The Trip Got Better As It Went Along

 

I fished north today, meeting the Yeager boys - Keith and his sons Reece and Renner - up at the Old Town Bait and Tackle boat ramp early. We made a run up and around to the Jolley River and began to fish the "bank" with float rigs and live shrimp on a tide that still had a few hours to hit high. Reece was on the bow and got hot quick catching a good handful of small but feisty Redfish. Keith was in the middle, Renner on the stern, and both tangled with high flying Ladyfish.

We ran up the river to Snook Creek, fished a very fishy looking bank, and again they caught a couple of small Reds, then Renner hooked up and landed a keeper sized Seatrout and hard fighting Jack Crevalle. We moved up in the creek and here Keith won a hard fought battle with a 3' Bonnethead Shark. 

The tide was getting pretty high so we moved back down the river and fished a point with the float rigs and things really heated up. Renner put another keeper Trout in the boat then all three anglers were catching fish. We had some small Trout, another Jack or two, a big Gar Fish, another Red or two, then Renner hooked up and, Fish On!  He patiently played it to the boat and landed a huge 20.75" Seatrout, a fish big enough to move him in to sole possession of 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2023 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category (scroll down the right side of this report for standings). By the way, that fish was caught on a mud minnow.

We finished the day fishing the outside of Tyger in hopes of picking up some Flounder. Reece did hookup and land a small Flounder, but he bettered that! As we worked along the bank Reece had made a pinpoint cast to a pocket and BAM! Fish On!  This fish was pulling hard to the grass line but Reece kept the pressure on, worked it out, then expertly landed a nice 22" Slot Redfish. As we were dealing with that fish Keith went in to the same spot and BAM! Another big fish On!  This one bulled up into the grass to try and shake the hook but it was to no avail...Keith worked it out and landed a 22.25" Slot fish. The catch got better as the day went along so as we headed back to the dock we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Captain Lawrence Piper is a fishing guide in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida and is a 

 US Coast Guard licensed charter boat operator