Tripletail! BIG Tripletail at Amelia Island

We had a really nice morning today when I met Rick and Terry Payne up at Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. The sun had just come up, we only had a slight breeze, and the tide was still low but coming in, so we headed north and west and over to Tiger Island to "pitch the logs" with jigs and live shrimp before they covered up. If we had been fishing for "baitstealers" then we were in the right spot.  Peck, Peck, Peck and the bait was gone. Peck, Peck, Peck and the bait was gone. What a pain!

So we came out and ran around to the Jolley
River and fished the "bank"  Rick was on the bow tossing a 1/8 jig while Terry took up the stern tossing a float rig. We didn't get a whole lot of bites, but did pick up a nice sized Croaker, some more bait stealers, then Rick put a feisty Redfish in the boat.

After running further up the river and setting up along a flooding grass line, both anglers took up the float rigs and we got into a flurry of fish catching. All told, they landed 6-7 Redfish, 5-6 Seatrout, a Ladyfish, and a few more baitstealers.   We came back around towards Amelia, ran thru Tiger and around to Bell River and set up along another grass line. After getting 1-2 small Trout we had a good hookup - Terry played it perfectly to the boat and landed our first keeper sized Seatrout. We then bumped around to the other side of a grass peninsular, caught a few more Trout, and just before we left, Rick made an excellent cast just beyond a small grassy island. BOOM! His float disappeared and his drag began to sing, BIG fish on!  This fish was having none of coming to the boat, or even to deeper water- it stayed up near the bank, boiled a few times - I thought for sure it was a big 'ole Redfish, then finally, Rick was able to work it out of the shallows and into the deeper water. He played it patiently and soon brought a massive 21.25"   7lb Tripletail to the boat!  I checked my records and it was the 2nd biggest Tripletail I've ever had on the Anglers Mark! Boy what a fish!

We checked a couple of flooded flats for tailing Reds, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Got Out Early to Beat the Tide

There was a forecasted flood tide to be around 11:00am and I knew that if we didn't get out early the only option would be for hunting tailing Reds - which can be hit and miss fishing - so we picked up some live shrimp yesterday, put new batteries in the bubbler, and added some ice bottles to the bait will in hopes that the live shrimp would....stay alive!  And they did!  I motored slowly thru the dark over to David Bolton's dock and picked up him and his son Thomas with a plan to make the run back to the Jolley River and fish float rigs on that high and incoming tide.

We worked Jolley "bank" slowly, tossing to the marsh grass and got numerous "bait stealing" bites. After working the whole  bank I was beginning to wonder when Thomas had a hookup and landed a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off". Not a minute later, David had his float disappear and, Fish On!  This fish was ripping some drag so we knew it wasn't a baitstealer - David kept the pressure on and worked the fish to the boat and landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish.

After running further up the Jolley we made a stop and fished another likely bank - there was a bunch of bait moving around - and both anglers were making excellent casts - and BOOM! Big fish on. This fish wasn't have none of coming to the boat and stayed up near the shore, I'm sure trying to dislodge the hook in the oysters. But David kept the pressure on, played it patiently and soon landed a big 24" Slot fish, one that had 16 Spots!  A sure money winner if caught in the Amelia Island Guides Association Redfish Spot Tournament.

The tide was getting up so we began to snoop around for some tailing Redfish. At our second spot we did see some  big wakes and backs out of the water and tossed some weedless Gator Spoons at 'em, but had no takers. We bounced around to another 2-3 spots but saw no tails, so we headed in and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

 

Shark Fight at Amelia Island

I wrapped my week up today fishing with the Kirday family - Paul and Aimee and their daughter Abbie, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early with plans to fish the very last of an incoming tide- then the outgoing - with float rigs and live shrimp. We made our first run over to Bell River and set up alongside a grass pointe, but even though these anglers were making excellent casts, we  had no takers. Not even a bite! Ouch!

We ran thru Tiger and around to the outside of the island and set up at an outflow on the first of
an outgoing tide. This did the trick. All three anglers began to catch fish - small but fun to catch Seatrout - then Aimee had a hookup and when her drag began to rip, we knew it was a big fish. Aimee kept the pressure on, followed the fish back to the stern of the boat, and then began to slowly work it in.  It took a while - the battle was nip and tuck, but Aimee prevailed and soon landed a nice 3'  long Bonnethead Shark!  We crossed over the creek and fished another marsh line and again, picked up some nice Seatrout.

After making a run over to Lanceford Creek to fish some more outflows and still tossing float rigs, he trio of anlgers caught Seatrout and Ladyfish, up and down the bank. We then ran back to the outside of Tiger and fished jigs at an outflow, to no avail.  We bounced around to "Jolley Bank" and here we had a change of species. Paul was manning the stern and quietly put a few Redfish in the boat, fishing a float rig along the grass line. Aimee and Abbie continue with the jigs and caught Redfish and Croaker along the submerged oysters.  We fished until we ran out of bait, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Quantity and Variety at Amelia Island

We had a beautiful morning today when met Dan Barry and his fishing buddy Mark down at the south end boat ramp. We made the run up thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill and set up outside a grassy island, tossing live shrimp under floats on the last of an incoming tide. Right off, the two anglers had action, catching aggressive Jack Crevalle and Ladyfish, the "poor man's Tarpon".   We soon eventually figured out that the Jacks would be prevalent today!

Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe, fishing a grassy pointe on the first of an outgoing tide. We picked up a Trout or two, and a couple of Mangrove Snapper, neither which were of keeper size.
Dropping back, now fishing a grass line, Mark hooked up and caught a couple of feisty Redfish.

We buzzed down to Spanish Drop  and fished a couple of outflows, to no avail, but when we eased up alongside some marshgrass with shell bottom, we began to hookup non stop.  Dan had stayed with the float rig and was picking up Seatrout, Redfish and Jack Crevalle, while Mark was at the bow tossing a jig and shrimp combo and he was catching mainly Redfish, bumping the shell bottom. We had a good flurry of "fish catching" for a good while there.

Our final stop, after running thru Horsehead, was around at the mouth of Jackstaff. The oysters were exposed now and both anglers were making excellent casts, but the fish were having none of it. So we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Last Cast Big Fish

You could almost feel the Fall nip in the air when I met Stephen Locke and his fishing buddy Jason down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made the quick run up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff to begin fishing with float rigs and live shrimp at a big marsh drainage.  We had just a few nibbles, then Jason picked up a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off".  After moving back into the larger creek and easing along pitching jigs and shrimp we were only able to add a lone Catfish to the catch. 

After buzzing thru Horsehead and around to Spanish Drop, we stuck with the jigs and it paid off. Both anglers began to catch feisty Redfish - first Stephen, then Jason, then Stephen. Each one added a Slot Redfish to the catch. Then, light a like switch, they began to catch hungry Seatrout - fun to catch but a tad too small to keep.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe, pitching to some dock pilings and here Stephen hooked up and landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and Jason added a keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.

The final stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the logs, with the tide still going out. We did pick up a couple of feisty Redfish. We were about to wrap things up when Stephen made his final cast to the bank with a 1/4oz jig/shrimp combo, let it slowly sink and slide down the bottom when, BOOM! Big Fish On!  The fish rolled up almost immediately and we felt comfortable it was a Redfish, but then it went deep, and STAYED deep!  Stephen kept the pressure on, fighting the big fish on a size Florida Fishing Products Osprey 1000, and after a lengthy battle, landed an oversized 32.25" Redfish which slid him into 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  After a quick measurement and even quicker pictures we lowered the big fish back into the water and, BOOM! He was gone. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Still Windy But Good Fishing

After yesterday's trip up north of the island with not a lot of action, we decided to go south today. Even though the wind was still blowing a bit (not nearly as bad as yesterday), we felt like we could find a few areas to fish. I met Adam Garner, his son Jacob, and Jacob's wife Allie down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and with a live well of live shrimp (there were no minnows available at any bait shop), we headed out, and around, and made our first stop over at Longpointe docks. Fishing west of one, back to the pilings, it was Adam who had the hot rod early - he boated a keeper sized Flounder, then, after going deep, had a strong hookup and, Big Fish On! Adam played it perfectly and soon landed a nice 22" Seatrout, a fish big enough to place him tied for 3rd in the Anglers Mark 2019 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We then ran up the Nassau River and stopped at a large run-out and continued to fish with our jigs and shrimp. Jacob got on the board with a Flounder catch, then he and Allie doubled up with a Redfish and Seatrout catch. We caught a couple of more fish - Ladyfish and a Stingray but the tide hit bottom and the fish quit biting.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island but when we got there the tide was still going out, so we moved down a aways and it paid off.  Jacob had made an excellent cast between some logs and when he felt a "bump" he set the hook and reeled in a nice 17" keeper Flounder.

When the tide started back in the fish really started biting. Jacob got hot early and put a couple of small but feisty Redfish in the boat then he had a strong bite and, Fish On!  He played it patiently and worked it to the net, a nice 23" Slot Redfish. We caught some smaller Reds, a  Mangrove Snapper, an ugly Toad Fish, a keeper sized Sheepshead, and even a Blue Crab! Then it was Allie's turn to battle a big fish - she was at the stern, patiently letting her jig slide down the bottom when, BOOM! Fish On!  She worked it to the boat and landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish. Allie went back to the same spot and
within minutes, BOOM! Bigger Fish On!  This fish was ripping drag and hanging on the bottom, back in the current and took some real effort to work to the surface, but Allie was up to the task and soon brought to the net a big 28" oversized Redfish. Boy what a fish! We snapped some quick pictures, made sure it was ready to swim, and released it.

After hitting one more spot on the top of the tide, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wind Blown Fishing

We knew that today the wind would be a challenge and boy was it! I had met Jim Merkey and his sons Justin and Derrick up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and even though the water looked fairly nice, I knew that the wind blowing out of the North East was being blocked by Amelia Island. Once we headed north from the ramp and got beyond the tip of the island, it hit us!  But we got turned west and made the run to Tiger Island where we had some fairly pleasant fish - but the fish didn't cooperate!  These anglers were making excellent casts but all we were getting were "baitstealers".

