Big as a Watermelon

Fall is knocking on the door and the great weather we're having makes it the best time of year to be fishing Amelia Island backwaters!  Brett and Suzanne Nichols wanted to treat their son Andrew to a birthday fishing trip so they lined one up on The Anglers Mark yesterday morning.  Although weather forecasts called for possible rain in the afternoon, we couldn't have asked for a prettier morning.  We left the Fernandina Harbor Marina at 7am and headed up to Tiger Island to fish the first of an outgoing tide.  I had 4 rods rigged with Bomber Saltwater Grade float rigs with live shrimp "hangling" underneath and it wasn't long before the anglers were getting bites.  The Ladyfish were slashing baitfish and we had a number of them hookup, some of them throwing the hook, but some were caught and released.  Brett's father in law Logan picked up a feisty Redfish, Brett hauled in a Seatrout, and 10 year old Andrew warmed up with a larger Ladyfish.  It's amazing how with just 4 hours on the water a young angler like Andrew can gain so much experience and confidence!  He started out struggling with the spinning gear, but he persevered and by the end of the day he was "calling his shots" and making pinpoint casts to the oyster banks, impressing all of the adults.  I was watching him towards the end of the trip and I could tell he was intently working his jig waiting for the thump of a Redfish bite!  Our second stop was Jolley Bank and after working the entire stretch with no real bites we reached the large run out and started getting hookups.  Both Logan and Andrew had Redfish and Brett hooked up with a keeper sized Trout.  We fished Snook Creek and found that the Trout were hanging on the outside of a large oyster banks and all three anglers began to to pull in Trout after Trout after Trout.  The water level dropped to where we were having to pull Trout across the oysters, so we lowered the trolling motor and began to ease along their banks, this time switching to weighted swim baits fished on the bottom.  The anglers soon warmed to this method of fishing as there's not much better than bumping a jig on the bottom and feeling that tap-tap-tap BAM and Fish ON!  More Reds and Trout were caught, then we moved back to Jolley Bank to fish the now exposed oysters.  Logan hooked up with a nice Redfish and while he was fighting it Andrew yelled, FISH ON! and we had a double hookup with Grandad and Grandson fighting fish side by side!  Later, Andrew had a another hookup and his rod bent and drag ripped.  He played the fish perfectly, working it up off the bottom and as it came to the surface we saw a larger Flounder,  and as Grandad Logan proclaimed, "Big as a Watermelon"!  I made one attempt with the dip net, missed and the flounder got back around the swim ladder and broke itself off!  OUCH!  Boy what a fish!  But what a great way to spend the day, Father and Son and Grandad, fishing the great backcountry waters of Amelia Island!