Feeling the Chill

After a stormy night we woke up to a chill in the air. Someone told me that yesterday was the first day of Fall and today you could feel it. When I got to the boat ramp early this morning the wind was whipping a bit and luckily I listened to my inner brain "grab your fleece"! I was to meet Greg and Robyn Padgett up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and when they walked up we were ready to go. I had planned on running up to the Jolley River but hat 11mph west wind changed my mind so we headed south and over to Lanceford Creek to set up at a dock and fish jigs and live shrimp on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours.

The duo of anglers had nibbles, one after the other, but we only picked up a few bait stealers and a small Sheepshead. We then moved around the corner to Bolton's Bluff and here Robyn quickly picked up a keeper sized Seatrout on a float rig and live shrimp. (All fish caught today were released). But here was only one so we moved up and fished a small grassy island and here the action picked up. They caught a handful of Seatrout, a couple of
high flying Ladyfish and then Robyn hooked up and expertly reeled in a feisty Redfish. 

We then moved back up the creek, dipped in to Soap Creek and fished a stretch of grass, to no avail. After a brief run back to Bell River we laid parallel  to some more marsh and again, we found some Trout. The tide was almost at it's peak so we buzzed thru Tyger and around to the outside and just as we settled in we we felt the tide change. Bait was streaming by and was getting busted so we drifted out baits right along with it. Greg and Robyn caught Seatrout, a handful of Blues, Ladyfish, and a feisty Black "puppy" Drum.

The sun had come out, the skies had cleared and I was able to take the fleece off! As we headed in we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Big Fish Battles

 We had a fairly clear morning today when I met Paul Genn and his fishing buddy Mike out at theGoffinsville Park boat ramp. There were some clouds off to the east that obscured the sunrise, but we had a beautiful "moonset" off to the west. We made the short run down the Nassau River and pulled up right at Twin Creeks and unlimbered the float rigs baited with live shrimp on a tide that was already a bit high, and still coming in. I think it was Mike who "knocked the skunk  off" with a hungry Seatrout catch. Then Paul battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to the net. All fish caught today were released.

We worked that drainage for a bit, caught and landed a couple of high flying Ladyfish, then picked up and moved down to Spanish Drop and fished that edge. We thought we had had a big fish on until Mike's float disappeared and his drag began to rip and the big fish headed south - Fish On!  Mike battled it past the trolling motor, down the starboard side and then back and forth around the engine. When he finally brought it to the surface we saw that it was a big 4' Bonnethead Shark, too big for the net. Mike had the fish alongside the boat and I grabbed it by the dorsal. They usually go limp but this fish was still "green" and I had to let 'em go and, BAP! fish off!  But Mike wasn't deterred - shortly after that he had another strong bite, a big battle, and this time the fish was ready to come in for a photograph!

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting a stretch of grass. The duo of anglers had a good many bites then it was Paul's turn for the "big fish battle". He had a made a long drift, up near the grass and when his float disappeared Paul quickly took up the slack, lifted his rod and set the hook and, another Big Fish On!  We were speculating what it was - it didn't run deep like a Shark, but it was ripping drag and running out from the bank then back towards it. Paul was patient and slowly worked it in and eventually landed a huge Jack Crevalle, boy what a battle!

We had one more big fish in that area. I lost a $1.00 (I'm actually in debt a $1.00) - I felt certain the way the fish was hanging at the grass line it was going to be a nice slot Red. Even when I saw it flash I knew it wasn't a Shark or Jack and thought I had that $1.00 in hand, but as Paul brought it closer we saw it was a...........big 'ole Gar Fish! Ouch. 

Our final stop was back at Nassauville where we tried our hand
at catching some Mangrove Snapper, first with float rigs (we got a couple of small ones), then with the jig and shrimp on the bottom where we caught a handful and at least two of them were very nice, just over 12", but again, released.  We had had some good action and battled some big fish so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Big Trifecta

 Whenever you finish up a fishing trip having caught a 30.5" Redfish, a 23.5" Seatrout, and a 22.5" Flounder, you can feel assured that it was a pretty good day of fishing! That's a pretty big Amelia Island Back Country Slam!

I had met William and Dara Blalock out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early - the cloudy skies covered up the sunrise, but as we left the dock there was a pretty neat Moon Set. We headed over to Athens Drop and began easing along the marsh grass tossing float rigs and live shrimp on a high and incoming tide. We had good action, just not the action we wanted. Dara forgot to "take the trash out" to the can because that's what we caught for the first hour or so -trash:  hard fighting Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, and even a Catfish. We fished a couple of marsh run outs and did pick up one nice Seatrout.

After a short run down to Pumpkin Hill and setting up bow into the current, the duo of anglers began drifting their floats along the marsh grass and it wasn't long before both were into some fish. They caught a good handful of small but hungry Seatrout, maybe one or two that they could have kept, but didn't, then Dara's float disappeared with a vengeance and, Big Fish On! This fish was heading to Jacksonville and...William had a hookup, and another Big Fish On! The two did the tango, ducking under each other, passing their rods around each other, dipping around the engine, and both stayed hooked up. William brought his to the net first and landed a big Jack Crevalle, then Dara subdued hers and landed a big Oversized 30.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!

We fished that stretch for a while and caught a few more Trout and Ladyfish and a small but feisty Redfish. William had gone up just past a point of grass and BOOM! Float Gone. William kept the pressure on  and had his drag singing. He and I both were thinking "Slot Redfish" but then we saw the big fish roll at the surface and realized it was a huge Seatrout! William patiently worked it to the net and landed a big 23.5" Seatrout, a fish big enough to land him in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for a link to standings). 

After moving around the point and fishing a grassy

island and short stretch where we picked up a few more Seatrout, we were down to just a dozen live shrimp and decided to make the short run back to Nassauville where we set up between two docks and pitched jigs and shrimp. Just like we thought, there were some Mangrove Snapper there and the couple boated a few of keeper size for "Fish Tacos" later. Then Dara made an excellent cast up to the base of the rocks, felt the "bump", set the hook and, Fish On! She was real patient easing that big fish up from the bottom, brought it to the net slowly, and landed huge 22.5" Flounder, a fish big enough to land her in 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for a link to standings). And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fall Back Plan

 It was raining when I launched this morning but let up just a  bit before my guests, Matt Park, his son Joseph, and his dad George met me up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park. I had just enough time to throw a cast net and get some (big) finger mullet to add to our 2lbs of dead shrimp - unfortunately the bait shop lost all its live shrimp to a power outage overnight. We had one strike against us! The rain passed by so we made a run over to Bell River and set up at a marsh point to fish with the tide already high and still coming in.

All three anglers were getting good casts and good drifts and had some bites - George picked up a couple of high flying Ladyfish and then outsmarted some sneaky baitstealing Perch. Matt did have something take his bait, take his hook, and keep going - probably a Shark. We tried to come back to the outside of Tyger but there were some serious rain storms inching in from the coast so we came back thru Tyger, down the Bell, passed a couple of river Shrimpers in Lanceford, and then cut in to Soap Creek, thinking the tide would have started out by now.

Nope, it was still coming in and it was high! Strike Two.

We fished Soap to no avail, other than bait stealers, then moved on up into Lanceford and fished a grassy island and a bulkhead, with no luck, then we made the decision to make a long run down to Nassauville, with Rally Caps turned, and try our hand with the Mangrove Snappers. The Rally Caps worked! As always, it's a challenge to catch those critters but it does hone your "set" skills! But Matt started it off with a 12" Grouper catch! Then we went thru the 2lbs of shrimp, playing Cat-and-Mouse with the Snapper, landed a bunch, and ended up keeping a good handful to 12 1/2".  Although we had to work for them, the rain had held off, we had a father/son/granddad fishing, so we counted it as another great day to be out on the water at here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

It Just Got Better

 

We head a really nice day this morning- there was just a slight breeze and we had a cloud cover for the whole day. The rain showers stayed off to the north of us and it made for a very pleasant day of fishing. I had met Paul Genn and his fishing buddy Jim out at the Goffinsville Park as the sun was coming up and we made the short trip over to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill to fish the first of an outgoing tide with float rigs and live shrimp. 

We eased along the bank, tossing forward and picked up a couple of small but hungry Seatrout and a nice feisty Redfish. We also did battle with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.  Our  next stop was back at the Spanish Drop area, fishing the mouth of Twin Creeks. It only took a cast or two and BAM! Jim had a hookup. This fish was digging deep, came under the boat, and headed down the river and I felt sure it was a Shark. Wrong. Luckily, Jim played it patiently, worked it up to the surface and to the boat and landed a big Oversized 30" Redfish! Boy what a fish. We did then catch a
couple of Bonnethead Sharks.

