Twins

I was back to "work" today, fishing with Tim Ayers and his son Andrew, meeting them up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park early. It was a beautiful day, and for August, that's saying a lot. Running to our first stop up at the Jolley River, we all felt a coolness to the air and as we turned into the "bank", the sun was coming up over the marsh and ocean. We worked along that stretch of bank, tossing float rigs and live shrimp and getting excellent casts but we mostly got "nibbles" from bait stealers. Andrew did "knock the skunk off" when he hooked up and caught a copper-colored feisty Redfish.

We ran further up the river and fished around Snook Creek and again found the bait stealers, in addition to some small Ladyfish and Mangrove Snapper. Andrew added another feisty Redfish to his catch total. After fishing one more spot in the Jolly we came back around to Tyger, ran through and over to the Bell River and set up alongside a flooded oyster bar. Here, things did pick up a bit.  Andrew hit a hot streak catching some small Seatrout then Tim went in with a good cast. got a good drift and BAM! A strong hookup. Tim played it patiently to the boat and landed a beautiful golden 17" Seatrout. 

We worked the other side, battled with the baitstealers, then it was Andrews turn to get the nice fish. We had seen something bust bait up by an island and when Andrew made the cast it wasn't long before he had a good fish on. He worked it expertly to the boat and landed another beautiful 17" Seatrout, almost a Twin of Tim's fish. 

Our last stop was back around on the outside of Tyger as the tide started back out. There was a lot of movement going on but all we could seem to snag were the bait stealers. Andrew was fishing one of the last shrimp, a popcorn sized one, and had a Shark take it and run, heading to Georgia -it kept going, ran out of line and, BAP! Fish off. But it provided a short bit of excitement and a great way to wrap up a good day of fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Last 20 MInutes

 We gambled to day, fishing early in hopes that we wouldn't stay wet the whole day! The forecast wascalling for chances of rain in the 70% range all morning and when I left the bait shop it was already raining. But after I launched it had quit and all we had were sullen skies. I met Derek Kessler and his son Eli up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. We had a high tide right at launch so we bounced over to the outside of Tiger and eased up to the grass and began tossing float rigs with live shrimp. The current wasn't hardly moving yet but we had some good action early, caching a couple of feisty Redfish, a small Trout and then Eli put the first keeper in the boat, a fat Mangrove Snapper. 

After buzzing thru Horsehead, over to the Bell, and up Lanceford we ran to a small grass patch an dfished it with the float rigs. Not a bite. We eased over to Dave's dock, fished it for a bit and again, not a bite. We then motored out and back around to Soap Creek and set up fishing a large marsh run out. Derek put a hungry Trout in the boat right off. As we eased along the shore line to an oyster/grassy island things began to pick up The duo of anglers caught one feisty Redfish after the other, and a couple of fat Seatrout.

Our next stop was around at some docks, fishing the pilings after switching to jigs and shrimp. After Derek had made an excellent cast to the pilings, he had a strong bite and, BAM! Big fish on. Derek played it patiently, worked it out from the pilings, then applied the pressure and brought to the net a nice 4-spot Slot 21" Redfish. 

We were running out of time so we made one more stop back towards town, fishing some expose oysters with the jigs. We had a couple of Catfish caught then Derek, who had switched back to a float, saw his float go slowly under and he lifted, set the circle hook, and Fish On! Derek reeled in a nice 16" keeper sized Flounder. We eased on along the bank, tossing jigs to a nice run out and BOOM! Another big fish on. Derek played it to the boat and expertly landed a big 23" Seatrout, big enough to put him in the 3rd place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Seatrout Category. Boy what a fish. Those last two fish were caught within 20 minutes of wrapping up so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida 

Relationship Building

 

After fishing today, my guests and I came up with a new "service" that I could add, "Relationship Building"!  I had met Russ and Denise Kesel early this morning up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp and they had along with them their son Noah and his girlfriend Alysa. The tide had been going out for about an hour so we skipped across the river to the outside of Tyger Island and began fishing  an edge of grass as the current flowed around it. It was the new girl, Alysa, who "knocked the skunk off" with a nice Redfish catch. Then Denise, who was casting out of the stern, caught and landed a hungry Flounder. We were getting bites and I would have liked to have fished it more, but the tide was already down enough that the engine was bumping bottom so we moved on. 

