First Cast Production

 

We had a temperature drop! When I launched this morning it was in the low 40's, and the 10mph wind made it seem even colder!  But the skies were clear and the forecast called for sunny all day so when I met Paul Lombardi down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp we felt pretty good about a fishing trip.  I had talked to some shore anglers after I launched and they were picking up Seatrout on DOA shrimp, white with chartreuse tails(see video here) and one advised me to try the bride pilings before we left the area.

So Paul and I eased around there, turned into the current, and I tied on a white DOA (didn't have one with the chartreus tail) and Paul made his first cast up current, let it go to the bottom, kept his line tight, and began to let the current bounce it along the bottom and...BAM! He head a hookup!  Paul worked it to the boat patiently and landed a nice keeper sized 17" Seatrout - not a bad way to start the day!

Unfortunately that was the only fish we got there although we did get some bumps here and there. We left and headed up the intercoastal, turned west into the Nassau, and made our way up to an exposed shell bank on a tide that still had a couple of hours of going out. Paul worked the bank with live shrimp and jigs, only getting "bumps" and taps, then we moved up a couple of hundred yards and here we caught a couple of small Seatrout.

Our next stop was at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, fishing on almost a slack tide, but we got there in time for Paul to pull two keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum out, and a small but feisty Redfish. We eased around the corner and fished some rocks at Nassauville and here we caught a handful of small Mangrove Snapper, then a couple of small Seatrout, then we had a "bump" and a take and, Fish On!  Paul fought it expertly as it dug deep and stayed on the bottom and we began to speculate that it was a big Stingray, hoped that it was a huge Flounder, and finally settled in to wait as Paul worked it up from the bottom. As it came to the surface we saw that it was a large Redfish!  After netting the fish we measured it right at 26" - a big Slot Redfish!

The final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the very last of an
outgoing tide, and this turned out to be the most productive spot of the day. We caught 7-8 feisty Redfish, a couple of small Seatrout, and then Paul rounded out his Amelia Island Grande Slam with a keeper sized Sheepshead catch. We had had some good catches, the sun was up, and the day was warming so as we headed back we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Super Duper Amelia Island Grande Slam

 

I had worn a undershirt under my fishing shirt this morning and as I was getting the boat ready I was already thinking about shedding one of them.  But I didn't. And as I launched the boat out at Goffinsville Park I was thinking about maybe going without a jacket and was 50 foot away from the truck when I thought, "naaa, better grab a jacket".  Then I met Steve Locke and his fishing buddy Jason and after just a few  minutes fishing I was getting that jacket on and zipping it up tight! The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up! We all noted that the water was a bit muddy but in short order Steve "knocked the skunk off" with a feisty Redfish catch and in just a few more minutes Jason had a strong hookup and Big Fish On! We knew it was a big one when the drag kept ripping and the big fish thrashed up near the bank - more so than most. But Jason kept the pressure on and expertly battled it to the boat and landed a thick 25" Slot sized Redfish,

We moved up the river and fished a couple of drainages then made our way to some docks at
Seymore'sPoint. Both anglers were making excellent casts to the base of the pilings and it paid off. Steve had a strong bite and worked a big Black "puppy" Drum out, then they tagged team a good handful of the Drum to the boat and into the box.  They added a keeper sized Seatrout to make it a "Slam", then added a keeper sized Sheepshead to make it a "Grand Slam"!

After running down the Nassau to Broward Island Jason picked up two Flounder, one of which was of keeper size (but tossed back due to the season closure) - a fish that rounded out a "Super Grand Slam", then we wrapped things up back at the rocks of Nassauville where Steve hauled in a fat keeper sized Weakfish  which made it a "Super Duper Grand Slam"! And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Barely Legal

 

Finally, back to fishing after a week off due to the hurricane and then the winds! But when I looked at the weather forecast last night it called for winds beginning at 10mph and rising to 15 before the trip would be over. When I talked to Garland Clark on the phone he sounded like he was ready to fish so I made a "plan" in my head as to where we could fish as the trip progressed. I met him and his two sons Chris and Scott down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp under grey skies and a brisk wind and we headed up the intercoastal, turned up the Nassau, and found a shell bank to fish on the first of an incoming tide. We worked a bank about 30 yards long and it was the "experienced guy" Garland, who knocked the skunk off with a hungry Seatrout catch.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and here we got into some good fish, fishing jigs and live shrimp. Scott had had a few nibbles and on about the third one he set the hook quickly and when his rod bent we knew it was a nice fish. Scott played it perfectly and soon landed a keeper sized Sheepshead. Shortly after that Garland had a similar hookup and as he brought it to the boat we saw the stripes...but this one was a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  And Chris added a small Mangrove Snapper to the catch. 

After fishing float rigs at the rocks at Nassauville with no bites at all, and just as we were about to leave, Chris's float slowly went under and, Fish On! Chris played it perfectly, had his drag rip a couple of times, then brought to the boat a Slot sized Redfish - we had a "slam" in the boat.

We ran down to Broward island where Scott and Chris added a few more Seatrout to the catch, then we moved down the island where Chris picked up another Redfish after a good toss to the bank. Moving back up to Pumpkin Hill we fished a stretch of flooded marsh grass, drifting floats long. Scott had vacated  the run and Garland drifted his in next and BOOM! Fish On! We had a little bit of "diversity" during the battle but we overcame and Garland landed a "barely legal" Slot sized Redfish.

Our final stop was back at Nassauville, fishing between two docks and here the trio of anglers weeded thru some Mangrove Snappers to get a nice keeper and Chris wrapped it up with a feisty Redfish catch. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Great Day of Fishing Amelia Island

 I noticed that the forecast called for the wind picking up this morning but I knew we had a little window to get in some good fishing, so when I met Dennis Cortez, his brother-in-law Jeff and nephew Liam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp we headed up the intercoastal and turned in to Back River and made our way over to the Nassau where we set up alongside "the spot" to fish with float rigs and live shrimp. My "demo" cast produced some bites and after I handed the rod off to Dennis, he went back to the same spot with an excellent cast and BAM! Fish on! Dennis brought it to the boat expertly and landed  hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off" quick! 

We had a good steady bite there for a while, catching feisty Redfish - Liam caught the first one, just undersized, but later Jeff had gone to a "cut" in the grass where the water was visibly flowing over some shell and when his float went under he lifted the rod to let the circle hook set and Big Fish On!  Jeff played it patiently and after a good battle landed a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish. We picked up a few more fish there then moved on. 

Our next stop was back down the Nassau at Twin Creeks and here Dennis put a hungry Trout in the boat then Liam found his personal Trout hole out the stern. We moved down the river a few hundred yards to a large drainage, and again, Seatrout. Then caught and landed a keeper sized Flounder (released due to the closed season), then Liam battled a shark for what seemed like an hour! He was very patient and eventually landed a 3' Bonnethead Shark

Fishing at a dock at Seymore's Pointe Ted hooked up and landed one of the biggest Trout I've had on the boat in a while, one that measured 20.75", then Liam made it a "Grande Slam" with a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum catch.

The final spot was down between some docks at Nassauville where the trio caught one Mangrove Snapper after another. Dennis had a keeper sized one and followed that up with a feisty Redfish catch. Liam went with a minnow and picked up the final Red of the day. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Recipe of The Month: Crispy Shrimp Cakes

 We vacationed in the western North Carolina mountains last week but had to go into a town to purchase some new waders - my old pair were leaking! After picking up the new waders we ran across a restaurant that let us eat outside with Jasper (now, the Mountain Dog) and on their menu was "Crispy Shrimp Cakes" and I have to admit, they were the best thing we ate the whole week. When we returned I emailed them and asked for the recipe but I never heard  back. Their menu gave a few ingredients so I went on-line and "googled" it and WAH-LA, here was a recipe that had all the right ingredients! This one was found on Delish.com..