After easing down the river and fishing another marsh runout, to no avail, we moved further down and fished another. This did the trick. The tide was down a bit and we were able to fish jigs and shrimp and mud minnows. The Duo picked up a handful of small but feisty Redfish then Jim put a nice 23" Slot Red in the boat.  We also had a couple of Catfish and a small Jack. 

Our last stop was over at some docks at Nassauville with plans to finish the day out catching Mangrove Snapper. Although we did pick up a handful of keeper sized Mangroves, the highlight was Jim's 17" Black "puippy" Drum and then the third big Flounder of the week, one that measured right at 23.25". What a way to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

A Good Day For Flounder...and snapper

 Wow what a beautiful day that greeted us when we left the Goffinsville Park boat ramp this morning! I had met high school team mates and friends Daniel Rhodes, Tony French, and Daniel's cousin and local angler Michael Green out for a "fun" day of fishing. We left the dock and headed down the Nassau to the Spanish Drop area with a the tide still having a couple of hours to go out. The trio of anglers began tossing jigs and shrimp and minnows. There was bait running and getting "busted" all over and it was just a matter of time before we had a hookup. Tony got the excitement started when he had a bite and as his drag began to sing, we knew for sure it was a Shark. Tony played it patiently and after a long battle, boated a 4' Bonnethead.

Michael had gotten in to the groove and was making excellent casts and when he felt a strange "bump" he set the hook and brought to the boat and big 18" Flounder. We worked along that edge, picked up a small Redfish or two, tangled with some Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, and a Stingray, then moved on up the

river.

Here, Tony went to the edge of a mud flat with a cast and BAM, another keeper sized Flounder in the boat.  Michael was sticking right there with him, went to a drainage and he too brought another keeper Flounder to the box. The tide hit bottom and turned back in so we made the run over to Seymore's Pointe where we switched to jigs and shrimp, tossed up to some rocks. All three anglers put some Mangrove Snapper in the boat, with a couple of them being of keeper size. We then ran down to Broward Island and fished a nice drainage under the watchful eye of a couple of Bald Eagles. I think that was the only spot we didn't catch a fish!

After moving up the way and setting up parallel to the bank we stayed with the jigs and it paid off. Tony hooked up and landed a few nice 12" Mangrove Snapper. We also had a small Sheepshead and a couple of smaller Snapper. We then made the run back to Nassauville and fished between some docks. Here, the catching was fast and furious. Although it was a challenge to get those Mangrove's on a hook, they did it and added another good handful to the box, with Daniel, persevering, landing the last keeper. Tony had made a good cast up near rocks and BAM! He had a bump the minute it hit bottom. Tony set the hook and played to the boat a big 22.25" Flounder - a fish big enough to move him into third place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). I think we added one more keeper Flounder to make the total of six, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing with friends here at Amelia Island, Florida.

In Search Of Flounder

 

Yesterday we were just trying to catch a fish and ended up catching two nice Flounder. Today we had a special request to catch a Flounder and it was nip and tuck there for a while! I had met the Mitchell family - Ryan and Christina and their two children Lucy and Ryan IV out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp with a tide that still had about an hour or so of going out. We headed down to the Spanish Drop area and set up at a large outflow and began tossing jigs and shrimp.  It wasn't long before these anglers were catching fish. (Most of the time the adults did the casting and catching but then handed them off to the First and Second Mate to do the reeling in). We had a string of "junk" fish, but fun to catch - Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle.

When the tide changed we moved down the bank a bit and began fishing
some exposed oyster shell and sure enough, we had some good bites. Both Ryan and Christina reeled in a couple of feisty Redfish. Ryan picked up a couple of hungry Seatrout then they landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum to tally an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout and Drum.

We followed the tide in and ran around to Broward Island, fishing deeper with the jigs, and picked up some rather large Mangrove Snapper then a couple of more small Red's. Then Ryan had a "bump", hooked it up, and worked to the boat. Sheepshead to notch the "Grande Slam". After moving down the island we fished a small bend and here, after a long wait, Christina got her Flounder - a Super Grand Slam!

We finished the day back at Nassauville catching Mangrove Snapper and got enough for the family to take home and make some Snapper Taco's, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Welcome Mat

I was back to work today, this time fishing with Steve and Carron Frost after meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. We made a short run up the Nassau River and stopped to fish a large marsh run out with jigs and live shrimp. The tide was at dead low and we noticed we had not much of a current and the fishing was slooooww. But the duo did catch a wide variety of "junk" fish - High flying Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Shark and Stingray. Then the tide and current changed, started back in, and we were catching small but feisty Redfish, one after the other. It was a bonanza! We fished it until the bite slowed then moved on.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island on the first of an incoming tide. Both Carron and Steve caught and landed a feisty Red, then Steve had a strong hookup and the battle was joined! This fish was ripping drag and making those deep digs and we felt sure it was an ice Redfish, but then it wrapped itself on a submerged log and the line went tight. But Steve was up to

the task, kept light pressure on it, and sure enough the fish came out and, Fish On! Steve worked it to the boat and landed a nice 22.25" copper colored Redfish.

