St. Augustine Early Summer Bite: Reds, Trout, and Topwater at First Light

St. Augustine Early Summer Bite: Reds, Trout, and Topwater at First Light

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑summer pattern setting up. Light southwest breeze this morning swinging onshore by afternoon, temps climbing into the mid to upper 80s, humidity thick, and only spotty chances of a passing shower along the sea breeze line. According to the National Weather Service marine outlook, inshore winds stay around 5–10 knots with a light chop, and the nearshore Atlantic holds 2–3 foot seas most of the day. Sunrise hit right around a quarter after six, with sunset close to 8:25 this evening, so you’ve got a good long window of low‑light fishing on both ends of the day. That first hour after sun‑up and last hour before dark are prime. NOAA tide tables for St. Augustine Inlet show a predawn high and a late‑afternoon low, giving us a strong falling tide most of the morning and a building incoming this evening. That dropping water has been key for redfish and trout, especially where small creeks drain into the ICW and around oyster bars. Inshore, locals have been putting decent numbers of slot **redfish** and speckled **seatrout** in the boat, with a few upper‑slot fish mixed in. Around the docks and bridge pilings, the **sheepshead** bite is still steady, and there are plenty of **mangrove snapper** showing up along rock and concrete. A few nice **flounder** are coming from sandy edges off the main channel and from the mouths of smaller creeks. Best baits in the river and creeks right now: live **shrimp**, mud minnows, and finger mullet. Fish them on a sliding Carolina rig along the bottom or under a popping cork over shell and grass. Soft‑plastic paddletails in natural mullet or “new penny” colors, rigged on 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads, are producing reds and trout on that falling tide. For topwater at first light, locals are throwing walk‑the‑dog plugs in bone or chrome; work them over creek mouths and shallow flats near the ICW. On the beach and nearshore, when the wind lays down, anglers have been finding **king mackerel**, **Spanish mackerel**, and the occasional **cobia** around nearshore wrecks and bait pods just off St. Augustine Inlet. Slow‑trolled live pogies and cigar minnows are the go‑to for kings, while cobia are eating live eels, big shrimp, or bucktail jigs tipped with strip baits. Closer in the surf, whiting and occasional pompano are taking sand fleas and shrimp on double‑drop rigs. A couple of local hot spots to circle on the map: • The **Vilano Bridge and surrounding docks**: good mix of reds, trout, sheepshead, and mangrove snapper on moving water. Pitch live shrimp or fiddler crabs tight to structure and hang on. • The **Matanzas Inlet area**: work the creek mouths and oyster edges on a falling tide for redfish and trout, and bounce jigs or mud minnows along the sandy drop‑offs for flounder. Watch your tides and currents there; they can rip. If you’re fishing mid‑day when it’s bright and hot, downsize your leader, slow your presentation, and get tight to shade and deeper holes. Early and late, lean on topwater and moving baits and cover water. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

St. Augustine Fishing Report: Rising Tide, Slot Reds, and Tarpon Action

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’ve got a light onshore Atlantic breeze early, 5–10 knots, building a bit through midday, with scattered clouds and only a slight chance of a passing shower. Air temps are running from the low 70s at first light into the mid 80s this afternoon. According to the National Weather Service marine outlook, seas are sitting around 2–3 feet just off the beach, so it’s very manageable for nearshore runs. Sunrise is right around 6:20 a.m., with sunset close to 8:25 p.m., giving you a long fishing window on either side of the tides. The recent tide tables for the St. Augustine Inlet show a pre-dawn high followed by a solid falling tide through the morning, then a low and a clean incoming this afternoon. That outgoing morning tide has been the money time in the creeks and at the inlet rocks. Inshore, folks have been picking at **slot redfish**, **speckled trout**, and a few **flounder**. Local reports from the Vilano and Salt Run crowd say reds have been stacked on oyster points where the current sweeps past hard edges. Shrimp and mud minnows on 1/8–1/4 oz jig heads are putting fish in the boat. For artificials, a 3–4 inch paddle tail in natural mullet or green-back colors has been hot. Topwater plugs at first light over grass lines and creek mouths are drawing explosive trout strikes. Flounder numbers have ticked up around docks along the ICW and in the Matanzas River. Anglers drifting finger mullet or mud minnows just off the bottom are finding a mix of keepers and shorts. A plain jig head with a Gulp! swimming mullet in white or new penny is a solid artificial choice. Around the St. Augustine Inlet, the jetty rocks are holding **mangrove snapper**, **sheepshead**, and a few **black drum**. Live shrimp on light fluorocarbon leaders, tucked tight to the rocks, are producing. Work the last of the outgoing and first of the incoming for the best bite and safer conditions. Nearshore, the beach has seen **tarpon** rolling, scattered **king mackerel**, and plenty of **sharks** shadowing the pogie pods when they’ve been up. Local charter chatter out of Camachee suggests slow-trolled live pogies on stinger rigs just outside the breakers are getting kings and the occasional big jack. If the bait pods are scattered, try diving plugs in natural or chrome patterns. If you’re looking for a couple of hot spots: - The **Matanzas Inlet area** and the flats just north have been very productive on the falling tide for reds and trout. - **Salt Run and the nearby grass edges** inside the inlet are holding good trout at dawn and reds on the higher water phases. Best overall baits right now: live shrimp, mud minnows, finger mullet, and pogies. Best artificials: topwater walk-the-dog plugs at dawn, 3–4 inch paddle tails in natural mullet colors, and Gulp! shrimp or swimming mullet worked slowly near structure. That’s the rundown from in and around St. Augustine. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

