Flounder Man

It would probably sound better if it was pronounced with an Arnold Schwarzenegger
accent...:Flounda Mann"....Mike's new name after today's fishing trip! I had met Steve Frost and his brother-in-law Mike down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. There weren't too many clouds in the sky, we had just a slight breeze, it seemed like the temperature was somewhat cooler, and there was definitely less humidity in the air -a perfect day to do some backwater fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

However, after we had run up the intercoastal and dipped into Jackstaff and fished for about 45
minutes, we only had a couple of small, but fat Seatrout to show for our efforts. We ran thru Jackstaff and fished a point of grass that seemed to be the perfect ambush pointe, but again, no real bites.

After dropping down the Nassau and fishing some flooded shell beds on the outgoing tide, Mike finally had a subtle bite, hooked up, and landed a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder. Steve got busy catching  some small but fun-to-catch Redish then Mike landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. At least we were getting some action. We moved up a ways, switched to jigs, and caught another couple of the small Reds. Steve was pitching forward on the stern and had found that he was getting his bites deeper as the bottom dropped off and after an excellent cast to his edge, BOOM! Big fish on! He fought the fish from the bow and down the starboard to the stern, around the stern, and back to the bow, keeping the pressure on, and after a good battle, landed a nice 21" Slot Redfish.

We fished the rocks at Seymore's and here Mike put another keeper Flounder in the boat, along with a small Redfish. We wrapped up fishing some docks, tossing jigs, and when Mike felt a strange bump, he reeled tight, set the hook, and landed his biggest Flounder of the day, a nice 18" fish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

The Big Three

The Blalock's, William and Dara, are heading home, but not after squeezing in one more fishing trip in the backwaters of Amelia Island. I met them early this morning out at Goffinsville and we quickly made the run over to Pumkin Hill to fish an outgoing tide along some shell banks with float rigs an live shrimp. Both Dara and William were making excellent casts, the water was beautiful, the sun was coming up, there was a nice breeze, but the fish didn't cooperate, at all! We had no real bites.

Being in the area, we decided to bounce down to Broward Island. The current was ripping, which I don't much care for at that spot, but William took the bow and pitched a jig and shrimp to a large marsh run out while Dara fished a large stump with the jig. William "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a hungry Seatrout. Dara was just getting a nibbler or two so she switched to a float rig and cast to some calm water next to the bank and that was all it took. She began to catch one Redfish after the other. While she was doing that William picked up a Sheepshead, and maybe another Trout, then as he let his jig bounce along
the bottom with the current, BOOM! Big Fish On!  Except Dara and I didn't think it was of much size, but when William said it was a nice fish, we made room for him. He fought the fish to the stern, kept the pressure on, and soon landed an oversized 28" Redfish!  After photo's, he went lowered him over the side and he was gone with a thrash.

Our next stop was back down the Nassau River, fishing some marsh runouts, and boy how things changed from yesterday. Although Dara landed a feisty Red or two, it was nothing like yesterdays dozens.  We moved up and fished some more shell beds off of Seymore's Pointe, then fished some docks at Seymore's where Dara caught some Croaker -on of which had some size to it - then we dropped back and fished an abandoned dock. Both anglers were working their jigs along the pilings when William had a strong hookup and BAP, fish gone! Ouch! We worked around to the other side, and just as we were about to move on, William was reeling his bait up
when a big fish hit and went deep. This fish was fighting hard and making hard lunges deep. But William was up to the task and after a good battle landed a big 19" Triple Tail! Whoo Whoo, we don't see those too often!