We moved down the way, easing underneath a Bald Eagle, then set up fishing. Steve put a couple of small Reds then he pitched up into a cove. He had a hit but not a taker. Then he went back to the same spot and BAM! :He had a hookup. This fish was fighting differently and sure enough, when he brought it to the net, it was very nice 16" Flounder. 

After crossing the river se switched to float rigs and tangled with a big Jack Crevalle and an even bigger Bonnethead Shark. 

We were getting low on bait and low on time but had one more stop left in is. After getting set we these anglers switched back to jigs and shrimp and in no time they were tangling with some Mangrove Snapper. We'd lose 4-5 shrimp then catch a fish and ended up with a good handful of keeper fish. Carron had made an excellent cast off to one side and she said she had a strange bite, and a hookup. She worked it slowly to the boat and Steve was the one that saw a huge maw of a mouth. Carron brought  it to the net and landed a huge 23.25" Door Mat of a Flounder! Boy what a fish! And big enough to move her squarely in to 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report to see standings). And what a fish to wrap up a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe Of The Month: Mangrove Snapper Quesadillas

 I had a couple of days off and had been talking to Carol about how we have been catching MangroveSnapper so she put in to take a fun fishing trip. We fished an incoming tide and it was a bit slow, although we did catch a couple of small Seatrout and a small Redfish. Then, as the tide got up, we made the short run to a Mangrove Snapper fishing hole and tossed jigs and shrimp and sure enough, they began to bite. We stayed long enough to get our limit then headed in with plans to make some Mangrove Snapper Quesadillas:

Mangrove Snapper Quesadilla

 -makes 4 Quesadilla’s

(5) Mangrove Snapper = 10 fillets

Bag of vegi-slaw

 Remoulade sauce

Jar of Salsa

Sour Cream

Quesadilla rounds

Cajun Seasoning

Shredded Mexican cheese

Butter or olive oil for frying

 

Clean and check for bones in Snapper filets. Season lightly with Cajun seasoning.

Heat butter or olive oil in cast iron skillet. When hot, fry Snapper filets for a few minutes on each side until done.

Ladle Remoulade sauce down middle of Quesadilla round. Lay 2-3 Snapper filets over Remoulade sauce. Spread sour cream. Layer vegi-slaw. Ladle Salso. Sprinkle Mexican cheese. Roll up and eat. Have napkin handy.

Kids Time To Shine

 

I wrapped the week up today fishing with two guys and their excited kids. I met Charlie Moye, his son Gray and his buddy Bo and Bo's daughter Blakely down at the  south end boat ramp early. It was a beautiful morning and a great time to get some kids out on the water fishing. We made run up thru Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill and set up along a flooded marsh line and started drifting floats and live shrimp with the current. We had a couple of quick "pecks" that stole our baits then their was a loud ripping noise and Charlie had a big one on! He was getting quite a lot of encouragement and coaching from both Gray and Blakely and he was up tot he task! I saw that his reel was getting thin so we "backed down" on the hard fighting fish as Charlie caught up to it then the battle was on. Charlie worked it patiently to the boat, let it run when it wanted to, worked it back, and eventually landed a nice 4' Bonnethead Shark. Boy what a fish!

We came back to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large drainage, had a couple of bites, but no takers, then moved around to some rocks and set up to fish close with the float rigs. There was an explosion of excitement from the kids when the  dads began catching Mangrove Snapper. They put a good handful in the box and swopped off letting the kids catch and reel in some of their own. I was real impressed how they worked the kids in to the fishing experience. Both Blakely and Gray took turns netting fish, catching fish, supplying bait and "coaching" up their dads.

After getting a good dinner's worth of fish, we moved down the way and switched to jigs for the first time of the day and caught another good handful of the Mangroves.  Our last stop was down at Spanish Drop n hopes of bigger fish but all we hooked up was a couple of high flying Ladyfish and a  hard fighting Jack Crevalle. But it had  been an eventful day and we had some good action for the kids so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.