redfish Guy" today and landed another feisty one before we move on. 

The tide was still somewhat high so we made what I thought would be a brief stop at Seymore's Pointe to fish the rocks. I wasn't sure if the Mangroves would be there but it only took a couple of casts to find out! Those floats started disappearing and it was a whole lot of catching going on. Robin was encouraging the family and all three of the others were putting fish on the boat. Marin had taken up the stern and found her own little "honey hole" and put most of the "keepers" in the box, the biggest being right at 12". At the end of the trip she took a bow, knowing she would be feeding the family later!  Both Pete and Jake added some keepers of their own, too. 

Our last stop was down at Spanish Drop, now fishing exposed oysters with jigs and shrimp and minnows. Jake stayed the busiest, catching a feisty Jack, a couple of Reds, and a Stingray. The breeze had kept blowing all morning, we had some clouds to block the sun, and we had some good eating Mangrove Snapper in the box so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Two Slams

 

After a huge rain storm and long showers last night I was wondering how the fishing would be today. Yesterday we had "coca cola" water and I was interested to see what it'd be like today. I met Josh Dees and his son Benny up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and boy what a pretty day it was! We headed right over to the Jolley River and up it to Snook Creek where the duo began tossing float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that had been going out for an hour or so. We had a good many bites  and Josh picked up a hungry Seatrout and a fat Croaker. As we eased along the tide dropped a bit and we could see the oysters so we switched to jigs and things heated up!

Benny put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat and then it was "fish on" for a good hour or so. They caught a handful of those feisty Reds, a couple of Trout, a couple of Croaker and some "baitstealers". I gotta say that this young 9yr old is already an "angler" - he baited his own hooks, removed his own fish,  and netted his dad's fish. He was casting and catching like a teenager!

We came back to the mouth of Jolley and fished the "bank" and

again, we caught fish, one after the other. Both Josh and Benny had caught Reds and Trout then it was Benny he hooked up and landed a Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Shortly after that Josh followed that up with one of his own! We actually left fish biting to try another spot in hopes of bigger fish so we made the run back up river to the "MOA" where we set up, the tide still going out. 

Josh found the fish - catching a couple of Reds then he had a strong hookup. This one was pulling a bit more than all of the rest this morning; he handed the rod off to his team mate Benny who expertly brought it to the boat and the net - a keeper sized Seatrout! We fished it a bit more then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Pepsi Or Coca Cola?

 

You may of noticed a lag in reports from last week - the Anglers Mark was in the shop for a week getting it's 100 hour service, but I was back at it today and boy did it sure feel good to be back on the water! I had the Taylor crew - Gordon and Kim and their daughter Savannah and son-in-law Garrett meet me up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and with just a few clouds in the sky and very little breeze..we headed north and west. Our first stop was outside of Tyger Island where we fished some jigs and mud minnows on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. Not a bite!

We eased around into the Jolley River and began fishing an oyster lined bank

with float rigs. I noticed right off that unlike the "cappuccino" colored water that we had of two weeks ago, the water was clean and looked just like Coca Cola, or is it Pepsi? It must have made a difference because we had a good bite as the tide fell. Gordon really "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a nice 22.5" Slot sized Redfish. Then the whole team was catching fish. Garrett put a Flounder and Seatrout in the boat then Savannah heated up and caught Flounder too, one of which was of keeper size. She also put a feisty Black "puppy" Drum in the boat. We worked along the edge and we had pretty constant action. Kim decided to quit "laying back" and began to catch fish - one of which was another keeper sized Flounder.  I think we totaled 8-9 flounder caught with three of them being of keeper size. We had a good handful of Seatrout caught, two of which were of keeper size, and also caught a few feisty "rat" Red's.

Added to the catch were Ladyfish, a Gar fish, a Cat fish, Croaker, Perch and one Blue crab that was almost to the boat! We had a slight breeze blowing for most of the day, cloudy skies that kept the sun off and as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

After The Storm

 I was warned at the bait shop this morning that the rivers were muddy after the storm that passed thru the last couple of days but we had some nice weather today so Drew Tignanelli and I got out for some back country fishing here at Amelia Island. We met up at Dee Dee Bartels and boy was it a packed house with all the Red Snapper anglers getting out for the "mini season". Drew and I made the run around to Bell River and set up on a point of flooding oysters and began to drift float rigs and mud minnows. Drew got a couple of encouraging bites, but not takes, but when his float passed a marshy point and his float disappeared, Drew tightened up, let the circle hook set and, "skunk off the boat" with a nice Seatrout catch.

We moved over to Lanceford Creek and fished a marsh runout (the tide was still coming in) with the float rig. Drew worked the area thoroughly and just as we were about to leave he placed his bait right up against the marsh grass and, BAM! Seatrout caught and to the net. 

I was watching the clock and tide and when it hit high we made the run back thru Tyger and around to the outside of the island and set up just as the tide started out. In short order Drew put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat and only minutes later had a strong bite. This one was ripping a bit of drag, but Drew kept the pressure on, worked it to the boat, and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. We fished thru that area, crossed the creek and fished another marsh line, then moved on. 