Our next stop was around at the Jolley River where the two couples began tossing their float rigs up current, baited with live shrimp. We had good action along that stretch, catching a good handful of feisty Redfish. Russ expertly battled a big Bonnethead Shark and Noah and Alysa had a "double hookup" where each landed a nice Redfish. Noah had something big on for a bit but it got tangled in Alysa's line - eventually it made a strong move and broke off. 

I've seen on multiple trips where friends and couples are fishing and "things" happen - folks get in the way of each other, they get their lines crossed, they get tangled, they hook each other and when out on the boat, you just gotta work through it and have a good time. Noah handled it well and kept on fishing!

We moved up the Jolley to Snook Creek and again drifted the float rigs. and again we had good action. All four anglers were catching fish - feisty Redfish, hungry Seatrout, and the ever present baitstealer. We eased along, crossed the creek, worked the cut and had good action along the way. Then, while Noah and Alysa were baiting up, Russ went long and up near the bank, up ahead of the boat and, BAM! He had a hookup. The fish didn't pull hard at first, heading south ahead of the bow, but then it turned and headed north towards the stern and this time it was ripping drag. Russ played it patiently, going from starboard over to port then worked it in slowly to the net. We measured this nice golden Slot Redfish right at 23", boy what a fish. All fish caught today were released.

I had planned to fish the MOA but the oysters were still covered so we kept going around to Bell River and fished some docks. Again, we caught a couple of Reds, a Trout or two, and a couple of Mangrove Snapper.  We finished up fishing Jolley Bank again, this time with jigs and here the two ladies battled for the GPK. Denise had set the standard with an earlier Redfish catch, Alysa boated a 9" Redfish, then Denise followed that up with a 15.5" keeper sized Flounder. We were right down to the wire when Alysa hooked up again but her fish came in just under the 10" mark so Denise took home the coveted award. As we headed in the sun had peaked thru the clouds and knowing that we had some good action fishing, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Recipe of The Month: Etta's Classic Dungeness Crab Cakes

 My wife got me this book, I Love Crab Cakes by Tom Douglas, with Shelley Lance and it has dozens of Crab Cake recipe's in it, along with some sauce recipe's. We decided that we would try to make a few of them and so I picked the very first one in the book!, Etta's Classic Dungeness Crab Cakes, a top seller at his restaurant for more than seventeen years.

1 large egg yolk                                                                       1/2 teaspoon Paprika

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice                                                 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dried Thyme

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce                                            1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco                                                           1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard                         5 Tablespoons olive oil

In a food processor or a blender, combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard, Paprika, Thyme, celery seeds and black pepper. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaise. Set aside.

3/4 cup chopped Parsley                                                         1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion                                                            1 pound Dungeness crabmeat, drained,                                                                                                            lightly squeezed

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper                                         5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

5 Cups fresh bread crumbs      Garnish with lemon wedges, bed of spinach, tomatoes

Put the bread crumbs in a shallow container and mix 1/2 cup of the chopped parsley(reserving  the remaining 1/4 cup for the crab cake mixture, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the onion and bell peppers with the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.  Add the reserved mayonnaise and the crabmeat and mix lightly to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 cup of the bread crumb-parsley mixture. Do not overwork the mixture or the crab cakes may get gummy. Gently form 8 patties and dredge the patties lightly n the remaining bread crumb-parsley mixture. If you have time, cover the crab cakes with plastic wrap and chill for an hour or longer.

Place two large nonstick skillets over medium heat and add about 2 1/2 tablespoons butter to each pan. As soon as the butter is melted, add 4 cakes to each pan. Gently fry the crab cakes until they ar hot through and golden brown on both sides, turning once with a spatula, about 4 minutes per side. The internal temperature of crab cake should be 155 degrees  on an instant read thermometer. Transfer the cakes to a bed of spinach and garnish with a wedge of lemon or fresh cut tomato's. Serve with remoulade sauce.

