SPRING FISHING AT AMELIA
Story and photos by Terry Lacoss
Depending on your angling needs, the spring fishing season is definitely
the time of year to catch the fishing fever! After a winter of watching fishing shows on
television and reading fishing articles in magazines, most fishermen have developed a good
case of "fishing fever" when the first few days of warm weather arrive.
To highlight this note, big black drum often weighing over the 70-lb. mark begin to show
up at both the Nassau inlet at the southern tip of Amelia Island and the St. Marys inlet
at the northern tip of the island. As the big schools of drum migrate into the inlet
mouths with spawning on their minds, they will begin to move into the deep river holes of
nearby bays and tidal rivers.
Historically, black drum fishing action gets underway just a few days before the full moon
in March. Naturally, this all depends on a lot of weather variables, including the water
temperature. Look for the schools of drum to begin to show up when the water temperature
reaches the upper 60s.
Be prepared to fish with heavy tackle for these 20 to 80 pound black drum! Local experts
like Forest Evatt use 50-lb. class fishing tackle and a six foot section of 100-lb. test
monofilament leader. The drum bait, which normally includes a blue crab, half a crab and
shrimp, or a fresh conch, is anchored right on the bottom with a four to eight ounce
weight. A large 8/0 saltwater hook is embedded into the bait.
The secret to catching area drum, however, is being able to detect the soft bite of these
very large bottom feeders. Black drum can actually swim right along the bottom, suck in
your bait and strip your baited hook with little notice! Most fishermen will often use a
medium-heavy rod tip so they can feel the bite of the drum.
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Skilled fishermen like Forest Evatt will place their rods in a rod holder
and watch the rod tip for the signs of a drum strike. When the slightest sign of a strike
occurs, Forest will remove the rod from the holder, reel in the slack and firmly set the
hook. March also signals the reopening of the sea trout season. Fishermen may once again keep the sea trout that they catch. Look for "Gator" sized trout to show up in the many tidal basins and rivers that make up Amelia Island's backwaters. Some of the more productive areas include Sawpit Creek, the Nassau bridge, the St. Marys rock jetties, the mouth of Egan's Creek and Tiger basin. |
Some of the better techniques for catching spring sea trout include
drifting a live shrimp just off from the bottom with the aid of a trout float. Lures that
work well down deep for area sea trout include the Rapala, led head jig, Mirror Lure,
Ratlin Flash and deep-diving minnow imitations. Big sea trout simply love topwater plugs.
If you have plenty of patience and a good heart, try working a Chug-a-Bug, Devil's Horse,
Johnny Ratler or a Pop-R.
Redfish and flounder should be plentiful in the spring as well. Look for big schools of
redfish to show up on the flooded marsh flats during a flood tide and on mud flats during
low water periods.
Good numbers of flounder can be caught while fishing close to the St. Marys rock jetties,
shell beds creek mouths and pilings.
During late spring, Spanish mackerel, blues and jack crevalle should also begin to school
at both inlets and beaches of Amelia Island. One of the most productive fishing tactics
here is to simply watch for diving birds. Once you have found diving birds, begin to troll
with #00 Clark spoons or small spoons. Casting can also become great fun, especially with
fly fishing tackle.
Late spring may also find cobia, kingfish, sharks and tarpon in good numbers close to the
beaches and also at both inlets of Amelia Island.
Chum fishing is very productive for all of these species. One of the best areas to try is
just off from the tips of the north and south St. Marys rock jetties.
Look for whiting, flounder, sea trout pompano and redfish to show up in the surf. Some of
the best surf fishing action often comes at the southern tip of Amelia Island. However,
all of Amelia's beaches offer excellent surf fishing action during the spring fishing
season. Needless to say, fresh shrimp fished with a "Fish Finder" rig often
produces the best results.
| Offshore fishing for grouper can be excellent during the
spring, particularly at some of the big rock ledges. Bottom fishermen should also find red
snapper, black sea bass and cobia willing to bite. Kingfish should also begin to show up at these nearshore fish havens as well. Gulf Stream fishing is also excellent during the springtime. Look for great trolling action to begin at the 30-fathom curve, which is located some 60 nautical miles offshore. |
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Here, blue water fishermen should find good numbers of dolphin, tuna, wahoo, sailfish and marlin feeding on the schools of bait fish that frequent the weed lines and the Continental Shelf.
Without a doubt, the best time of year to catch that giant largemouth bass
is during the warming days of spring. Look for the best action to come from the Nassau and
St. Marys river systems. These large rivers are made up of several feeder rivers including
Lofton, Thomas', Plumber,
Mills and Boggy creeks. One of the best fishing tactics here includes floating a plastic
worm or working a #11 gold rapala. However, if you are serious about catching a real big
bass, cast a wild shiner and float rig right up close to the river bank. Area freshwater
rivers also offer excellent bream, catfish and striper fishing during the spring.
Another fun springtime activity is crabbing. Try fishing a chicken neck right on the
bottom with a piece of kite string and a 4-oz. weight. Once you feel a tug, pull the crab
to the surface and net. For great eating, place your live crabs in a pot of boiling water
seasoned with crab boil and cook until they are bright pink in color.
Non-Florida residents are required to have a saltwater fishing license when fishing from
beaches and bridges. All fishermen are required to have saltwater licenses when fishing
from a boat.
For more fishing and charter information, call the
Amelia Angler at (904) 321-5090
