Big Hookup With a Backwater Redfish

The Georgia Bulldog invasion is here!  I met Bob Blalock, his son William and his in-laws Tommy and Martha up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early - before the sun came up - with plans to get in some top water lure action as we hit our first spot, which happened to be up at the Jolley River on an tide that had been coming in a few hours.

Bob and William were on the bow tossing the topwaters while
Tommy and Martha fished the stern. The top waters did have a "spit" or two at them but no takers. Tommy knocked the skunk off with a Seatrout catch and shortly after that Martha hooked up and reeled one in.

We ran up the river and fished another marsh line. Now, every one was fishing a float rig with minnows. We had only been fishing just a short time when Tommy, after making an excellent cast, had a big bite, and Fish On!  We could tell right off that it was a big fish - the
drag was ripping and the fish stayed close to shore for a while. Then Tommy worked it to the boat and I was thinking, "well, not so big" but then it saw the boat and off it went. From then on it was a battle  But Tommy was up to the task and worked it patiently to the boat and finally landed a big 26.25" Slot Redfish. Boy what a fish! 

Our next stop was back towards the mouth of Jolley and although we didn't have a whole lot of action, William did land our first keeper sized Seatrout.  We fished the outside of Tiger where we caught a couple of more Trout, then poked around some flats looking for tailing Reds. Our final stop was over in the Bell River where we had some bites here and there and then Bob hooked up and boated a big 19" Seatrout.  Although it was unseasonably warm for October ( I heard on the radio it was approaching record highs) it was a beautiful day and a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament 2019 Results

The Amelia Island Guides Association wrapped up the 2019 Amelia Island Redfish Spot Tournament this past weekend, with a record turnout of 94 entries!  Participants attended the Captain's Meeting on Friday evening, hosted by the Amelia Island Marina and enjoyed food and beverages provided by newly opened Kitchen 251.   Ms. Kallie Santos was representing the Folds of Honor Foundation and gave a heartwarming story of how she became involved with the Folds of Honor.

After AIGA President Capt. Brian Soucy thanked all the Sponsors, the rules were briefly reviewed, raffle tickets were drawn, and then anglers went on their way to prep their boats and tackle and get their game plan together for an early morning start to fishing.

On Saturday, anglers were allowed to begin to bringing their catch in by 11am. The most Spots on a legal Redfish would take home over $1600 in the adult division and it was a close race that went down to the wire.

The Adult Winners were:
 4th Tonia Hamlin       11 spots
 3rd Clint Davis           12 spots
 2nd James Cadell        13 spots
 1st Traveler Kolletar   15 spots

The Youth Winners were:
 4th Tyler Gillette         2 spots
 3rd Eli Smith               3 spots
 2nd Jace Lacosse         4 spots
 1st  Wesley Keen        6 spots

Florida Fishing Products representatives Cael Wilson and Robby Lacey  manned the first annual Casting Competition while displaying some of their new reels and products. There was fierce competition right up to cut-off time and it was Cooper Pinckney who took home the winner honors - a Florida Fishing Products Osprey 3000 spinning reel AND Bragging Rights for a whole year!

The tournament wrapped up with awards (and check) presentations, closing of an outstanding Silent Auction, final raffle drawings, and a big ticket raffle of a 2 night stay at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation.

The Net Floats!

It's Florida/Georgia week and Greg Brown and his fishing partner Eddie were in town to take in the festivities and game and had pre-planned an Amelia Island back country fishing trip for this morning. I met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made a short run up the Nassau River to make our first stop at a flooding marsh line. 

The duo began pitching jigs and shrimp (and a few minnows) at a bend in the river. We had some bites, but no takers. As we approached some flooded oysters we switched to floats and drifted our baits over the top and this did the
trick. Greg put a nice feisty Redfish in the boat then they began to catch some Trout.  About the time I'd think about moving, they'd get another fish.

