Fall Fishing at Amelia
Story and photos by Terry Lacoss

Amelia's fall fishing season not only offers ideal weather and temperature conditions for a variety of backwater, deep sea and freshwater bass fishing, but it is also one of the best times of the year to catch fish. Cooler water temperatures attract a wide variety of species to Amelia Island, where the water temperatures may be cooling off, but the fishing action is red hot!
Deep-sea fishermen will be targeting gag grouper, red snapper and black sea bass at the many offshore fish havens. Grouper weighing over 20 pounds can be found in good numbers at some of the larger ledges and where bait fish congregate on the bottom. Red snapper fishing also picks up during the fall months at some of the manmade reefs where broken concrete is scattered along the bottom.

Red snapper migrate onto both natural and
manmade reefs during the fall.
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One of the more successful baits for bottom fishing is fresh local squid. However, if you wish to tangle with a large grouper or red snapper, try a live pinfish or grunt! Look for the "Fernandina Snapper Grounds", "East FC" and the "Amberjack Hole" to produce some of the better bottom fishing action. All are marked on local offshore fishing charts with latitude and longitude coordinates.
Further offshore at the 30-fathom curve, blue water fishermen will find good numbers of wahoo waiting to chase down a high-speed plastic lure. Amelia Island wahoo often weigh over the 80-pound mark and can put up quite a speedy battle!
Closer to shore, both the Nassau and St. Mary's inlet mouths will hold large schools of red drum during the first of the incoming and last of the outgoing tides. One of the more popular fishing techniques includes fishing right on the bottom with fall run mullet.

Giant flounder showcase the backwater
scene during the fall fishing season.
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Fishermen will find good numbers of sheepshead, puppy drum, whiting, sea trout and flounder holding along the St. Mary's rock jetties. Jetty fishing often produces a grab bag of angling opportunities, so bring along a variety of baits including fiddler crabs, live shrimp and finger mullet.
Surf fishing is excellent during the fall for flounder, sea trout, redfish and good-eating pompano. Look for the best action to come during the falling tide while fishing right on the bottom with fresh shrimp. Other great surf baits include live finger mullet and fiddler crabs.
The Nassau Bridge offers excellent fall fishing for flounder, sea trout, red drum and whiting during the last of the incoming and the last of the outgoing tides. One of the more popular hot spots on the bridge is the deep channel located at the old draw bridge portion of the bridge. Serious bridge fishermen drift a live shrimp just off from the bottom with a trout float. However, finger mullet and fresh shrimp fished right on the bottom is hard to beat.
Big schools of redfish can be found in the many backwater tidal estuaries of Amelia Island and are waiting to explode on a topwater chugger or cigar-shaped surface lure. Other popular lures include the gold Johnson spoon and the "Straight Jacket" spinner bait.

Northeast Florida offers numerous small
lakes for largemouth bass fishing.
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Sea trout weighing to eight pounds can be found holding at the mouth of Egan's Creek, at the footsteps of old Fernandina Beach, also called "Old Town", the Shave Bridge, Tiger Basin and the Nassau Sound. Topwater plugs including the "Chug Bug", "Johnny Rattler" and the "Skitter Walk" are all deadly lures for fall run sea trout. However, when sea trout are holding deep, try a large live shrimp fished deep under a trout float.
Flounder fishermen will find good numbers of flounder holding around docks, oyster bars and submerged rocks during the last of the outgoing and first of the incoming tides. One of the best flounder baits is a small finger mullet fished right on the bottom with a "Fish Finder" setup. Other popular flounder baits include bullhead minnows, cut bait and live shrimp.
Bass fishing in many of the local small lakes and freshwater rivers should be excellent this fall, particularly when fishing with buzz baits, spinner baits, surface lures and plastic worms. Look for some of the best bass fishing to come from Rodman Reservoir, the St. Johns River at Green Cove and both Thomas' and Lofton Creeks.
Crabbing offers great family fun during the fall for delicious eating blue crabs. Just tie a chicken part onto a long string, then weight your bait with a 4-ounce sinker. When a slight tug is felt, pull your crab up to the surface and net with a long handled net. Keep your crabs alive in a bucket of water until time for boiling. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add crab boil seasoning. Boil your crabs until they turn bright pink and eat! Non-Florida residents will need to purchase a saltwater fishing license when fishing from land, bridges and piers. For more fishing information, call the Amelia Angler (904) 321-5090.