Jacks Galore and Tasty Mangroves

 

It had to be the prettiest day in a long time that we've had here at Amelia Island - clear skies, sunshine, only a slight breeze, and temperatures below 70 when I met Tim and Laura Wolfe down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide was high and coming in, so we made quick run over to the intercoastal and up the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up to drift float rigs and live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good casts and good drifts and even though we had a bite or two, we had no real takers. I keep waiting for this spot to turn on, but it wasn't today. We fished the point and had not takers, but as I used the trolling motor to take us down to a grassy island, we could see fish feeding on the surface.

I eased the bow around into the current and Tim put his bait up above the commotion and within seconds he was on, and boy was it ripping some drag!  He fought it from the bow, followed it to the stern, then battled it from around the engine, eventually to land a nice hard fighting Jack Crevalle. For a good while there the fishing were boiling on the surface and we could see the Jacks backs as they raced thru the water and it was a good time as both Laura and Tim hooked up and caught the Jacks.

We then ran around to Seymore's and fished a pointe on the first of an outgoing tide, then ran thru Horsehead and fished a creek off of Jackstaff with the floats, to no avail, then back thru Horesehead we came.

Our final stop was between two docks at Nassauville and here, like yesterday, the Mangrove Snapper were hanging out. You had to be within a foot or two of the rocks with your float, but they'd bite almost immediately. Laura got hot fishing off the stern (the tide was STILL) coming in here) and she hooked up and landed some nice keeper sized fish. Tim was on the bow and caught a couple of smaller Mangroves until he switched back to the jig then he too was getting keepers. It didn't take long before they had their limit of 5 apiece and then we caught some more, culling smaller ones and keeping the bigger ones.

We had a nice fish in the live well, it had been a beautiful day, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Streak At The End

 Crazy weather but we squeezed in a fishing trip today - the forecast called for very  little rain chance but winds hovering around 12mph, and overcast - it wasn't very pretty but we thought, fishable. So I met Robert Stettner, David Vice and his friend Bhavna out at Goffinsville Park and with a very high tide still coming in, we made our way over to Pumpkin Hill where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp to drift the marsh grass. I was optimistic when Robert hooked up on his first drift but before I could even grab the net, it was off. And after that, we struggled to get a fish. We had a few bites here and there as we moved around the point until David finally hooked up and battled to the net a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. 

We then ran over to Seymore's Point and drifted the shrimp again, this time with absolutely no bites.After running thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point and fishing that stretch, up and down, we did manage another Jack Crevalle catch which Bhavna expertly reeled in. 

The wind had picked up a bit and the floats just didn't seem to doing it, and I could hear whispers of mutiny, so we ran back thru Horsehead and down to some docks at Nassauville where we switched to jigs and the shrimp, with David sticking with the float rig. Luckily, we began to get fish. David got a good handful of Mangrove Snapper, then when he began to go to some rocks he began to get bigger, keeper sized Snapper. Bhavna switched to the float and after making an excellent cast, hooked up and battled to the boat another keeper sized Mangrove. Robert was fishing the stern, sticking with the jig, and it paid off when he had a good "thump". After setting the hook we could tell that it wasn't a Mangrove - he played it patiently to the net and landed a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. 

Bhavna and David stayed at the stern and reeled in a good handful of those keeper sized Mangroves, the biggest being about 13" while David stayed at the stern. He had baited up with a huge live shrimp, good an "excellent" cast to the rocks and BAM! The minute it hit, Fish On!  He fought it expertly and soon landed a nice 18" Seatrout. Robert also added a keeper sized Mangrove to his catch total. We finished up down at Spanish Drop, fishing a couple of drainages and wrapped things up when Bhavna hooked up and landed another hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amela Island, Florida. 

PLEASE Turn The Spigot Off!

 

Forget turning the spigot off, someone stick a finger in the dam!  Boy have we had some rain this past week - the streets and fields and driveways and garages are flooding. I was three trips go down the drain before I was able to squeeze in today - cloudy, overcast, but no rain and no real wind to speak of.  I met Jeff and Cindy Patrick up at Old Town Bait and Tackle early and we made the run up and around to the Jolley River to fish a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. The oysters still were not showing when we dropped the trolling motor and began to ease along the bank and toss float rigs and live shrimp and minnows up current to get good drifts along the marsh grass. It wasn't long before Cindy 'knocked the skunk off" with hungry Seatrout catch. We worked that "bank" good and both she and Jeff put a good handful of small but feisty Redfish in the boat. Finally, though, Cindy had a strong bite and it was taking drag. Cindy kept the pressure on, worked it out from the bank, then played it patiently to land a nice 22" Slot Redfish. All of these fish were a beautiful golden color. 

We finished fishing out that stretch then ran up the river to a large drainage and drifted it with floats.
Again, they caught a good handful of the feisty Reds. At one point something big boiled at the stern of the boat and shortly afterwards Cindy had another one of those drag ripping takes. The big fish took her from bow to stern, from starboard to port, and then it dug deep. Cindy worked it in, let it run, worked it in, let it run, then eventually brought to the net an oversized 27"+ Redfish, boy what a fish!  In addition to the Redfish, Jeff added a fat Seatrout to his catch total. 

We fished Snook Creek for a bit and added one Redfish, moved up and around and fished some exposed oysters with jigs where Jeff put another Red in the boat, then we made our way around to Bell River where we fished some docks. The bite had slowed considerably as the tide reached bottom but Jeff did manage to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam when he outsmarted a keeper sized Sheepshead and brought it to the net. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

In Between The Storms

 

You've probably heard, "be careful what you wish for" - just a month ago we were begging for rain and now it seems someone forgot to turn the spigot off! And last night the forecast called for 47% chance of rain today so we thought we'd be getting wet if we fished, but we were going anyway! Luckily when I got up to get the boat ready the forecast had changed to just 15% chance and that held, we didn't get a drop while fishing. 

I had met David Prezzano and his fishing buddies Jay and Mike down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp with a live well full of shrimp, and before they got there, I had casted for a few dozen finger mullet. We ran over to the intercoastal, up it, and then turned into the Nassau and made our way up for a short bit before turning into the current on the first of an incoming tide. I noted that even though it had been only coming in for an hour, it was already covering the shell. All three anglers began tossing jigs and shrimp and in just a few minutes Mike "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. He followed that up with a golden colored Whiting catch. 

The trio of anglers caught a couple of small Seatrout, a Catfish, a couple of Jack Crevalle, one of which put up a good battle for David, then Jay had a strange "thump" and, Fish On!  Jay played it patiently, worked it to the boat and when it came to the surface, we saw that it was a big Flounder. He eased it slowly to the net and we brought to the boat a nice 18" Flounder, boy what a fish!

We then made our way down to Pumpkin Hill, fished a stretch with float rigs, then moved around to a point and drifted that. David had gotten a good cast that took his bait along the grass and BAM! Another Big Fish On!  He kept that tension on and worked in, let it run, worked it in and I was thinking "Redfish" but when David got it to the boat and netted, we saw that it was a 20.5" Gator Trout, boy what a fish!

Jay added one more keeper sized Seatrout to the box and although we had a few bites after that, we had no takers. That tide had gotten up to flood stage and the fish must have been up in the marsh. But we had caught some "picture worthy fish", had a few in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Oversized Red Slot Red Big Flounder

 I wrapped my week up fishing with Bill Redfield and his friends Elaine and Joel, meeting them out at Goffinville Park boat ramp. We had live shrimp, finger mullet, and a few mud minnows to fish with and they all caught fish. After leaving the ramp we ran over to Horsehead, thru it, and over to Poteat Point and set up to drift float rigs with the shrimp on a high outgoing tide. I think first cast produced a bite then we "knocked the skunk off" with a Seatrout catch. I was expecting some Redfish but we had none, but did get a small Jack and a high-flying Ladyfish. 

