Cold Morning, Red Hot Fishing

Talk about a nip in the air!  It was downright cool this morning, with the temperature hovering right around 40 degrees when I met Bruce and Sharla Newkirk and their adult son Tyson down at the City marina. We eased out of the marina and made a run up Lanceford Creek with plans to fish some docks as the tide started back in. There wasn't a cloud in the sky when we started fishing, the tide was low and coming in, and the conditions were perfect for some Amelia Island Back Country fishing. However, the fish didn't get the message! The three anglers were making excellent casts and
they did pick up a few fish, two of them being keeper sized Seatrout, but it wasn't the action I was hoping for. We made a run over to Bell River and found some structure to fish and this did the trick. They started hooking up with Redfish and they got bigger and bigger the more they caught them! Just when I thought things would slow down, BOOM! Another big fish on! Then the Black "puppy" Drum started biting and they caught them for awhile. Then Bruce, who was quietly experimenting out deep, started catching Seatrout with a couple of them coming in at around 19". Sharla was
holding  up her end of the boat, catching Slot Reds and she added a 19" Drum to the catch. Bruce put a keeper sized Flounder in the  boat which gave them a "Grande Slam" of Redfish, Black Drum, Seatrout and Flounder. We caught fish for about two and half hours in that one spot but eventually the bite slowed to nothing as the tide and sun got up, so with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

First Cold Day But We Caught Fish

Kinda cool this morning..cool enough that I went back to the truck for another layer! I met Will Wingate and his son Gabe down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning and we made a short run up the Nassau River and began fishing some exposed oysters with jigs and live shrimp on the first of an incoming tide. Both anglers were  making excellent casts and after a short distance they had a hookup. Young Gabe reeled it in expertly and landed a nice feisty Redfish. But a wind had already picked up and made things difficult so we ran further up the river to fish some docks as
Seymore's Pointe. This helped somewhat - they caught another Red or two and Gabe added a hungry Seatrout to the mix. We then ran down to Broward Island and the timing was perfect - the tide was just changing to come back in - and we had a lull in the west wind - and the fish bite got hot! The duo caught Redfish, Redfish, Redfish then after we thought were some "baitstealer" bites, they hooked up and landed two keeper sized Sheepshead, rounding out their Amelia Island Back Country Slam of Redfish, Seatrout, and Sheepshead. They had a "double" catch at least once...then as quickly as the bite started it stopped! We ran back to Goffinsville and fished some docks, found one Trout then finished up fishing some float rigs over in the Horsehead area. And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Banner Morning For Reds and Blacks

Although we need some rain, you just can't beat these beautiful mornings we're having! I met Drew Sirianni, his dad Andy, and his son Vincent, up at the newly opened Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp and we made a the run over to Lanceford Creek to fish some structure as the tide started back in. It only took about 5 minutes before the trio began getting bites with Andy "knocking the skunk off" when he landed a feisty Redfish. They were having to re-bait( we were using day-old shrimp) almost every cast due to the
"baitstealers" but it paid off because they worked thru them and got big fish. In between smaller Reds they'd pick up a keeper sized Slot Red and just when we thought that bite was done they got into some nice Black "puppy" Drum, many of them of keeper size, up to 20". So was a banner morning for catching, Reds, and Blacks, and then Vincent put a really nice Sheepshead in the boat. Finally, the catching slowed so we headed over to the Jolley River and fished the "bank". These anglers already had a "Slam" of Redfish, Black Drum and Sheepshead, and they made it a "Grande" Slam when
they picked up a couple of Seatrout. Vincent topped it off with a well played catch of Bonnethead Shark. After hitting another spot further up the Jolley, we ran to the outside of Tiger Island, fished some flooded oysters with floats, had  not luck, then wrapped the day up closer to the boat ramp, with a two-Blue(fish) catch. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

