Perseverance or Was it the Red Hooks?

 We're having some really nice August mornings although it does get heated up as we get closer to noon, and today was no exception. I had met Bob Miller down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp and we made the long run up and around to Broward Island to fish the first of an incoming tide. However, when we got there, the tide was still going out so we eased down to the other end and fished a large outflow with jigs and live shrimp. Bob did pick up one nice feisty Redfish before we moved on.  We made a stop up on the north end and fished it with jigs as the tide came in - the perfect time to be there, but to no avail.

We came back to the Spanish Drop area, fished a flooding oyster bed with float rigs and mud minnows then switched to jigs and worked a large runout, but again, to no avail. After hitting one more spot we moved up to Seymore's Pointe and fished some dock pilings and here we did pick up a Croaker and small Mangrove Snapper.

The tide was up pretty high now so we followed it back down

to Pumpkin Hill and set up to drift floats down a long grass line. I had just got in an order of Eagle Claw 3/0 circle hooks in Red color - hooks I used to use but haven't been able to find in a long while.  Bob drifted long and picked up a couple of small but feisty Redfish then he had s strong bite and fish on!  The way it was fighting and ripping drag I guessed, "Slot Redfish"!  Bob played it patiently and slowly worked it to the boat and when it came to the net we saw that it was a huge Seatrout!  We netted it and it measured right at 23" - big enough to move Bob into 3rd place in the Angler's Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout category (scroll down the right side of this report for a link to standings). Boy what a fish!

We continued to "do the drift" and BAM, another fish on. Bob expertly brought it to the net and landed a 20" Trout. With the new rules, this one had to go back! We fished that edge for a while and caught another couple of feisty Reds and a small Trout. After easing around the corner and drifting by a pointe, BAM! Fish On!  Bob brought it in and it just came in under the 19" mark so in the box it went. The sun was up and the heat was on and time was out so we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida