You can fish the backcountry flats and the offshore reefs with the same captain at AC Charters, where Capt. Allen Mills has guided out of Fernandina Beach for more than four decades. His boats tie up on E Dock at 1 North Front Street, in the historic downtown and a few minutes' run from the inlet. Sight-casting is his specialty, whether that's redfish tailing on a grass flat or cobia offshore, and he held an IGFA world record for bonnethead shark. Shark trips are on the menu too.
Pick the boat by the kind of fishing you're after:
- The Wahoo, a classic 31-foot Bertram powered by twin Perkins engines, runs the offshore trips. The company lists kingfish, amberjack, barracuda, tuna, wahoo and sharks, plus bottom fishing for snapper, grouper and sea bass.
- The Kodak Moment, a 23-foot Hanson, works the backwater and the flats from Cumberland Sound to Nassau Sound, on fly or light tackle, for redfish, trout, flounder, sheepshead and tarpon.
Trips run four, six or eight hours, and The Wahoo also has a two-hour option. Tackle, bait, a cooler with ice and your Florida and Georgia fishing licenses come with the trip, and the crew cleans whatever you keep. You bring sunglasses, sunscreen, food, drinks and a camera. A deposit holds your date and comes back if the captain cancels for weather. If you need to cancel, the company asks for two weeks' notice, so this is a charter to book once your dates are firm.
Capt. Allen posts seasonal fishing reports on the site, which give a sense of what's biting when (black drum at the jetties in early spring, redfish in the fall backwater). For a captain who runs long offshore days out to 70 miles, compare Big Fin Charters. And if anyone in your group would rather keep their feet on something solid, the George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier reaches out over Nassau Sound at the south end of the island.