Bragging Rights Bonanza

 Looking at the weather forecast last night I thought for sure we'd be getting wet today. But when I got up this morning it had improved which was great because we were going anyway!  I met Henry Ross and his crew - David Gray, and Dick and Ethan Conley - up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and we headed over to Eagans Creek with plans to fish some dock pilings on a tide that had been going out for a few hours. The oysters were just beginning to show when we pulled up and began to pitch jigs and live shrimp to the pilings. Ethan was quick to "knock the skunk off" when he hooked up and fought a feisty Redfish to the net

His dad, Dick, hooked up a landed a small but feisty Black "puppy" Drum then short while later he had a strong bite and, Big Fish On!  It was nip and tuck there for a while as the big fish pulled deep up into the pilings. But Dick stayed patient and worked it out each time and when it rolled to the surface we knew it was a big Redfish. Dick worked it to the boat and landed a big 29.75" oversized Redfish - a fish big enough to move him into 2nd place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category. Boy what a fish!

We then made a long run up to the Bell River and fished some docks with the jigs. Nothing much was  happening but David did get on the board with  hard fighting Jack Crevalle catch. We were wrapping up to leave but Henry was still fishing with a mud minnow and had a good "bump" out deeper and fish on!  Henry worked it expertly up to the surface and we netted a nice 16" Flounder. Although not huge, we'll let that set the bar for 1st place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament - Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

Continuing on around thru the Bell River we made a stop at the MOA. David was on the bow tossing up current on the very last of the outgoing tide. He had one strong hookup with a fish that was putting a good bend in the rod and....OFF! Dang it!  But just a short while later, David made the same cast and it paid off with a Big Fish hookup. This fish had the room to dig deep and boy did it! The drag was ripping and the fish took him from bow to stern, from starboard to port, and then back to starboard, and back to port. I was laying my money on it being a Bonnethead Shark and luckily, boy was wrong! David worked it patiently up and when it surfaced we saw that it was another huge oversized Redfish, this one measuring in at 34", and big enough to take the lead spot, 1st. place, in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament - Redfish Category. Boy what a fish!

We fished the outside of Tyger for just a bit then headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

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Getting Our Fly Fix In

 We had a beautiful morning forecasted when I picked up Mark DePrimo at the Residence Inn this morning. We made our way down to Sawpit Creek, launched, and made the run up the intercoastal to dip into a side creek up near Horsehead. Mark had wanted to get h is "Fly Fix" in so I had two fly outfits ready, a 7w and a 8w. Mark began tossing the lighter 7w that had a hand tied "shrimp" fly and was getting good casts up to some oyster beds, then he let the current drop it down to about 8' of water. We worked along that bank, had not strikes, then worked the same bank with some spin gear and live shrimp. Mark did have a good bite from a feisty Bluefish. 

After making a run thru Horsehead and down to Spanish drop, we worked another expose oyster bed until the outgoing tide hit bottom. After moving up to some docks at Seymore's, Mark fine tuned his hookset and put a good handful of Mangrove Snapper in the boat.

We then made a long run up the Nassau and dipped into a creek where we worked a tree line bank the fly gear then the jig/shrimp. Man it was beautiful back there! And the run paid off when Mark had a strong bite, set the hook and battled to the net a feisty Redfish. After making the trip back to Sawpit, driving back to town and depositing Mark at the Residence, I counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Tale of Two Tides

 I was back at it this morning, fishing with the Wolfe's - Tim and Laura - and meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. While we were in the area, and with the tide still going out, we bumped around to the old Sawpit bridge and set up current to drift slip floats back to the bridge with live shrimp as bait. It only took a few drifts before Laura "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch, one of keeper size.  And a little later she picked up another, then she landed the first Ladyfish of the year.

We then ran up the intercoastal, just beyond Jackstaff, and fished some exposed oyster beds with jigs and the shrimp. I was encouraging Tim to toss up near the oysters with his casts but Laura was fishing out deeper and again, she hooked up and landed a few hungry Seatrout. Tim finally hooked up and landed a Seatrout  to get on the board, then tangled with another Ladyfish.

After running thru Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe we fished some dock pilings and Tim added to his numbers by boating a good handful of Mangrove Snapper. The tide had finally started in and that's when things went downhill. We fished Nassauville Rocks, Broward Island, Twin Creeks and Spanish Drop and only had nibbles. But we had some great weather and had caught fish early so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Rallied at the End

 

If you could have asked for the most perfect day to be fishing, today would have been it! Clear skies, sunshine, just a bit cool, and only a slight breeze - it was a "Chamber of Commerce" type morning when I met Bob Kossman and John Raker on a "share trip" kind of day down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a long run up the intercoastal, into Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill to set up along a flooding shell bottom on a high and still incoming tide. John was on the bow and Bob was on the stern and they couldn't have had better drifts with their float rigs and live shrimp but all we could produce was a nibble here and there.

