Crescent Beach, Florida
On The Fly Saltwater
July 2025
Article and Photos by Jimmy Jacobs
As we pulled away from the Green Street launch ramp in Crescent Beach, Florida, the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean behind the boat lit up the western shoreline of marsh grass backed by live oaks and palm trees along the Mantanzas River. Turning south, we then headed toward the area of the river known as Devils Elbow. Indeed, an aerial view of the waterway in this area south of St. Augustine does have the shape of an elbow and the summer heat can make it seem like it is the devil’s domain.
Capt. Cullen Traverso and his tricked out Gheenoe. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Polly Dean and I were in the tricked out 16-foot LT25 Gheenoe of Capt. Cullen Traverso, with a plan to target redfish in some extremely shallow, low-tide mud flats along that western shore. His boat, even when loaded with the captain and two anglers, can glide along on as little as four inches of water. It also sported a poling platform in the stern, a Castaway Custom casting platform on the bow, plus a mini-power pole and Suzuki 40-horsepower outboard motor. The craft is very stable and ideal for the plan we had.
The day on the water was something of a trip back down memory lane for me. My first time fishing Devils Elbow was as a 10-year-old back in the late 1950s. My father, brother and I were in a wooden johnboat rented at the Devils Elbow Fish Camp, which today is Devils Elbow Fishing Resort. Guiding us was an expatriate Frenchman named George Vick, who, along with his sister Marie, owned and operated the long defunct Ormond Shores Motor Court. It was my family’s destination of choice for vacations back then.
Modern day, but little changed, Devils Elbow Fishing Resort. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
On that long ago trip we were fishing live shrimp using float rigs, but today we would be tossing fur and feathers with the long rod. My fishing methods had evolved, just like everything else along this stretch of Florida real estate. The only constant was the presence of redfish, trout and flounder in the river.
The area generally considered to be Devils Elbow stretches from the FL 206 bridge in Crescent Beach south to the aforementioned Devils Elbow Fishing Resort. However, from the bridge south all the way to Channel Marker 78, the western shore is a maze of backwaters, edged by spartina grass and oyster shell bars. This definitely is an area where you need local knowledge like that of Capt. Traverso. Navigating the narrow, shallow channels is an invitation for running aground.
The shallow backwaters on the west side of the Mantanzas River. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
It is worth noting that this region is right on the southern edge of the range of the spartina grass on Florida’s east coast. Farther down the coast, mangroves become the dominate shoreline vegetation.
Along here the angling is virtually year-round, especially for the redfish. The best months for reds are September to November, with spring also presenting some good action. In the winter months the reds tend to school up, so when you find them, there will be plenty of targets. That is the time to be tossing finger mullet imitations, since that is the forage of choice for the redfish.
During the summer months, when we were on the water, the best option is to get back into the very shallow coves and creeks. Shrimp are abundant in these places at this time of year and the redfish are drawn to them. This is sight casting to fish that have their backs and tails out of the water as they push across the mud flats.
Once the tide is getting near the flood, it’s time to move to the outer edge of the marsh grass along the main river channel. Presenting shrimp fly patterns along the fringe of the grass can attract not only reds, but seatrout, flounder, black drum and occasionally sheepshead.
On The Fly South Associate Editor Polly Dean with a redfish taken while fishing with Capt. Cullen Traverso. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Regardless of the time of year, when full-moon or new-moon tides flood the spartina grass, the reds burrow back into the vegetation. Such conditions offer more sight casting, with crab-pattern flies now the ticket. Besides watching for tails and backs popping above the surface, you also want to look for the grass moving oddly as the fish plough through it.
Truthfully, our day in the backwaters was a bit frustrating. We saw plenty of reds pushing wakes and poking their tails in the air, but mostly at a distance. The water was fairly murky, causing us run over a bunch of fish as Cullen poled along the flats. But that’s fishing. You have to deal with the conditions Mother Nature presents you and eventually the hook ups come. And the captain did put us where there were a lot of redfish.
You can contact Capt. Cullen Traverso through the High Tailin’ Fishing Charter site online. He specializes in fishing the area from Vilano to the north of St. Augustine, south to the Crescent Beach Area.