LIght Tackle Shark

We had a outstandingly beautiful morning today- clear skies, sunshine, a slight breeze and low 50's temperatures. I met Ken Price, his wife Becky and their adult kids Ashley and Taylor up at the Eagans Creek boat ramp located at Leaders and Sinkers and we eased out of the creek to then make a run up to the Jolley River to fish the "bank" on an incoming tide with float rigs and live shrimp. We worked the bank thoroughly and it was Ashley who "knocked the skunk off" when she landed a nice hungry Seatrout. We ran
further up the river, fished another marsh line, had a few nibbles, but no takers, then ran back to the outside of Tiger Island. Again, we fished a nice marsh runout with no luck then hit another spot and finally, things heated up. The three anglers began to catch a Trout here and there...Taylor put a couple in the boat, Ken caught a couple, and Ashley caught a couple. At one time they all three had a Trout on the line. Ken fished the deep side of a point and had a nice hookup. This was a bigger fish and after working it in patiently, we netted a nice 20" Seatrout. We bounced across a creek and while Ashley and Taylor worked the floats, Ken tossed a jig out to deeper water. We were about to leave when Kens rod bent double, the drag began to rip, and FISH ON! This was a big fish! He kept the rod up and pressure on as the fish ran to deeper water. We got all the lines in then began to chase the fish. My rods are 6'6" long with size 1000 Shimano Stradic reels with 10lb braid and it was all Ken could do to keep the big fish hooked up. But he played him perfectly and after a protracted battle, landed a 4' long 25lb Bonnethead Shark. Now that was a fish fight! We ran around to the Bell River where Ashley picked up one more Trout before we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Slow But Steady Makes a Good Mess of Fish

Wow what a beautiful day it was today! Cool, sunny, and just a slight breeze. Due to the "Super Moon" and high tides, we put off fishing until 11am this morning when I met Betsy Nagle and her fellow anglers Jo and Sally down at the Eagans Creek boat ramp. We made a short run around to the outside of Tiger Island and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp under float rigs. Although we had few bites, Sally was able to "knock the skunk off" when she landed a hungry Seatrout. We ran further up the shoreline, fished a beautiful run out, but it was really ripping with the outflow of water
and we had no real bites. We eased around and into the Jolley River and began to work the "bank" and it wasn't long before Jo had a good hookup and, FISH ON! This was a  nice fish and she worked it in patiently. After a good battle, Jo landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. But after that, no real bites! We ran further up the Jolley, fished both sides of Snook Creek, and here it was Sally that had the big hookup. This was a REALLY big fish! I guessed shark a couple of times, switched my guess to big Red, then back to Shark. Sally kept the pressure on, worked the big fish slowly to the boat, and
landed a 4'+ long Bonnethead Shark. We ran around to the MOA, and almost immediately Betsy had a good bite. Another Big fish on! She played it perfectly and landed a 20" Slot Redfish, then followed that up with a hungry Seatrout. We made a stop at some docks in Bell River, picked up a Trout (and a squid!, then made the run back to the boat ramp, making one more stop at the mouth of Bell River. In quick succession, the trio landed a hungry Trout, a keeper sized Weakfish and Whiting, and then Betsy wrapped it up with a 18" Trout. Now that's the way to finish a great day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida!

Double Slot Reds

Although it was a raw looking morning today, my guests were game to get out on the water and get some fishing in. I met Anthony and Cindy Alejondro, her dad Ron and their son Amadeus down at the City marina and we ran up Lanceford Creek to fish some flooded marsh grass on the first of an outgoing tide, tossing live shrimp under float rigs. Although the bite started slow, things picked up when the anglers began to get their rigs out beyond the grass. Grandpa Ron "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a
hungry Seatrout, then Cindy followed that up with a keeper sized one. Anthony had one almost to the boat, but it shook the hook. Ron and Cindy had the father-daughter duo going when they put a couple of more trout in the boat, each. The bite shut off like someone flipping a switch so we eased back, fished some docks with jigs, tangled with bait stealers, then ran around to fish the outside of Tiger Island.  Young Amadeus had made an excellent cast up to a shallow area but it appeared he was hung  up in the oysters. He pulled it off and BOOM! FISH ON! We could tell this was a bigger fish because his drag was ripping. Amadeus kept the pressure on and worked the fish into the boat, a nice 20" Slot Redfish! We fished the area for a while, picking up a couple of Trout, then ran on up to the Jolley River. Amadeus found his second Slot Redfish and his Grandpa Ron landed a Red, too. They added a keeper sized Seatrout along the way. We finished the trip fishing a couple of more spots up in Jolley. The sun came out and warmed things up as we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Weakfish? Sand Trout? White Trout? Yellow Mouth Trout?