We moved around a point, fished it a bit, then dropped back to a flooded grassy island where John quickly "knocked the skunk off" with a hungry Seatrout catch. Whoop Whoop! Skunk off! We fished back around the corner, then made a run over to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large outflow and again, just nibbles. After running thru the marsh around to Jackstaff we fished another outflow thoroughly, but again to no avail. 

Back thru the marsh and down to Twin Creeks where we switched to jigs and shrimp. The duo of anglers didn't get any fish but Bob did have a strong bite right at the boat.

I was getting desperate so we decided to make the run up the Nassau to a small creek where we worked the bank with the jigs and it was a trip ending Rally!  John hooked up and landed a Seatrout, and at the same time Bob hooked up and battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. As we worked the bank John picked up a feisty Redfish, then another, then Bob had a a big bite and Fish On! He played it to the net and landed a Slot sized Redfish. We were almost ready to head back to the ramp when Bob had a hookup, a strange fight and sure enough, when he brought it to the net we had a keeper sized Flounder to round out a Grand Slam of Seatrout, Black Drum, Redfish and Flounder and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.  

New Species ID'd at Amelia Island

 FINALLY!  The weather let up and we were able to get out and fish! Monday: Cancelled, Tuesday: Cancelled, Wednesday: Cancelled, Thursday: moved to Friday afternoon. And so we fished this morning when I met Jeff and Jinny Key up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp, and with a live well full of live shrimp, we made our way up the creek to fish some dock pilings on an outgoing tide. Although it wasn't "on fire" both anglers caught small Black "puppy" Drum and couple of hungry Seatrout. We had at least one big breakoff but then Jinny, after making an excellent cast to some submerged oyster's, had a strong bite and Big Fish On!  She played it perfectly and soon brought to the net a big 20" Seatrout, big enough to move into the 2nd place slot of the 2023 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). Boy what a fish!

We then made the run up to Bell River and fished some more dock pilings. I think it was our first cast and Jinny had another big hookup. She fought it to the boat and landed the biggest Sheepshead of the year, one that measured at 16" and a fish to set the bar in the 2023 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Sheepshead Category!  Unfortunately the fish was renamed by Jinny a "Goathead" - possibly a new species in our backwater fishery.

After fishing a dock or two it was Jeff's turn to fight the big fish, tossing a jigs to the edge of dock he had a strong hookup and as it dug deep we knew it was a big fish. Jeff fought it valiantly and after a good battle landed a whopper of big Black "puppy" Drum.

We made a brief stop at the MOA, then made our way around to Tyger Island to fish the first of the incoming tide then headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. Jeff and Jinny reported a great Blackened Black Drum meal from Kitchen 251 later in the day. 

Is It Shark Week?

 

I wrapped up my week fishing with part of the Ryan family today, Kerri and Mike and their young son Sean, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We made a quick run up to the Jolley River to fish a tide that had been coming in for a few hours and set up into the current to toss float rigs and live shrimp. Our first cast produced a huge roll but it missed the hook! We worked along that bank then eased into Snook Creek and switched to jigs and the shrimp and it wasn't long before we were battling sharks!

Kerri struck first - she set the hook on a Bonnethead Shark and battled it to the net, then after moving out to the mouth of the  creek, Mike had a strong hookup. He battled the fish expertly as it dove deep around the stern of the boat, but then it came back then dove under the hull and BAP! Big Fish Off! But Mike was not to be deterred and shortly after he had another strong hookup. This time he was ready and followed the fish to the bow then back to the stern then around it and patiently worked the fish up so that we could grab it, dehook it and get a picture. 

And shortly after that, another big shark fight! Mike played it perfectly and soon landed it too. We fished the outside of Tyger in search of Flounder then ran back to the dock and picked up daughter Lauren for another hour of fishing. The tide was up but we tried the logs of Tyger anyway with jigs, then made a run over to Lanceford and switched back to the float rigs. 

Sean had started off a little rusty with his casting but as the morning went along he was getting good distance and accuracy. He had a number of good bites but the circle hook just wouldn't take. But he was the "most improved" caster on the boat! We fished Soap Creek for just a bit then headed back to the dock, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slam In The Box

 I fished today with Mark Richardson, his son Braden and his friends Chris and Landon, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and  Tackle ramp early. We made a run over to Lanceford Creek and fished some flooding oyster beds on a high and incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. Chris fairly quickly put a hungry Seatrout in the boat and shortly after that Braden had a strong hookup. This fish was "ripping drag" and I felt pretty sure it was going to be a big one, but it was  not to be. It was thrashing in some shallow water over the shell bed and BAP! Fish Off! Boy that hurts!

