Crazy Fish Today

Helping with the Captain's meeting for the AIGA Inshore Classic Tournament tonight so quick report,
again; 

Beautiful day, met Michael Williams and his friend and fishing partner Chris up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. We fished behind Tyger at the first stop, first of an incoming tide, jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows, but only caught a couple of bait stealers. Next stop was up to Jolley Bank, still fishing the jigs, Chris picked up a hungry Seatrout, Michael got a feisty Redfish. 

On up to Snook Creek, we switched to floats - Chris caught a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum and Michael added another Redfish. Back to the outside of Tyger and things picked up. The duo caught a couple of more Redfish, a Couple of more Seatrout, and a couple of Flounder. They also had a strange Cigar Fish and a Sea Robin! Crazy fish! 

It was a beautiful day. We cruised Cumberland and were treated with a sighting of some wild horses and as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slot Red Limit

 Quick report...gotta go help set up a Fishing Tournament!  Fished today with Kurt Ronicher and his friend Rick, and John Raker, meeting out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. We fished some shell beds on the last of an outgoing tide, then ran down to Broward and fished the first of an incoming with jigs and mud minnows. That paid off! They landed four Slot Redfish, the biggest was 25", and a good handful of smaller feisty Redfish.  Kurt was tossing a fly rod for most of the day, had a few bites, and caught one of the feisty Reds on a Dupree Spoon Fly. 

We fished oyster beds, flooding marsh grass, more flooding marsh grass, and more flooding marsh grass, and caught a handful of small Seatrout, and one Blue fish!

It was a beautiful day and it was a great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Offshore Inshore

Boy what a beautiful day we had! Sunshine, only a slight breeze, and just cool temperature to make it just right! I met Len Pelletier who had his son Scott and grandson Kevin with him to round out the fishing team. We left the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp as the sun was coming up and made our way over and around to the back side of Tyger to fish the "logs" with jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. Len and Scott were fishing the shrimp and got nibbles regularly and eventually hooked up and landed small "baitstealers" - small Mangroves, Pinfish, Grunts, and Perch, and a wayward Sea Bass.  Kevin, fishing off the stern, stayed with the mud minnows. He wasn't getting near the bites but as we reached the north end of the island, BAM! He said it hit it hard, and Fish On!  Kevin played it perfectly and battled to the boat a nice 22" 4-spot Slot Redfish!

We then made our way around and on up to the Jolley River and turned into the "bank" and worked back, tossing float rigs to the flooding marsh. They stayed with the same baits all day, Scott and Len fishing the shrimp, Kevin fishing the minnows. We may have a had nibble along that stretch but nothing too big until Len hooked up and landed a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark. 

After running further up the river, just past Snook Creek, we turned again into the current and worked along the bank, and that paid off. Both Scott and Kevin caught a feisty Redfish, then Scott put two Seatrout in the boat, one of which was "having a bad day" - it had recent wounds from something trying to eat it!

Our next stop was back on the outside of Tyger, working the bank on the last of an incoming tide with the jigs. I was looking for Flounder but when Scott had a strong "take" and is drag began to rip I felt like we had something else. It didn't make a long run like a Shark but it didn't "boil" like  a Redfish so we had to wait - Scott played it patiently and worked it slowly to the boat and when it surfaced we saw that it was a big Redfish!  He brought it to the net and it measured right at 25".  Just minutes later Scott had another good bite and after a brief battle he landed a.....juvenile....Cobia! Hah!  We don't see them very often in the Back water!

We had a beautiful day to fish and caught some quality fish so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Wind Driven

 I fished two trips with the Walter Mann crew - he and his fishing partner Bobby Horston and Bobby's son Eric on Saturday morning. We meet up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and headed over to the Jolley River. It was still "shorts" weather but the wind was already picking up. Running up the Jolley, we made our first stop at a point of grass on a high and incoming tide and  fished float rigs with mud minnows. Walter picked up a a couple of Seatrout. We went further up  the Jolley, fished Snook Creek Bank, then eased in to the Snook and switched to Jigs and the minnows. I think we did get a Mangrove Snapper and a Whiting on those jigs.