Nassau County is home to a special management area for Weakfish. I've found that identifying them is difficult. Now I know why! I found this on line...

There is a difference between the weakfish and the "yellow mouth" trout but that difference may not be determined visually.

Researchers at FWC's Fish and Wildlife Reasearch Institute (formerly Florida Marine Research Institute - FMRI) have recently confirmed the presence of the sand seatrout on Florida's East coast from the St Mary's River through the Jacksonville area down to the Indian River Lagoon. Before this discovery it was thought that the sand seatrout was found only on Florida's west coast. The summary bullet points of an in-house report on a genetic study of the distribution of the weakfish and sand seatrout in Florida are listed below.

1. The geographic and reproductive ranges of weakfish and sand seatrout overlap along the Atlantic coast of north and central Florida.

2. Sand seatrout may be the predominant inshore species of the weakfish / sand seatrout duo in Florida Atlantic estuaries northward to the mouth of the St Johns River.

3. Individuals exhibiting the genetic characteristics of hybrids were identified.

4. Visual identification of these two trout species in the Florida Atlantic, even by experienced biologists, may be tenuous.

I learned from personal communication with the chief scientist on this project that the weakfish of the St Johns River may lose their typical striated color pattern, becoming plain silver colored like the sand seatrout. The hybrid species is also unmarked. Genetics is the only sure way to identify these fish accurately. This poses real potential enforcement problems with regards to bag limits. Please check with FWC Law Enforcement with regards to how they are handling enforcement of the weakfish regs.

Eric Sander
Recreational Fishing Surveys
Fisheries Dependent Monitoring
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
 
And, from the FWC website...

Weakfish Management Zone:

The Weakfish Management Zone includes state waters from the Florida-Georgia line to the southernmost tip of Amelia Island, the inland waters of Nassau County and the St. Marys River and its tributaries east of Highway 17, north of State Highway 200A and north of the Shave Bridge on the Amelia River.

 

Daily bag limit is (1) per person and it can be no smaller than 12" in total length. This Includes weakfish-like fish including weakfish, sand seatrout and hybrids of the two.

 

We caught two today! The tide was extremely high so we had to postpone our start time until

9:30am.  Once we got out fishing, the winds were blowing at 15mph so we had some difficult fishing. But my two anglers, father and son team John and Jack Griffin, stuck it out and picked up a handful of Speckled Seatrout and two of these Weakfish.

 

 