We fished a couple of areas there, picking up a couple of Trout by Landon and Chris, then Mark battled a hard fighting Bonnethead to the net for pictures and release. We moved on around to "Millie's Spot" and again caught a couple of Trout, one of which was of keeper size. 

We then made our way down the intercoastal and dipped into a creek and switched to jigs and shrimp. Chris picked up a Seatrout out deep, then Landon found a nice 16" Flounder at the mouth of a drainage. 

Back out  into the Intercoastal and down to some structure, fishing deep with the jigs, and in a cast or two Landon had a strong bite and Fish On! This was a big fish and was ripping drag and the fight was even more difficult when it got back into the current. But Landon was up to the task and patiently battled the big fish to the net, a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish which rounded out the team's Amelia Island Back Country Slam. And with that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

A Trout Kinda Morning

 Fishing with the Poon Fishing Team today - I met Derek and his sons Zach and Tyler up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp - and we headed over to Lanceford Creek to set up fishing over some flooded oyster beds on a high and incoming tide. The trio of anglers were tossing float rigs and live shrimp and even though the first spot didn't produce, the second one did.  Derek "knocked the skunk off" with a fine Seatrout catch, then he followed that up with another, this one of keeper size. Zach added to the catch when he hauled in another Trout. 

We moved down the creek and fished between two docks, then moved around to the other size where Tyler got on the board when he battled a hard fighting Blue Fish to the boat. We eased around the corner to "Millies Spot" and here we had good action. Derek put a couple of Trout in the net, another one which was of keeper size, then Zach hooked and landed another keeper Trout. 

After buzzing back to the outside of Tyger with the tide now going out, I thought for sure we'd have our best bite, but it was  not to be. We moved around, hitting a couple of more spots, but they just didn't want to bite on that out going tide. But the sun was up, we'd caught a good handful of fish, and the scenery was beautiful so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Big Trout and Slot Reds

 I fished a "double" today, both out of Old Town Bait and Tackle. The morning trip was with the Wolke crew -Jos and his brother-in-law Renzi and his son-in-law Rob and friend Nick. We had a high and incoming tide so we fished float rigs most of the morning with live shrimp. All four anglers boated fish -Seatrout and Bluefish and the highlight was  a huge Seatrout that Nick battled to the boat. We ended the trip fishing some dock pilings with jigs and shrimp and caught a good "mess" of Black "puppy" Drum. 

The afternoon trip I fished with William and Dara Blalock and now the tide was down and still going out. We fished some dock pilings where Dara caught a hungry Seatrout, then we ran up the Bell River where Dara continued her streak with another Seatrout catch and a couple of Black "puppy" Drum.  I think William felt the pressure because at the next stop, the MOA, he had great cast, a strong hookup and then expertly played a Slot Redfish to the boat. From then on for about an hour we were catching fish. Dara took a turn at battling a Slot Red and at the same time, William reeled in a fat Seatrout. The duo caught another handful of feisty Redfish and a couple of more Seatrout. We moved across the river and worked a bank that seemed to be loaded with Sea Turtles, but Dara found her way thru to hookup and land another Slot Red. We fished outside of Tyger, behind Tyger and outside again then we headed back to the dock and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Kickoff With Big Trout

 I was finally back out at Goffinsville this morning, meeting High School classmate Daniel Rhodes and his "Brother-in-Law" Jeff as the sun came up. We made a quick trip down the Nassau River and set up alongside a flooded shell bank on the last of an incoming tide and began to toss float rigs and live shrimp. I think it was Jeff's first drift and BAM! He had a strong hookup. I was even thinking it was a Redfish the way it thrashed up near bank. But after Jeff patiently worked it to the boat we netted a big 19.5" Seatrout!

From then on we were catching fish - both Jeff and Daniel were getting good drifts and they each hooked up with big Trout, and a couple of undersized ones. We moved around the corner and drifted another side and again, had some Big Trout caught. One of them had to go back because we had our limit already of one over 19" per boat.  We fished some grassy islands, then came back around an fished a pocket, then moved on. 

Our next stop was back around Seymore's Pointe, fishing a large drainage. Both Daniel and Jeff had some good bites, but not takers, until finally Jeff hooked up and reeled to the net a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper. We fished Twin Creeks and caught a couple of Seatrout, then fished the rocks at Seymore's, to no avail, then Little Field, again, to no avail. 

The final stop was up the Nassau where we dipped into a small creek and fished the deeper part of the cut bank, tossing jigs and live shrimp. Jeff got us back into action when he battled a feisty Redfish to the boat, then Daniel wrapped things up with a nice Slot Redfish catch. We had some good action today and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida