Big Fish Makes Up for Slow Start

 We had a tide that still had about an hour to come in, maybe less than that, when I met Dennis and Carol
West down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early this morning. We made the run up the intercoastal and passed two large flocks of Roseate Spoonbills sunning on the high tide on some shell bars, then we made our way into Jackstaff and then into an even smaller creek where we set up with float rigs and live mud minnows. Both anglers were getting good casts and we had some nibbles, but no takers. 

We then buzzed thru Horsehead and around to Seymore's Pointe and fished a large bay drainage on a the first of an outgoing tide and again, some good bites, but no takers. Our next stop was down the Nassau fishing a stretch of grass lined with flooded oysters and here we had some action. Both Dennis and Carol hooked up with some seriously hungry juvenile Redfish. 

Then, after we had dropped back to fish a point, Dennis had a strong hookup and the big fish headed east, ripping drag all the way. We both wondered was it going to slow down! But Dennis kept that pressure on, turned him, then battled him for a good while. It was really neat to see a big 'ole Redfish tail flail up a few times. Dennis worked him out of the shallows, got him back in the current, then slowly brought o the net an oversized 29.5" Redfish, boy what a fish! And big enough to move Dennis into third place in the 2022 Anglers Mark Bragging Rights Tournament -Redfish Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

The duo added a couple of more of the "rat" Reds, then we fished a couple of run outs with jigs and the minnows. Again, we had some bites, some drag rips, but no takers. But it had been a nice overcast day, we'd had a slight breeze and as we headed back, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island.