Pre-Back To School

 I had fishing with me today a trio of students, trying to get in one more vacation before they start hitting the books! I met Cooper Sims and his friends Nathan and Adam down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we made the short run up the Nassau River with plans to work the run outs and oyster beds with live shrimp. We started with float rigs and first cast picked up a Ladyfish but after that we had a lull. Then Cooper hooked up and reeled in a feisty Redfish and that got things going. 

Adam put a couple of Flounder in the boat, one of which was of keeper size. Nathan added a couple of feisty Redfish to the catch then Nathan hauled in hungry Seatrout. Then it was Shark Time! Cooper had a strong bite and when the fish took off like a freight train, we knew it was a shark. Cooper was patient and worked it patiently, letting it run when it wanted to, then working it back in. I missed the first grab of the dorsal but Cooper kept that pressure on and gave me another chance! Eventually I was able to haul it in for pictures and release.  We also boated three Stingray's along that stretch.

Our next stop was up at Seymore's and here all three anglers tangled with some Mangrove Snapper, with each adding to the box for a seafood dinner tonight! We were tossing float rigs and shrimp there and ended up putting 8 in the box.  We moved down the way and switched back to jigs, tossed up to the bank, and caught another handful of smaller Snapper and a small Seatrout. 

The last stop was down at Broward Island, fishing the jigs. We picked up a

couple of Croaker, a small Sheepshead, a couple of small Reds, then Nathan had a big bite and, Fish On! Nathan played it expertly and brought to the net a 19.5" Slot Redfish, and boy what a golden, copper colored fish it was! We had put a bunch of fish in the boat, it was a beautiful day and as we headed in we counted it as another great day to be out on the water fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.

A Day In The Life of A Fishing Tournament

You may have noticed I haven't been fishing weekends this summer - it's a way for me to cut back, not have to deal with the boat ramp crowds, and keep me enjoying my job! But yesterday was an exception - John Raker wanted to fish the Fernandina Kingfish and Rodeo Tournament with his mother Betty and his sister's boyfriend Kenny so we planned to fish it, and fish it we did!  I met John and his "team" out at Goffinsville Park early - 6:15am and with a Tournament start time at 6:30am, we motored down to the mouth of the Nassau River to fish the last three hours of an outgoing tide.

The day before I had checked with Amelia Island Bait and Tackle and Leaders and Sinkers for mud minnows. I knew it was going to be a long day and with the hot river water, keeping dozens and dozens of shrimp alive would be really tough. And to top that off, the "baitstealers" have been really prevalent and we'd blow thru all our bait. But the bait shops indicated that their bait supplier was having difficult getting minnows and they were both out. OUCH. So much for a plan!  But I had a couple of hours of time between washing my boat and the Friday Tournament Captain's meeting so I ran down to Sawpit Creek with a couple of dead mullet, baited a minnow trap, tossed it out, and waited in my truck with the AC blowing wide open. When I walked up to the trap I could see minnows in it so I was thinking, "well, we'll have a few". But there were about 2-3 dozen minnows in the trap!  So I kept dropping it back in, sitting in my truck, checking it, emptying it, and when I left I had about 80 minnows for the next day Tournament. I took them home, put an aerator on them, and dropped a frozen water bottle in to keep them cool. 

Carol and I met John up at the Tournament meeting and we sat in to listen to a review of the rules. We had wanted clarification on how many fish we could bring in and sure enough, we found at that we could "enter" a Redfish, a Trout, a Flounder, a Sheepshead, and multi-spot Redfish in the Rodeo category of the Tournament.  I had the boat and truck gassed, had emptied out my dry box for extra cooler space, frozen some water bottles, stocked drinking water, and gave the boat some extra cleaning time.

Saturday morning I was up early, 4:45am and made me large cup of coffee and had my "Overnight Oats"concoction that Carol has been making. She's been putting 1/3 cup of  Oatmeal in a Tupperware, covering that with 1/3 cup of  Almond milk, adding a dab of honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon, then chopping up pecans and fruit (that morning it was peaches). When I get up in the morning I stir it all up and eat it while driving to the bait shop. Carol had also made a couple of  Turkey sandwiches and made up a couple of Tupperware's full of fruit, raw vegis and a big one of fresh cut pineapple. I had a customer once who had some fresh cut pineapple on the boat and it is really good on a hot day. 

After loading the minnows and a couple of big frozen bottles of water for the food cooler,  I picked up a bag of ice at the Jiffy store, then eased around to the Amelia Island Bait and Tackle shop and was first in line when they opened early at 5:30am(thank you!). I ordered 5 dozen live shrimp, a pint of fiddler crabs and shoveled out a big bucket of ice for the drink cooler, then was heading out to Goffinsville Park to meet John and his crew. I had just launched when they pulled up and after getting them settled, we pulled away from the dock just as the sun was coming up. 

Fishing south of Spanish Drop, but heading back into the outgoing current, the three anglers began pitching jigs and minnows - they were fresh and lively (the minnows, not the anglers, they were still sleepy eyed). We picked up a couple of feisty Redfish, a couple of Trout, and a couple of Jack Crevalle. We did have one or two keeper sized Seatrout that when in the live well.  We worked a good number of marsh runouts and shell beds along that whole stretch, more than I normally do, but we had a long day ahead of us and I wanted to fish it thoroughly. All three anglers we making excellent casts and it paid off with fish catching. Betty held her own with the younger anglers - she put some Redfish in the boat and battled a hard fighting Jack to the net. I could tell Kenny was an accomplished angler -he was making pinpoint casts and hooking up at a steady rate.  I think the high point of the trip was seeing a family of Salt Marsh minks - at least 4 of them- scampering along the shell bank. What a treat!

When the tide changed we moved up to the Nassauville area. A dock I was wanting to fish was occupied by a boat (that weekend fishing issue) but I hadn't fished Bubblegum Reef in  quite a while, and being in a Tournament, I thought, "what the heck". I eased over to it, motoring idle speed and "Bump" we found it! After backing off we dropped lines and began to try and fish it - we couldn't see it, but  we found it on occasion with a hung jig.  But Betty was drifting a float up along the shell bed and picked up the first Flounder of the day. It wasn't big enough to keep but it gave us an Amelia Island Back Country Slam. Then Kenny had a "tap", set the hook, and Fish On! He played it patiently to the boat and landed a keeper sized Sheepshead. John and I had noticed that the 2019 Tournament results were still up on the board at the Captain's meeting and that year no one had checked in a Sheepshead, so we agreed that we might as well take this one in at check in. 

The tide had been coming in for a while at Nassauville so we ran down to Broward Island and fished the south end. We worked it pretty good but had no takers. We then moved back to the north end and got some good action on Jigs and minnows and Shrimp.. Kenny was catching small Redfish, the trio picked up a few Croakers, then we landed a Sheepshead or two using the fiddler crabs. But we didn't get that big Redfish I was hoping for.  We then moved up to the mouth of Pumpkin Hill and switched to Float rigs. Kenny caught a keeper sized Seatrout as we worked along the bank, then John hooked up with a fish that was pulling drag. I thought it would be a slot Redfish but no, it turned out to be a big 20.5" Seatrout. That's a fish we can take to the weigh in!

We worked down the bank as it approached 2pm and boy was it getting hot. We had a nice breeze blowing all day but with the sun up, even the breeze wasn't cooling us off. But we soldiered on! As we approached a grassy island both Kenny and John had some bites, but no takers.  The area was looking right so we decided to troll back against the current and fish out of there. John had made an excellent cast and as his float disappeared he slowly lifted his rog and let the circle hook set and, he had a hookup. He said later he didn't think it was very big but then it dug deep and started ripping drag and BIG FISH ON!  It wasn't running like a Shark but I was a bit worried that it was big Jack Crevalle but when I saw it boil I knew it was a big Redfish. I think all of us got a little nervous knowing that we may have a Tournament sized fish on the line. But John played it like a pro, was very patient, and let it run when it wanted to but worked it slowly in. I think we counted 5 runs before he came to the surface and then we were already speculating, "Too Big?".  John brought it to the net and we hauled in a huge bull of a Redfish. A quick measure and sure enough, it was too big, measuring right at 28"!  Oh man, balancing the joy of catching such a big fish on light tackle against the disappointment of knowing it was too big to take to Weigh In was a tough pill to swallow!

