Lily's Luck

 

I was back to work today and when I stepped out this morning to get the boat ready I noticed it wasn't as humid as last week and sure enough, when I met Jeff Whorton and his teenaged kids Casey and Lily down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, there was a nice breeze and as the morning went along, we had some clouds here and there that made for a pleasant day of fishing. 

We left the dock and ran up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau and made our way to Spanish Drop where we began fishing jigs and live shrimp on a tide that still had a couple of  hours of going out. The shells were exposed and the trio of anglers were making excellent casts and it paid off when they began to catch Flounder. Lily put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat while Jeff and Casey added one each. We eased along that bank and when we reached a corner Jeff hooked up and he knew right off - Redfish! Jeff played it perfectly and landed a Red that was just undersized. But moments later, going back to the same spot, he hooked up and this fish "pulled some drag". Jeff played it to the boat and landed a Slot sized Redfish. 

After moving up the river we fished a large drainage where they caught some Jacks and Ladyfish, then it was Casey's turn to hookup and land a nice keeper sized fish - a 18" Flounder.  Lily added a hungry Seatrout or two. We then fished some dock pilings and after "tinkering" with some nibbles, all three anglers contributed to the box with a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. 

I had been kidding with the guys - Lily, the least experienced of the anglers - seemed to be having more hookups than the others - her casts weren't as long or accurate - but she seemed to be catching the fish so we deemed it "Lily's Luck"! 

After fishing some docks at Nassauville, we ran back thru Horsehead to the mouth of Jackstaff and fished a stretch of bank and here Lucky Lily hooked up with a big fish - her drag was ripping and her rod was bent over. She kept that rod up though and after the fish took her from bow to stern to bow, under the boat and around the boat, she eventually landed a big 6lb Jack Crevalle, boy what a battle!

And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Fishing For Walleye

 We had another hot day forecasted and they didn't miss this one! I met Brent Laurint and his girlfriend Brandi up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and I had made up my mind I was going to try and get them away from civilization a bit so we headed over to the inside of Tyger and fished the logs on the first of an incoming tide - perfect conditions to ease along and pitch to the bank with jigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were making excellent casts and we worked the bank thoroughly, getting nibbles here and there, until Brent up with a good cast alongside a log and BAM! He had a hookup. I thought for sure it was some sort of Drum - a Red or a Black and boy was it putting up a fight. Brent played it perfectly and soon landed a 16" Tripletail! In my 16 years of guiding, this is only about the 7th or 8th Tripletail landed on the Anglers Mark. The size limit is 18" so we took a picture and released it.

We headed up to the Jolley River, all the way up to Snook Creek and turned into the current and fished the oyster beds back. Brent did find a feisty Redfish along there to catch. Switching to floats, Brandi got on the board with an ugly ol Toadfish, then a small Jack Crevalle catch. We moved back down the river and fished the "bank" and here Brent battled a nice Bonnethead Shark to the boat for pictures and release.

After moving around to the outside of Tyger we worked a bank - Brent with a jig rod on the bow and Brandi with a float rig off the stern. Brandi had mentioned that as a young girl she wanted to catch and/or eat Walleye but unfortunately we didn't find any off of Tyger. Brandi did however tangle with a good handful of Walleye-like Ladyfish! Then Brent had another strong bite and this fish began to rip the line off the spool, heading to Kings Bay. Brent followed it back to the stern and fought it until he had enough, then handed the rod off to Brandi to finish it off. I felt sure it wasn't a Shark, and it didn't "boil" like a Redfish so I wasn't sure what it was. But as Brandi wore it out we saw it was a huge Jack Crevalle - the biggest I've had on the Anglers Mark in the back waters of Amelia Island.

We then ran thru Tyger and around to the Bell. The sun was getting up and hot but we made a few casts to finish up. Brandi had placed her float between two grassy areas and we saw her float began to bob a couple of times and then disappeared. Brandi tightened up the line and let the circle hook do its thing and, Fish On! Brandi patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Seatrout - Ceviche for the weekend!

After fishing one more spot on the outside of Tyger, we headed back to the dock and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Nary a Trout Today

 I was out to Goffinsville Park today where I met Dennis Abercrombie and his dad Jay. We had a clear, sunny morning and a tide that was just hitting dead low as we headed up the Nassau River with plans to fish Broward Island. Our first stop was down at the south end where we tossed jigs and live shrimp. We worked a large drainage for a bit, then dropped down the island and here Jay "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Flounder catch. 

The tide began to turn and come back in so we moved down to the north end and fished deep with the jigs. Jay had made an excellent cast to the up current side of a stump and a he let it fall down the river bottom I saw the line go tight - Jay set the hook and, Fish On! Jay played it perfectly and after a good battle he wore out and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish (all fish caught today were released).

We came back to Seymore's Pointe and fished some  dock pilings and here Jay outsmarted some rather big, keeper sized Mangrove
Snapper. We fished down at Spanish Drop with float rigs and the duo of anglers caught Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, a Catfish, and Jay battled a 12lb Bonnethead, which he landed and I gave a quick release. Dropping back up the river we continued to catch a fish here and there - Jacks and Ladyfish.

Our next stop was between some docks at Nassauville, fishing with jigs and live shrimp. We had Mangrove bites but the highlight fish was a nice Flounder that Dennis hooked up and landed. Our final stop was back at Pumpkin Hill, fishing floats, and we wrapped up the day with a large Bonnethead Shark that Dennis fought and landed. We had caught a good variety, but surprisingly, no Seatrout, but with the action we had, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Went To The Bank

 I fished again with the Sorah's today, Chris and his dad Ken, but this time Chris's wife Melanie joined the crew. We met north, up at Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and a clear, sunny morning, we headed north and west, around to the Jolley River and turned into the "bank" to fish a high and incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. We worked the bank thoroughly and although all three anglers were getting excellent casts. we caught only Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle.  After moving up the river and fishing a good stretch of  flooding marsh at  Snook Creek, Ken did come away with a nice keeper sized Seatrout.

