Making Progress

You just can't ask for better weather to be fishing here at Amelia Island. It's in the high 60's when we launch and gets up to the mid 80's by the time we return to the dock and each day there has a been a light breeze to keep the bugs off.  I met Tim and Laura Wolfe down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we headed up the intercoastal and as we turned the corner at the first channel marker, the sun was just coming up. We made the short run, dipped in to Jackstaff and began fishing an exposed oyster bank with jigs and live shrimp.  We had just fished a short way when Laura hooked up, and Tim did too - we had a double! They both brought their fish to the boat - Laura's was a nice Whiting and Tim's was a hungry Flounder. It was then that Laura reminded me that she didn't catch a fish with me last year, so we had made some progress!

We continued along that stretch and Tim hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish. We then crossed over and fished a pointe that had a sandbar coming out to us and here Tim found some Seatrout out deep. Both he and Laura found that they could pitch up current, let their jig go to the bottom, keep the line tight and BAM! They'd have a hookup. They caught a good handful of Seatrout there, the biggest measuring at 14 3/4".

After running thru Horsehead we made a quick stop at a dock at Seymore's Pointe, stern to the pilings. The duo played cat and mouse with the Mangroves, won a few of the battles, and put a couple of keeper sized fish in the box. We then headed down to Broward Island and set up to fish a large marsh run out. Big fish were busting bait all up and down the bank. We fished it pretty good, picked up a couple of Mangroves, then Tim put another Redfish in the boat. We worked the island for a bit and picked up another couple of Mangroves, but not the big fish we were hoping for. 

Our final stop was down at Spanish Drop working the oysters again, and here Laura added a Jack Crevalle to her catch total.  But the sun was up, we were down to our last bait, so we called it a day. Although we didn't have any huge fish, Laura had lost count of the number of fish she had caught so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slow But Steady OR He Wore His Lucky Hat

 We had another beautiful morning today when I met my cousin Adam Garner and his wife Patty down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. The sun was just coming up as we turned into the intercoastal and made our way up thru the mouth of the Nassau River to make our first stop on a tide that was still going out. Adam and Patty began pitching jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows to a marsh runout as we eased along. Adam "knocked the skunk off" with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle then went back to an oyster bank and picked up a feisty Redfish. I thought we were going to do pretty good along there but that was the extent of the fish catching. We hit two more spots along that edge, had only a few nibbles, then moved on.

The next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing another run out. We were hearing and seeing some huge fish busting bait up along the shoreline but they weren't taking our offerings. I let the anchor go on the trolling motor so the boat would drift with the current and we worked along the bank and that did the trick. Adam picked up a hungry Seatrout out deep, then went in with

a float rig and got a Mangrove Snapper, adjusted his lucky hat, went back to the jigs and BAM! Big Hookup. Adam played it perfectly, worked it patiently to the net, and landed a nice Slot Sized 21" Redfish.

We moved down the way and fished up near a stump and here Patty honed her hookup skills by catching a handful of Mangroves, one of which was of keeper size, then Adam let his jig slide down the river bottom and out deep he had another strong bite, a hookup, and he landed a nice 17.5" keeper sized Seatrout.

Our final stop was back at some docks at Nassauville. We tangled with the ever present Mangroves and landed a few. Then Adam wrapped things up when he outsmarted a "nibbler", hooked and landed a keeper sized Sheepshead. Although the day hadn't been "on fire" we slowly put together a nice mess of fish so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Feeling LIke Fall

 

We've had a couple of days now where there has been a "nip" in he morning air and you can almost believe that Fall is really here. Except we are still seeing Rosette Spoonbills and catching Sharks and Mangrove Snappers! But it's only a matter of time! Today I met the Tuten trio, James and Joyce and their son William, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp as the sun came up. We made a short run up the intercoastal, in to the Nassau, and pulled up at a big marsh run out. The bait was moving and getting "popped" and we felt like we'd have some good action, and we did. Joyce "knocked the skunk off" with a hungry Seatrout catch and James followed that up when he felt a strange bump - he let it have it for a second then set the hook and boom, he had a fish. James brought it to the boat patiently and landed a keeper sized Flounder.

We worked that bank for a while -Joyce picked up a feisty Jack Cravellle, James picked up another Trout, then it was William's turn to finally get in on the action. He had a strong hookup and when the drag began to rip we knew it was a decent fish. James played it perfectly and brought to the net a 21" Slot Redfish. Only minutes later he hooked up with another and brought it to the net, this one just undersized. After a few more fish, we moved on.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. It may have been William's first cast and BAM, a hookup. William applied the pressure and got it out from the pilings, then slowly brought it to the net - a 15" Black "puppy" Drum.  The trio added a couple of small Mangrove Snapper to the catch before we moved on. 

We passed under a pair of Bald Eagles as we approached another marsh runout. Just these anglers began to fish we could see a big fish busting bait up near the edge. Both William and James went with their cast and BOOM! William had a big bite then, BOOM! James had a good bite - we had a double!  James worked his in and landed a feisty Redfish but William's fish was a bit more determined. William played it patiently as it got out into deeper water and dug deep but it was no match for William. After a good battle he landed a 24.5" beautiful copper colored Red which was photographed and released.

After fishing one more spot and getting a couple of more Mangroves, we made the run back to Seymore's, thru Horsehead and over to the mouth of Jackstaff where we finished up the day catching high flying Ladyfish on float rigs. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had had some good action so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Quick Start With The Trout

 We had a beautiful morning today when I met Barrett and Jo Blank and their son Jean out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early this morning. The sun was just coming up as we motored down the Nassau River, down to Spanish Drop, and began fishing a large marsh run out at almost dead low tide. Bait was getting busted as the trio of anglers made their first casts and wouldn't you know, it, BOOM! Fish On!  Boom, Fish On! Both Jean and Jo had hookups and after working them to the boat we netted a couple of nice Seatrout. Barrett, not to be outdone, had a quick hookup, too. Another Trout brought to the boat. We worked along that bank and caught a handful of more Seatrout, had a "drive by" by a Bonnethead Shark, then Barrett had a strong bite, a hookup, and expertly landed a keeper sized Black Drum.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island and here Jean got hot - he caught and landed a couple of Mangrove Snapper, one of which was of keeper size, then, after losing is bait to a nibbler, he was ready this time and BAM! Set the hook and big fish on!  Jean played it patiently and soon landed a nice keeper sized Sheepshead.  After fishing another spot at the island to no avail, we ran back to Nassauville and fished between some docks, but only got some nibbles.

Back to Pumpkin Hill, now fishing float rigs on a flooding tide and again, only
some nibbles. Although we had had some good action early, the fish must have decided to go in and watch some football! But it was a beautiful day and as we headed in we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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.