Big Flounder Tease These Anglers

 It was a bit chilly today! So much so that I ditched the fleece and went with the insulated North Face, and I'm glad I did! I met Bryan Roach and his fishing crew William and Shane up at Old Town Bait and Tackle and after easing out of Eagans Creek we made a run down the intracoastal to fish some structure on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. We went with jigs and minnows and shrimp tossed up close to some rocks. The bite wasn't "on fire" but we did get a big fish - Shane had gone up to the edge with an excellent cast, felt the "thump", set the hook, and patiently brought to the net a big 18" Flounder - out of season but still a nice fish to "knock the skunk off"! Almost at the same time Bryan was battling to the boat a nice feisty Redfish. We fished that area for a while, then ran back to Piney Island and fished some dock pilings, but had just nibbles. 

Back at Soap Creek we stuck with the jigs - the oysters were really showing. Brian kicked it off with a Redfish catch, then the trio caught and landed a handful those smaller Redfish, a Seatrout, and another Flounder. We then made the long run back down Lanceford and up the Bell to fish some dock. Shane piut a nice keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. Around the corner and into the Jolley, at JC's Spot we set up and fished some oyster shells with a couple of gaps draining the marsh. Even though the wind was kicking up we still caught a good handful of fish - Redfish, Trout and again, Flounder. One of those Reds William hauled in was of Slot size and then he wrapped it up with another 18" Flounder catch - that was two big ones that had to go back!  I think we had 4-5 Flounder for the day. We headed back to the ramp - it was cool but sunny, we had a couple of fish in the box, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Building A Bag

 The weather cleared up for today, although it was a bit "crisp" when I met William and Dara Blalock and their friend Brian out at Goffinsville Park this morning. We had a tide that still had a few hours of going out so we made our first stop just down the river at some docks to fish a small creek with jigs and live shrimp and minnows.  There wasn't much action there but William did haul in a Flounder to "knock the skunk off". We then motored over to Back River and fished a stretch of shell beds and picked up a couple of small Trout there.

Back down the Nassau we came, down to the Spanish Drop area to fish a large drainage and here things picked up a bit. Dara was on the stern fishing the back side of the drain (like the guy yesterday) and she put two keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. The trio added another couple of Flounder to the catch (released) and then William and Brian teamed up to get some Trout.  Our next stop was way up the Nassau fishing a small Creek where William and Brian both put a feisty Redfish each in the boat. 

We came back to Broward Island as the tide began to come to a standstill - Brian stayed hot, catching another couple of Reds, one of which was keepable. We worked down the island and pulled up to a stump where William went in with an excellent cast and BAM! Fish on, and this one pulling some drag. He worked it in patiently and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish. After the team put one more keeper Trout in the boat we headed back to the ramp with a bag of fish, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

 

Dreary Day But Good Fishing

 

There was no real rain forecasted for today but it misted the entire morning. The horizon stayed foggy and it was a bit cool which made for a dreary day to be out on the water. BUT, the fishing was great! I had met Ray Pinkston and his fishing buddies Jim and Tommy down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we then made a short run up the Nassau to make our first stop at Spanish Drop with just an hour left on the falling tide. The anglers began pitching  jigs and shrimp and minnows to the exposed shell bank but all they got for their efforts was the "tap, tap, tap" of bait stealers. With no fish caught a shadow of doubt began to creep in.

That was short lived though!  We moved up at a large drainage with Ray and Tommy pitching to the
middle of the drain while Jim worked the back edge and it was Jim who got hot quickly. He caught a couple of feisty Redfish then a good handful of hungry Seatrout, then finally, one that was of keeper size. Up at the bow the fish catching picked up. Ray got hot with the Seatrout and worked thru a good handful of smaller ones to get a good keeper. With Flounder season being closed, wouldn't you know the trio put a few Flounder in the boat, with a couple of them being over 14"!  We stayed there for while and caught some fish!

Our next stop was up at some docks at Seymore's where we got a few nibblers, a bait stealer, and moved on. Down at Broward on the first of the incoming kicked things off again. Tommy came alive! He caught a keeper sized Black "puppy" Drum, then a hard fighting 22" Slot Redfish. Jim followed that up with another keeper sized Black Drum and Ray added another 17" Seatrout. Again, legal sized Flounder were caught. After fishing on the south end with an eagle, we made one more stop back at Nassauville.

