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St. Augustine Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The oldest city fishes: Matanzas marsh reds, the inlet's tide-swept bars, and pier-and-surf autumn runs under 450 years of watchtowers.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
Low 9:00 PM
Air / High
82 / 83 F
Wind
ESE 12 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8720587, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

St. Augustine serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 83. Tides: high 1:48 AM and 2:29 PM, low 7:58 AM and 9:00 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 85 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

BluefishExcellent

Dawn and dusk metal: cast spoons and poppers where bait shows. Midday fish slide deeper off the bars.

Speckled troutGood

First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

Tomorrow: Similar at 87 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8720587 (St. Augustine Beach). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:48 AM4.3 ft
LOW7:58 AM0.4 ft
HIGH2:29 PM5.4 ft
LOW9:00 PM1.0 ft
Sat
HIGH2:55 AM4.2 ft
LOW9:02 AM0.4 ft
HIGH3:37 PM5.5 ft
LOW10:04 PM0.9 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp82 F
High / Low83 / 74 F
WindESE 12-18 mph
Pressure1014.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain71% cloud, 28%
Sunrise / Sunset07:03 / 19:43
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~85 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Rain, 83/74 F, wind 13 mph, rain 28%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on St. Augustine: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Best: spring and fall

The Gulf coast's everyday obsession: soft mouths, violent topwater strikes and a fishery that lives by tide and bait. First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Dawn and dusk metal: cast spoons and poppers where bait shows. Midday fish slide deeper off the bars.

When to come: the St. Augustine calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 85 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~85 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks St. Augustine today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 14 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 84 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 87 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida saltwater license (free shore-based registration option). Red drum slot 18-27 inches, 1/person north zone: check FWC.

Access

St. Johns County Pier (fee), Vilano and Anastasia surf accesses, Lighthouse Park and Vilano ramps, marsh kayak launches off 206 and A1A.

About this water

Historic coastal city on the Matanzas River, St. Johns County, FL. America's oldest city, fishing since 1565.

Fishing St. Augustine: the full guide

Marsh country

St. Augustine's real treasure spreads behind the beaches: the Matanzas and Tolomato river marshes run classic lowcountry redfishing: flood-tide tailers in the spartina (summer big tides), oyster-bar ambushes on the drop, trout in the deeper bends all winter. Kayaks and technical skiffs own it: the marsh forgives quiet approaches and punishes wake.

The inlet and its bars

St. Augustine Inlet moves serious water across shifting bars: bull reds stage there in fall (October's fish top 40 inches), flounder ride the edges, sheepshead pave the rocks in winter. Navigation demands local respect (the bars shift), but the fishing inside the tips rivals anywhere on the First Coast.

Pier, surf and the fall run

The St. Johns County Pier and the beaches south through Crescent Beach ride the autumn mullet run: tarpon and sharks crashing bait beyond the breakers, slot reds and flounder in the wash, whiting and pompano for the rod-spike crowd through winter. Spring reverses the parade with pompano first and Spanish behind.

A working year

Winter: sheepshead on every piling, trout deep in the marsh bends, clear-water sight shots at reds. Spring: pompano surf, trout moving shallow, first tarpon rumors. Summer: flood-tide tailing mornings, mangrove snapper at the inlet, storms to dodge. Fall: the everything season: bulls at the inlet, mullet-run chaos on the beach, marsh reds schooled and hungry.

Common questions

What is flood-tide redfishing in St. Augustine?

Summer's biggest tides put water over the spartina flats and reds follow, tails up, eating fiddlers: sight-casting to waving tails in grass. It runs June-October around new and full moons: book the tide, not the date.

Where should a visitor start without a boat?

The pier for the fall run, Vilano's inlet-side shore for reds and flounder, and a kayak rental into the Matanzas marsh at first light: three different fisheries inside fifteen minutes of the plaza.

Is fishing good at St. Augustine right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Jacksonville38 miSaint Johns River58 miOrange Lake62 miSt. Johns River64 miMosquito Lagoon80 miLake Harris84 mi
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