After the tide hit high we came back to the outside of Tyger and fished the very first of an outgoing and a caught a feisty Redfish right up in the grass. After running thru Tyger and around to the Bell and up Lanceford we fished a dock with jigs to the pilings and a float to the shoreline. Bobby was on the float and after working it around some pilings, BAM! Fish On! He played it perfectly and brought to to the net a keeper sized Seatrout (all fish caught these trips were released)

After fishing around the corner a bit, we headed back to the dock.

Today I met Walter and Bobby up at Old Town again, but it was NOT shorts weather! Luckily we had all paid heed to the weather forecast - windy and cool - and dressed accordingly. This time we headed down the Intercoastal to fish some structure on a tide that had been coming in a few hours. We pulled up and pitched jigs and live shrimp and caught a couple of Toad Fish, a handful of Mangrove Snapper, and a

feisty Redfish. 

Continuing on, thru Horsehead and over to Seymore's Pointe, we fished a dock and here Bobby battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle to the net. Then, down to Pumpkin Hill where we drifted floats along the flooding marsh grass. We had some nibbles, but no takers. We moved around the corner and continued with the floats, now at a grassy island and this paid off. Bobby had gone up to the grass with an excellent cast and when his float disappeared he began to crank, and crank! The fish was coming towards him! He caught up to it and the fight was on! It was pulling deep and hard but Bobby kept the pressure on and worked him from bow to stern and from port to starboard and finally to the net - a big 22.25" Seatrout! Which moved Bobby into a big tie for 3rd in the Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We fished some rocks back at Seymore's and did battle with Mangroves (we won some and they won
some), and Walter put a Grouper n the boat (the third I've seen this year). Then we fished Christopher Creek for a bit and then headed back up the Intercoastal, into the cool wind. But as we made our way to the dock we counted it as another great two days of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Battling The Elements

 Boy what a rain system we had yesterday - it rained so much I had to go out and "lift" the cover on my boat to get the pools of water off of it, Three times! And again this morning! But the forecast had actually improved for today and although it misted a bit between the bait shop and Goffinsville Park, by the time I launched it was clearing. I met Charles Land and his daughter Savanah early and we made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill and began to toss float rigs baited with mud minnows. The tide was coming in, still for another couple of hours, but I couldn't believe that it was already well flooded up in the grass. It was dead calm with zero breeze and the Sand Gnats were out in full force! We put on "armor" battled on. 

They had a couple of nibbles, but no takers so we moved up to a point and fished down the other side and that did the trick. Charles "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up long and brought in a hungry Seatrout, then another, then Savanah got on the board and caught a high flying Ladyfish.  We fished down a ways and had a few nibbles and then moved on. 

Over at Seymore's Point Savanah's first cast produced a quick bite and Fish On! This fish was big and running - it headed up into the marsh but Savanah kept the pressure on and kept it out of the grass. It then came towards us and she had to crank, crank and crank to keep up with it, then it went deep on the other side of the boat. Savanah stayed with it, worked it up to the boat and landed a big Jack Crevalle. 

After running thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Cut we fished a bank just as the tide started out there but had no luck. Over in Jackstaff we worked along a bank. Savanah had gone right up in to some flooded grass with a cast and BAM! She had a hookup. I thought for sure it was a nice Redfish but as she brought it to the net we saw that it was a big 19.5" Seatrout! Boy what a fish!

After fishing over at Back River for just a bit we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Making The Grade

 It looks like we squeezed in today's trip before tomorrows nasty weather shows up. I had met Robert Stettner and his fishing partner David Vice out at the  Goffinsville Park boat ramp as the sun came up and as the weather channel had forecast, it was "Calm" - the water was like glass. We made a quick run over to Pumpkin Hill in an attempt to catch the very last of an incoming tide and sure enough, we still had some current running. Both anglers were tossing float rigs and mudminnows and letting them drift long and within minutes we had fish. They picked up a handful of Seatrout with two of them being of keeper size. Robert also caught and battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net for photograph and release. If I had to grade these two anglers, they were right at a C+!

