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Steinhatchee Fishing Report

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

The Big Bend’s trout town: grass flats north and south of the river mouth, scallops in summer, and a fleet that reads tides like scripture.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 9:22 PM
Air / High
84 / 85 F
Wind
S 5 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8727695, 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.

Steinhatchee locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 85. Tides: high 6:47 AM and 9:22 PM, low 12:45 AM and 2:29 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.

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 84 F with a rain chance. 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 8727695 (Steinhatchee River Entrance). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:45 AM2.2 ft
HIGH6:47 AM4.5 ft
LOW2:29 PM0.5 ft
HIGH9:22 PM2.9 ft
Sat
LOW1:41 AM2.4 ft
HIGH7:48 AM4.3 ft
LOW3:54 PM0.5 ft
HIGH11:05 PM2.9 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp84 F
High / Low85 / 76 F
WindS 5-10 mph
Pressure1014.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain80% cloud, 59%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 19:52
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 · Showers, 85/76 F, wind 9 mph, rain 59%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Steinhatchee: 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.

When to come: the Steinhatchee 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
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 Steinhatchee today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 85 F, wind to 9 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 89 F, wind to 12 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 89 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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 rules: speckled trout limits differ in the Big Bend zone and redfish status should be verified with FWC. Scallop season runs summer only, with its own limits.

Access

Public ramp on Riverside Drive in Steinhatchee, private marinas with launches and rentals, and Steinhatchee Falls upriver for paddle craft.

About this water

A spring-and-swamp river entering Deadman Bay at Steinhatchee, Taylor County, Florida: the hub of Big Bend inshore fishing.

Fishing Steinhatchee: the full guide

A fishery with a zip code

Steinhatchee is what happens when a whole town organizes around inshore fishing: the river drops over a small rock rapid at Steinhatchee Falls, winds past fish camps, and empties into a marked channel that fans onto miles of seagrass in every direction. Deadman Bay’s flats hold speckled trout in numbers that made the town’s name, with redfish working the rocky points and creek mouths on the bigger tides.

The trout program

From spring through fall, drift the three-to-six-foot grass north toward Rocky Creek or south toward Pepperfish Keys, throwing popping corks with shrimp-pattern plastics or suspending twitchbaits over the potholes. Bigger gator trout eat topwaters at first light in skinny water. Winter pulls trout into the river itself: the deep bends upstream of town become a slow-jig fishery when fronts drop water temps, and the crowd thins to the faithful.

Reds, and the summer sideshow

Redfish school on the outside bars and oyster edges, best on the last two hours of incoming tide with gold spoons or cut mullet. July opens scallop season and the flats fill with snorkelers: fish dawn or run further from the channel to keep your water. The offshore-curious can hit shallow rock piles a few miles out for gag grouper in the fall when they push in to 15 feet.

Working the channel

Tides rule everything: the outside flats go unfishably thin on negative lows, and the marked channel is the only safe run at low water. The local station gives the rhythm with a modest offset upriver. Sea Hag and the public ramp at the end of Riverside Drive handle launching; the fish camps rent skiffs to visitors who would rather not tow.

Common questions

When do trout move into the river?

Once hard fronts push water temps into the 50s, typically December through February. Slow soft plastics in the deep river bends produce all winter.

Is Steinhatchee good for a first flats trip?

Yes: the channel is well marked, guides are plentiful, and the trout drift-fishing is forgiving. Respect low tide and you will stay off the rocks.

What about scallops and fishing together?

In summer, scallop in the afternoon and fish dawn: the fleet pressure after 9 AM moves fish off the near flats.

Is fishing good at Steinhatchee 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

Saint Marks River56 miHomosassa72 miOrange Lake74 miLake Talquin88 miApalachicola Bay96 miClearwater Lake111 mi
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