We came back down the Jolly and as I was passing a fishing looking runout on the outside of Tyger, we decided to fish it, switching to jigs and the live shrimp. From that drainage on for a good 200 yards has now become known as "Chris's

Bank" - we caught at least 10 Flounder, with a handful being of keeper size. The trio added another couple of keeper sized Seatrout, a Croaker, some small Whiting, a Black "puppy" Drum, an almost keeper sized Redfish, some more Jacks, and a wayward Sheepshead! We fished that stretch the last of the outgoing and the first of the incoming. 

FYI, Chris found that he could pitch his jig and shrimp up into the submerged grass and then work it out before it could settle in and the fish would hit it as it came out of the grass. We had a bonanza of fishing along that bank so as we headed in we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Start Nice Finish

 I was down at the south end today, meeting the Sorah team - Chris, his dad Ken and Bryce, the son/grandson. We headed up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau and ran up the river a bit to begin fishing at Spanish Drop with float rigs on an already high and still incoming tide. The trio of anglers were tossing float rigs and live shrimp to the bank and we had a few nibbles here and there until Ken hooked up and battled a high flying Ladyfish.  I was debating in my mind whether to call that "skunk off"  but just couldn't quite bring myself to do it!

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?

But then it went deep again, Bryce keeping the pressure on and we were thinking Shark again, but again, a roll! Bryce worked it to the boat and we soon saw it was a massive Redfish. Bryce played it perfectly and we soon netted a big Oversized 27.5" THICK Redfish, boy what a fish, and for sure, Skunk Off The Boat! Shortly after that Ken hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout.

After that we were "running and gunning" - we fished down at Pumpkin Hill,

caught a couple of Jacks and Ladyfish, then fished back at Seymore's Pointe (to no avail), then I thought we'd wrap things up over at Nassauville, fishing with jigs. And here we had a nice flurry. Chris started it off with a nice 18" Flounder catch, then caught another, smaller one. The trio added a handful of Mangrove Snapper to the catch  with a couple being of keeper size, then Ken put a small Flounder in the boat and Chris added a nice 17" Trout to the box - a great way to end a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

An Education

 

After a weekend off I was back to "work" today when I met David Bolton and his daughter Katie out at his place on Lanceford Creek. We then made our way  back to the outside of Tyger Island and set  up fishing float rigs on a high and incoming tide. Katie "knocked the skunk off" and landed a feisty Bluefish to begin an "old salt" education of how to catch fish! But David wasn't going down without a fight and picked up hungry Seatrout before we moved on.

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 up the river we began fishing some flooded marsh grass, just short of Snook Creek and when Katie's float disappeared and the big fish began to rip drag, I knew right off that she had a nice Redfish. Katie played it perfectly, from stern to bow, and after a good battle landed a 22" Slot sized Redfish, boy what a fish! She turned around and caught one of the smallest Redfish I've ever seen on  hook, also! Katie had one more big bite along that stretch, a shark that took her bait and headed south - it spooled her and kept going, headed south.

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.

Our final stop was back at some docks at Eagans Creek, fishing the pilings on a lower outgoing tide. Katie had made a perfect cast and hooked up and landed another Slot Redfish, then David hauled one in, too. Katie put another miniature Redfish in the boat, then a large Black "puppy" Drum.  She wrapped up the day with one more Puppy Drum before we called it quits and as we headed back we counted it as another great day  to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Solid Lead

We had an uncharacteristic(for the week) forecast for some winds today, 11-14mph which ended up being correct, and made for some challenging fishing. But we persevered, fished, and ended up with a fairly decent day of "fish catching".

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

saw the west wind murkying up the water. Marin and Jake were out first with their casts, Marin on the stern and Jake on the bow and I think it was Jake's first drift when he had a hookup and a nice fish on! Jake fought the fish valiantly and soon landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish! That's the way to start a day! We fished that spot a bit, moved up to Pumpkin Hill and fished some edges there, then moved on. As I figured, that west wind was really making some mud along the shore.

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.

We Worked The Banks

 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.

Today I met the father son Fields fishing team, Tim, and Tim. We ran up the Nassau and fished Pumpkin Hill for a good bit with float rigs and live shrimp. Although we had a few nibbles here and there, we had no takers. We came back down the Nassau to Twin Creeks and switched to jigs and minnows and tangled with a couple of Ladyfish. After moving down to Spanish Drop, young Tim hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout.  He also caught a small Flounder and tangled with another Ladyfish.

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

Island, Florida.

Doormatt Bumps For Bragging Rights

 

We had an outstandingly beautiful morning today when I met Mark Smith and his son Zach out at the Goffinsville Park. I'm always hoping for less wind and today we had it - and began to wish for some breeze before the trip was over!

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

landed some Mangroves. We had a few of those in the box which have some nice fillets, but hardly enough to make a full meal and it looked like that was going to be the bag for the day.

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.

Heat Rising

Yesterday afternoon the forecast called for about a 50% chance of rain for this morning, but when I got up early it was down to about a 14%. We had already decided to chance it and it was all the better of a forecast. I met John Williams down at the south end ramp and he had his two kids, Hadden (8) and Ruth (6) along to help with the fishing!

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. 

Hadden moved up to the bow and began fishing the same spot and only minutes later he had a fish on. He had made an excellent cast and kept his line tight, felt the bump, set the hook and had a fish!  Hadden played it perfectly and soon landed a 20" 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.