We finally buzzed down to Pumpkin Hill and fished a grassy island and here Eddie put a nice keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  Greg added another keeper then Eddie added one more.  Then Eddie's float slowly went under and I was thinking a Redfish had nibbled it but after Eddie had expertly worked it to the net, we saw that it was a nice keeper sized Flounder.

We fished around the corner to no avail, tried Christopher Creek with jigs, poked into some flooded marsh flats, then came back around to Seyomore's Pointe. Eddie picked up a Trout on a float rig at "One Trout Hole", then we fished some docks with jigs, but only got some "baitstealers". It was a really nice day to be on the water and a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Double Duty

We did a two boat trip Friday, Captain Scott Stewart and I, taking the Pete Nolan group out for an Amelia Island Back Country fishing trip. I had Pete and Eric and we made our first run over to Lanceford Creek to fish a flooded grass patch surrounded by submerged oysters on a high and outgoing tide.

The two anglers were tossing float rigs with live shrimp as we worked around the patch and as we got into deeper water, they began to catch some hungry Seatrout. Eric was working the grass close and got into some feisty Redfish, bringing
them to the net nicely.

We motored around to Soap Creek and fished a large marsh run out. Within seconds, Pete had a bite, fish on, and the first "keeper" of the day.  He went  back to the same spot and nailed a couple of more. Then, we found that we open our bail's and drift our floats way back along the marsh grass and pick up Trout. Eric put another keeper in the boat then we added one more.

Fishing some dock pilings later we dueled with the bait stealers and finally had our bait stay on a jig long enough for Pete to hookup and expertly land a nice 16" keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum.  Our final stop was around at Tiger Island on the last of the outgoing tide and it paid off with Eric catching a keeper sized Flounder, Pete catching a smaller one, and they also had a couple of feisty Redfish. The wind was really blowing but we were back behind the island so it made for a good way to wrap up a great day fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

When we got in we found that Capt. Scott's crew had a big Slot Redfish and another keeper sized Black Drum to add to the fish dinner this crew were planning!

Patient Catch'n

Although we had an overcast morning it turned out to be a really nice day for fishing today!  I met David Ahlers and his fishing buddies Jim and Lawrence up at the north end ramp. We had a bait well of live shrimp and the tide still had a few hours of going out so we eased around to Eagans Creek and set up current from some dock pilings. You would know it,  the "the bait stealers" were ever present but this trio of anglers worked thru them and racked up some really good catches. David got it started with a nice keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum catch then they all joined in  catching
fish. Lawrence added keeper sized Seatrout, Jim put a feisty Redfish in the boat, and they all added a good handful of keeper sized Drum to the catch. We had a "mess" at the first spot!

We then made the long run around and up the Bell River and fished some docks. Right off - Lawrence had a strange bite - a "thump" and a hookup. He worked it to the boat patiently and landed a nice keeper sized Flounder.  That's something I noticed about these anglers - they all three worked the fish they caught patiently to the boat.

We fished the MOA over in the Jolley to no avail, then fished some exposed oysters at Snook Creek. David briefly tangled with a Bonnethead Shark but it headed to Jacksonville and parted the leader. Our next stop was around at Tiger Island, fishing the logs. Again, right off, Jim had the hookup - another nice keeper sized Flounder. The "baitstealers" must of followed us all day because we blew thru 8 dozen live shrimp, got into some artificials and dead shrimp, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Outgoing Tide Made all The Difference

It was a such a pretty morning I snapped a picture of the sunrise with my cell phone as walked down the ramp to meet Bill Redfield and his uncle Cliff out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp.  I saw on my GPS that the tide was falling and still had a couple of hours to hit bottom so I thought we'd run over to Broward Island and fish the logs. But as we were running I saw an oyster bank that looked really, good - there was movement all over and bait was getting popped so we pulled up and began casting jigs and live shrimp. Cliff  "knocked the skunk"  off quick with a feisty Redfish catch then both he and Bill
were putting fish in the boat. Cliff was taking up the stern and pulling in Seatrout out deeper but Bill was hitting the bank and had strong hookups - his first a big Slot 24" Red, then he followed that up almost immediately with another;  then another! He added a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and a keeper sized Seatrout.