Tossing to a drainage and working it out paid off. Some more Trout were caught and then a nice sized Weakfish to top the box off. Also caught today were a couple of small Sea Bass, a Bluefish, a Catfish, and a Toadfish. Although the day was nasty with the weather, we had caught a bunch of fish, had a few in the box so as we headed back to Sawpit we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Wrapped Up The Week With Some Good Fishing

 I've got a short week with prepping for the AIGA Inshore Classic - Captain's Meeting tomorrow 6pm at Old Town Bait and Tackle. We had a bit of wind to deal with today but my anglers, Mike and Sharon Conlon were up for the challenge with support from their pup Foxxy!  We met up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp and eased out of Eagans Creek to make our first run over to Lanceford Creek where we set up alongside a grassy/shell island with plans to drift float rigs and live shrimp (and a few mud minnows) on a tide that had been going out a couple of hours. Both anglers were getting good drifts and it paid off - Mike had his float disappear - he caught up the slack, lifted his rod and let the circle hook set and Fish On!  Mike played it expertly and after a good battle brought to the net a nice 23" Slot sized Redfish. Dinner in the box! Not a bad way to knock the skunk off, right? We kept at it and just a few minutes Mike had another hookup and....another Slot Red. They had their limit in the first 15 minutes of fishing. 

We fished around the corner at David's house, had no luck, then made along run back down Lanceford, uip the Bell and to some docks where we switched to jigs and shrimp, and minnows. It wasn't on fire but the duo caught a handful of Seatrout, one of which was of keeper size. Sharon got in on the action and caught a couple of those Trout. 

On around the corner, and down the Jolley River, we made another stop at a bend in the river with some exposed oyster shell and here we got busy catching fish!  They caught a handful of Redfish, three of which were in the Slot, a handful of Seatrout, two of which were of keeper size, and a nice keepable Weakfish. One of those Redfish Mike had hooked up and was bringing in and I realized that Sharon had a fish on too - we had a "double". I quickly netted Mike's Redfish, tossed it on the deck, then went to Sharon who we realized had a Big "Doormat" Flounder - It measured right at 20" - a great fish but unfortunately, out of season! After fishing the MOA for a bit on the last of an outgoing tide we made the run around Tyger and back to the dock, and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Islnad, Florida. 

Oversized, Undersized, and Out of Season

 

It's almost downhill when your first fish of the day is an oversized Redfish! I had met Scott Carter and his father-in-law Gary down at Sawpit Creek late this morning - we wanted to take advantage of some warmer weather and an outgoing tide. It was at the top of the tide when we arrived up at Pumpkin Hill and set out float rigs as the tide eased to a stop. I was hoping for Seatrout, and expecting them, but we had no real takers. We moved around a point and again drifted floats (slowly) and when Scott's float disappeared and his drag began to rip we knew it was a big fish. I'm about 50/50 on my guesses lately and I guessed this one wrong -"SHARK,  I called it". Boy was a I wrong. This fish went long and deep and back again, ripping drag. Eventually we saw it was a huge Redfish. Scott worked it in and landed the 32.5" Oversized Redfish and put himself in a three way tie for First Place in the Anglers Mark 2025 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings.)

We made our next stop over in Nassauville and switched to jigs and here Gary came on strong!  He
hooked and brought to the boat a Flounder, then probably one of the biggest Weakfish I've ever had on the boat, and then a small Sea Bass. Scott put a couple of Flounder in the boat, one which would have made "keeper" if it wasn't out of season, then he thought he was hung up on the bottom, but it moved! I saw his rod as he worked it in and it bounced every once in a while. Scott kept the pressure on and sure enough, when it came to the surface, we saw it was a Door Mat! The big Flounder made a couple of runs when it saw the boat, but luckily Scott kept that pressure on, and eventually landed a 25.5" Flounder, a fish that blows him right into the Bragging Rights lead for that category. Boy what fish. Note that Scott had the biggest Flounder last year, too!

We hit a couple of drainages down the Nassau, tossing the jigs, had some nibbles, caught an undersized Redfish and enjoyed the sunshine, then we headed back to the ramp and counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slick As Ice

 That's how the water was today, not a ripple. And a whole lot of sunshine after the sun got up. I had met
Steve Locke and his fishing buddy Tony out at Goffinsville Park and after making a quick run down the Nassau we set up at Twin Creeks to fish float rigs with live shrimp on a tide that still had a couple of hours of coming in to do. Nibbles. That's all we got! Crazy.  So we made a run back up the Nassau to Pumpkin Hill and that did the trick. The duo almost immediately began to get bites and it was Steve who "knocked the skunk off"  - he had a strong bite  and it was ripping a bit of drag - Steve played it patiently and soon brought to the net a nice 17" Black "puppy" Drum. Tony battled a nice Jack to the boat and we had a few other bites. We then moved  up to a point and fished down the other side and like yesterday, this was the ticket. They caught a good handful of Seatrout, most of them right at 14", but Tony did hookup and land a keeper sized Weakfish. Steve put a nice keeper sized Whiting in the box, and a keeper Seatrout, so we had a good "mess" going. 

We moved down the river and fished around a grassy island where Steve battled a big Bonnethead Shark to the boat, then Tony hooked up and when his drag started ripping we knew it was a nice fish. He played it perfectly and brought to the net a nice 21" 10-Spot Redfish. This fish probably would have earned money in this weekend's AIGA Inshore Classic (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO). They added another big 18" Seatrout to round out their "fish fry".

We fished back down the Nassau at Spanish Drop, hooked up with a couple of big fish, one turned out to be another Bonnethead, then we called it a day. The wind never did pick up and as we headed back to ther ramp on water slick as ice, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Big Fish Sandwich

 I was back to work today - it was a pretty day but just a bit windy. I met Dan Streitz and his sons Dan andDavid down at Sawpit Creek boat ramp. The wind was blowing around 10mph and expected to get up to about 12, so fishable, but challenging. And these guys were up to the challenge!  We made a run up the intracoastal, kept left and went up thru Back River, and then around to Pumpkin Hill where we set up alongside a bank that still had an hour or so of the tide to hit high. Drifting float rigs with live shrimp, the trio had a nibble or two, then first fish on, and it was a big one! Dan Sr. was on the rod and that drag was ripping, what a great way to start a trip! Dan played it perfectly, worked it in and wore it out and soon landed an Oversized 29.5" Redfish. That's the way to make a statement to knock the skunk off!

Young Dan followed that up with a big bite of his own. He fought the fish expertly and I was thinking "another big Redfish" but as he worked it to the net we saw that it was a big hard fighting Jack Crevalle. Moving around the corner we drifted those floats long and it paid off. David got on the board with a hungry Seatrout catch, then the other two got in on the action and landed a good handful of the Trout, one of which was of keeper size.

 

When the tide was changing back at Nassauville, we came back and fished a large outflow at Seymore's Pointe - had some nibbles, but no takers, so we continued on thru Horsehead and over to Poteat Point where we worked that bank thoroughly and picked up another Trout, and a ....Catfish, and a small Flounder. Our final stop was back over in Jackstaff, fishing a "cut" that has newly opened. this spot has paid off in the last couple of months - out of the 5 times we've fished it at least 4 of them have produced a decent fish, and today didn't disappoint!  We switched to jigs and the shrimp and in just a few casts we had a strong hookup Dan Sr was on the rod (again) and by the way it was pulling we knew it was big. I saw it come to the surface and saw it was a big Gator Trout. Dan kept that pressure on and worked it to the net and landed a big 22" Seatrout -big enough to put him in 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2025 Bragging Rights Tournament- Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).  And to top it off, Dan sandwiched that big fish with a keeper sized (but tossed back due to closed season) Flounder to round out his Amelia Island Back Country Slam. We had met the challenge of some wind, put some good fish in the boat, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

That John Guy Stayed Hot

 What a beautiful morning to wrap the week up with!  I met David Vice and his fishing buddies Robert and Lee out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp as the sun was coming up. The tide had been going out for about an hour as we eased away from the dock and made our way around the corner to Seymore's Pointe to fish a grassy point with float rigs and live shrimp.  All three anglers were getting good casts and good drifts but we didn't' see much action other than a big (for North East Florida) Blue Fish that Robert battled and landed. 

I've fished with these guys for a number of years now, but for some reason, some time during the trip I'll start calling Robert, "John". They'll let me go for an our calling him "John", then finally they'll joke about that "John" guy. I don't even realize I'm doing it until it's brought up. It's a slip of the brain.  Luckily, "John" (Robert) was catching fish today!  We ran thru Horsehead and pulled up in a creek off of Jackstaff and continued with the float rigs and here "John" (Robert) battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net for photo's and release, then he put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat. Our next stop was over at Poteat Point where we worked up and won the bank. Robert caught a keeper sized Whiting and another feisty Redfish, then David got on the board with a Redfish catch. Robert followed that up with a big battle. His drag was ripping and Robert ("John") kept the pressure on - he played it expertly and soon landed a nice 23" Slot Redfish.

Back thru Horsehead we went, and up the river to Back River Point where we drifted the floats again. The wind was picking up and making it a bit difficult, but we made do. David, fishing off the bow, tossed forward to a grassy island and as it drifted back, BAM! A strong hookup. David played it patiently and brought to the boat another Slot Redfish. The trio caught another Trout or two there before we moved on. 