Crispy Shrimp Cakes with Lemony Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

Shrimp Cakes:

• 2 cup panko breadcrumbs (I had a 8oz can on reserve)
• 1 lb fresh peeled, deveined, chopped shrimp
• 1/2 cup light mayonaise
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (I'd double this the next tip I make it)
• 1/4 tsp cayenned pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Lemony Tartar Sauce:

• 3/4 cup jarred tartar sauce
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:

1) Place 1 1/2 cups of the breadcrumbs on a flat plate 

2) In a large bowl mix shrimp, mayonnaise, eggs, bell pepper, green onions, garlic paste, mustard, cayenned pepper, salt and 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs until thoroughly mixed. Us a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the shrimp mixture (mixture will be wet -don't worry!). Turn out cup of mixture on to plate of breadcrumbs; coat completely with your hands. Transfer with a metal spatula to a baking sheet lined with wax paper, then flatten cakes slightly to a 3 1/2-inch circumference. Continue making 7 more cakes. Refrigerate for 1- hour. They'll firm up!

3) To make lemony tartar sauce, in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring to blend.

4) In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add 4 cakes and cook, about 4 minutes per side, until crisp and browned. Transfer to a plate; loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and 4 cakes. Serve shrimp cakes with lemony tartar sauce. 

Count'n Species

Back to work today, fishing with Robert Stetner and David Vice after meeting them out at Goffinsville Park early this morning. The tide still had about an hour and a half of going out so we made our way down the Nassau River and turned into the current to fish an exposed shell bed with live shrimp and jigs. Robert "knocked the skunk off" when went close to shore with a perfect cast and BAM, he had a hookup. Robert worked it to the boat patiently and landed a feisty Redfish. We worked that bank thoroughly and picked up a good handful of those smaller Reds, but Robert did add a Slot sized fish to the catch.

After moving up a bit David put a keeper sized Flounder in the boat (tossed back due to the closed season) then Robert battled a 4' Bonnethead to the boat for pictures and release. Moved up the river a bit more and got in to some more feisty Redfish. The duo of anglers also caught a few Seatrout, one of which was keeper size; they landed a Stingray and a couple of different versions of "baitstealers"

The tide had started back in so we fished some docks at Seymore's, had a big one on that threw the hook, then we headed down to Broward Island where we worked the bank with the jigs. Again, we found a few feisty Redfish, then it was David's turn for the strong hookup. He battled it expertly, let it run, worked it in, and eventually landed the biggest Red of the day, a nice 23" Slot fish.

We finished the day fishing back at Nassauville were these anglers added a small Black "puppy" Drum and a small Mangrove Snapper to the catch, then we headed back to the ramp, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

Hot Start on a Cool Morning at Amelia Island

 We elected to go a little earlier t his morning, trying to catch more of that lower incoming tide, so I met William and Dara Blalock up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp before the sun came up. We made a quick run over to Eagans Creek and set up to fish some dock pilings on a tide that had already been coming in for a couple of hours. 

William had made a perfect cast up between the pilings and it paid off! Why is it that we're all of a sudden catching Flounder with the season closed! We could tell that it was a nice fish, but weird and sure enough, after William played it patiently, he brought to the net a nice 18" Flounder which we photographed and released.

Dara was fishing off the Port side, making good sidearm casts to the pilings, but a bit shallower and even though I had my back turned, I heard the tell-tell sound of some serious drag ripping! BIG FISH ON!  Dara was applying some gentle pressure trying to coerce the fish out from the pilings and later she said she felt here line "lock up"....but come loose and she had the fish out. She fought the fish expertly to the boat and landed a nice 26.25" Slot Sized Redfish. Boy what a battle and what a fish!  I felt the leader afterwards and it was all chewed up. Someone must be living right!

We continued to fish that dock and caught another feisty Redfish or two, and a couple of Seatrout, one of which was a little over 19".  We moved down and fished a grassy island for a bit and picked up a couple of Seatrout, then we ran out to Soap Creek and fished a stretch of flooding grass (and boy was it flooding). Here, Dara kept her hot hand and picked up some small Trout up near the grass. 

We made multiple stops after that, fishing a high and flooding tide, but had no real takers - the water was just too far up in the grass. But as we headed back, we had a few fish in the box and and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Out of Season

 

We went a little early today, before the sun came up, hoping to catch a tide lower and coming in. It didn't work. I had met Bob and William Blalock and their friend Brian out at Goffinsville just as the sky was lighting up and we made a short run over to Broward Island and fished it with jigs and live shrimp. Not. A. Bite. What's with that?

