Weird On The Water

It was kinda weird out fishing this morning - the skies stayed overcast the entire day, ominous storm clouds surrounded us while 10mph winds kept a breeze flowing. But my guests - Bob Lalli and his two adult sons Mark and Scott were game to fish so we had met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill with plans to fish the very last few minutes of an incoming tide.  I think the fish were taking a break - we fed the bait stealers one shrimp after another!  But we stayed with it, got a few strong bites, then Mark put a feisty Bonnethead Shark in the boat.

We eased around the corner, fed some more bait stealers (the bait shop was all out of mud minnows today), then it was Scott's turn to tangle with a Bonnethead. Bob put a Seatrout in the boat to officially "knock the skunk off".   We then ran down to Twin Creeks and pt out a minnow trap, then back to Seymore's Pointe and played with some Mangrove Snapper. We caught a few but all were undersized and again, we were blowing thru our bait, so we moved on. We fished Athens Drop and picked up another Trout or two, and a couple of feisty Redfish then we stopped in to pick up our minnow trap. There were only two minnows in the trap but I was able to cast net a good handful of perfect size finger Mullet.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. These anglers were making excellent casts and it wasn't long before it paid off. Scott had baited with one of the finger mullet and had put it up near the pilings. When he hooked up and the drag began to sing we new it was a big fish. Scott put some pressure on, got the fish out away from the pilings then patiently played it to the net. I had to measure it a couple of times to make sure it squeezed in under the Slot limit of 27" - boy what a fish!

We had a few more bites, picked up a couple of Mangroves, another feisty Red, and a nice Seatrout before we called it a day. The skies were still cloudy but we had only had a few rain drops so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Reds In The Amelia Island Back Waters

This young couple of anglers really got in to some fish today fishing the back waters of Amelia Island, Florida. I had met Dewey and Jenifer Lee out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early this morning and we made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill to fish some grass islands just as the tide started out. Jenifer got things going by catching a hungry Seatrout up near the grass with a float rig and live shrimp. We picked up a couple of more fish, battled with a Bonnethead Shark, then eased around the corner, back in the Nassau.

 The tide was just easing out and with these two anglers making excellent casts, it wasn't long before we caught fish. Dewey put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat then as we were just about to pick up and leave, he had a strong hookup and, Fish On! The fish was big and ripping drag and immediately took Dewey from the stern of the boat to the bow then it went deep. But Dewey kept the pressure on, worked it patiently, then brought to the net a nice 24" Slot Redfish. We briefly fished Broward Island and Jenifer caught a feisty Redfish there.

 We then ran down the Nassau to Spanish Drop and fished a large double run out. The wind was picking up but we still had some good bites. Jenifer found her own personal fishing hole off the stern and put one Seatrout in the boat after another. She also caught a small Flounder to round out an Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Seatrout, Redfish and Flounder. But she wasn't done yet!

After fishing Twin Creek briefly we moved on. Our next and final stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe and boy was it a good one! The duo put a handful of Mangrove Snapper in the boat, one of which was keeper size, then Jenifer battled a BIG fish that got up in the pilings and broke off. Dewey followed that up with a "Tournament Redfish" catch, one that measured at 26 7/8". He added a keeper sized Black Drum for his Slam, then Jenifer put a Black Drum in the boat for her "Grande Slam", and then she hooked up and expertly played another Slot Redfish to the boat. Before we knew it we had a "mess" of fish and with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Sisters Crab Artichoke Hot Dip

 We used to visit the Florida Keys with my sisters and other relatives and every once in a while they'd

break out a hot Crab Artichoke Dip.  Here it is..

(1)  14oz can of artichokes, drained and chopped roughly(

(1)  Cup mayonaise

(2/3) Cup grated Parmesan cheese

(8oz)  Shredded Mozzarella cheese 

(1)  Teaspoon Konricko seasoning

(1)  6oz can crab meat

(1)  Teaspoon Hot Sauce

Stir all the ingredients together thoroughly in a 8x8 pyrex baking dish.  Bake in oven set at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Top should brown and cheese should melt.

Early Fish Bite Frenzy

I was back at this morning, fishing with Frank Wytiaz and his wife Joanne after I had met them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We made a quick run up the Nassau River and stopped at a large marsh run out. The bait was getting "popped" all along the bank so we set up to fish with float rigs and live shrimp.  It only took minutes and we were catching fish. Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Seatrout, small but feisty Redfish, Pinfish, Catfish -it was a smorgasbord.  Frank was fishing out of the stern and had drifted his float long when something big hit it. He worked it to the boat and landed big Seatrout that was just a tad bit under 20". Later, Joanne had made an excellent cast to the bank, hooked up and when her drag began to sing we knew it was a big fish. Joanne played it patiently, worked it to the boat, let it run, ripping drag, worked it to the boat, and landed a nice 21" Slot sized Redfish.  I had looked at my watch and we had been fishing this one spot for well over an hour, and catching fish!

