The Elusive Big Earl

 I'm fishing out of Old Town Bait and Tackle all week due to trailer issues. I met Lewis Welch and his fishing partner Oscar up there this morning and we made a run over to the MOA again - I keep thinking that's it going to turn on - it didn't.  The duo did catch a couple of small Redfish on the last of an outgoing tide, but that was it. We bumped across the river and fished a bend with the jigs and mud minnows, working somem exposed oysters slowly. It took a while and I was beginning to wonder if this spot was going to be a bust but then BAM! They started catching fish. Small but feisty Reds were the order of the day, but then Oscar had a strong hookup, he set the hook, had his drag rip, then, Fish Off! Ouch. 

And that was when I learned about "Big Earl". Evidently he is big. And we just missed him.

Minutes later Lewis had a strong bite and this one ripped drag and boiled and we knew it was a nice
Redfish. Lewis fought it patiently, let it run, worked it in, let it run, and eventually landed a nice copper colored 23" Slot Redfish. It wasn't Earl, though.  Both Lewis and Oscar caught a good handful of smaller Reds there, a handful of fat but slightly under the keeper size Seatrout. Then, Oscar had one of those weird bites and after a second or two he set the hook and expertly brought to the net a keeper sized Flounder.  Lewis added one more Slot Red to the box. We were running low on mud minnows so we "left 'em biting" and came back down the river. 

We fished Jolley "bank" and picked up a another small Red and a Seatrout while I was cast netting for finger mullet, and had another near miss at Earl. We then bounced around to the outside of Tyger and fished the shallow bank and on the fist cast with one of the netted mullets, Lewis reeled in a small Flounder. We had a few misses at Earl along that stretch but evidently he is fairly elusive. 

We had had some good action earlier in the morning, had a few fish in the box, so as we headed back to the ramp we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.