Amelia Island has thirteen or so miles of beach, and most of it is available for surf fishing, but access to the beach can be challenging at times.

If you drive along North or South Fletcher on Amelia Island and you’ll see small blue and white “Beach Access” signs; some of the beach accesses have parking, others do not. Check out this Google Map.

You’ll also find some large wooden pavilions with parking and walkovers to the beach, like the one at the end of Sadler Road and one on the north end of the island on North Fletcher.

I’ve always preferred the north end of the beach for whiting and trout fishing, because the beach drops off faster on the north end and the deeper water is within casting range. On the north end of the island, Ocean Avenue (map) runs along an artificial sand dune, and you can park along the ocean side of the street and walk over the dune to surf fish.

Expect to catch almost anything on the beach; we’ve caught blues, trout, flounder, pompano, whiting, sharks, reds, rays, catfish, and even hooked a few tarpon, although we’ve never managed to land one.

A few words of caution: Amelia Island has lightning storms during the summer months, almost on a daily basis. At the first sign of approaching thunder storms or lightning, it’s a great idea to get off the beach.

The beach here is also subject to strong rip currents; if you’re a surf fisherman who likes to wade out in the surf, exercise caution when doing so. If you get stuck in a rip current, do not try to swim back to the beach, swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current.

‘course, maybe you would rather go out on a beautiful fishing boat!

Call Captain Cris Holland (904) 321-5650 of Misti Lynn Charters!