Tarpon, cobia, kingfish, Spanish mackerel,red drum and a wide variety of pelagic sharks are holding at the St. Mary's inlet. Here sports fishing boats are chumming with cut pieces of menhaden and fishing with live menhaden from the surface right down through the water column. In recent days tarpon weighing over the 100-pound mark have been caught and released. Its not unusual for tarpon fights to last up to and over an hour. Include several gill rattling leaps from the mighty "Silver King"!
Live bait trolling with menhaden, or cigar minnows at offshore fish havens is producing kingfish, sailfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, cobia, barracuda and more. Trolling charters can be enjoyed with a 4-hour charter while some of the best hard bottoms are located within a 10-mile run from the St. Mary's inlet.
Gag grouper are being caught at FA fish haven while drift fishing, anchoring over a sunken wreck, lime rock ledge, or live bottom while fishing with live baits. Some of the best live baits include finger mullet, menhaden, cigar minnows, spanish sardines, or pinfish.
Recent backwater charters have been hooking up with big schools of redfish weighing to 15-pounds while targeting the falling tide. Some of the schools are big, with up to 50 reds holding in a small area of a flat, or river's edge. This affords for excellent sight fishing conditions while fishing with spin, casting, or fly fishing tackle.
Some of the more productive redfish lures include gold spoons, in-line spinners and fishing with Berkley Gulp shrimp dead in the school of reds and slowly on the bottom,.
Flounder, redfish and sea trout are taking live shrimp drifted under a "Popping Float".
Blue water charter boats have been catching blackfin tuna weighing to 30-pounds at the "Big Ledge", which requires a 12-hour charter. Wahoo weighing to 70-pounds are also running in water depths from 180-1,000 feet of water. Sailfish have also been holding where water temperatures are at least 71-degrees.
The month of September finds giant schools of bull reds holding in the deep waters of bays, jetties and tidal estuaries. Bull reds school in big numbers where it is not unusual to catch and release 20-40 bull reds during a four hour tide. Fishing on the bottom with live mullet, cut baits and deep jigging with 4-ounce bucktail jigs are all deadly fishing techniques when hooking up to the fall run of red drum.
Shark fishing nets a variety of sharks including hammerhead, dusky, bull , lemon, tiger, nurse and the high leaping spinner sharks. Some of the best action comes while drifting a large, bloody bait, in the wake of a shrimp boat's nets.
Bass fishing in Red Maple lake is excellent during the first few hours of sunlight while casting a surface plug. After the sun is up, a dark colored plastic worm, spinner bait, or rattle trap all catch bass that often weigh over 10-pounds. Bream fishing is also excellent while fishing with a float and using a small piece of shrimp, or corn. All of Amelia Island Plantation lakes and lagoons are catch and release only, while live bait fishing is not permitted.
Surf fishing is excellent for whiting, blues, puppy drum, pompano, redfish and spotted sea trout. Fish on the bottom with fresh shrimp, or sand fleas that can be sifted from the sand. The 52-M Mirror Lure is an excellent choice when casting to sea trout and blues that are schooling in the surf.
Walkers Creek offers excellent crabbing during the last few hours of the falling tide. Fish right on the bottom with a piece of chicken. Fresh shrimp fished on the bottom will catch red and black drum.
For more fishing information, call the Amelia Angler: (904)321-5090 or ext 5318. Cell (904) 753-3776
Terry Lacoss/Amelia Angler