FALL FISHING AT AMELIA

The fall fishing season is definitely my favorite time of the year to target a wide variety of area game fish. Not only does the fall fishing season offer comfortable weather conditions for the avid angler, but the cooling water temperatures excite the feeding appetites of area game fish as well!
Excellent catches of grouper have been coming from close to shore artificial and natural reefs during the past fall fishing seasons. KBY artificial reef, which is located some six miles offshore to the St. Mary's inlet, has been providing some of the best near-shore grouper fishing. There, bottom fishermen will find a series of artificial reefs which have been constructed from broken concrete. Plenty of black sea bass, red snapper and the occasional kingfish will also offer a good fight.

Grouper are plentiful at the many artificial and natural reefs just offshore from Amelia Island.
____________________

Excellent fall bottom fishing also can be found at the Fernandina Snapper Grounds, which is also called FA, FB and FC reefs. Look for the best bottom fishing action to come while fishing right on the bottom with fresh local squid, cigar minnows, cut bait or live pinfish. Striking fish, including kingfish, barracuda, blackfin tuna, Spanish mackerel and the occasional cobia can also be found holding at many of these artificial and natural reefs. The best fishing tactic for many of these good-tasting species is live bait trolling with cigar minnows.
Northeast Florida's Gulf Stream, located about 75 miles offshore of Amelia Island, also offers wonderful trolling action during the fall fishing season for wahoo, dolphin, sailfish, tuna and marlin. Look for the best action to come from the deep side of the break - from water depths of 200 to 1,000 feet. Here, trolling with "nude" ballyhoo provides the best fishing action. However, "black and red" or "blue and white" trolling plastics also work well. My favorite is the C & H "Wahoo Whacker."

     Inlet fishing for giant tarpon is very good during the fall at both the St. Mary's and Nassau inlets. Try chumming from an anchored boat while fishing right on the bottom with live menhaden or mullet. Chumming with cut baits or ground chum also attracts a wide variety of sharks, kingfish, bull reds and the occasional cobia.
    Speckled sea trout action begins to pick up during the fall along the beaches of Amelia Island, the St. Mary's jetties and in many of the area's tidal estuaries. One of the best fishing tactics here is to fish a live shrimp just off from the bottom with the aid of a trout float.
    Flounder fishing is also excellent during the fall, with some of these flatfish weighing over the 10-pound mark! One of the favorite local flounder holes is located at the footsteps of our historic Fort Clinch. There, flounder fishermen bump bullhead minnows or finger mullet right along this rocky bottom.
    It goes without saying that giant schools of redfish can be found everywhere during the fall fishing season! Some of the more popular fishing holes for redfish include the St. Mary's and Nassau inlets, the Amelia River, the Nassau River and simply anywhere a high tide floods the marsh flats. Some of the better baits for redfish include live mullet, shrimp, bullhead minnows and blue crabs. Lures that work well include the 1/2-ounce gold spoon, Cotee led head jigs (in the 1/4-ounce size with a chartreuse plastic tail) and a wide variety of topwater plugs. Fly casters do well with epoxy spoons, black "Clousers" and crab patterns.

Surf fishermen target a fantastic run of fall pompano, redfish, sea trout, flounder, blues and black drum. Some of the best catches come while fishing just past the breakers with live or dead shrimp.
The Nassau Bridge and the Fort Clinch fishing pier attract a wide variety of near-shore species including black drum, sheepshead, flounder, specks and red drum. Once again, the best fishing tactic is fishing close to the bottom with either live or dead shrimp. If you are targeting sheepshead, try using a fiddler crab for bait.

Fly casting for redfish is becoming a very
popular pastime on Amelia Island.
_______________________

     Freshwater fishing action for largemouth bass is excellent during the fall in the many tidal rivers of northeast Florida. Look for some of the best action to come from Lofton, Boggy, Thomas, Mills, Plumbers and the Little and Big St. Mary's rivers. One of the best fishing tactics here is fishing the last of the outgoing tide with a floating rapala.
    Crabbing is also excellent during the fall for good-eating local blue crabs. Tie a fish head or chicken part to a long piece of string or twine, and weigh it down with a three-ounce pyramid sinker. Once you detect a slight tug on the line, slowly pull the crab up to the surface and net. Blue crabs are delicious eating! To prepare your feast, place the crabs in a pot of boiling water that has been seasoned with crab boil or your favorite crab spices. Boil the crabs until they turn a bright pink and enjoy!
    Non-Florida residents will need a Florida saltwater fishing license when fishing from the beach, docks, bridges or piers. For more fishing and charter information, including daily fish limits, please call the Amelia Angler at (904) 321-5090.