Drum Line

We had a drop in temperature this morning, down in the mid 40's, which made for a cool first run! I had met Randy Allen and his granddaughter Emily down at the City marina early today and we headed up to the Bell River to fish some docks with the tide having been going out for a couple of hours. Randy and Emily were tossing jigs and shrimp and getting a "bump" now and then but we also had a "slip" float out, drifting deep and that was the rig that picked up our first Trout, which Emily reeled in expertly. So both anglers began to toss up current and letting their bait bounce back slowly and they began to catch Trout. They had a good handful of 14 3/4" Trout and one of keeper size. We eased back to another dock, fished it briefly, then ran around to fish the mouth of Snook Creek
with float rigs. Although the wind wasn't blowing hard, it was just enough and right in our faces to make fishing the floats difficult. We switched back to jigs - the oysters were showing anyway - and first cast, BOOM, Randy had a Trout. But after that, we had just a few bites, but  no takers. We back tracked down Jolley and fished the MOA for the first time in months and this did the trick. Randy was on the bow fishing the exposed oysters and BOOM! Big fish on! He played it patiently, working it away from the oysters and when it got deep and back in the current he took his time and worked it in to the net slowly - a nice 20" Black not so puppy "puppy" Drum. After pictures, he went back to the same spot and over and over hooked up with Black Drum, finding a handful of small ones and four more 20"er's. Emily was catching fish too! She was back at the stern and was fishing the back of the oysters and she was catching Redfish and Black Drum (getting an Amelia Island Back Country Slam). She had no problems working the fish in, lifting up and reeling down, and caught many fish like a pro. When the bite finally slowed, we ran around and fished the back side of Tiger Island. The tide was right at the bottom and we were only getting nibbles when Randy had a weird bite. The fish didn't fight too hard initially, then when it wanted to stay deep, Randy applied some pressure then had a fight on his hands! He kept the pressure on and after a good battle landed a 22 1/2" Seatrout to which put him squarely in the lead of the Anglers Mark 2016 Bragging Rights Tournament - Seatrout Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings). We fished another pocket or two, then headed in, counting it as another great day for fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Massive Fish Lost

We had another beautiful morning today when I met Wayne and Julie Iurillo down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. It was a tad bit cool - light jacket weather - which made for a great day of fishing here in north Florida. We ran up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and then further up a side creek to set up outside a marsh run out with plans to toss float rigs and live shrimp. Both anglers jumped right in and were making excellent casts and getting great drifts, but we had no real bites. We bounced across the creek and switched to jigs and here Wayne "knocked the skunk off" when he
boated a hungry Seatrout. And shortly after that he had a stronger hookup and when the drag ripped we knew this was a bigger fish. Wayne played the fish expertly and after a good battle, landed a nice Slot sized 20" Redfish. We continued to work the bank then ran around to fish the Nassau River, hitting outcrops of oysters and marsh grass. Each stop we'd pick up a Trout or two and at the last one we hooked up with a nice feisty Redfish, which Julie worked to the boat. Our next stop was down at Broward Island and again, a Trout or two and a bunch of nibbles. We hit some docks on the way back to the boat ramp and hadn't had a bite until Julie said she had a fish. It wasn't really pulling - I even guessed a Flounder - but as she reeled it up it got heavier and heavier then when it came to the surface we saw that it was a huge Seatrout! And when it realized it was hooked it made a huge commotion and BOOM! It was off!  I made a dash at it with the net but missed and all we could do was guess on how big it actually was. Massive was my guess. We hit a couple of more oyster beds on the way back where Wayne landed a Trout or two, and Julie put a Redfish, Trout and Flounder in the boat, to round out her Amelia Island Back Country Slam. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Left The Trout Biting

From aggravating winds the last two days to almost none today.  I met Dr. Paul Wozny and is cousin Andy out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early and we were spraying insect repellant right off to chase off the sand gnats! We headed over to and through Horsehead to fish the other side of Jackstaff with the tide still having a couple of hours of outgoing. Both anglers were tossing jigs and live shrimp in the calm waters and although we had perfect conditions, we were only able to pick up one hungry Seatrout that Andy caught. We
fished that area for a good while then ran back through the marsh to Nassau River and found some exposed oyster beds. Here, they both picked up a couple of small Trout then we bumped up the river a ways and fished a marsh run out. Again, a couple of Trout and one of them of keeper size. We moved on up to Twin Creeks and here things heated up a bit. Both anglers began catching feisty Redfish - 3 or 4 apiece, then Paul had a stronger hookup. He played the fish patiently and soon landed a nice keeper sized 20" Slot Redfish. After the bite slowed, we ran up west of Bubblgum Reef, fished the oysters, but had not bites, so we ran down to Broward Island to fish the very last of an outgoing tide there. We immediately began to catch fish. The Trout were biting out deep and most all were of keeper size. We also picked up a couple of more Reds. We got down to the last of the live shrimp and it was time to go so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.