Double Slot Redfish after Labor Day

 The Graff's were in town for a long week of relaxation and they took in an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip the day after Labor Day. I had met Jim Graff and his wife Sarah and his daughter Casey down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. The tide had just started out up at Nassauville so I made a bee-line for the "Spot". Maybe I should call it the MOA2? That might jinx it!

The trio of anglers set up with float rigs and live shrimp and began to toss their baits to the grass and were getting good drifts along the edge and it paid off. Almost immediately they were putting fish in the boat. They tangled with a couple of high flying Ladyfish then Casey "knocked the skunk off" with a feisty Redfish catch. Then her and Sarah doubled up, both with small but hard fighting Redfish. 

But it was after Casey had made a long cast forward, got a good drift, and BAM! Float gone and drag ripping! You can always tell when it's a bigger fish because it doesn't come right to the boat, and it almost always "boils" up, and this one sure did. Casey kept the pressure on and played it perfectly and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot sized 24" Redfish, boy what a fish!

We caught a good handful of Reds there, and Jim added a hungry Seatrout,and of course the Ladyfish, then we moved on, making our way back down the Nassau River and over to Twin Creeks. Again, we had good action early on the float rigs. Casey and Sarah were drifting long and picked up a couple of more Ladyfish, a Jack, and a couple of Seatrout while Jim, on the bow, switched to a jig and shrimp and caught a couple of Redfish on the bottom. Then it was Sarah's turn for the big fish. She had tossed her float rig up near the bank and it sure enough, the good cast paid off. Down went her float and zing went her drag -big fish on! Sarah worked it to the boat expertly, battle thru a couple of deep runs, and landed another Slot sized 21" Redfish.

After moving down  the river further Sarah caught a Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam while Jim stuck to catching Redfish. The sun was up and the bite was slowing and the Captain was getting hungry so we called it a day and as we headed back we counted it as another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Tulsa Time at Amelia Island

The closest I've gotten to Tulsa, Oklahoma is listening to Don Williams "Tulsa Time", but today I had a couple of anglers who had ties to the State and following it's motto paid off - Work Conquers All!

I had met Keith Mason and his fishing partner Michael down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we made a quick run up the intercoastal and then into the Nassau River and we pulled up at an exposed shell bank on a tide that had been coming in for about an hour. The two anglers began pitching jigs and mud minnows to the edge of the oysters. They had a few nibbles here and there then Keith outsmarted a hungry Flounder. After moving down the way to Twin Creeks, we stuck with the jigs and here Keith picked up another, "almost legal" Flounder. Then he had a strong hookup and the fish immediately boiled up by the shell bank - a Redfish for sure. Keith kept the pressure on and worked it to the boat. The fish thrashed and boiled but Keith was up to the task and brought to the net a nice 21" Slot Sized Redfish. 

We fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe to no avail, then move down to Nassauville where we picked up a good handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.  Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill, drifting float rigs and the minnows on an incoming tide. The duo had a few "bumps", and had a couple of fish roll at their baits, but no takers.

After fishing some rocks at Seymore's we took the shortcut thru Horsehead and began working along a grass bank with the float rigs. Michael had been doing everything right but evidently had forgotten his lucky hat - until this stretch of fishing. He had made an excellent cast to a small point of grass and when his float disappeared he tightened down and let the circle hook set and, Fish On! Michael expertly reeled in a hungry Seatrout. Almost in the same area, but just to the left, he had a quick bite and put our 6th keeper Mangrove in the boat. And as we worked past a grassy island, again a pin point cast produced another "almost legal" Seatrout. Michael's good effort paid off and Conquered the Amelia Island back country so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Ladyfish Overload

 I wrapped my week up fishing with Jon Freund and his fishing buddy's Peter, Sandy, and Lewis - meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. You could sum up the fishing trip with two sentences:

 1) We caught a bunch of fish                                                                                   2) There were a whole lot of Ladyfish caught!

Not that we didn't catch decent fish. These anglers put a couple of feisty Redfish in the boat, a couple of hungry Seatrout and made it a slam with a couple of "just under the mark" Flounder. They also battled Jack Crevalle, had a big (I mean huge) Toadfish to the boat, and boated a few Mangrove Snapper. But I don't know if I've ever seen so many Ladyfish!

