Big Reds and Big Fish

I fished with lady angler Ameera Yousif this morning, launching at Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and heading up the Nassau River for a quick run to our first fishing spot in the Spanish Drop area. We should have known something was up - we began to get small bites right off, but no takers - so we were lulled to sleep when BOOM! Float Gone!  Ameera fought the fish patiently as it got back in the current and dug deep. But a couple of times it rolled up and flashed a huge tail and Ameera called it, "Big Redfish!" She worked it to the boat and landed a big Oversized 28.5" Redfish which we photographed and released.  We continued to fish that spot and it was some good action for a good
while. Ameera hooked up and landed her first Slot fish of the day, a 19" Red, then tangled with 2-3 big high flying Ladyfish. Then another Strong hookup - the drag was ripping and the rod was bent - but Ameera was up to the task and soon brought to the boat a big 25" Slot Redfish.  We added another one or two small Redfish to the catch, a small Seatrout (or two) and a small Jack Crevalle.

Our next stop was down at Pumpkin Hill. We had just eased into the shallow "pocket" and fished the current as it swept thru and BAM! Seatrout on! At the same time another float disappeared and this one was ripping drag. Ameera landed the trout then took the other rod and fought this big fish to the boat. It made a run or two then succumbed to the expert pressure as Ameera brought to the boat a 26.75", barely in the Slot, big Slot Redfish. We worked that area pretty good and finally put a couple of keeper sized Seatrout in the boat.

The final stop was back at Seymore's Pointe, still tossing float rigs with  mud minnows on the very last of an incoming tide. When Ameera's float disappeared we thought she may have hooked a freight train!  I wondered if maybe we had somehow loosened the drag earlier, but no, it was just a big fish! After a valiant fight, Ameera brought it to the boat and landed a big Jack Crevalle. She followed that up with a big Bluefish catch.  The sun was up, the humidity was down and the fish had been biting all morning so we called it a day, another great one to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.