Brag'n Rights Re-Visited

Yesterday was our annual Fernandina Pirate football teammate fishing trip, rescheduled and rescheduled and we finally pulled it off! But, Unfortunately, one of the team members decided to go out the night before to a (Jacksonville) seafood restaurant and must have had a bad oyster 'cause he called in sick with stomach issues. I guess we're going to have to institute a "curfew" like the coaches did in the old days!

So it was me, Tony French, and Raymond Keen who met out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp and boy was it a pretty morning - except for the north winds that were blowing 10-12mph with a forecast saying they'd be 17+ by noon. But we had a game plan with the first stop being around in Christopher Creek and it was like a lake fishing. We pulled up quick to the "honey hole" but we didn't get a nibble, so we swung around and fished some dock pilings, worked them thoroughly, then came back around to work our way out. I had a good bump, a hookup, and knocked the skunk off with a nice feisty Redfish catch.  The other guys were in awe.  As we worked around the corner and were about to leave Raymond landed a fat Seatrout.

We came back to the rocks along Nassauville, still protected from the wind and began to drift slip floats. But none of us were "feeling" the float rigs so we decided to try our luck with the jigs and live shrimp up around the rocks. We drifted with the now outgoing tide, pitching to the rocks, up by pilings and it paid off. Tony hooked up with an "almost legal" Redfish, then went back to the same spot and he said the fish hit it with a vengeance! BOOM! Big fish on!  It was an even battle for a minute or so but the wiley fish found its way around a dock piling and the line tightened down. Tony gave a little when he needed to, pulled a little to see if the fish would come around, gave a little when he needed to, and then there was a Bump Bump!  I thought the fish had come off but it had just come around the piling! Tony applied the pressure, I eased the boat out into deeper water, and the battle was on! It took a few minutes but soon the big fish tired and Tony brought to the net for pictures, an oversized 32.5" Redfish, big enough to claim first place in the Anglers Mark 2020 Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category. (Scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We continued to fish those rocks and picked up another feisty Redfish or two, another small Trout or two, then we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.