We had run up the Nassau and fished some flooding shell bottoms with mud minnows under floats on the last of an incoming tide. We ended up fishing a number of spots along the Nassau on that last of the incoming, and then on the first of the outgoing tide. We had good action all morning long so as we headed back to the boat I counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Big Fish Makes Up for Slow Start

 We had a tide that still had about an hour to come in, maybe less than that, when I met Dennis and Carol
West down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made the run up the intercoastal and passed two large flocks of Roseate Spoonbills sunning on the high tide on some shell bars, then we made our way into Jackstaff and then into an even smaller creek where we set up with float rigs and live mud minnows. Both anglers were getting good casts and we had some nibbles, but no takers. 

We then buzzed thru Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large bay drainage on a the first of an outgoing tide and again, some good bites, but no takers. Our next stop was down the Nassau fishing a stretch of grass lined with flooded oysters and here we had some action. Both Dennis and Carol hooked up with some seriously hungry juvenile Redfish. 

Then, after we had dropped back to fish a point, Dennis had a strong hookup and the big fish headed east, ripping drag all the way. We both wondered was it going to slow down! But Dennis kept that pressure on, turned him, then battled him for a good while. It was really neat to see a big 'ole Redfish tail flail up a few times. Dennis worked him out of the shallows, got him back in the current, then slowly brought o the net an oversized 29.5" Redfish, boy what a fish! And big enough to move Dennis into third place in the 2022 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

The duo added a couple of more of the "rat" Reds, then we fished a couple of run outs with jigs and the minnows. Again, we had some bites, some drag rips, but no takers. But it had been a nice overcast day, we'd had a slight breeze and as we headed back, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island.

What Started As a Slow Day

 ...turned out to be a Fish Catch'n day here at Amelia Island! I had met Darryl and Tanya Gainsford down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We ran briefly up the intercoastal but turned into the Back River to make the short cut thru to the Nassau River. Once there, we found a flooded shell bank to drift float rigs and mud minnows on the first of an outgoing tide. Both anglers began getting bites, but they weren't takers - the float would disappear, they'd tighten up, but not takers.  Finally, Tanya hooked up and landed a fat Seatrout and that seemed to open the gates. They tangled with Ladyfish, caught a couple of small Jack Crevalle, and landed a couple of feisty Redfish.

We moved up the river and fished another flooded shell bottom on that outgoing tide, and again tinkered with some small but fun-to-catch fish. After moving around the corner and as we were about to leave, Darryl had a good hookup - he played it perfectly and when we saw the huge maw of a Trout mouth, we new it was a good fish! Darryl worked it to the net and landed a 20.5" beautiful Seatrout. (all fish caught today were released).

After running back down the Nassau we set  up at Twin Creeks, still fishing with the floats. I don't think we got a bite on those floats but after we switched to jigs and the minnows Darryl had a nice "thump", set the hook, and landed a (big to me and Tanya) 18" Flounder. Tanya followed that up with a feisty Redfish catch.

That spot worked pretty good so we moved down just a 100 yards and fished another large drainage and here the duo got in to a mess of Flounder. Both Tanya and Darryl reeled in the flat fish and put 4 more keeper sized fish in the boat. Again, we moved down, fished thru a drainage, and along some exposed shell beds. Tanya caught another feisty Red, then was we neared the end of that shell bank Darryl had a strong hook up and, Big Fish On!  It rolled up near the bank which signified "big Red" - and rolled up a couple of more times during the battle. Darryl couldn't have played it any better, patiently working it to the boat and the net to land a 23" Slot sized Redfish. 

We fished one more stretch, picked up another small but feisty Redfish, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Gone Fish'n at Amelia Island

I picked up Robert Stetner and his fishing buddy David out at the Oyster Bay marina this morning and we made short trip around the corner to fish some docks at Lanceford Creek on a tide that still had about 2 hours of going out. No minnows at the bait shop today, so we went with live shrimp and sure enough, we were feeding the 'bait stealers".  The two anglers did team up to catch a couple of feisty Redfish and a small Sheepshead.

We then made the long run down Lanceford, around the outside of Tyger and over to the Jolley River were we set up fishing the "bank", tossing jigs and shrimp to the exposed oysters. We had a good flurry of catching those small, but feisty Redfish - one of those Reds had 15 spots - maybe it will be big enough by the time the Spot Tournament rolls around! David also put a Flounder in the boat to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Sheepshead and Flounder.

After moving up the creek we fished the mouth of Snook Creek and we may have had one more Red there. We also had a couple of Croaker caught. Back down the Jolley we went and around to Tyger Island logs on an incoming tide. Feisty "rat" Reds must have been on the order form because, again, that's what we caught. And another small Flounder.

The final stop was on the outside of Tyger, now fishing a float rig. Every cast produced a "nibble", but no takers. But we had had some good action thru-out the morning so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Birthday Kid

Although the weather forecast last night predicted a good chance of rain for this morning, we had clear skies the whole time! Garland Clark and his friend Suzanna elected to begin Garland's "Birthday Celebration" by  fishing the back waters of Amelia Island. We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and ran up the intercoastal, turned into the Nassau and found our way to an exposed oyster bed with a tide that still had a couple of hours to hit bottom.  We had live shrimp  and a handful of small mud minnows that I had caught at the ramp. 

As we worked the bank both anglers were making excellent casts and after Suzanna had tangled with a Ladyfish, Garland put a feisty Redfish in the boat. As we reached the end of some oyster beds where a bar was jutting out both anglers found Redfish and landed them. Then Suzanna had a huge bite, her drag began to rip and, Fish On! Suzanna played it patiently, keeping the pressure on, and soon landed a big Jack Crevalle.

We then made the run down to Back River, fished a good stretch of oyster beds on the last of that outgoing tide, to no avail, then continued on down to Broward Island, passing under the pair of Bald Eagles who seem to have returned after their Summer vacation - time to repair and touch up that nest! We fished a large marsh runout, then drifted backwards down the bank. Garland was on the stern and quickly landed a couple of Croaker then had a good bite, set the hook and brought to the net a large Mangrove Snapper.

Our final stop was back at some docks at Nassauville, fishing the jigs on the first of an incoming tide. Once the duo got to rolling, they began to outsmart the Mangroves and weeded thru them to keep seven more large fish. But boy was it getting hot! We called it a day and as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

FWC Staff Thrown Under The Bus

Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I saw the final FWC Commission’s decision to change the Redfish rules to one fish per angler in the NE Florida Region. For months FWC staff have been reporting and promoting and disseminating that their recommendation for NE Florida would be to keep the two fish per angler, but change the boat limit down to four, from eight. Also slated to change was to remove Captains from counting in the “take”.

I've had no issue with these proposed changes and, truth be told, I have no issue with even a one fish per angler and dropping the boat limit down to four, and removing the captains as counting.  In past comments I’ve stated just that. What I do have a problem with is that FWC Staff studied this over the last couple of years, began taking input a year ago, kicking off with a day-long Redfish Summit down in Ocala, hosted numerous regional workshops, and then made their recommendations to the Commissioners based on the data and science and that year long input. When the final decision was made at the Commission meeting in Jacksonville in July, after a number of passionate testimonies from anglers at the final meeting, four of the commissioners (the other three were absent), threw all of that year long effort out the window and while they were at it, threw the FWC Staff under the bus.

Has anyone in the last two years not heard the term, “Trust the Science”?  I don’t know how many researchers and scientists and data crunchers that the FWC employ but I have to assume that they all put their heads together studying the data. Then we all went thru what turned out to be a charade of the Redfish Summit, then a multitude of regional presentations and workshops, and on-line request for input from we “Stakeholders”. They had a full year of input from those stakeholders across the region.  And finally, FWC Staff settled on and published the recommendations that they were going to present to the Commissioners. At the July Commission meeting FWC Staff made these recommendations for NE Florida:

• Keep the bag limit of 2 fish per angler
• Reduce the off-the-water transport limit from 6 to 4 fish per person 
• Prohibit Captain and crew from retaining a bag limit of redfish when on a for-hire trip

All good right?

Nope, this is where it got hinky. 

FWC Staff made the above recommendation. Then the Commission took more public input (you can click here and see the entire meeting, but if you go to 1:11:56 you can see where the presentation is made with following public comment that begins around 1:24:45) 

There were 21 speakers on the subject, most advocating to drop that bag limit from 2 to 1 in the NE Region. Some were very passionate in their speeches and evidently convincing enough to sway the commissioners. If you get a chance, listen to the speeches. Even though one advocate made his case and stresses that “these are the facts”, when it comes to the regulations, shouldn’t we be making decisions based on the data and the research? There were a couple of tournament anglers who were having trouble catching Redfish in their tournament. Did they just have a bad day?  One speaker mentioned making the 1-fish rule across the board so it would be easier for law enforcement. Why then the multiple Regions?  Another suggested it was “sick” to kill ANY Redfish. Another mentioned “listen to Stakeholders”.  I guess he meant only the ones at that July meeting – not the hundreds who provided input during the year-long charade. 

Shortly after the Commissioners took public comment, the  Commissioner representing NE Florida, Sonya Rood proposed an amendment to change the FWC recommendation and move the bag limit down to 1 fish person.  I’d give a shaky thumbs up to Chairman Rodney Barreto for at least mentioning that FWC Staff had made recommendations……but…but…ok…..let’s vote on it with  Ms. Rood’s amendment and BAM! FWC Staff recommendation thrown out the window (and it slowly rolled under the bus).

The new rules will go into effect September 1, 2022:

• 1 fish per angler
• 4 fish per boat
• 4 fish while in transient
• Captains don’t count in the “take”

The FWC supposedly plans to take data, do research and study the Redfish population over the coming year and annually make their recommendations. There was some talk about including other species – Seatrout, Flounder and Snook in the new studies.

My questions are these:

• If the FWC Staff wants our input, and we give it, does it really matter?
• Are Commissioners going to “follow the science” and staff recommendations or be swayed by passionate speakers at the final meeting?
•  If FWC Staff publishes their findings and recommendations and present them right up to that final meeting, do you ever trust the Commissioners to follow those recommendations?
• Do you not have to be present at that final meeting for it to actually count? 
• Can you trust them?

REWARD:  To the first person who watches the entire FWC July Meeting video, I’ll pay .25 per time anyone mentions or says the word “Stakeholder(s)”!

Some Slick Water Fishing At Amelia Island

 It's that time of year that when we launch the sun is just coming up over the horizon and boy was it pretty today! And the water was slick as a lake! I had met David Snyder and his fishing buddy Brad Baudek out at Goffinsville Park and after a short run down the Nassau River we set up at a large outflow on the last hour of an outgoing tide. The duo of anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp and just as a I thought, Peck-Peck-Peck, the baitstealers were getting us one after the other. But they persevered as we worked an exposed shell bank and had a "double" hookup. Brad brought to the boat a keeper sized Flounder while David landed a feisty Redfish.

We moved up the bank, fished another stretch, dueled with a couple of Ladyfish and moved on. But not before putting out a minnow trap and cast netting a good couple of dozen finger Mullet.  After running thru Horsehead we fished the entry to Jackstaff and right off David caught another Redfish then Brad put another keeper sized Flounder in the net. I was beginning to wonder if I had a "Redfish" guy and a "Flounder" guy!  

Our next stop, after running back thru Horsehead, was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide. The first cast produced another feisty Redfish, but that was it. We moved down the island and picked up another Redfish, fishing the jigs deep.

The final spot was up at Pumpkin Hill, drifting floats over a shell bottom. Brad hooked up when his float disappeared and landed a Redfish while David went up to a corner and caught a hungry Seatrout.  We had some nice weather (you can feel the Fall coming early in the morning) and had some good action here and there so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Recipe of The Month: Redfish on the Halfshell

This recipe comes from one of my angler guests, William Blalock. His dad showed me pictures of the end product and it looked so good I had to track William down and get his recipe! 

2 large or 4 small red fish fillets on the half shell (skin left on one side)

Marinade:

1/4 cup- Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup- extra virgin olive oil

1/4-1/2 -teaspoon- cayenne pepper (to your likeness 🔥)

1/4 tsp - dried thyme

1 Tbsp - paprika

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 - sweet onion

1 - lemon

2 - whole garlic cloves

1 - bunch - parsley (approx. 1 TBS)

1/2- stick (unsalted/diced)- butter

- Lay red fish fillets in a bowl/ dish flesh side up.

- Pour marinade ingredients over the fillets, rub in

well, and set aside.

- Thin slice the onion, garlic, and half of a lemon.

- Squeeze the reserved half a lemon over the fish.

- Lay the thin sliced onion and garlic over the fish

and allow the fillets to marinade for 30 minutes.

- Preheat your grill to medium heat, and place the

fillets on the grill flesh side down, reserving the

sliced onions and garlic. (We sear ours on the

blackstone, then transfer to the Green egg).

- After the flesh side has nice color and grill

marks, turn the fillets flesh side up, and add the

reserved onion and garlic slices from earlier.

- Once fish has been cooking for a total of about 20 minutes, place a cast iron
sauce pan on the grill.

- Add in butter. Once it is half way melted, remove the pan from the grill and add parsley. Stir.

- Season sauce with sea salt to taste and a squeeze of lemon.

- Remove the red fish from the grill and pour sauce over the top.  Garnish the top of the fillets with thin sliced lemon, and enjoy!

* this is adapted from The BBQ