The sun was up and it was getting late in the morning but we decided to fish a few more docks and it paid off. Dara had just made a perfect cast along some free-standing pilings and had no takers but when William followed her in he had a hard THUMP, and a big Flounder came thrashing to the surface - it was BIG! William fought it to the boat and landed a 22" Doormatt Flounder - the biggest caught on the Anglers Mark this year and it places William squarely in the lead in the 2018 Bragging Rights Tournament -Flounder Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

And with that, we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

High School Reunion Fishing

I fished today with William Blalock and his old friends Bryan and Jeff, meeting them out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp. The tide still had a few hours of going out so we ran over to fish some dock pilings at Seymore's Pointe. It took just a few casts before all three anglers were hooking up. After getting a handful of Black "puppy" Drum, a handful of small but feisty Redfish, William finally had a bite that ripped some drag. It's crazy how a Redfish puts up such a fight when they get in the Slot size. William worked it to the net and landed a 20" Slot fish.

The tide was still going out so we ran down the Nassau River and set up alongside some exposed oysters and the fish catching really got hot. The trio were catching the feisty Reds, some hard fighting Jacks, and more feisty Reds. We moved up to a large marsh runout and again, catching on fire!  As we worked the bank I saw a large Flounder bust some bait and come out of the water. The shot was open and William took it and BOOM! Flounder On!  He played it patiently and landed a nice 18" keeper sized Flounder.

We moved back up to Seymore's, switched to float rigs, and with only minnows left in the bait well, began to work some structure. Jeff had found himself "boxed out" but he hit the perimeter his range, drifted up into a pocket, and hooked up with another nice fish. He worked it expertly to the boat and landed another nice 18" keeper sized Flounder. Things were slowing down, it was getting hot, but as we worked along the bank William's float disappeared and he had a hookup!  He fought it to the boat and landed another Slot Redfish.

It had been overcast all day, we'd gotten sprinkled on a couple of times, but the sun had come out and it turned out to be another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Hot Spots Early

I had the pleasure of fishing with Joe Gasper, Adam Blanning and his girls Eliza and Meagan, again this year. It's really neat to see the kids grow up into young adults, and to continue to want to get out on the water and fish!  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up the Nassau River with a tide that still had a couple of hours to go out. We set up along an exposed oyster bed and began to toss jigs and dead shrimp and minnows (no live shrimp today!) and it didn't take long before these anglers were putting fish in the boat. Eliza started it off with a nice Seatrout, Adam followed it up with a feisty Redfish and Meagan added a Red, too. They ended up catching a nice handful of the Redfish and a couple of Trout.

We continued on up the river and found some dock pilings, really exposed, and began pitching to them. Everyone caught fish! Joe started it off with a nice Black "puppy" Drum catch then Eliza had a strong hookup and, Fish On! She played it patiently and even though it made some strong runs to the pilings, she kept the pressure on and landed a nice Slot sized Redfish! Adam didn't have access to the pilings so he was casting deep and picked up a Trout then both Meagan and Eliza caught the Puppy Drum. Joe finished things up when he landed the biggest Trout of the day.

We later fished Broward Island on the first of an incoming tide but the wind had picked up and it made it difficult to fish. After making one more stop back at Twin Creeks and feeding some crabs, we called it  day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Good Backwater Fishing Continues

I fished with the Blalock's today, William and Dara, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early this morning. We made a quick run over to Tiger but the tide was so low as we crept in we edged up on a sandbar, so we backed off and continued on around to the Jolley River. The tide was changing as we arrived and the bite was very  active. Both Dara and William hooked up with numerous small "feisty" Redfish then finally William had a good bump, set the hook, and Fish On!  He played it patiently and soon landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. We worked up the oyster lined bank and the two
anglers stayed steady catching fish. When Dara felt a strange thump, she gave it a second then set the hook on what turned out to be a keeper sized Flounder. She also added an "almost legal" Trout to her catch, too.

After an hour of fishing and the tide coming in we ran back to Tiger Island and fished the logs. Here it was Dara's turn to hookup and land a Slot Redfish. Both William and Dara put a handful of undersized Black "puppy" Drum in the boat, along with there distant cousins, the Croaker. Before we left we had one more strange bump. Dara worked it to the boat and landed another keeper Trout.