We then ran around to Seymore's Point and fished a large drainage with the float rigs (we stayed with them the entire trip) and had a good many bites but no real takers. Our next stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at Poteat Cut where we set up on a point and fished the now outgoing tide. This paid off - they caught Seatrout and Ladyfish, then Robert hooked up with a feisty Redfish and battled it to the boat. David went up to the grass with a good cast and BAM! Big Fish On! He played it perfectly and worked it patiently to the boat and net - a nice 22" Slot sized Redfish.  They were up to a B+!

Back over to Jackstaff we went, and up a creek where we worked the grass line with the floats. They picked up one Redfish along the bank then we moved on. After another run back thru Horsehead we made our way down to the Back River and set  up to fish. School was in! We were at the "Honey Hole"!  We had non-stop action - I think I yelled "Double" a few times. At first it was Seatrout. David put a couple of keepers in the boat then Robert added a keeper to the box. David hooked up and landed a Slot sized 21" Red, then they caught more Trout, more feisty Redfish, another Jack, and Robert rounded out his Amelia Island Backcountry Slam with a Flounder catch. Then David had a strong hookup and this fish wasn't coming in. He played it like a Pro - like an upperclassman -  like a Beta Club alumni! It pulled to the shell bank, and David worked it out and brought it to the net, a big 26" Slot Redfish! That one put us over the limit and had to go back after photographs. 

We had had pretty good day of fishing and had ended with 45 minutes of fish catching and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida and achieving Honor Roll status - A+ for the day!

Fish'n the Fly

 Oh boy what a beautiful day today!  I was really looking forward to getting out on the water after the temperatures dropped over the weekend and sure enough, cool, clear and sunny was waiting on us! I had met Seth Bush and his son Gates down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we headed up the intercoastal, all the way up to Poteat Cut with a plan that Seth would fish spin and bait while Gates tossed the fly on a high and outgoing tide. We baited Seth with live shrimp and started Gates off with a topwater Gurgler. It's hard to beat a live shrimp and Seth "knocked the skunk off" when he boated a couple of hungry Seatrout and tangled with a handful of Ladyfish. Although Gates didn't pick up a fish, he was getting excellent casts and had one "spit" at his fly.

We moved over Jackstaff and fished a couple of outflows, working the bank slowly, Seth on the bow with the bait, Gates off the stern with the fly. Again, Seth had the hookup and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. After running thru Horsehead and down to Back River we set up along a bank as the oysters were just beginning to expose. This time Seth was on the stern and drifting long along the bank, he picked up a handfull of the feisty Redfish. I released the trolling motor and let the boat drop back and Gates made a perfect cast to the shell bank and BAM! Fish On! He was fishing a crab pattern fly and it paid off. Gates played it perfectly and landed a nice Redfish. From then on both anglers were getting fish - Seth off the stern and Gates off the bow. Seth had a big one on, was working it slowly, but this fish had other plans, It made its way to the shore line and submerged oysters and BAP! Fish off! Later, Gates had a big one on the fly rod and the same thing happened, the tippet broke. 

But shortly afterwards Gates made a cast up into a gap between two oyster beds and BAM! A fish took it and ran deep, then dug deep. Gates worked it up slowly, stayed patient, and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. 

We fished between two docks and Seth caught a couple or three Mangrove Snapper then we ran down to Spanish Drop and fished the bank. We were about to wrap things up and Gates made an excellent long cast up into the mouth of a drainage. As we worked it back, the fly came over a shell point and he had a hookup. The fish wasn't putting much of a fight, but was heavy, and sure enough when Gates worked it to the surface he had a nice keeper sized Flounder! Boy what a catch. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fly fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Finding the Sweet Spot

 

This morning was the first since last Tuesday - a week ago - that we didn't have high winds. What was with that? But this morning was perfect weather, just a slight breeze and overcast skies when I met Todd Johnson and his fishing buddy David up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp. The tide still had about and hour and a half of going out so we hit some docks to fish the pilings with jigs an mud minnows and live shrimp.  The first dock I thought for sure we'd get fish and David did "knock the skunk off" when he hooked up and expertly landed a feisty Redfish. We had a couple of other hookups but they threw the hook. Before we left the area we moved down a dock or two and fished those pilings. Todd had the strong hookup this time and when it was ripping drag and trying to dig back into the pilings we knew it was a nice fish, Fish On!  Todd kept the pressure on and worked it out of the pilings and eventually to the net, a nice 23" Slot Sized Redfish (with 8 spots)!