The day was getting long but we still had a couple of hours of fishing before we had to make the run to Weigh In. We fished the rocks at Nassauville hoping for a wayward Redfish, then ran thru Horsehead and over to the mouth of Jackstaff and fished a good stretch of marsh grass with the now flooding tide, to no avail. After fishing another marsh line around on the intercoastal side,  it was 4pm so we pulled up the trolling motor, battened down everything, then made the 20 minute run up the intercoastal to the Check In boat. John showed them our boat number (383) and we then eased up to the outer dock at the marina. John and Kenny walked the fish up to get them checked in and weighed.  When I picked them up back at the dock they reported that there was already a Seatrout on the board bigger than ours, and also a Sheepshead on the Board bigger than ours. But, we had brought fish in and we knew that we had a big Red photographed for some good memories!

The ride back to Goffinsville was a nice one. I took the shortcut thru Alligator Creek and we were back to Goffinsville in no time and as we eased up to the dock I think all of us were feeling the long day of heat wearing on us but it was a good "hard fought" day of fishing so I counted it as a great one to be out on the water fishing here at Amelia Island!

All Tied Up

 Fishing out of Dee Dee Bartels Park today, I met John Arnold and his son Asher early and we headed overto Tyger in the fog!  We eased thru the shallow inlet and around to the logs and set up fishing jigs and live shrimp and mud minnows. Asher got hot early and picked up a couple of feisty Redfish then his dad tried to keep pace with a couple of fish catches of his own.  Then a mud  minnow up by the bank produced a good strike and, Fish On!  Asher played it perfectly and brought to the net a nice 20.5" Slot Redfish. We didn't know it at the time, but Asher was keeping count!

We then ran around to the Jolley River and set up fishing the "bank" on the first of an incoming tide. The duo picked up a couple of Seatrout, Asher got a small Flounder to get his Amelia Island Back Country Slam, and we had a small Redfish or two. They also put a couple of Croaker in the boat, one of which was

big enough to keep. After running further up the Jolley to Snook Creek, we again worked the bank with jigs. John snagged a hungry Seatrout and just a minute later Asher hooked up with another, this one measuring in at 18" and big enough for the box. According to Asher's count they were all tied up with six fish apiece. But we fished out that stretch, moved back to the Bank and fished it briefly with floats, then headed in with a tied score so we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

Hitting the Spots With the Tide

 

The weather forecasters predicted hotter temperatures but  this morning we were blessed with somewhat overcast skies and a slight breeze so the heat didn't get on us until late in the trip. I met Bruce Newkirk, his sons Tyson and Garrett and Garretts girl friend Kerri out at the Goffinsville Park boat ramp early. The tide was still going out for an hour so we made our first stop down at the Spanish Drop area and began fishing with jigs and mud minnows. There was a lot of bait action and fish busting the  bait up near the shore so it wasn't long before these anglers began to catch fish. Tyson "knocked the skunk off" with a feisty Redfish catch, then everyone was catching them. Unfortunately they were no bigger than 14"!  Kerri battled a 3' Bonnethead Shark to the boat and Garrett followed that up with a big Redfish fight, one that Redfish won as it broke off right a the boat.

We moved up he way just a bit and fished a marsh run out and again, they were catching those feisty Reds, picked up a trout,

then Tyson hooked up and smartly landed a nice 19.5" Flounder, boy what a fish! We then ran up and fished some docks at Seymore's Pointe as the tide started back in. Here Bruce had the hot rod and put a handful of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the box. We fished around the corner with float rigs and boxed another couple of Mangroves, then followed the tide down to Broward Island. 

Garrett got a couple of Flounder, Tyson added a keeper Sheepshead, and Bruce added a few more Mangroves to the catch. We made one last move, down to the other end of the island and here it was Tyson's turn to tangle with a sizable Red, and again we had a break off! Ouch! But we had a good box full of fish so as we headed in, we counted it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida. 