Our next stop was up Pumpkin Hill to some docks where we stuck with the  jigs and it was Brian who "knocked the skunk" off with a Seatrout catch.  We had a couple of more Trout along that stretch, then we moved down to some flooding oysters and switched to drift floats and shrimp and worked the bank. This worked pretty good - William found a corner of grass that produced a few Trout, one of which showed us a gaping maw as it shook it's head at the surface and thru the hook!

Back to Nassau we went and fished a point, and again, a few Seatrout (all of these Trout were 13-14", and

released). After making the run thru Horsehead and fishing the mouth of Jackstaff, we came back towards the dock and fished between some docks and here they put two nice Mangrove Snapper in the boat, then Brian hooked up and landed a keeper sized 17" Flounder (but out of season), then they put two more Flounder in the boat.  As it turned out we had caught a good handful of fish throughout the morning, but not a whole lot to brag about size-wise. Nevertheless, as we headed back we still counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florid. 

Trout Queen at Amelia Island

 

Back to "work" today after a nice vacation to the North Carolina mountains! I met Bob Blalock and his brother and sister in-law Tommy and Martha out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. The sun hadn't come over the horizon as we left the ramp on the cool and clear morning. We made a quick stop around at some docks at Seymore's Pointe in hopes for some Drum, on a tide that had been coming in for a few hours. but we ended up catching a Seatrout and a small Sea Bass.

After running down the Nassau we pulled up to some flooding marsh
grass and began working the bank with jigs and live shrimp. Bob had made an excellent cast right up to the grass and BAM! Big Fish On!  This fish was a big AND feisty! It ripped drag, heading up current along the bank, then down current, then deep. We weren't sure what it was but finally it boiled up a couple of times and we knew it was a big Red. When it came to the surface it gave a wicked head shake, but Bob kept the pressure on and brought it to the net - a nice 25"+ Slot sized Redfish.

We worked that bank thru and had no additional bites, other than a couple of Catfish, then made the run back up river to Pumpkin Hill where we switched to floats and live shrimp. I think it was Martha's first drift and she had a hookup and expertly brought to the boat a hungry Seatrout. And from then on she worked up to a big lead in the fish count, catching a good handful of Trout. Tommy had  a good  battle with what turned out to be a nice Bonnethead Shark. This was another fish that took the bait and ran hard - I kinda hoped that the Shark had left the area with the cooler water, but nope - Bonnethead Shark. Tommy played it perfectly and brought it to the net for a photograph and release.

Fishing around the corner Bob landed another Trout, then we moved back to Seymore's to fish an outgoing tide - had  few bites, but no takers.We wrapped things up over at Back River fishing the first of an outgoing tide, then we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Flipped a Coin

 

We had a low tide early and I was trying to decide whether to fish dock pilings or Tyger Island so in my mind, I "flipped a coin" and went with the dock pilings. Glenn and Patti Langford were right on time so we headed over to some docks at Egans Creek and set up where the two could pitch jigs and live shrimp to the bases. Patti's first cast and BAM! Fish ON!  Her and Glenn traded catches, one after the other - most of them just shy of Slot sized, then Patti had a strong hookup and the fight was on! 

Patti played it expertly and after a good  battle landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. They continued to pitch the dock - Glenn hauled in a feisty Black Drum, then Patti put an even bigger 23" Slot Redfish in the boat. They kept fishing, catching Reds, and Patti wrapped it up with one more 21" Slot fish (this one went back due to the new rules).

We motored over to small creek and drifted float rigs to a flooding oyster island and here the duo caught another Redfish and a small Flounder.  After running over to the Bell river we fished a grassy point and here Glenn picked up a Seatrout to round out their Amelia Island Back Country Grande Slam of Redfish,  Black Drum, Flounder and Seatrout.

After buzzing thru the cut to behind Tyger we switched back to jigs on the bottom with mud minnows and caught another Flounder, but not big enough to keep. We braved a wind that had picked up and ran up to the Jolley, fished some flooded grass with floats, landed another Trout, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.