We moved further up the river and fished Twin Creeks, again drifting float rigs. Bryce had taken up on the stern and "drifted long" down a grass line and when he had a strong bite he tightened up and let the circle hook do it's thing and, Big Fish On! The way it ran deep we were all speculating "shark", but then it came back to the shore line and I saw a roll - could it be a big Redfish?
After that we were "running and gunning" - we fished down at Pumpkin Hill,
We motored around and up towards the Jolley but made a brief stop at a large drainage and switched to jigs and the shrimp, then moved on around to the Jolley. Here, Katie tangled with a high flying Ladyfish and hauled in a small Skate, then David had a Flounder right up to the boat. David found a nice pocket to drift his float and caught and landed a couple of more Seatrout.
After running thru the Jolley and around to the Bell we fished some docks and picked up a couple of small Mangrove Snapper, a small Catfish, and a small Sheepshead.
I had met the Latino family down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. Pete and Robin and their kids Marin and Jake were eager to get out on the water so we headed up the Nassau River and all the way around to Middle Marsh where we set up alongside some flooded marsh grass on a tide that had been going out for about two hours. I had fished this spot only once before but we had caught a nice Slot Redfish there. I wasn't feeling real confident when I
We came back to Nassauville and tried to fish some rocks with the floats but the current was ripping so we moved around and fished some dock pilings, now out of the wind. Robin was helping out, coaching and encouraging as the other trio of anglers began to do battle with Mangrove Snapper. I think I'd have to say that Marin was making the best casts of all, but little did I now that Jake was keeping count of the fish caught! At one point he announced the total and with a solid lead, sat down to take a break from the action.
Pete finally had a solid hookup and this one was pulling some drag - no Mangrove this time. He played it patiently and soon brought to the net a nice 18" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. He and Marin caught Mangroves until it was time to leave and as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I fished again out of Goffinsville this morning - I like it out there, hardly anyone uses the ramp and you've got easy access to Nassau River, Pumpkin Hill, Seymore's Pointe and Horsehead. The loading your boat on a fast outgoing tide can be difficult, but you just have to come from down river, bow into the current, running parallel to the bank and as you approach the trailer, keep the bow up current and as you turn into the trailer give it a bit of gas and put your bow into the bunks. Easy! I tend to nail it 9 times out of 10. That tenth one can be ugly.
We fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe and caught a few small Mangrove Snapper, then came around to the Nassauville side and stuck with the jigs. Both anglers fined tuned their hookset and caught a good handful of the Mangroves, then Tim (the younger) had a good bump, set the hook, and brought to the net a keeper sized Flounder. We finished up the day catching small Mangroves then we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia
We ran down the Nassau and pulled up at Twin Creeks to fish float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that had been going out for a few hours. Although there was a bunch of bait movement and shark movement we didn't get much other than a Shark breakoff and a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. After moving down the river we switched to jigs and shrimp and minnows and worked some oyster banks. Both anglers were getting excellent casts and were working their baits effectively, but we had no real bites.
Switching back to float rigs and Seymore's Pointe, the duo outsmarted a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a few of which were of keeper size -Zach had the biggest, measuring right at 12". We fished some dock pilings and again hooked up and
We hit one more spot, fishing between two docks and here we flipped the tables on end! Mark had went in to a specific spot, let it set with his mud minnow wiggling on an 1/8 jig and, he thought he had hung on a rock or log and, Fish On! Mark played it patiently to the net and landed a 18'5" Flounder! But the best was yet to come! He went back to the same area and within minutes, "THUMP" - Fish On! This fish, like the other dug deep, didn't fight a whole lot, but we could tell it was heavy. Again, Mark patiently brought it up to the surface and we saw it was huge Flounder and when netted it measured 22.25" - big enough to move Mark into First Place in the Anglers Mark 2022 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category, boy what a fish! (Scroll down the right side of this report for link to standings).
We fished out all our bait, adding another Mangrove or two, then we headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
We made a short trip up the intercoastal, then into the Nassau and began fishing a tide that had been going out for about 4-hours - the shell were showing. We began working a large drainage with jigs and live shrimp, and minnows but had no bites until we reached a corner of shell then John hooked up and, Fish On1 John played it perfectly - the fish fought up near the shore then headed down river but John was ready and followed it back to the stern. He patiently wore it out and landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish.
We moved down the river and fished Twin Creeks, had some bumps, but no takers, then we ran further up the Nassau and fished between two docks. Here, All three anglers boated some Mangrove Snapper, two of which were of keeper size. Young Ruth was casting on her own and was able to reel in one of these sneaky biters. We fished some pilings at another dock then made the run down to Broward and fished deep for a bit, to no avail.
It had been getting hotter and hotter all morning but we made one last run thru Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff for a bit, then headed back with some cool breeze blowing. We had a few nice fish in the box so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
I made some informal inquiries to some of my fellow Charter Boat Captains that work out of the Marina; one replied back that yes, it seems to be accurate, the City has removed the signs and now parking is open to all who wish to use it.
As many of you know, I quit using the City Marina ramp back years ago when they raised the launch fee on Captains from $75 per year to $1500 per year. After building our home in Fernandina we now get hit with some serious property taxes and I wasn't willing to pay yet another astronomical fee. Since the Fee hike, I haven't had a good relationship with the City. They're on my "poop" list.
Back in January of last year I wrote a lengthy post about the City's plans to transform the waterfront and I forecast that removal of the boat ramp would be on their hidden agenda. Sure enough, here it is. By removing the "No Parking" signs, that lot will fill up quick. Local residents will have no where to park their vehicles/trailers and will be forced to go to Dee Dee Bartels or elsewhere.
Watch for the next DMS (Dale Martin Survey). Good 'ole Dale (look up Bureaucrat in the dictionary - you'll see is picture) will procure a survey and then he will use those answers to justify closing the ramp. As an example,
1) How often do you use the City Ramp? Well heck, almost never (why would you if you can't find parking)
The next move will be to close the City Ramp. Once Atlantic Seafood is gone, that area will make for a great entrance to the "Greater Amelia Pentanque Courts".
Is anyone interested in starting up a Facebook Group -"Concerned Boat Ramp Users of Nassau County"? It seems we're getting stiffed.
This is more than a Charter Boat Captain issue. It is a City boater issue. City boaters deserve access to the water. I for one feel like the City should make plans to build a City boat ramp elsewhere. BUT, they need to plan and build it BEFORE they shut down the existing one. Here's the commissioners Email address's. All you have to do is Click on them and send them your opinion.
Cheddar Bay Pepper Jack Shrimp Balls
1) 11.6oz Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix (I always find this at Walmart)
1) 11 oz Pepper Jack Palmetto Cheese (you can NEVER find this in our area. I ended up using an 8ox package of shredded Pepper Jack cheese in one batch, and the Palmetto Cheddar/Jalapeno pimento cheese in the 2nd batch. Hate to say it, but I liked the shredded cheese version better - the "balls" didn't fall apart so readily)
2) pounds Shrimp, peeled, de-veined, chopped (the original recipe called for just one pound. I thought two would be better. I tossed them lightly in Konriko seasoning)
1) Old Bay seasoning for garnish
1) A bit of water, about a 1/4 cup
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a bowl, mix together biscuit mix, cheese, and chopped shrimp. (here I added a bit of water at a time until I got a gooey "biscuit" consistency.)
Form into 1-2" balls and place on a greased baking sheeet
Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees (I ended up putting them back in for another 3-5 minutes, watched them closely, until they became a nice golden brown)
Following the Red Lobster mix instructions, I melted some butter and mixed their seasoning packet in, and brushed the hot Shrimp Balls as they came out, then lightly sprinkled Old Bay as a garnish.
Served with Remoulade Sauce
I met Jeff and Penny Parks down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the run up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau, and made our way up river for a bit. We had a low tide that had been coming in for about an hour when I turned into the current and the duo of anglers began to toss their jigs and minnows to the exposed shell beds. We worked along that first bank until we reached a large drainage and then we began to get some action. Note, I had dug out one of the few left over Shrimp from yesterday, Jeff was fishing it off the bow and when he felt a "thump" he pause a bit, then set the hook and, Fish On! Jeff brought it to the boat and landed a nice 18.5" keeper Flounder.
After "tinkering" with some Mangrove Snappers over at some docks we ran thru Horsehead and fished the mouth of Jackstaff where Penny kept up her streak - she landed a fat Seatrout then a high flying Ladyfish. The sun was up and it was getting hot so we pulled up the trolling motor and headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
We came back to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings where we played with some Mangrove Snapper for a bit. Moving down the Nassau to Spanish Drop, we fished some flooding shell banks with jigs and shrimp and here the bite began to pick up. Whitt picked up a nice Flounder then he did battle with what I believe to have been a Shark, but it found its way around a crab buoy and eventually broke off.
After moving back up the Nassau and turning into the current, we again fished some flooded banks and again, we had some action. John started it off by hooking up and landing a keeper sized Seatrout, then they caught a Whiting, and a couple of small Jack Crevalle. Then John and grandson Whitt teamed up to tame a 4' Bonnethead Shark.
We fished some rocks at Nassauville with float rigs and outsmarted a few Mangrove Snapper, a couple which were of keeper size. Then we wrapped things up down the way at another couple of docks. Adam got on roll and pulled another Flounder out, then a few keeper sized Mangroves, then John hooked up an landed a nice 17.25" Flounder. The day had started out really slow but we found some action later so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.