The Stars Aligned

 When I talked to Cole Nalor a few months ago, setting up today's trip, we talked about what kind ofoptions we had to take his wife Aly and their very young daughters Wyn(4yo) and Neely(2yo) out on a fishing trip. I usually recommend that they need to be around 7 years old to really "get into" fishing but we thought we could try a bit of fishing, then maybe do some sight seeing and hope the kids could make a half day trip. And to top that off, when we looked at the weather last night, it was forecasting a good chance of rain! But when I got up this morning and looked at the forecast, the rain wasn't expected at all!

I met the Nalor's up at the Dee Dee Bartels Park boat ramp. The tide had only been coming in for about 45 minutes so we headed over to Tyger Island where Cole  began pitching a jig and live shrimp to the bank while Aly herded the kids. I think we went thru two dozen shrimp feeding "baitstealers" until finally Cole snagged a couple of small Mangrove Snapper. I wasn't feeling a bit down about the spot's production until Cole made an excellent cast to the back side of a log, had a strong bite, and BAM! Big Fish on!  Cole played it perfectly and when it boiled I knew it was a Red. Cole worked it to the boat and we netted a nice 22" Slot Redfish! That woke things up!

We made the run around to the Jolley River, turned in and fished the "bank", now tossing float rigs with shrimp. We hit one stretch where Cole picked up a few hungry Seatrout, and a couple of feisty Redfish. We then buzzed up the river to Snook Creek, again turned into the current and began fishing the marsh line with the oysters almost covered on that incoming tide. Cole picked up a Seatrout out deep and just shortly after he got up real close to the grass. When his float disappeared he called for one of the girls to come help reel but that was before the fish made strong run! That drag started ripping and it was BIG FISH ON!  It wall Cole could do to slow this fish down but he did and turned it then kept the pressure on  until it tired and came to the net - an Oversized 33" Redfish, boy what a fish! This fish moved Cole squarely in to first place in the Anglers Mark 2021 Bragging Rights Tournament-Redfish Category(scroll down the right side of this report for standings).

We tried our hand at Shark fishing but found a big Catfish, then we got in that tour of Cumberland, Ft. Clinch and Pippi's house before we called it a day, another great one here at Amelia Island, Florida.

Quite a Mess of Fish

 

Fishing south again today, meeting William Vickers, his son Jeff and son-in-law Jacob down at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp. After a short run up the Nassau we stopped at Spanish Drop and fished the edges of an shell bank at the very bottom of a dead low. The trio of anglers were pitching 1/8oz jigs and mud minnows to the bank and both Jeff and Jacob had hookups of feisty Redfish. We then moved up the river to a marsh run out and threaded the needle between the bank and a crab trap. Again, they picked up a couple of feisty Reds. Then Jeff had a stronger bite and when his drag ripped, we new he had a bigger fish. After a good battle Jeff landed a nice 19" Slot Redfish. Then it was Jacob's turn to fight a tough fish. After his hookup the fish went deep, dug down, and put up a good fight. Jacob worked it patiently to the boat and and landed a Jack Crevalle.

The tide had already turned so we made the run down to Broward Island, switching to 1/4oz jigs to get down a bit deeper, quicker. The strategy paid off. All three anglers began to catch fish. They each put a couple of keeper sized Mangrove Snapper in the boat, Jeff landed three Sheepshead, one of which was of keeper size. Then Jacob had a strong bite and when the fish hugged the bottom we thought, maybe a Flounder. Sure enough, when he brought it to the surface, there was a nice 18" Flounder. William got on a roll and landed fish after fish, teaching lessons as he went. Both  Jeff and Jacob had Big fish on for a while, but the fish found there way back into a sunken tree and broke off. Ouch.

We moved down a bit and fished a large runout. Jeff found a couple of feisty Reds and Jacob picked up another keeper sized Flounder. We finished up the trip fishing a large runout around at Seymore's. They added another couple of Mangroves and then William battled a big Jack Crevalle to the net. After pictures and release, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be fishing here at Amelia Island, Florida.