We finally made it down to Broward: Cliff found a honey hole and worked a few Redfish out of there and Bill hooked up and landed a keeper sized Flounder. Cliff tangled with a big Red but it was big for a reason and found a way to snap the line.

We came back to fish Spanish Drop where Bill fought to the boat a big Bonnethead Shark, then a big Jack Crevalle.  The tide had just started in here and the bite was real slow but Bill found one more Slot Redfish at the mouth of a runout. His final fish was a wayward Tripletail - No. 6 caught on the Anglers mark in 16 years!  And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Weakfish Rounds Out a Grande Slam

Wow what a great morning we had today with the weather - cool, only a slight breeze, and the sun came out from time to time to make it a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island. I had met
 Bill(1)  Macerone and his fishing buddy....Bill(2)...up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early and we had a bait well full of live shrimp and some mud minnows. We made a quick run up and around to the Jolley River and set up to fish the "bank" as the tide was coming in.  As usual, the "baitstealers' were out in force which made for some aggravation, but Bill(2)  finally "knocked the skunk
off" with a nice Seatrout catch. We caught some junk fish - ladyfish, pinfish, etc. then move on up the river.

Our next stop was just past Snook Creek where we caught a couple of feisty Redfish, a small Black "puppy" Drum and then we tangled with a big Red;  there's a reason big Reds are big - they find a way to break the line- and this one did! Ouch.  Then Bill(2) put a "first in a while" Weakfish in the boat. We came back towards the mouth of the Jolley for a bit and fished a grass line. Here,  Bill(1) had a good "thump" and set the hook and reeled in a nice keeper sized Flounder.  This roundout the duo's Amelia Island Grande Slam, of sorts, with a Seatrout, Redfish, Flounder, and Weakfish!

We buzzed back to the outside of Tiger and fished the flooding marsh grass - hooked up with another big Red, lost him in the oysters, then Bill(1) caught and landed a fat keeper sized Seatrout. Shortly after that Bill(2) hooked up, expertly played, and boated a Slot sized 22" Redfish.

Our final stop was over in Bell River and here we had one more
good bite - another nice Red - and this one too had figured out it could head for the oysters, bury its head, and cut the leader.  But we had had a good day of action so we counted it a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Dark and Stormy Day

When Walker Welch and I communicated on the phone last night the weather forecast was showing 30-40% chance of rain for this morning. When I got up the forecast was showing 100% and sure enough, when I stepped outside to hitch the boat trailer, it was drizzling. But I hunted down some live shrimp and met Walker and his buddy Drew up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and by the time we pulled away from the dock the rain had quit and there was only a slight breeze. It was overcast but a nice day to be
fishing!

We made a run up to Jolley River and fished the "bank" with about 3 hours left on an incoming tide. The two anglers were tossing float rigs and live shrimp to the flooding grass. We got a bunch of nibbles and Walker did "knock the skunk off" when he put a hungry Seatrout in the boat.   We then ventured further up the river, fished another grass bank, then moved inside Snook Creek and tried our hand at pitching jigs. All we got were baitstealers.

After coming back to the outside of Tiger we had just set up an a grassy point when Walkers float disappeared with a vengeance and, Fish On! Walker played it perfectly, let it run, worked it in, and landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. And shortly after that Drew got in on the action and put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.  We had another Trout or two then the baitstealers moved in.

Our next stop was around in Bell River. Drew caught another Seatrout, then Walker had another BIG hookup. This was a big fish, ripping drag and having none of coming towards the boat. It stayed up in the shallows - I didn't want to jinx anything so I kept my mouth shut - but sure enough, BAP! Fish Off. It had dug down into some oysters and cut the line! 

We ran over to Lanceford Creek and fished a grass patch where we had some good action, catching a couple of Trout and a few feisty Redfish, then we tried Soap Creek to no avail, then wrapped up fishing some docks back at Eagans Creek where Drew put the final keeper in the boat, a nice 17" Sheepshead. And with that, we called it a day, another great one, albeit cloudy, to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Taking a Day Off...to go fishing!