We moved back to fish Jackstaff "bank" and as I eased along with the trolling motor these anglers worked the bank good. Joel, fishing off the stern, had let his float "go long" and it paid off - he let the fish take his finger mullet, lifted to set the circle hook and, Big Fish On! This fish was ripping drag and went out deep - my first guess was a shark-but it wasn't a long run. Joel fought it patiently, up to the bow and back, and after a good battle landed an Oversized 29" Redfish, boy what a fish! We worked along there and got a couple of smaller Redfish and Joel battled a 3- shark to boatside, then we moved on.

Our next stop, after running back thru Horsehead, was over at Pumpkin Hill, drifting some now exposed oyster shell. We had a few bites but no takers. We made a short run across the mouth of  Back River and fished a bend in the marsh and this did the trick. Both Elaine and Joel picked up Slot Redfish "back in the ripple".  After motoring down the Nassau to Spanish Drop and working that bank, we moved up to a drainage and worked it with jigs and shrimp and minnows. Here, Joel had one of those odd "thumps", set the hook, and worked it slowly to the boat where we netted a big 18.5" Flounder.  We fished some docks up at Seymore's where Elaine put a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum n the boat. 

We tried float rigs at some rocks for Mangroves to no avail, then made a final run down to Broward Island. We could see Redfish busting bait along the shore but they wouldn't eat. Moving up to the "secret spot", we were able to get a small Sheepshead, then we had as strong bite - Bill was on the rod and he played it perfectly as the drag ripped. He worked it, let it run, worked it in, and soon landed the biggest Slot Red of the day, a nice 23" fish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishng here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Water Like Glass

 After a day off I was back fishing today, meeting the Johnson crew- Nathan and Hanna, Michael and Cole. We were leaving the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early, the water was like glass, and heading up the Nassau River, all the way around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up to fish float rigs with live shrimp, finger mullet, and a few mud minnows. It wasn't long before they were catching fish - small but feisty Redfish. Nathan and Hanna seemed to have the hot hand early and they could do no wrong. reeling one fish in after another.  Nathan finally had a strong pull, hooked it up, and patiently played a Slot Redfish to the net. 

We made a run back down the Nassau to a large drainage and switched to jigs. The "demo" cast produced a keeper whiting then they were all catching fish. It seemed that Michael and Cole gravitated to the jig setup - they both put Redfish in the boat, their perseverance paying off. The group added a handful of hungry Seatrout to their catch total, Hannah picked up a Black "puppy" Drum, Michael reeled in a keeper sized Flounder, and they all caught some Catfish and Jack Crevalle. 

We fished Spanish Drop and again caught some fish, but the bite was slowing down. After running thru Horsehead and over to Jackstaff "bank" we fished it again with the jigs, added a few more fish to the catch total, then headed back to the ramp, counting as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Baitfish Signals Good Bite

 There were tons of bait fish passing thru Sawpit when I launched this morning -finger mullet and some
small pogeys. I already had a baitwell full of live shrimp but I couldn't pass up tossing the net to supplement what we had and I'm glad we did!  I met Gregg Fitgerald and his mom Ginnie early and we ran up the intercoastal, up the Nassau, and pulled up at an exposed shell bed on a tide that still had a couple of more hours of going out. It wasn't long before both anglers were catching fish - feisty Redfish, one after the other. Gregg went out deep with couple of casts and picked up some hungry Seatrout. He also added a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to the catch total. 

We moved up a hundred yards and caught a couple more of the Reds, then Gregg hooked up and landed anice keeper sized Flounder. Then Ginnie followed that with one of her own, bigger, and caught on one of the finger mullet. Gregg had a good bump, set the hook and expertly landed a keeper sized Seatrout. We moved up another couple of hundred yards, caught another couple of Reds, one of which had zero spots!

The tide had slowed to a stop and so did the bite. We ran down to Nassauville and fished between two docks, to no avail, then we ran back down te Nassau, and then on thru Horsehead and over to Jackstaff "bank". Ginnie had the hot hand early and caught another few of those Redfish then she had one final hookup. She played it patiently and worked to the boat another nice keeper Flounder. We had had good action for most of the morning, had a few keepers in the box so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Isalnd, Florida.

Changed Conditions

 I last fished Friday and we had an outstanding trip, catching Slot Redfish, Oversized Reds, keeper Trout
and a huge Flounder. But 4 days made a difference - we caught fish today and had to work for those, but we didn't get the massive fish last week. I noticed this morning the moon looked almost full and the wind was blowing out of the NE which made for higher tides than normal, and it seemed to come quicker. 

I had met Gordon Fowler and his fishing buddy Bill up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We had a bait well of purchased live shrimp and I had cast netted a few dozen finger mullet. We eased out of Eagans Creek and then made a run up to the Jolly River and turned in to the incoming current at the "bank" and proceeded to toss float rigs with the live shrimp. Both anglers were getting good casts but we only got a few nibbles.

After running up the river to Snook Creek we again fished the floats. They both had some good bites, but no takers, and even one Redfish that "boiled" on a bait but didn't take it. Finally, Bill "knocked the skunk off" when  he hooked up and landed a fat Seatrout. After catching one more we moved on. Our next stop was back at the cut going thru Tyger and here we drifted the floats long along the bank, to no avail. We came out of the Jolley and worked along the outside of Tyger now tossing jigs and here we had a small flurry of catching. Bill caught a couple of the Trout and one small Flounder using the finger muillet and Gordon tanlged with some high flying Ladyfish.

We came back and ran thru Tyger and over to Bell River, fished that stretch for a bit, then ran uip Lanceford where Bill picked up one more Seatrout. After fishing around the corner at the final stop, we headed back to the ramp. We had fished 7 spots and had to show for it about (Maybe) seven fish but it was a beautiful day and another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

FWC: Status of Redfish in NE Florida

 Last Monday a I attended a Redfish focus group hosted by the FWC over in Jacksonville. The group was led by FWC Marine Inshore Recreational Fisheries Management Coordinator Jacob Espittia, and supported by Erika Burgess, FWC Analysis and Rulemaking Section Leader. Also attending were a couple of FWC biologists. In addition to myself, the focus group was made up of other fishing guides, surf anglers, and bait and tackle shop owners, totally about 15 attendees. 

There were three discussion topics: 

Satisfaction with Redfish fishing. Overall, those present expressed good satisfaction with our Redfish fishing.

How are Redfish Doing? Overall, those present felt our Redfish population is doing good.

Top Issues Redfish face?  Overall, those present felt that coastal development, habitat loss and fishing pressure will be the main issues that affect our Redfish fishery.

I brought up a concern that I had since the last time FWC did these studies, focus groups and workshops that culminated in a Redfish Summit down in Ocala. From all of that the FWC staff made their recommendations to the Commissioners. At that final meeting, a handful of anglers stood up and made passionate pleas for changes contrary to the staff recommendations. Based on those last minute subjective opinions, Our NE Florida Commissioner made the motion, and the changes were made. You can read all about that fiasco HERE. 

The point I wanted to make at the focus group the other night was this: Setting catch limits and bag limits based on folks emotions and personal experiences really worries me. If I fish 20 times per month, on any given day I can have an average day, an above average day, a terrible day, or even a Banner Day. But even that is based on my personal subjective idea as to what a "good" day of fishing is! If you have the " everyday Joe", who fishes once a week or once a month, and he/she happens to have a terrible day of fishing (and that is based on their opinion of what a "good day" is), then they may answer any survey, or focus group question, based on that. Some people may think catching just ONE Redfish is a good day. Some people may think catching only 15 "rat" Reds is a bad day. Some may think catching their personal best Bull Redfish and nothing else is a good day. It's all subjective. 

You have differences in skill level and experience. I see it all the time on my boat. Those that have just started are not going to catch as many fish. You may have someone that has never fought a big Red on light tackle. They may not be able to cast to the "spot". They may not catch fish. They may say, "the fishery is no good".  It took me years to get better at catching Redfish. And I did get better, but I still have a lot to learn.

So why does the subjectivity bother me? For one, there is a demographic out there that is anti-fishing, anti-hunting and anti-boating.  As Florida grows, so will that anti-fishing crowd. If you go on U-tube you can easily find videos of activists who are attacking anglers for even catching a fish, much less keeping it. So what happens when that attitude begins to outweigh those of us who love to fish? If we are basing catch limits on emotions? Will we be able to keep ANY fish even though FWC studies show the populations are good? 

You say it will never happen? With all the crazy stuff going on today in our world it's not too far off to think that a group of emotional activists can't affect our FWC rules. They did just a couple of years ago. 

If you click on the FWC's 2023 Annual Review of Redfish Management Metrics, you can see that our Redfish fishery is looking good. At that Summit a couple of years ago there were a few people advocating for making it All Catch and Release. That is based on their emotions and beliefs, not what the health of our Redfish population is about. The FWC has bookoodles of researchers and biologists and experts studying the fish population and as you can see in the above Annual Review, they have a good idea of how the fishery is doing. 

I had no problem with the change in limits downward a couple of years ago. I rarely keep fish personally. Heck, I purchased some frozen fish sticks from the Dollar Store the other day! But I do like a good, blackened Redfish on occasion.  I have no problems with my customers keeping their legal limits, but many choose to release them. I understand and appreciate why there are size and bag limits, but basing those limits on how some "feel" is edging towards a dangerous "slippery slope" for anglers. Let the FWC staff do their studies and research and base the limits on that data.
 

 

 

Big Start Big Finish

 I fished with the Bailey boys, Douglas and his sons Anderson and Dylan and his father-in-law Glenan, meeting them down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp to wrap my week up. We headed out on a tide that had been going out for less than an hour, running up the intercoastal and around to Pompano Point where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp, with finger mullet in the live well as back up. 

We may have had a Ladyfish caught but then we definitely counted the "skunk off" when one of the crew landed a small but feisty Redfish. It seemed kinda slow, compared to yesterday - we had gotten a handful of those small Reds and a barely legal 19" Slot Red, and I was beginning to wonder, but then Dylan had made an excellent cast up between to twigs of sawgrass and BAM! Big Fish On! This fish was boiling and rolling and holding it's on, ripping drag and refusing to budge. But Dylan was up to the task, kept the pressure on, finally worked it out, let it run, worked it out, let it run, then worked it slowly to the boat to land a big 29" Oversized Redfish, boy what a fish!

The excitement had barely died down when Dylan went back to the same spot and BAM! Another big fish on!  He fought it valiantly - Glenan had a hookup off the stern that was ripping drag in the background, then was off - but Dylan's stayed on and he patiently brought to the net a nice 25" Slot Redfish. Then Anderson put a fish in the box- as he hooked up and fought it - I called "Redfish" but as it came to the boat we saw that it was a nice 18" Seatrout. Then Dylan hooked up and brought a 17" Trout to the net. All four anglers tangled with high flying Ladyfish and boated a couple of more small Redfish before we moved on. 

Over at Jackstaff "bank" we worked it slowly, easing into the current, tossing the floats, and here Glenan got in on the big fish action. He had a strong hookup and the fish headed west!  We all thought "shark" but just couldn't tell. Glenan fought it like a pro, went with up from stern to bow and back to bow and after a good battle landed a huge Jack Crevalle.  We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pumpkin Hill, fished a stretch of still covered oysters, to no avail, then crossed the mouth of the river to fish a shallow bend and here the action heated up again. They added a good handful of those feisty Redfish to their catch total. 

After working Spanish Drop and picking up one more Redfish on a jig, we moved up to another drainage with plans to wrap things up. But this crew wasn't finished!  Anderson had gone to the shell lined bank with a cast and BAM! Immediately when it hit the water he was hooked up. He fought the big fish patiently and soon landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish. Anderson went back to the same spot, had a thump. and began to work it slowly in. We were speculating "oyster fish" up until it surfaced and then we saw that it was a huge Flounder!  Anderson slowly eased it in and we netted a big 20.5" Flounder, a fish big enough ot move Anderson into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2024 Bragging Rights Tournament-Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  We wrapped it up after that and headed back, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.