Summer Fishing at Amelia

     During the warming days of summer, local fishermen beef up their fishing gear with the promises of giant game fish migrating close to the beaches and inlet mouths of Northeast Florida. Tarpon school in deep sloughs at inlet mouths and at baitfish pods close to the pristine beaches of Amelia Island. Tarpon, also called the "Silver King," often weigh well over the 100-lb. mark. Some even bust your fish scales at over 150 pounds!
     One of the more successful tarpon fishing tactics includes anchoring your saltwater boat at the tip of the St. Marys south jetties and setting up a chum slick with cut menhaden. Cut menhaden is also barbed on a #7/0 circle hook and sent down to the bottom with 30 to 50-lb. fishing tackle. A 4 to 8-oz. bank sinker is attached to the terminal fishing line with a small piece of picture hanging wire and a plastic fish finder. Once the mighty tarpon feels the sting of the hook and makes its mighty leap, the small piece of picture hanging wire allows the heavy lead weight to break free. A six-foot section of 100-lb. monofilament leader is also recommend for those lengthy battles with heavyweight tarpon that can last up to two hours.
     The southern tip of Amelia Island also harbors good numbers of tarpon during the heat of summer, particularly when menhaden are tightly schooled close to the surf. Here, tarpon fishermen secure a live well full of menhaden with an 8 to 10-foot cast net. Next, a drift is charted through the schools of menhaden while fishing with live menhaden right along the bottom and under the schools of baitfish.
     Tarpon fishermen will also run into schools of king mackerel, bonito, cobia and redfish while chum fishing and fishing the pods of baitfish.
     Look for some of the best tarpon action to come during the last of June and right through the month of September.
     Another popular summer game fish is the speedy king mackerel. King mackerel can weigh up to 50 pounds and are often caught in the 30 to 40-lb. class. One of the more popular kingfish tactics includes slow trolling live baits both on the surface and down deep with downriggers. Once again, menhaden is the bait of choice and often used for chumming up a kingfish bite by grinding up menhaden on board with a meat grinder. The ground fish is then placed into a mesh bag and attached to a gunnel cleat. There, the ground chum seeps slowly out of the bag and into the ocean, forming a fish-attracting chum slick.

Kingfish are a favorite summertime catch in the waters
off Amelia Island. Some of these hard-fighting
game fish can weigh up to 50 pounds!
___________________________________

     Other live baits that work well for king mackerel include live bluefish, whiting, Spanish mackerel, cigar minnows, Spanish sardines and croaker.
     However there is one dead bait that often accounts for its fair share of tournament-winning king mackerel - the cutlass fish, also called ribbonfish. This long, silvery sword-like fish is often fished down deep with a downrigger or dropped way back on the surface as a "Flat Line."
     Some of the more popular near shore kingfish drops includes the St. Marys inlet, Nassau Sound and the beaches just in front of Amelia Island Plantation. Look for good numbers of king mackerel to hold at some of the many natural and manmade offshore reefs including FA, FB, HH, Shultz's Fish Market and FC.
     The popular Nassau Sport Fishing Association's "Tournament of Champions" king mackerel tournament is scheduled for June 26-29. First place is worth $20,000 for the largest kingfish, based on a 200-boat field. For more information contact Rick Langford at (904) 277-3327.
     The 23rd Annual BellSouth Greater Jack-sonville Kingfish Tournament is scheduled for July 16–19, with a $126,000 first place award for the largest kingfish! For more information, contact Mike Wheeler at (904) 251-3011.
     Bluewater fishermen that visit Northeast Florida's Gulf Stream during the summer fishing season should find good numbers of dolphin schooling at weed lines and at the 30-fathom curve. A popular summer fishing tactic for dolphin includes trolling with medium ballyhoo, dressed up with a lime green C&H Stubby, or Tuna Tango plastic. Once a hooked dolphin is brought alongside your boat, keep the dolphin in the water and cast to its followers with light tackle spinning or fly fishing tackle. Tossing a handful of cut chum into the water also helps keep the school of inquisitive dolphin at boatside.
     Blue water fishermen can expect to catch wahoo, kingfish, blackfin tuna, sailfish and blue marlin this summer at Northeast Florida's Gulf Stream.
     Closer to shore, deep-sea fishermen will have tremendous success trolling for barracuda, bonito, sailfish, blackfin tuna, cobia, Spanish mackerel, kingfish and the occasional sailfish, wahoo or dolphin at offshore fish havens. Bottom fishing also produces good catches of grouper, red snapper and black sea bass as well.
     Jetty fishermen will find excellent-eating sheepshead, sea trout, puppy drum, flounder and redfish schooling close to submerged jetty rocks. A productive fishing tactic here includes anchoring your saltwater boat stern to the jetty rocks and fishing right alongside the submerged rocks with a variety of baits including fiddler crabs, blue crabs, live shrimp and dead shrimp.
     Backwater fishermen can expect to find good numbers of redfish schooling on shallow flats next to oyster bars and on flooded marsh flats. Look for the last of the outgoing tide to produce excellent redfish action on shallow water flats, while a big moon flood tide moves good numbers of redfish onto flooded marsh flats.

Fishing for redfish in the backwaters of
Amelia is a popular pastime.
____________________

     Some of the more popular lures for summer redfish include the led head jig, teamed with a curly plastic tail and a wide variety of top water chuggers and spinner baits. Fly-fishing for redfish is also popular. Try eight-weight fly fishing tackle paired with a variety of salty imitations including crab patterns, epoxy spoons, poppers and clousers.
      Fishing with live shrimp over a flooded oyster bar, or close to a grassy point produces great summer fishing action for flounder, sea trout, bluefish and redfish.
     Surf fishing action produces a grab bag of beach species including whiting, pompano, sea trout, flounder and blues. Look for the best surf fishing action to come during the final portion of the falling tide. Some of the key areas to enjoy this great shore fishing action include Fort Clinch, the old pipeline and the southern tip of Amelia Island.
     Some of the better baits for surf fishing include fresh shrimp, squid, finger mullet and sand fleas.
     Bass fishing is excellent during the summer months at many of the tidal rivers and small lakes of Northeast Florida. Some of the more popular freshwater rivers include Lofton Creek, the St. Marys River and Boggy Creek. Look for the best action to come early in the morning or as the sun is setting while fishing with dark-colored floating plastic worms, gold rapalas and spinner baits.
     Crabbing is excellent family fun during the summer months. To catch local blue crabs, fish right on the bottom with a piece of chicken. When a slight tug is detected, pull the string in slowly and net the crab with a long-handled net. Most area bait and tackle stores sell pre-rigged crab gear and long-handled nets. Place the live crabs in a boiling pot of water with crab seasoning added and boil until the crabs turn to a bright pink color.
     If you are a non-Florida resident, you will need to purchase a Florida saltwater fishing permit when fishing from bridges, land or boats. For more fishing information, call the Amelia Angler at (904) 321-5090.