After making the run thru Tiger, back thru Bell and down Lanceford, we fished some docks exposed to the wind, but it paid off with, finally, some action.  All three anglers caught a handful of Seatrout and Jim dueled with a feisty Redfish. We fished further up Lanceford and picked some "Brookie" sized Trout and Ladyfish, then we made the long run around to Piney Island to get out of the wind. But it did no good- there were no fish to be found.

Our final stop was back at Bell River, fishing a flooding grass point and again, we found a couple of small Seatrout. The wind was really, really kicking  now so we called it day. The sun was out, folks on land probably thought it was a beautiful day, so we counted it as another good one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catch'n in the Current

I fished this morning with Roger Pickett and his buddy David, meeting them up at the Dee Dee
Bartels Park and boy was it a nice morning (for a while). The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours but we tried our first stop over a Tiger Island and we found that the logs were still exposed so the two anglers began pitching jigs and shrimp to the pockets. Although we had numerous "bait stealing" nibbles we had not luck until Roger hooked up and brought to the boat a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  He also tangled with a eel for a bit!

We came out and around and fished a run out onthe outside of Tiger to no avail, then continued on around to Jolley bank and switched to float rigs and the live shrimp. We all noticed that there was very little current along that stretch and we had no bites.

After running up the river we stopped just south of Snook Creek and began fishing the bank and here the current was running. David had made a good cast up above a grassy patch and as his float drifted by it slowly went under. David lifted his rod to set the circle hook and, Fish On!  We knew right of that this was a big fish - David's reel was ripping and the fish was running at-will. When it got up shallow I was concerned that it would cut itself off on the oysters in shallow water but David worked him out patiently to deeper water then applied the pressure and soon landed a nice 24" Slot Redfish.

We worked on down the bank and got into some Seatrout, a couple which were keeper size, and Roger battled two big Bonnethead Sharks to the boat, then we headed back up the river to fish another grass line. Again, there was very little current and we had no bites.

We could see some really dark clouds heading our way and when we checked the radar we could see  that it was definitely heading straight for us so we pulled up the trolling motor and raced back to the boat ramp to get shelter  from the storm , and boy was it a storm! But we had had a good stretch of fish catching early so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Catch'n It Just Right

Back to work this week, fishing with Bob Blalock out of the Goffinsville Park. There was a forecasted low tide at about 6:15 for the area, and knowing that it takes about an hour or so for it to start back in at Broward Island, we decided to make that our first stop with plans to fish jigs and live shrimp.

Bob had only made a cast or two when he hooked up - a feisty Redfish. He caught a few more then had that BIG hookup we'd been
expecting. BOOM! Big Red On! Bob played it perfectly, forcing it away from the downed logs and out to deep water, and from there, it was all over but the (fish) cry'n!  After a nice battle, Bob landed a 21" Slot Red.

We fished some more and put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat, a couple of more Reds, then moved on down the way and under the watchful eye of a Bald Eagle to the north of us and an Osprey to the south of us, hooked up with an even bigger Redfish. Again, Bob eased him out from around the logs then kept the pressure on,

slowly working it in to the net - another Slot Red, this one measure at 23".  Bob rounded out his "backwater slam" with a nice 17" Flounder catch before we moved on.

Our next stop was over at Spanish Drop and although we didn't pick up any "game" fish, we did get a hard fighting Jack Crevalle, a high flying Ladyfish, and a first in the back waters for the Anglers Mark, a juvenile Cobia!  We fished a couple of other marsh lines then tinkered with some Mangrove Snapper at Seymore's then headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Before the Blow

As tropical storm Humberto headed our way, we had just enough time to get in a morning fishing trip yesterday before the winds really started blowing. I had met Nate and Tara and their friend Kevin up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp with a bait well full of live shrimp and we headed out, making our first run up to the Jolley River to fish the "bank" with float rigs on a high and still incoming tide.  Tara "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a hard fighting Bluefish. Nothing much else was happening so we moved down the way, and here Kevin caught a nice Seatrout and a Ladyfish, the
"poor man's Tarpon".

We made a short stop at Tiger Island and fished the flooded logs with jigs but all we had were "baitstealing" nibbles.  We continued on around and up into Lanceford Creek to fish a small grass patch and here things picked up just a tad. Nate got on the board with a couple of Seatrout catches then, after casting and letting his float drift by the grass, his float slowly went under and he hooked up. Nate patiently worked it to the boat and landed a nice 17" keeper

sized Flounder (all fish caught today were released).

We made another brief stop at some docks along Lanceford and Nate stayed on a roll, hooking up with another couple of Trout on the jig, while Tara added to the catch with a Trout of here own, fishing a float up near the grass.

Our final stop was around at Oyster Bay. Tara had made an excellent cast, allowing her float to drift along a grass island and, BOOM! Fish On! She worked it to the boat and landed a feisty Redfish to round out the group's Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Flounder, and Redfish. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.