We went back to the Jolley, fished float rigs, and picked up another few fish along the now flooding oysters. Our next stop was around at Bell River, fishing the incoming tide with the floats and live shrimp up by the marsh grass. William picked up a couple of hungry Trout then Dara picked a spot, made a pin point cast, and boom! Seatrout in the box!

Our last stop was around on the outside of Tiger where William fought a large Bonnethead to the boat and Dara battled a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. The sun was up, the breeze was down, so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida

Two Slams and a Tarpon Fight

I was back to work today, fishing with the Yeager boys - dad Keith and his two sons Reece and Renner - meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early this morning and heading over to Tiger Island to fish the first of an incoming tide. All three anglers began pitching jigs and live shrimp to the bank and although the first area didn't pay off, the second one did! Reece had made an excellent cast to a stump and BOOM! Fish On!  Reece played it perfectly and soon landed a nice Slot Redfish. Minutes after that Keith did the same, putting another, almost identical Red in the boat. Then we
had another hookup and Renner was on the rod and he too played it perfectly and landed a nice fat Redfish.

We worked up and down the bank, caught a few smaller Reds, a few Croaker, then Reece caught a keeper sized Flounder.  We then ran up to the Jolley River and began working the "bank" - Keith and Reece were sticking with the jig but Renner switched to a float rig off the stern and it payed off! He had a young Bonnethead chase his bait down, which he caught and landed expertly, then he put

another keeper sized Flounder in the boat.  The anglers landed a good handful of smaller Reds, and most were copper colored. Keith put a keeper sized Seatrout in the boat then both Reece and Renner landed Trout, giving them both an Amelia Island Back Country Slam.

We made the run back and thru Tiger Basin and around to Bell River and began fishing a marsh point with float rigs. After getting a Trout or two, and running low on shrimp, Keith switched to a

Gulp Shrimp, Natural color. He was drifting the grass line when both saw his float disappear then line and float zipped to deeper water. I saw a fin or two and thought for sure it was a shark but then an 80# Tarpon came flying out of the water - BIG FISH ON!  And the 14# leader didn't break!  All Keith could do was hold on as we turned the Anglers Mark towards the fish and hit the JackRabbit button on the trolling motor remote and we began to chase him, trying to take in line on the Shimano Stradic 2500. Although the Tarpon came to the surface a couple of times, it stayed deep and slowly took line up current for the most part. I had the misconception that Keith might be able to wear it out but after a 25 minute "fight", sure enough, the big fish came out of the water and snapped the leader. Now that was surely a great way to wrap up some fun fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

No Skunking

I fished this morning with friend and neighbor Walter Simpson, celebrating his impending birthday. After stocking up on live shrimp we launched up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park and then hopped across the river to fish some flooding oyster beds with float rigs and the lively shrimp. We had a few good bites and picked up a hungry Trout or two.

We then ran around and up to the Jolley River and fished the "bank", sticking with the float rigs. Walter reeled in a feisty Redfish and another few Trout and I landed a small but cool
Weakfish! We had a sort of Slam - Redfish, Seatrout, and Weakfish. I picked up a Croaker then, as we reached a shallow pocket, Walter made an excellent cast, waited patiently for his float to go under, then lifted the rod and set the circle hook on a keeper sized Flounder, which he worked patiently to the net. We counted it as a "Grande Slam"!

After running further up the Jolley we fished some  more flooding oysters and found another couple of Trout.  We came back to the outside of Tiger, fished it and landed a few, then cruised thru Horsehead and over to the Bell, caught a couple, then returned to the outside of Tiger, and caught a couple of more. The trip was highlighted with a Manatee sighting!  Although we didn't have a bunch of big fish we had action at every spot, so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Flurry At The End

I fished with the Thorton boys this morning...Rob and his sons Ford and Whit, meeting them down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. We ran up thru Middle River and around to Pumpkin Hill to fish the first of an incoming tide and I thought for sure we'd get some nice Seatrout like we did yesterday, but they were having none of our mud minnows. We did get some bites, however and Rob "knocked the skunk off" when he landed a feisty Redfish.

We ran back to Seymore's Pointe, fished some rocks with the float rigs and had zero bites.  Our next stop was back at Christopher Creek, now 
working the jigs and we may have had a bump or two, but no takers. Back towards Seymore's and around thru Horsehead to the mouth of Jackstaff, then up into a creek, and tossing float rigs again on the first of an outgoing tide, and again, no takers. Ouch!

We crossed over and worked an oyster lined bank. We'd been fishing mud minnows all morning long but I had some left over "newly dead" shrimp so the boys began to fish them on jigs while their dad stayed with the minnow on a jigs.  It didn't take long for Ford to hookup and he expertly reeled in a nice Croaker. Then he followed that up with a feisty Catfish. Whit jumped in on the action and he too had a bite, a hookup, and a fish fight on his hands. He played the fish perfectly and soon landed a feisty Black "puppy" Drum. He then "called his shot", went to the mouth of a large marsh run-out and BOOM! Fish on. Whit worked the fish to the boat and put a keeper sized Flounder in the net.

Although things were a tad bit slow, these anglers stayed with it and were able to catch a few fish at the end of the  trip, making for another great day out on the water here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Girls Day Fishing At Amelia Island

It's not very often that I get a crew of lady anglers, but today, the "Miller Fishing Team" showed up at Sawpit Creek -Kathy, Sara, Lexi and Zoe - all ready to get out on the backwaters of Amelia Island and fish!  We met down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and headed up thru the Back River and around to Pumpkin Hill to catch the last hour or so of an incoming tide, and it was a good move!

I think it was Sara's first or second drift with a float and live shrimp
along the flooding marsh grass when her float disappeared and, Fish On!  We could tell it was a nice fish by the way it put up a fight but Sara was patient and slowly worked it in, landing a nice 18" Seatrout. Not a drift or two later, she had another hookup and boated another keeper sized Trout (all fish caught today were released). Sara stayed hot at the stern of the boat when she put a handful of feisty and fun to catch Redfish in the boat. 

Kathy was fishing the stern and after getting a good drift away from
the boat she also had her float disappear and after hooking up, she fought the fish to the boat an landed another nice Trout. Sara added a hard fighting Bonnethead Shark before we left the area.  We cruised over to Christopher Creek, switched to jigs and shrimp and here Zoe got on the board when she caught a Redfish.

We then fished a few spots along the Nassau River, again with the jigs. Lexi was making excellent casts and it paid off when she
tangled with a hard fighting Jack Crevalle. While she was battling the Jack, Sara hooked up and had the biggest fish of the day. She battled it valiantly and soon landed a 19" Sheepshead, big enough to land her in 2nd place in the 2018 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament-Sheepshead Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We made one last run thru Horsehead, fished a few more minutes, then called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

We Knew It Would Happen

I met Mark Maron and his Dad, Mark down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp this morning and it was a beautiful day to be fishing! We ran up the Nassau, all the way to Seymore's Point, and began to fish structure with float rigs and mud minnows (no live shrimp today). Mike tangled with a Ladyfish and even though we  had a few more bites, we had not takers. The tide had almost hit it's peak so we ran further up the Nassau to fish Pumpkin Hill and here the tide was still coming in.

The two anglers were still fishing the float rigs, drifting their baits along he flooding grass line and I think we may have picked up one feisty Redfish along there. We ran over to Christopher Creek and switched to jigs, fished some dock pilings and rocks, and had just a few bites before one fish chanced our bait down and bit. Mark played it patiently to the boat and landed a hard fighting Jack Crevalle.

We went back to fish some docks at Seymore's Pointe then ended up back down the Nassau, fishing oysters beds with floats on a now outgoing tide. The two anglers picked up a Trout or two, another small Red, tangled with another Ladyfish, then Mark finally hooked up with something big and, Fish On!  Mark played it perfectly and after a good battle landed a nice Slot sized Redfish. Whoo Whoo!

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water and a great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.