We did move up the way, switched to jigs and shrimp

and picked up one more feisty Redfish. We then fished some dock pilings and caught Black "puppy" Drum, another small Redfish, a Croaker, and Joanne added to the variety with a couple of Mangrove Snapper catches. We eased around the corner, switched back to float rigs, and fished some rocks but only found one small Mangrove.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island. Fishing with jigs we added to the catch one more Redfish. The sun was getting up and getting hot so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Big Fish Thursday

I fished today with the Hendrickson family, Brian and Sherrie and their son William. I met them early down at the  Sawpit Creek boat ramp and after making a short run up the Nassau, we made our first stop at Spanish Drop to fish the incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. The shell was covered and the anglers were able to get good drifts along the marsh grass. William "knocked the skunk off" with a good battle with a Jack Crevalle then his dad put a small Flounder in the boat. From then on we were catching fish. Sherrie landed  a feisty Redfish while Brian and William teamed up on small Trout, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish and feisty Reds.  We left 'em biting when we moved on!

The water was up and I thought it'd be a good time to hit Pumpkin Hill and boy was it a good guess! We were drifting the bank again with shrimp under a float and again, the fish catching was on fire. Brian put a 20" Seatrout in the boat and later William followed that up with one of his own. Sherrie put a couple of Mangrove Snapper in the boat then William hooked up and landed a hard fighting Black "puppy" Drum to round out their Amelia Island Back

Country "Grande" Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, Flounder and Drum.

We had drifted down the bank a bit when William had a strong hookup and his drag sang, Fish On!  This was a big fish but it was no match for William. He stayed patient, worked it slowly to the boat, held it when it ran, worked it to the boat, held it when it ran, then brought it to the net - a big 30.5" Oversized Redfish! Boy what a fish. Then it was his dad's turn! Brian hooked up and this fish took him from the bow to the stern then dug deep for a good battle. But Brian was up to the task and soon landed a 29.5" oversized Redfish.  Shortly after Brian had made an excellent cast to behind a grassy point. He said his float gook off with the current and he lifted his rod to set the circle hook - another big fish on! Brian worked this one to the boat and landed a 24" Seatrout - a fish big enough to move Brian into third place in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights

Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We made a couple more brief stops on the way back to the ramp, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Sunshine and Rocky

We squeezed in a morning fishing trip before the storms hit here at Amelia Island today. I had met Chris and Jessica Cafarelli and their two kids Bryce and Grace, down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The tide was high and still coming in so we made the long run (15 minutes) up to Pumpkin Hill to fish with float rigs and live shrimp along the flooding marsh grass. The "demo" cast picked up a Seatrout!  Chris and Jessica were fishing while the kids tended to the bait and we had a good flurry of fish catching. Although no fish were kept today, they landed a few Seatrout that could have went in the box, along with a solitary Weakfish that was kinda cool to see.  Jessica tangled with two hard fighting Jack Crevalle and won both battles then Chris had strong bite up on a flooded mud flat and, BOOM! Big Fish On. It was a battle. But Chris was up to the task even though the fish took him from starboard side stern to port side, then up to the bow and back. He kept the pressure on and eventually landed a big Oversized Redfish that measured in at 29.5", boy what a fish!
He followed that up with a big Bonnethead Shark catch.

We eased around the corner and fished a grassy island and here Jessica boated the first Mangrove Snapper of the day, Chris worked a Redfish from around the island, then he battled another Bonnethead to the net for release.  I think it was about this time that Bryce and Grace began to name their "pet" bait - I had broken out some mud minnows - one was Sunshine and one was Rocky - and the fish catching began to fall off - I mean what fish wants to eat Sunshine?

Our next stop was back at Seymore's Pointe where we picked up a couple of Mangroves, one of which was of keeper size.  Our final stop was down at Spanish Drop and after landing one more Seatrout and a feisty Redfish, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Fish'n AND Catch'n

Susanna Braun and Garland Clark treated themselves to a back water fishing trip today to celebrate Garland's birthday and boy was it a pretty day!  We met up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early and headed over to Soap Creek to fish a large marsh run out with mud minnows under a float rig. Susanna got things started off quickly when she hooked up and landed a Seatrout. We eased up to an exposed oyster island and the fish catching commenced!  Both Susanna and Garland were getting good drifts along the oysters and both were catching feisty Redfish. Almost every drift produced a bite. The fish weren't very big - all under the slot, but they were fun to catch.

Eventually the bite slowed so we bounced out to another oyster "island" and again picked up a few of he Reds. We then fished some docks over in Lanceford briefly, got a few bites but no takers, then ran back to Bells River to fish some oysters shell banks. Here, Susanna picked up a couple of more Reds using a jig and minnow.

Our next stop was around at Tiger Island.  We worked along the logs pitching jigs and Garland found a hungry Flounder and we also picked up a couple of Mangrove Snapper. The sun was out, the breeze had died but we'd had a good morning of fishing so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Quality Fish

I fished with the Duma team, today- Scott and his adult kids Will and Kate - meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early. The tide had been going out for a couple of hours as we ran up the intercoastal to dip into Jackstaff, and then even further up a creek. This trio of anglers were tossing float rigs with live minnows up to a large runout and we did have a few nibbles at the first spot and then Kate "knocked the skunk off" when she hooked up and landed hard fighting Jack Crevalle.

We dropped back to Jackstaff and worked the bank, switching to jigs and minnows. Again, it was Kate who had the hookup. She had pitched to a small drainage in the marsh, had a bump, set the hook and patiently worked in a keeper sized Flounder.  Will followed that up with a Catfish catch!

We ran thru Horsehead, down the Nassau and pulled up at Spanish Drop to work that oyster bed.  Up ahead of us a Dolphin was wreaking havoc on our intended target, but luckily he/she didn't get them all. We had a good flurry of catches - feisty Redfish and hungry Seatrout and another Jack.

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's Pointe. We had the stern to some pilings and were getting excellent casts to the pilings. Scott had went in between two, let it sit, and BOOM! Big Fish On! This fish was ripping drag and had no plans of coming in. But Scott played it expertly, let it run, worked it in, and landed an "almost too big"  26.875" Slot Redfish, boy what a fish!  Then Will got in the action  and landed a Trout that was just a tad bit short then he had another hookup and put a nice keeper sized Trout in the boat. Kate was fishing shallow and found a Mangrove Snapper hole - she caught 5-6 of those and at least two were of keeper size. We had a good well full of quality fish so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

ReShuffle Bragging Rights With a Bang

We did a 2nd trip today with the Maron crew, this time Mike had his oldest daughter Haley, her friend Josh, and Mike's son Troy with him. We met again down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp, but mixed it up just a bit. Our first stop was over at the Long Pointe docks, fishing jigs and mud minnows. Both Troy and Josh got on the board early - Josh with a feisty Redfish and Troy with a Jack Crevalle, and he had a keeper sized Flounder right to the boat.

After running up the Nassau River we fished a large marsh run out and here Troy started off hot, fishing the stern of the boat. He hooked up and landed another Jack, a Seatrout, and a Stingray. Haely got in on the action with a Ladyfish catch. They also had another feisty Redfish or two, and a couple of Trout. Mike had yet to put a fish in the boat, but I could tell he was just laying back. Drafting.

I didn't realize it but I had pumped my live well so full and the protective screen over the overflow was missing and....half our minnows swam down the tube to freedom!  We were almost out of bait half way thru the trip. But I knew where there was a pool backed up on the back side of a shell bank (Twin Creeks) so we beached the boat, climbed to the shell bank, and netted a good amount of finger mullet and some that were 8" in length.

Our next stop was on up the river with plans to fish some dock pilings. Most of the Team were fishing live finger mullet. But I had also "fileted" the larger mullet and I had found out a year ago that the carcass of the mullet made a good bait - just the head, skeleton, guts, and tail. Mike was using the carcass, pitched to the pilings on a jig and, BAM! Big Fish On! Mike worked it patiently to the boat and landed a massive 25.25" Seatrout, a big enough fish to move him squarely into first place in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). 

Then Josh put a nice 17" keeper sized Seatrout in the Boat, Haley added another one, then another. Josh caught  a couple of Mangrove Snapper then BOOM! Haley had a big bite. This fish was ripping drag and headed right for the pilings. Here line "locked" down, but Haley kept her composure, held the pressure, and gently worked it out of the pilings. She then expertly worked it to the boat and landed a fast 28" Oversized Redfish!  Only a few minutes later Mike had another big hookup - this one was ripping some drag too and I thought for sure it was a nice Slot Red. But as he worked it to the boat we saw that it was another massive Seatrout. When landed, it measured right at 25". Boy what a fish!

We fished Seymore's Pointe briefly with float rigs where Haley put a 12" Mangrove Snapper in the boat, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Family Fishing At Amelia Island

Mike and Shannon Maron had their whole family visiting Amelia Island this week and decided to take in a Back Country fishing trip. I met them, their daughter Libbie, and her friend Mark  down at Sawpit Creek and we headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop just off some exposed oyster beds with jigs and mud minnows.  We had a slow start but just as we got up to an outcrop of oysters they began to get bites. Mark started things off with a huge Bonnethead battle then Mike landed a couple of Seatrout.

The team put a couple of feisty Redfish in the boat, then Shannon battled and netted a big Jack Crevalle. Libbie wrapped that spot up with a keeper sized Flounder catch.

We moved up the river, fished some more oysters, landed one more feisty Redfish, then moved on.  Our next stop was down at Broward Island. I think we caught one more Redfish down there and we worked it pretty good.

Our final stop was back at some rocks along Seymore's Pointe and this paid off. We went through ab out two dozen minnows, caught a few handfuls of Mangrove Snapper with 6 of them being of keeper size - most in the 11-12" range. It was a good flurry of fish catching and a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.