February must be a lucky month for fishing around Fernandina Beach, whether it be salt or fresh water. Local fish caught lately appear to have morphed to gigantic proportions.
Having fished for bass in lakes and reservoirs in New York and Connecticut as a kid, and now here in northeast Florida's fresh water ponds and lakes, Scott Lawson landed the biggest fresh water bass of his life at twilight this week, weighing well over ten pounds. This whopper bass resides (still) in a Fernandina commuity lake, where it was returned to the water after being reeled in. Will someone else get the thrill of catching this enormous bass again? (Sorry, but we're not disclosing which lake it's in...)
The same week another massive fish was caught by Derek Crawford in local waters in the St. Mary's inlet (near Fernandina/Florida). Crawford's black drum catch is a pending all-tackle Georgia record weighing a whopping 103.5 pounds, beating the existing Georgia record of 86.8 pounds. It also beats the existing Florida record of 96 pounds, had it been caught over the Florida boundary. (Crawford is pictured on the right, with his fishing buddies Donald and Jeff.)
Leads one to think...is something in the water around here? (Uhhhh, yes. Fish so huge that exaggeration is not required in the future fish tales to be told...)
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