Had to Work For 'em

 What a beautiful day!  We waited and went this afternoon - sunny skies, and it had warmed to shirtsleeves temperatures, and had just enough breeze to keep the gnats off. I met Eric Stevens and his fishing partner Gary out at Goffinsville Park and with a baitwell full of live shrimp, we left the dock and headed over to Seymore's Point and set up at a large drainage to fish float rigs and  the kicking shrimp. We were late. The outgoing tide had already gotten down to where our floats wouldn't float. But Eric, fishing off the stern, went long and did pick up a hungry Seatrout to "knock the skunk off". We had a couple of more bites but no takers, so we moved on. 

We fished down the Nassau, hitting a couple of spots with jigs and the shrimp but we had not real bites. After coming back up the river we stopped between two docks at Nassauville and stuck with the jigs. Eric picked up a small Bluefish while Gary expertly landed a Flounder that was just a smidge undersized. All fish caught today were released. After running down to Broward Island we fished a drainage, then the bank, then another stretch with the jigs - it was beautiful fishing the island, but we had no real bites. 

It was time to run to the SSHH (Super Secret Honey Hole) - way up the Nassau, boy what a run! The tide was outgoing and it was getting low already with 2 hours to the bottom. We worked along the bank, pitching to the logs and brush and BAM! Gary had a strong bite. He played it patiently, working it in, letting it run, and brought a nice Slot Redfish to the net. We had some action! Shortly after that Eric hauled a feisty Red in then he went back to a brush pile and BAM! Big Fish On! This fish was ripping drag and it was a while before we knew it was subdued. Eric played it expertly and eventually landed a big Slot Redfish. We worked along that stretch - Gary hooked and landed another Seatrout, then the duo added another Redfish. 

I noticed the water temperatures fluctuated between 60, 69 and 64 degrees, depending on where we were fishing. These anglers had to work for 'em, but we ended up with a few nice fish, so as we headed back to the ramp, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.