Our neighbors Brian and Sarah Parent invited us (my wife Carol and I) to go fishing on their boat in the St. Johns River in hopes of finding some Bull Redfish. Brian and I loaded some heavier tackle and we all stopped by the bait shop to get some live Blue Crabs. I had brought along an iced Ladyfish to supplement the bait.

On the last of an outgoing tide, we launched at Mayport in Brian's big Pursuit the Stormy Sarah, powered by a 250 Yamaha, and we headed upriver and to make first stop just shy of the Dames Pointe Bridge. I was the "anchor boy" and got it deployed while Brian backed it down, then we started setting out lines - Brian on the starboard stern and me on the port stern. The ladies were enjoying the beautiful weather and conversation up on the bow.  Then we waited. And waited.  Brian had one "nibble" on one of his rigs it swiped his half of crab - he baited it up and set it out again and shortly after that he had a good bite. Brian set the hook and BIG fish on! Once he was set, Brian handed the rod off to Sarah who played it for a while, then Carol got on the rod and slowly worked it the boat. She had a good battle on here hands but she prevailed -Brian netted the fish expertly and landed a Big Bull Redfish.

It was getting late in the afternoon, but we decided to move closer to the boat ramp. We had anchored down river about 200 yards from barge with dual tugboats that were stationary in the river.

We'd been fishing for about 30 minutes and the tide was just turning around and we had just decided to "give it 5 more minutes" when I felt a "tap" on my rod. I was all alert when it tapped again and set the hook and another BIG fish on! It was ripping drag and sounded great with the clicker clacking but after I got it switched off it was a battle for sure. Carol and Brian got the other rods reeled up and then we heard....AAAANGK,  AAAANGK! 

The tugs had revved their engines and started towards us with the barge! The big Red was still "green" and pulling line and...AAAANGK, AAAANGK, AAAANGK. It was pandemonium!  I tightened the drag (somewhat) and really started cranking the fish in and AAAANGK!  AAANGK! AAANGK!  Brian dove the catch net in and hoisted the big fish to the deck then dashed to the anchor rope and started

hauling..AAAANGK!  AAANGK!  I put the throttle in gear to help with the anchor haul - it came lose and we puttered across the channel and out of the way of the descending barge/Tug combo.

We dehooked the fish, got a quick picture, laid it over the side and made sure it was ready to swim, and released it. Boy what a fish! And with that, we called it day, another great one to be fishing here in NE Florida.

Thank Goodness For the Big Fish

We had another beautiful morning today with only a slight breeze when we launched at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. I fished with Howard McClure and his longtime friend Wayne and we made our first stop way up at the junction of Pumpkin Hill and the Nassau - fishing the last couple of hours of an a high incoming tide.

The first spot produced just a bunch of "baitstealing" bites so we eased up the bank and set up along a flooded marsh line. These two anglers were getting excellent drifts but we still were not getting any takers, other than the
persistent nibbles. Then, as Howards float and live shrimp drifted by a grassy peninsular, something rolled and chased his bait then took it and, Fish ON!  It was pulling drag and trying to get up into the shallows with oysters but Howard kept the pressure on and worked out to deeper water. In the meantime, Wayne allowed his float to take the same drift and, just as we got Howards big Slot Redfish (26.5") to the net, Boom! Another big fish on! Wayne's fish ran, and ripped drag, and ran, and ripped drag, but Wayne pulled  him out of the weeds and fought 'em to a standstill. He worked it to the boat and we netted a nice oversized 28.5" Redfish which we quickly photographed and released. Those were two really nice fish, caught in the same spot, in about 4' of water over some shell.

We fished Christopher Creek where Howard did battle with a huge Jack Crevalle, made some casts at some tailing Redfish in the spartina grass, then came out and fished Seymore's Pointe docks, and Spanish Drop grass. Although the bite was kinda slow, we did pick up a couple of jacks, a Seatrout, a Ladyfish, and some of those ever present bait stealers. It was a nice day and great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.