St. Augustine Early Summer Fishing: Redfish, Trout, and Flounder on the Incoming Tide

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’re sitting on a warming early‑summer pattern: light southwest to southeast breeze this morning, building sea breeze by mid‑day, muggy, with a good chance of a passing thunderstorm inland pushing out toward the beach late afternoon. Skies start mostly clear, clouds stacking up after lunch. Air temps climbing into the upper 80s, feeling hotter on the flats. Water inshore is running stained to lightly tannic from recent rains. Sunrise is right around 6:25 a.m., with sunset about 8:25 p.m., so you’ve got a nice long window to work low light on both ends of the day. Tides around the St. Augustine Inlet are running about a 4–5 foot swing. We’ve got a predawn high, with water dumping out mid‑morning and a strong outgoing through late morning, then a mid‑afternoon low and a flood pushing in toward sunset. That falling tide this morning and the first couple hours of the incoming late day are your prime chew windows. Inshore, the usual suspects have been cooperating. Local dock talk has slot redfish chewing along shell bars and flooded grass edges from Vilano up toward the ICW creeks, especially on the last of the incoming and first of the outgoing. A few upper‑slot fish have been coming off the edges of the Matanzas River bars. Trout catches have picked up on the deeper bends and around the, ahem, “no‑name” docks south of the 312 bridge, with some keeper specks mixed in with dinks at first light. Flounder action’s been decent but not on fire: scattered fish on sandy pockets along the ICW and around inlet rocks, with a few nice ones reported by guys dragging slow near the bottom. Mangrove snapper are starting to stack on bridges and rock piles, great option if the wind or boat traffic turns the creeks into a mess. Off the beach, when the seas settle, folks have been finding Spanish mackerel and the occasional king skying on bait pods just outside the breakers, with a few cobia still shadowing rays and buoys. Surf anglers along A1A are picking up whiting, a few pompano stragglers, and slot reds in the cuts, especially on that last half of the rising tide. Best baits inshore right now: live shrimp, mud minnows, and finger mullet if you can net them at first light. For artificials, keep it simple: - For reds and trout at dawn: small walk‑the‑dog topwaters in bone or mullet patterns, plus suspending twitchbaits in natural colors. - For flounder: 1/4‑ounce jighead with a white or new penny paddletail, dragged painfully slow along the bottom. - For mangroves and mixed bag around structure: small live shrimp on a light knocker rig or freelined with just enough weight to get down. Surf: fresh dead shrimp, sandfleas if you can dig them, and small cut mullet will get whiting, drum, and reds. A couple local hot spots to circle: - The St. Augustine Inlet and surrounding rocks, including the Vilano Bridge area and nearby channel edges. Work the moving water around the rocks on the change of the tide for reds, trout, flounder, and Spanish when bait’s pushing through. - The ICW creek mouths and oyster bars between the 312 bridge and Matanzas Inlet. Hit them on the last of the incoming and first of the outgoing with live bait or paddletails, keeping your casts tight to the shells and grass. That’s the rundown from your buddy Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

St. Augustine Early Summer Pattern: Dawn Topwater and Moving Tides

This is Artificial Lure with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’ve got a classic early-summer pattern setting up along the Ancient City coast. The National Weather Service calls for light southwest winds this morning turning onshore by afternoon, seas running 2 to 3 feet, and just a slight chop on the ICW. Skies are partly cloudy with a small chance of an afternoon shower. Weather Underground and Windy both show barometric pressure steady to slowly falling, which usually perks up the bite on the moving tides. Sunrise is right around a quarter after six, with sunset just before eight-thirty this evening, giving you a long, fishable day with prime low-light windows at both ends. Those dawn and dusk edges are when your topwater and shallow presentations will shine. Tides along the St. Augustine Inlet, per NOAA, show a predawn high followed by a mid-morning outgoing that drains hard through the inlet and into the creek mouths. Expect the strongest current around the lower half of the outgoing and the first push of the incoming early afternoon. That’s when the predators pin bait against the edges and structure. Local tackle shops around town have been reporting steady action on **slot redfish**, **trout**, and a few **flounder** inshore, with **mangrove snapper**, **jacks**, and **ladyfish** mixed in around the bridges and rocks. Offshore and nearshore, anglers are still finding **king mackerel**, **cobia** sliding through, and a mix of **vermilion snapper** and **sea bass** on the bottom when the current allows. Pier regulars say whiting and pompano slowed some, but there are still **spanish mackerel** and **bluefish** pushing bait when the water’s clean. Inshore, think early and late for the best bite. On the flats behind Vilano and north in the Palm Valley stretch, redfish have been cruising edges 1–3 feet deep, especially where oyster meets grass. A 3-inch paddle tail in new penny, opening night, or natural mullet on an 1/8-ounce jig head has been the day-in, day-out producer. Live shrimp under a popping cork remains king for numbers of trout and mixed bag action. For trout, hit the drop-offs along the Matanzas River and the ICW, especially where smaller feeder creeks dump into deeper bends. MirrOlure-style hard baits, small suspending twitch baits, and walk-the-dog topwaters at first light are putting better fish in the boat. Once the sun gets up, slide a bit deeper and slow it down with soft plastics or live bait. Flounder have been coming from dock lines, riprap, and the inlet rocks. Slow-roll a mud minnow or finger mullet on a jig right along the bottom. Don’t be afraid to let them chew a second before you set the hook. Two local hot spots to circle today: • St. Augustine Inlet and the adjacent jetties – Work the last of the outgoing and first of the incoming for reds, flounder, mangroves, jacks, and the occasional snook. Use live shrimp, mud minnows, or small finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bounce 1/4-ounce jigs tight to the rocks. • Tolomato River and creeks off the ICW between the Vilano Bridge and Guana River – On the lower tide, target creek mouths with oysters for redfish and trout. On high water, push back into the grass with weedless soft plastics and topwaters. Best all-around lures today: 3–4 inch paddle tails, gold spoons, and small topwater plugs in bone or mullet patterns. Best bait: live shrimp, mud minnows, small mullet, and cut mullet for the bigger reds. This is Artificial Lure reminding you to fish the moving water, keep an eye on the storms, and respect the local spots and fellow anglers. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Early Summer St. Augustine: Reds, Trout, and Tarpon on the Incoming Tide

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’ve got a classic early summer pattern setting in around the Ancient City. First light’s coming quick, with sunrise just after 6:20 a.m. and sunset a little after 8:20 p.m., so you’ve got a long window to work both the low-light and tide changes. Mornings are starting off in the low 70s, afternoons pushing upper 80s to low 90s with that typical onshore breeze and building humidity. Expect a southeast sea breeze to pick up by late morning, kicking the chop up along the beaches but keeping things fishy in the inlet and intracoastal. Tides around St. Augustine Inlet are running a solid mid-range. We’re looking at an early morning low, a late-morning incoming, and an afternoon high that sets up nicely for working current edges and creek mouths. The incoming has been the money tide for cleaner water on the inside, while the first of the outgoing is flushing bait out of the grass and oyster bars. Inshore, the redfish bite has been strong on the higher stages of the tide up on the flooded grass edges and around oyster points. Anglers have been picking off slot and a few upper-slot reds, with some overs thrown in, working soft-plastic paddletails in natural colors, gold spoons, and live shrimp or finger mullet under popping corks. Trout have been chewing the best at first light along deeper shell banks and bends in the ICW, especially around areas with 4–8 feet of water and moving current. Topwaters at dawn—walk-the-dog style plugs in bone or mullet patterns—are getting smoked, then switching to suspending hard baits or soft plastics once the sun gets up. Flounder are starting to show better around docks, creek mouths, and sandy drop-offs near oyster bars. Folks bouncing mud minnows or small finger mullet on jig heads close to the bottom are putting a few nice flatfish in the cooler. Black drum and sheepshead are hanging around bridge pilings and heavier structure; fiddler crabs and shrimp on a simple rig tight to the structure are doing the trick. Nearshore, the beach bite has had tarpon rolling on the bait pods when conditions line up, and there’ve been Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and jacks blitzing glass minnows and small pogies. Shiny spoons, small gotcha-style plugs, and white bucktail jigs are good choices if you’re chasing the schools along the beach. Keep a heavier rod ready with a big swimbait or live bait for when the tarpon slide through. Best lures right now: – Topwater plugs at daybreak for trout and mixed bag. – 3–4 inch paddletail soft plastics on 1/8–1/4 oz jig heads for reds and trout. – Gold spoons for covering water on the flats. – White bucktails or silver spoons nearshore for Spanish and jacks. Best baits: – Live shrimp, finger mullet, and mud minnows inshore. – Pogies and mullet nearshore and around the inlet. A couple of local hot spots to keep on your radar: – The Vilano area and bridges on the ICW: good for trout at dawn, reds on the edges, and drum around pilings. – Matanzas River and its feeder creeks south of town: cleaner water on the incoming and a nice mix of reds, trout, and flounder around oyster bars and creek mouths. Work those moving tides, fish early or late to dodge the heat, and match the hatch with either small baitfish or shrimp imitations and you’ll stay tight to fish around St. Augustine right now. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn