Fly Fishing Amelia Island

I fished today with James and Nicole Bush, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp early. We had cloudy skies with a forecast of 60% chance of rain before the morning was over but these anglers were game to fish so we headed out and over to the back side of Tiger to try our hand with some fly gear.  James was casting the fly off the stern in deep water with an intermediate sinking line and a weighted black Troy James Fly while Nicole fished from the bow with a a jig and live shrimp on spinning gear.  James was making excellent casts and putting the fly up close to the bank, letting it slide down the river bottom before the current really got to coming in. He had a few "bumps" but no takers. We eased down the bank working in and out of the logs and it was Nicole who put the first fish int he boat,  hungry Mangrove Snapper that was just a smidgen below the size limit. 

Then it was James' time to hookup. I had just commented about a perfect cast he had made up near the shore and alongside a log when, BOOM! A slot sized Redfish hit it and

came out of the water. James had done a strip set and had the fish. He worked it perfectly out of the logs and into deeper water. I inched the boat out deeper and felt for sure that we had the fish. But James said he felt the fish "lock down" - a sure sign that it was wrapped around a log or stump and, BAP! Fish Off! Boy what a bummer.

We fished the island up and down and Nicole, fishing the bait, hooked up and landed a feisty Redfish before we moved on. Our next stop was over at Lanceford Creek. I had switched Nicole to a float rig, gave her a demo cast, and float disappeared!  I lifted the rod, hooked the fish and handed it off to Nicole who battled it valiantly from Stern to Bow and back to Stern. The fish was ripping drag and made multiple runs but Nicole was up to the task and soon brought the beast to bay - a 4' Bonnethead Shark.  Nicole added a Seatrout to her catch before we moved on.

James had been dealing with the wind that had picked up after we left Tiger but he was making the most of it, getting in some fine casts. We added another Trout and a Ladyfish before we headed in. Just as we were getting back to the ramp we spotted a Submarine cruising thru the channel up by Cumberland which made for a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.