Fishing Report & Forecast Fernandina / Amelia Island

By Terry D. Lacoss

Largemouthbass will be spawning in the many local tidal rivers where shallow sloughs will be warming up the bass fishing action. A full moon in March will arrive on March 7th which should provide some of Northeast Florida’s best trophy bass fishing of the year.

Some of the more popular tidal rivers include Lofton, Boggy, Thomas’, and Mills creeks. Look for the last few hours of the flooding tides to produce the best trophy bass fishing action while casting a black back and silver sided #11 Rapala. When live shiners are available, barbing a wild shiner just behind the dorsal fin with a small float attached 18-inches above the shiner is a deadly big bass fishing tactic.

Black drum weighing to over one hundred pounds will be spawning during the month of March in Amelia Island waters. The “Annual Amelia Island Black Drum” fishing tournament attracts a lot of fishing attention and very competitive as well. One of the best black drum fishing waters is located just off from “Main Beach” where there is a live bottom. Fishing here at night and during a full moon with a quarter crab and conch combination dead on the bottom is key.

The fishy waters of Cumberland Sound and the St. Mary jetty rocks offer excellent black drum fishing as well while fishing dead on the bottom with combination baits of crab, shrimp, or conch. Black drum fishermen will also catch redfish, whiting, and the occasional shark. Schooling redfish action will be excellent in the backwater bays and tidal rivers while fishing the last few hours of the falling tide. Here schooling reds will locate on shallow water mud flats where water temperatures are warmest and there is also an abundance of shrimp, crabs, and more popular redfish forage.

Keep in mind when reading the local tide charts, fishing far up in Northeast Florida tidal rivers there is a big lag time in the tides, which could be as much as five hours.

Casting a “Redfish Magic” spinner in the white color pattern is also a productive tidal river fishing tactic for not only largemouth bass, but for stripers, hybrids, seatrout, and redfish too!

The Nassau County public boat ramp “Half Moon” is located strategically just off from US-17 on the Nassau River and just south of Yulee. Here fishermen will have easy access to all the best fishing action!

Bridge fishermen will be catching excellent eating whiting, seatrout, bluefish, flounder, black drum, redfish, and more from the “Thomas Shave” public fishing pier located at the southern portion of Amelia Island. Some of the best action comes during the last few hours of the in-coming and the last few hours of the falling tides. Fishing dead on the bottom with live, or dead shrimp is key. If finger live finger mullet are available, also fish dead on the bottom with live finger mullet as well.

Seasoned pier fishermen will fish with multiple fishing rods, rigged with different baits in targeting the feeding habits of a variety of saltwater game fish.

Drifting a live shrimp under a float where the depth of the live shrimp is adjusted so the live shrimp drifts just a few feet off from the bottom is a deadly seatrout, bridge fishing tactic as well.

Redfish can be caught while casting a “Redfish Magic” spinner, or plastic scented shrimp. Fly fishermen will do well while tying a crab, or shrimp pattern fly on the business end of their leader.

Flounder fishing action will pick up along the Amelia River deep edges, particularly where both paper mills offer a rough bottom with lots of broken pilings and docks. Barb a live bullhead minnow to a ¼ ounce led head jig and retrieve slowly along the bottom. Look for the middle of the falling tide to produce the best flounder fishing action.

Offshore fishermen will be targeting sheepshead and flounder as well at near shore fish havens including KBY and Schultz’s fish havens. Fish dead on the bottom with fiddler crabs, or fresh shrimp.

Further offshore deep-sea fishermen will be targeting a variety of game fish including hard fighting and excellent eating cobia. FA, FB, and FC fish havens offer excellent bottom fishing as well..

For more information and charters, call Amelia Angler Outfitters (904) 261-2870, or visit www.ameliaangler.com