Things Picked Up

We couldn't ask for any prettier weather to be out on the water here at Amelia Island. And with just a slight breeze, the sand gnats are held off!  I had met Bob Blalock and his brother and sister in laws -Tommy and Martha -out at the Goffinsville Park this morning and with the tide still going out we decided to fish some dock pilings first thing. We were using mud minnows and I think that may have suppressed the drum bite. The anglers were  making excellent casts and although the bite was slow, Martha knocked the skunk off with
a nice Redfish catch. Bob followed that up with a small Trout catch.

We bounced over to some exposed oysters, fished the edges and at one point saw and heard some Redfish feeding across an oyster peninsular. At one time we saw a big Redfish tail and boil, but we just couldn't get in range to even keep up with their movement. The tide was about to hit bottom so we made a move, and boy was it a good move!

We ran down to Broward Island and fished the logs - the tide was still going out but we caught some fish. Martha put a very large Trout in the boat, an followed that up with another keeper sized one. Then Bob got in on the action and landed a Slot Redfish. Tommy finally had a strong hookup but after  brief battle it found its way under a log and BAP! Fish off. Ouch. We worked along the bank, picked up a few more fish, then moved further up the island as the tide started back in. We caught some smaller fish then Tommy had a bite and, BIG FISH ON! Luckily, this fish came out deep and all Tommy had to do was keep the pressure on, which he did perfectly. The big fish ran deep and long a few times but Tommy was up to the task and eventually landed a big, 26.5" "tournament" sized Redfish - this fish had some "shoulders"!

We continued to fish and Martha added another keeper sized Trout then Bob, using a Temptation Bait fluke, landed a very large Seatrout. Although the day started slow it finished big and made for another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida