2nd Annual Clay Roberts Inshore Slam Tournament

Joe and Diane Warwick, owners of the Florida House Inn on Amelia Island, are supporters of the 2nd Annual Clay Roberts Inshore Slam Tournament so Joe, his son, Tanner and father-in-law Paul entered the Tournament and fished with me today. Fishing was to begin at "safe light" so we were out early, even before the bait shops opened. We launched from the south end and ran to the docks at Longpointe and anchored. It wasn't long before we had caught an undersized Red and Black drum and a few "bait stealers". We pulled up and headed up the river to Jackstaff and after trolling the bank for about 50 yards, Tanner yelled, "I got one" and started cranking the spinning reel. We adults were somewhat pessimistic and I even asked for the rod to see if it needed to be pulled loose from an oyster bed but when I felt the rod tip bend and the line rip out I handed it back to Tanner who reeled in a nice 18+" Redfish. We trolled on up the river, anchored at Bubblegum Reef, ran to Broward Island (now dubbed "Tarzan Island" and had a few nibbles hear and there with some croaker and small vermillion snapper in the boat, but no more line-ripping fish. It got so hot that we ended up runnning to the bridges over Nassau Sound to find some shade. Last year Tanner was a foot shorter and wasn't casting much but he's grown, is eager to learn and is well on his way to being an excellent angler.