Amelia Island Fishing Charters & Guides

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Charters Near Amelia Island
Amelia Light Tackle Charters
Fernandina Beach, FL
(5.0, 1 Review)
Pipe Dream Charters
Fernadina Beach, fl
(5.0, 1 Review)
A Course Made Good
Fernandina Beach, FL
FreeGaff Sport Fishing
Fernandina Beach, FL
(5.0, 9 Reviews)
Reel Amelia
Fernandina Beach, FL
(5.0, 4 Reviews)
D&R Charters
Fernandina Beach, FL
  • The average cost for a four hour trip in Amelia Island is $595, while the average cost for an 8 hour trip is $1231. Prices can vary based on trip duration, boat size and amenities, and the type of fishing your group is looking to do. View all Amelia Island Charters here.

  • There are no shared trips currently available in Amelia Island. View all Amelia Island Charters here.

  • The most common charter boat types in Amelia Island are:

    Center Console

    Bay Boat

  • The average charter boat size in Amelia Island is 29 feet.

About Fishing in Amelia Island

Amelia Island Fishing Charters

On the edge of Florida at the Georgia line, Amelia Island offers some of the best inshore fishing in the Sunshine State. The region is full of Florida backcountry marshes, creeks and rivers with the St. Marys being the biggest. These estuaries hold huge numbers of redfish, trout, sheepshead, croaker, black drum and so much more. Amelia Island fishing charter guides know where the fish are and when they bite best. The “when” to fish is just as important as the “where.” Inshore fish are much more attuned to the tides than offshore fish. While the fish may be stacked so deep, you can almost walk across them, if the tide is not right they are hard to catch. If the tide is right, they switch to feeding mode and the bite is on. Your guide knows when the fish will bite and where they congregate to feed.The hottest inshore fishing around Amelia Island these days is fly fishing. Your guide can take you out in a s kiff, on a kayak, or let you try your hand at wading and casting. Amelia Island has plenty of redfish and trout that eagerly hit flies. Shrimp and crab patterns are excellent. Bass-sized lures like Wooly Buggers, mouse and shad patterns are also excellent choices. Anglers who don’t know how to cast flies can fish with jigs, lures and grubs. Popping corks are a great way to use grubs, live and cut bait. Trout and reds find a shrimp under a cork irresistible. Sometimes that’s enough to stir a strike even when the fish are not actively feeding. While reds and trout are the most popular sportfish and are year-round residents, Amelia Island has plenty of other offerings. The croaker, often called whiting, is practically unregulated fish in Florida. With a bag limit of 100 pounds of fish per person, you can easily take home enough fillets for a block party. Making this even better, these fish are easy to catch on small hooks and light tackle.

Amelia Island Inshore Fishing

Tarpon, the Silver Kings, are a summertime visitor to these waters. Florida’s tarpon are catch-and-release only. Most anglers do not mind, because tarpon are not a preferred fish for the table. In terms of the fight, they are superior. When hooked, they make drag-screaming runs and launch themselves into the air, furiously shaking their head to throw the hook. Just before tarpon arrive, Spanish mackerel show up inshore and offshore. These voracious predators hit anything that silver that swims. Spoons, silver-sided crankbaits and even silver swivels are not safe in the water when a school comes by. For most anglers, flounder are a prized catch for the table. They are also an unusual catch for most fishermen. Flounder are ambush predators and will not move far to catch prey. But you can maximize your chances of catching them by fishing the edges of drop-offs, even a few inches, where current cloys. The flounder will hang out below the drop, waiting for the moving water to bring something by.

Amelia Island Offshore Fishing

Grouper, snapper and amberjack are the top year-round offshore targets. Artificial and natural reefs in the deep water are home to plenty of these deepwater fish. All can be caught trolling downriggers, but most guides prefer to find a honey hole and drop live or cut bait over the side. Amberjacks are a bit more particular than the others, and may turn down fresh and cut bait. Any of the silver-sided baitfish found offshore will draw strikes when nothing else will. King mackerel are found near the surface to mid-depths. These fish don’t stay in one place, so most guides troll to find them. Duster rigs tipped with cigar minnows just cannot be beaten when it comes to catching kings. Trolling is also a good way to catch cobia, a bruiser fish that fights hard and almost does not know when to quit. If you are targeting cobia, know three things: 1) They are powerful. 2) They are curious. 3) Do not try to land one when you first get it to the boat. Cobia will swim to the boat or not fight very hard when first hooked. They want to see what’s going on. If you pull one aboard, these torpedo fish will begin to thrash violently in the boat. More than one recreational angler has suffered plenty of broken gear after boating a too-fresh cobia. Spook the fish and wear him out on the line.

Amelia Island Goliath Grouper

The waters of Amelia Island are also home to the world’s largest grouper. Called the Goliath grouper, it was once known as the jewfish. These monsters can weigh more than 500 pounds and never stray far from home. In fact, the world record Goliath comes from these waters, a 680 pound fish caught in 1961 by a woman named Lynn Joyner. Since Goliath are now catch-and-release only, landing a bigger world record may be a possibility in the near future. Given the strength needed to pull a “little” 300-pounder to the side of the boat, most anglers won’t care about the record book. There is a reason Amelia Island Fishing Charters guides tie the fishing rod to the boat with a heavy anchor line. Goliaths have claimed many rod and reel setups over the years. Once located, these leviathans can be caught over and over. Released, they head back to the bottom to wait for something else to eat.

Book An Amelia Island Fishing Charter

Amelia Island is a beautiful place to visit and live. While you're in the area, book a professional fishing charter for a great adventure. Select a local, experienced Amelia Island charter captain here.

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