We tried a stop back at Littlefield, switching to jigs and shrimp, but had no luck. That last stop at Back
River Point had not produced like we thought it should have so we decided to try it again, 45 minutes later. Lee, who had been gallantly manning the middle of the boat, was getting good casts and good drifts and it finally paid off -he hooked and landed a hungry Seatrout on one of the final drifts. We had had beautiful weather, seen some neat wildlife, had a few fish in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Bigger Trout Moving In

 

The wind we had yesterday was gone today, boy what a beautiful day to be out fishing!  I met Gene Burk and his fishing buddy Steve Stark down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early - the tide had been going out a couple of hours - and we made our way up the intracoastal, all the way up to Poteat Point where we set up with float rigs and live shrimp. It wasn't "on fire" but we did get a handful of fish - Gene put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat (released) and then he handily boated a Slot Redfish. Steve got on the board with a hard fighting Bluefish - a big one for here in the backwaters of north Florida.

We then ran thru the marsh of Horsehead and up the Nassau to a point at Back River and stuck with the floats. It started off slow but got fast and furious for a while!  Steve got into a groove tossing to the marsh grass and letting the current take his bait along the edge and BAM! Fish On!  He put a good handful of Redfish in the boat, two of them Slot sized and one of those that measured right at 23".  As we drifted back Gene got in on the action and boated a couple of Reds and hard fighting Jack Crevalle and a small Flounder.

Our next stop was back at Littlefield where we switched to jigs. Just when I thought we were going to get skunked Gene had a good "thump" - he set the hook expertly and worked in a keeper sized (but out of season) Flounder. He went back in and as he got out deep he had a strong take and Big Fish On!  Gene kept the pressure on and expertly played a big 22" Seatrout to the net, boy what a fish! Steve added another big 18" Trout to the catch and they caught one more keeper sized Trout. 

Our final stop, where I had expected to get all our action -fishing some drainages along the Nassau - did'nt pan out. But we had some great weather, some good fishing, and some fish in the box so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

30 Redfish? Did you say 30 Redfish?

  I was a little concerned when I checked the weather last night for todays fishing trip. It called for a bit of wind at 11mph, rising to 16mph as the day progressed. But when I killed the alarm and looked at it again over my yogurt and granola it had dropped down to 8mph, rising to 14mph.  I met Will Hacker and his step father Doug up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp as the sun came up and we eased out of Eagans Creek and made a run over to Lanceford Creek to fish a grassy spot on a tide that had been going out for a couple of hours. The two anglers were getting nibbles and more nibbles on their float rigs and live shrimp, but no takers. We moved on over to  seawall and pitched to it and here they "knocked the skunk off" with a feisty Redfish catch. 

We then dropped back to Soap Creek and fished an oyster island. Doug was casting up alongside the island while Will went in behind it and both tactics paid off. Doug put a good handful of  hungry Seatrout in the boat and Will picked up another Redfish or two. But once that tide got down to where the shell were really showing the Reds turned on - both anglers began to catch Redfish, one after the other. Most were undersized but Doug put a couple of Slot sized fish in the boat. We probably could have stayed there for another hour but we were blowing thru out bait!

After a long run back down Lanceford, then up the Bell, we set up between two docks and switched to
jigs and shrimp. Will got hot on the stern of the boat and caught a handful of Seatrout and another Red, and a 16" Flounder (season closed today for a month and a half!)  Then he had a stronger bite and battled to the boat a big 18" Seatrout.  We made our way further up the Bell, into the Jolly, and stopped at JC's spot and now that predicted wind was kicking! I went right to the "honey hole" and it paid off - the duo caught a handful of small Redfish, then Doug had a strong bite and this one was ripping drag, Big Fish On! As he fought it Will yelled, "fish ON!" and he too had a big fish hooked up. Doug patiently played his to the net and landed a nice 23" Slot Red - I netted it, dumped it on the deck, then ran up and netted Will's - a Big 22" Seatrout! This puts Will in 2nd Place in the Anglers Mark 2025 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings)   We fished and caught more RedsIand a Black Drum for a Grand Slam) until we ran out of bait, then moved to artificial Z-Man baits and caught one more Redfish. I asked the guys how many Reds they thought we caught today and it was a consensus - "30 Redfish!"  

That wind was over 14 as we headed back - there were some serious white caps and we got sprayed a few times as we made our way to the dock, but we had caught a bunch of fish, had a few in the box, so we counted it as another great day fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.