After fishing further up Tyger with jig rods at a couple of drainages with jigs and the minnows where we had a few bites, but no takers, (we did note that the water was muddy/murkey) we jumped around to the Jolley River and worked the "bank" for a while. With time running out we moved up to a drainage, fished it with floats, then switched to jigs and minnows. The strategy paid off - Drew picked up two small but feisty Redfish, then he had a "strange" bite, hooked it up, and brought to the boat a keeper sized Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam - a great way to end a fishing trip here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bringing Home The Bacon

I got to "fun fish" today with my buddy and high school team mate Tony French who had along with him his daughter Katy, recent High School graduate and future Armstrong College Alumni. The two were making a Florida swing before Katy goes off to college and after attending a reunion, that stopped in at Amelia Island for some back country fishing. 

I had picked up some mud minnows yesterday evening so we were able to get out on the water a tad bit earlier, launching at Sawpit Creek boat ramp and heading East for a change - there was very little wind and it was out of the South West, and we had a high tide - so we buzzed around the south end of Amelia and up to the the little jetty that runs parallel to the island.  Unfortunately(or for Katy, fortunately)  the jetty was swarming with porpoises. As the sun was coming up it was a great treat but it didn't help the fish bite one bit.

We then ran up the Nassau River and began fishing Tony's Bank with jigs and the minnows. Katy got out to hot start and "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch, then a feisty Redfish catch. She also put hard fighting Jack in the boat. We worked along that bank for a good while, working the bank with jigs and float rigs then moved on. 

After a short run we pulled up at Tony's Dock and fished it with the jigs and here things heated up. We picked up a couple of Mangrove Snapper, then Katy put a another Redfish in the boat. We boated a Shark that chased down a "skint mullet" and then had a brief battle with something big that headed NW, thru the dock pilings and, BAP! Fish off!

Our next stop was down at Tony's Island, fishing the logs. Tony and I each put a small Flounder in the boat then he expertly landed a Slot Sized Red. Later we had another Slot Redfish that we added to the catch. 

Our last stop was back at Tony's Pointe where we wrapped the day up catching our limit of 12" Mangrove Snapper. It was a great day to be out on the water with friends here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Happy 4th of July!

 I wrapped up my week fishing with Stan Jackson and his fishing buddies Wade and Barnie, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this  morning.  We made a run up to the Jolley River and set up along the "bank" to fish the last of an outgoing tide with jigs and Mud Minnows. In short order we had some action - Stan put a keeper sized Flounder in the  boat and  Barnie landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  Wade added another Flounder to the catch and Stan put a feisty Redfish in the boat.  After fishing further up the river at Snook Creek we made a run back towards Amelia.

The tide had started back in so we dipped in to behind Tyger and fished the logs. It was the ideal time to be there but the fish weren't having it.

We then ran around to the Bell River and set up along side a shell bank. Wade added a Seatrout to the catch and a small Sea Bass. Although we had rain clouds all around us, we only got wet once.  But it was a great way to start a 4th of July weekend so we

counted it as a good day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Wrapped Up With a Limit

I fished this morning with Matt Pollard and his brother-in-laws Rush and John. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and made the short run up and over to the Nassau River and began fishing jigs and minnows to the run outs and oyster beds on the last few hours of an outgoing tide. We had numerous takes and a few near misses. Rush tangled with a high flying Ladyfish and John put a hungry Seatrout in the boat. We had a couple of small Flounder before we moved on.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island and boy was the bait getting busted! It was crazy how fish were feeding at the mouth of a creek and down the edges. This trio of anglers were making excellent casts and picked up a few fish - small but feisty Redfish, a small Seatrout, and a Mangrove Snapper. We then drifted with the current, still going out and here Matt had a strong bite, and Fish On!  Matt was real patient with the fish, worked it slowly to the surface, and landed a nice 22.25" Slot Redfish. Only 10 minutes later he had another strong hookup. He played this fish

perfectly and brought to the net a 17" Redfish. Too small to keep, but it had 17 spots! We tossed it back and it will surely be big enough to take prize money home in the  November AIGA Support Our Veterans Fishing Tournament!

We made our final stop back at Nassauville, fishing some rocks with float rigs and in short order, began to catch one Mangrove Snapper after another. We had plenty of bait and all three anglers added to the live well with Mangrove catches and they quickly "limited out".  We headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Setting Up For Flounder

 I went with my gut this morning, purchasing only Mud Minnows for our bait of choice, and rigged my
rods with a light 1/8oz jig with plans to fish the last of an incoming tide. We have been getting a lot of Mangrove Snapper on the shrimp, but almost every day getting a Flounder, without targeting them. So when I met Jon Edwards and  his dad Dale out at the Goffinsville Park early today we had a plan of hitting marsh run outs as the tide dropped. We ran over to just east of Spanish Drop and turned into the tide and began to fish. In short order Dale "knocked the skunk off" with a Flounder catch. He added a high flyting Ladyfish then Jon heated up and caught a handful of Flounder, two of them being of keeper size.  We fished a few of those runouts and picked up more Flounder, a couple of "rat" Reds, and some more Ladyfish. 

When the tide started back in we hit some docks at Seymore's Pointe and caught Mangrove Snapper, a couple of which were of keeper size. 

Our final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide down there. My go-to spot didn't produce but Jon reminded me that a previous trip we had done pretty good at a run out down the way so we made the move and it was a good one. Again, we caught a handful of Flounder then Jon had a strong hookup and this one was ripping some drag. Jon played it perfectly and boated a nice Slot Sized Redfish. We fished until we ran out of minnows and with the sun being up and it getting pretty hot, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.