Making Due With Bait Shortage

 There was as slight hiccup in the bait supply the last couple of days and luckily I got a text from AIBT
last evening about there being no bait to buy this morning, so I made plans to get up a bit earlier than usual, loaded my gear and some old frozen shrimp and headed to the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After launching the boat I set out a minnow trap then trolled the bank looking for finger mullet. The tide was fairly high and I guess the mullet had not come out of the creeks, but when I checked the minnow trap I had a couple of dozen so I stored them, re-set the trap and kept at it until I had 4-5 dozen. I then ran up to Goffinsville Park and met William and Dara Blalock for a morning of back water fishing - bait problem solved!

We crossed over and fished the corner at Middle River, had a few bites, but no takers, then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point and fished those stretches of grass with float rigs and the minnows. William put a small Catfish in the boat, then a feisty Redfish. We came back and fished the entrance to Jackstaff and picked up another couple of smaller Reds when we switched to jigs. Dara had a hangup on a oyster shell but when it came off she felt a tell-tell "bump" and when she set the hook, fish on!  She worked it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Flounder. 

After running back thru Horsehead and down to Spanish Drop we fished a drainage and picked up another smaller Flounder or two. Further down the river we fished some shell beds, added another small Red, then Dara had another one of those bumps, just off a finger of grass that had fallen in. She was fighting it expertly - we saw a nice Flounder flash and....fish off!  Ouch!

Our final stop was over at some docks at Nassauville where the duo added one more small Flounder to their catch and a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper (all fish caught today were released). We had made due with the bait we had and had caught a handful of fish so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Shaking It Up

 We shook things up today and did something different - after meeting John Raker out at Goffinsville Park we headed east, out to Nassau Sound and found some structure to fish with jigs and mud minnows. I think it was John's 3rd cast when he hooked up and battled a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum to the net. The tide was still going out and we had good action until it hit bottom, catching a couple of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size, and a good handful of Redfish 3 or 4 that were just a tad less than 18". John did have a big one on...it was ripping drag, he played it perfectly and had it almost within net reach and BAP! Fish Off! Ouch. 

I was thinking we'd really get some fish when that tide turned and started back in but all we got was pinfish and grunts! We ran over to the docks at Longpoint and fished a few of them for a bit and picked up one keeper sized Whiting then we moved on. 

Running back up the Nassau we made a stop at Spanish Drop and fished the shell bank. John had another good fish on that just threw the hook but he hung with it and worked that bank and after getting a good thump, set the hook and landed a nice 17" Flounder. But boy was it getting hot! We fished a large drainage where all kinds of bait was getting "popped", but had no bites. So we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Philosopher Fishes

 Another beautiful, if not hot, day of fishing today!  Boy it got hot!  I had met Beau Hopkins and his three kids Blakely, Chandler, and Brantley early up at Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and with a live well of mud minnows and the last 2 dozen live shrimp the shop had, we eased out of Eagans Creek. Our first stop was over in Lanceford Creek, fishing some dock pilings and Blakley started things off when she hooked up and landed the most exotic fish of the day, a Mudfish!

Shortly after that Chandler had a strong hookup - she battled it to the boat and landed a nice 18" Black "puppy" Drum, boy what a fish. Beau was at the stern and fishing the epxosed oysters over on the bank and when he had a good "bump", he set the hook and brought to the net an 18" Flounder. This fishing family had  start to a good mess of fish!

We had bounced a jigs and minnow off the dock  and when it hit the water BAM! Fish On! Brantely and his dad played it patiently and after a good fight brought to the boat an above average 19" Seatrout. The Hopkins team finished it off at this spot with one more keeper sized Flounder catch.

We then ran around to the Jolley River and fished the "bank", had some nibbles, but no takers, so we moved on. It was about this time that the temperature was getting up there when Brantley's philosophical side came out. Some of the better insights were:

"Stupid things happen when you're having fun"

"We have the advantage, we've got a hook and a net"

"Sometimes fishing can be fun. Sometimes it's not fun"

We ran up and fished Snook Creek and here Beau got hot tossing a jig and getting some hungry Seatrout. We drifted some floats back at Tyger cut thru, then ended the day on the outside of Tyger, tossing the jigs. All anglers were getting bites and Beau did pull one small Flounder to boatside for quick release. We had caught some fish, had a few in the box, philosophized a bit, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Mangroves Make The Day

 We probably had the prettiest day today that we've had in the last two weeks! I had met Bart Mathews down at Sawpit Creek on a tide that was low and just starting in - we had clear skies and just a very little breeze as we headed up the intercoastal. We made our way up to the mouth of Jackstaff and turned into the current and began pitching jigs and live shrimp. We got all excited when Bart had a good "hookup", thinking it might be a Flounder by the way it was fighting, but as it got closer we saw it was a determined Blue Crab, which we netted and released. After bringing in a small Catfish Bart again got some excitement going with a bigger fish which he played expertly to the boat, only to find it was a bigger Catfsih!

We ran thru Horsehead and over to some docks at Seymore's and fished the pilings out of the stern. Here Bart hooked and landed a handful of Mangrove Snapper, a couple of which were of keeper size, and he also battled a feisty Black "puppy" Drum to the boat.

Our next stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the first of an incoming tide. He caught and landed another keeper Mangrove, then we moved down the way, worked it thoroughly , then moved on. Back at Pumpkin Hill we drifted float rigs long and did pick up one small but feisty Redfish, then we continued back down the river to some rocks at Nassauville where Bart finished his limit on Mangroves. We started culling smaller ones and ended up with a nice catch of the Mangroves, good enough for "Fish Tacos"!

Our final stop was over at Twin Creeks, drifting floats and after landing another Ladyfish, Bart finished the day off with a feisty Flounder catch. We had had some pretty good action, had caught a variety of fish (and crab), so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Grandad and his Grandson

 It always makes my heart warm when I see a grandparent taking their grandchildren fishing and today was just such a day. I still have vague memories of fishing in Lake Sante Fe with my Grandfather - we were Crappie fishing, on the bottom, out deep, with minnows. I don't remember if we caught anything, but I do remember the trip. I met Len Pelletier and his grandson Scott down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp in a light drizzle of rain but as we headed up the intercoastal and into the Nassau it slacked off and stopped. 

We pulled up at Spanish Drop and turned into the tide that had been coming in for about an hour. The oyster shell were still exposed so we started off with jigs and live shrimp, working the bank slowly as we eased into the current. Things started off positive with a couple of good bites, but they never took, so we moved on.

Our next stop was up at Seymore's Point, fishing some dock pilings. Scott was on the stern and he got hot catching fish!  He first landed a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum, then added two ore to his catch (all fish caught today were released). Len picked up a Seatrout out deeper then Scott was catching some nice, keeper sized Mangrove Snapper.. They also added a small Seabass, a Jack Crevalle and a Pinfish to the variety.

We bumped around and fished some rocks at Nassauville and again caught some very healthy Mangroves Then we had a stronger hookup - Scott was on the Rod - he played it perfectly and after a good battle landed a Slot sized 12 Spot Redfish, probably enough to place in most Redfish Spot Tournaments.  We moved down the way, fished between a couple of docks to no avail, then made run down to Pumkin Hill and drifted floats. Not much was happening there.

Our final stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at the mouth of Jackstaff. The duo added a couple of Ladyfish catches and another Seatrout catch to their variety. The sun had come out, we had some action here and there, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Jacks Rule

 We did our third windy day in a row today when I met John Cipriani and his brother David out at
Goffinsville Park. The wind stayed in the 15-17mph range - I'm about over it! But the Cipriani brothers were up to the challenge so we first headed over to Pumpkin Hill and fished a stretch of flooding marsh grass on a tide that still another hour or so of coming it. Drifting float rigs the duo put a handful of hard fighting Jack Crevalle in the boat. 

After moving around the corner we caught another Jack or two but then John hooked up with something strong - he expertly battled it and brought it to the net, a feisty Black Tip Shark.  We worked that area pretty good and despite the wind John and David were getting pretty good casts to the marsh line.  After running back to Seymore's we fished a large drainage and dueled with what turned out to be smaller Mangrove Snapper. 

We then ran thru Horsehead and over to Pompano Point, fished it pretty good, added a small Catfish to the catch then came back over to Jackstaff and fished another drainage, this time to no avail. Back thru Horsehead we went and down to Twin Creeks where we switched to jigs and shrimp and this did the trick. I think David's first cast produced a bite, he hooked it up, and landed a hungry Seatrout. We fished there, further east at a drainage, and then finished up down at Spanish Drop and added a couple of more Trout to the catch total, and another Jack. Then wind had been a challenge, but we made the most of it so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Down To The Wire

 

We've got some wind kicking here at Amelia Island! When I spoke to Andew Perrin last evening I warned him that we'd be bucking the wind today if they wanted to give it a try. But he and his son Sam were willing to brave the wind so we met up at Old Town Bait and Tackle and after easing out of Eagans Creek we already had 15mph winds. We made our way over to Lanceford and to Soap Creek and fished a drainage with the winds at our back, tossing float rigs with live shrimp on a high tide that had reached it's peak. I don't think we had a nibble. 

We moved around the corner, fished a grassy island, then came back and fished between a couple of docks with the floats. We may have had a bobber go under a couple of times - it was hard to tell with the chop! After running thru that chop, back towards Fernandina, we turned down the intercoastal and made our way down the river to fish some structure with jigs down on the bottom. Here we did get some bites here and if we were keeping score, the fish won!  Sam did manage to put two nice keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat.

After fishing back around Piney Island with only a few nibbles to show for it, we made our way back to Fernandina and found a somewhat sheltered spot out of the wind and went back to the float rigs with just short time to fish. Sam had made an excellent cast up near some rocks when his float disappeared - he tightened up and let the circle hook set and Fish On!  Sam played it expertly, battled it when it ran, and in a short while landed a nice 20" Slot Redfish. And only minutes later it was Andrew's turn to battle the big fish. His was ripping drag and digging down river then it would turn and head for the structure. Andrew would work it out, it'd go deep, then head back for the structure. Andrew stayed patient, worked it out and eventually landed an Oversized 27.5" Redfish, boy what a fish!  We photographed and tagged and released this fish, see Grey Fish Tag Research  and enter GFR62498 to follow.

To top things off, we were treated with a sighting of Manatees that came up in front of the boat!  With that, we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Limited By The Wind

 

I know it's difficult to tell conditions when were at our homes - we see the flags flapping and the trees swaying and think, "this is such a nice day"  but when you get out on the river with 17-18 mile/hr it can make for some difficult fishing, even in the back water. I was hoping we'd have an early window of lower winds this morning when I met Charlie Dickens, his brother-in-law Nick Pucci and Nick's son Chris down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up the intercoastal and all the way around to Pompano Point and set up tossing float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that had just started out. Although we did have a good bite on the first cast, the wind blowing in our face was pushing our baits off the grass and we were getting zero drifts. After trying on the other side of a point with no luck, we moved on. 

Our next stop, after running thru Horsehead, was over at a large drainage at Seymore's Point and here we had some action with what turned out to be Mangrove Snapper. All three anglers had their patience tried, but it was Chris who hooked up and landed a nice keeper sized Mangrove. The trio added a few more smaller fish, and Nick landed a slippery Catfish. 

That wind was kicking as we made our way down the Nassau but when we got to Broward Island it was somewhat blocked. We fished it good with jigs - Chris put a Flounder in the boat that would have been legal a couple of years ago, then Charlie added another Mangrove to the box. 

Our final stop was down the Nassau, fishing Twin Creeks where we had a small Flounder caught, then further down at a drainage Chris had the strongest bite of the day!  He played it like a pro as it took him from bow to stern and with the drag ripping, he kept the pressure on and soon landed a nice 20" Slot sized Redfish. Now that's perseverance! We headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Slam at First Spot

 

I was back to work today, fishing with Chris Sneed and his buddy Chuck, meeting them up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We eased out of Eagans and then ran up to the outside of Tyger and set up a drainage to pitch jigs and minnows on a tide that had been going out for just and hour. It didn't take long before we got bites then Chris put a Flounder in the boat, then a Seatrout, then a Redfish to get a Slam started right out of the gate. He added another Flounder there before we moved on. 

Around the corner along Jolley "bank" we tossed float rigs with mud minnows and live shrimp and here Chuck got on the board with a feisty Redfish catch.  After fishing that stretch and catching a Bonnethead and Bluefish,  we moved up to Slip Creek, fished it a bit with floats, then eased on up to Snook Creek and fished it. We caught a couple of small Redfish then moved on. 

Around at Bell River we fished a deep area for a bit with the jigs, then moved in closer and fished the
some dock pilings Chris found a hot spot that produced three Flounder, one after the other. After moving down a dock he added another Flounder, this one a ice 18" keeper. The wind had picked up so we made a long run back to Fernandina and got in behind Rayonier warehouse which stopped the wind, but we had no luck. But as we eased around it Chris had a strong hookup and put a fat keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat. We worked that bank, got another Flounder, then moved up to some rocks at Cooks where Chris caught a feisty keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum. After Chris put one more Flounder in the boat (I think we had caught 7-8 during teh trip) we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Flounda Pound'n

Kinda of a weird fishing day today!  I met Bob Blalock out at Goffinsville Park early and I skipped across the river to the mouth of Back River and we fished float rigs on a tide that had been going out a few hours - the oysters were showing. Bob commented that this was the spot where we really "tore them  up" a year ago, but not today. We worked the bank pretty good, fished around some small oyster beds, but had not a bite.

I stopped back at a sandbar and we tried to get drifts with the float and here we were seeing good amounts of bait being popped, but we had no takers on our mud minnows. We then ran down the Nassau to Twin Creeks and with the "skunk" beginning to waft over the boat, we fished the two drainages with jjgs. Still not getting bites we began to work along the bank, tossing to the exposed shell beds but also "trolling" a minnow on a jig off the stern. And that did the trick! We hooked up and landed a nice 19.5" Flounder. Using the same method of tossing the jig up to the bank but letting it troll behind the boat produced two more keeper sized Flounder in just a few minutes. One of those came unhooked right at the boat but a quick scoop before it knew it was loose brought it in!

We fished a drainage further down and caught a couple of Catfish, then moved down to Spanish Drop and worked that bank. Bob had made an excellent cast up into a pocket, at a small drainage  and BAM! He hooked up the old fashioned way!  Bob patiently worked it to the boat and landed another 19" Flounder. 

The wind was picking up but the tide was right at the bottom so we made our way down to Broward Islanda and fished the logs. Unfortunately that wind was rocking us a bit but Bob did manage to find a  feisty  Black "puppy" Drum to land. After fishing Pumpkin Hill for a bit we headed back to the ramp with a nice mess of Flounder and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.