We then made the run over to Tyger Island and fished the "logs", working slowly along the bank as the tide started back in . We had great conditions and the perfect tide but not much luck. These two angles did reel in a few Mangrove Snapper and a wayward Black Sea Bass. 

After making our way around to the Jolley River we worked back to Snook Creek, getting a few nibbles, but no real takers. But when we reached a point of oysters David had made a good cast up beyond the point and BAM! He had a hookup. I think David caught a handful of hungry Seatrout before Todd could get his rod unlimbered!  We had hit a "Sweet Spot".  They caught Seatrout and a handful of feisty Redfish and tangled with Shark and Gar Fish. And then they added a keeper Seatrout to the box. 

Our final stop was back down the Jolley, fishing another point and again David's first cast produced a fish - a hungry Seatrout- and again, he hooked up with a couple of more BAM, BAM, BAM!  Todd was fishing long out  of the stern and found Seatrout and a couple of nice feisty Redfish. We tangled with one more Gar Fish here. We had found our 2nd Sweet Spot of the day!  We had had some good action for the most part and as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

We Beat the Wind

 

I knew it was going to be a pretty day, and it was, but I was also aware of the winds that have been battering us the last week and they were forecast for today, and sure enough, it was blowing! I met Ed Hill and his friend Tina out at Goffinsville Park and with my "plan" in mind, we ran down to Broward Island to try and fish the very last and first of an incoming tide. As we worked the bank, pitching jigs and live shrip to the bank these two anglers began to get bites. Ed "knocked the skunk off" when he hooked up and patiently brought to the boat a feisty Redfish.  Then both anglers caught a couple of Reds, and...a Catfish!

We moved back down the river to Pumpkin Hill and fished a point, drifting float rigs with the current and wind. They caught another Redfish, Tina put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat, then they both battled hard fighting Jack Crevalle. And they added one small Mangrove Snapper to the catch. After fishing a small grass patch we moved on - the wind was really kicking!

Our next stop was up between two docks, tossing the jigs and shrimp again. It didn't take long for this duo to find some Mangrove Snappers up under a tree and they quickly mastered the hookup. Although most of them were small, they did put two large one in the box.  They also put a surprise in the boat - a small Gag Grouper!

The tide was really up, the wind was still blowing so we stayed in the lee of the land and drifted some float rigs to a point, then moved into Christopher Creek to try our luck. But the fish were done so we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

AIGA Inshore Classic October 20-21 2023

 The 8th Annual AIGA Inshore Classic Fast Approaching

The AIGA 8th Annual Inshore Classic is scheduled for October 20 (Captains Meeting) and October 21st - the fishing!  It will be hosted at Old Town Bait and Tackle at 1620 N. 14th Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida. 32034

All anglers will be required to enter the "Spot Tournament". There will be an Adult Division and a Youth Division. Anglers will have the option to enter an Aggregate Boat category which will consist of the Heaviest Redfish and Heaviest Seatrout, combined. 

The Captains meeting will be held at 7pm on Friday October 20th at Old Town Bait and Tackle. Registration formally begins at 6pm, but in the past, the AIGA has taken early Registrations while setting up. Entry forms can be found on the website ,CLICK HERE. or they can be picked up at Old Town Bait and Tackle, Amelia Bait and Tackle, or RennWorks Outdoors.  Early entries will be eligible for a prize drawing!

The American Legion Post 54 will be cooking hamburgers for sale, and will have sides of chips or potato salad available.  All of the proceeds will go to the American Legion to help support our local veterans! Come Hungry!

Bring your young anglers for a FREE photograph with Bull the Redfish!

Rennworks Outdoors has donated TWO very nice Rod/Reel Combos for a Special Raffle - tickets will be $10 each.

..or win 1/2 of a COW! Butchered and packaged - tickets will be $10
each.

More GREAT Raffle and Silent Auction Items..Rod/Reels, Reels, Beautiful Seatrout Mount, Handcrafted leather journal...and more!

Visit the AIGA Inshore Classic October 20-21 at Old Town Bait and Tackle, 1620 N. 14th Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida