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St. Augustine Fishing Report: Mullet Run, Reds, Tarpon, and More
Published 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Good morning folks, this is Artificial Lure with your Friday fishing report for September 5th, coming to you straight from beautiful St. Augustine—where the bite’s heating up faster than a low country boil.
Let’s kick things off with the **tide report**. According to Tide-Forecast.com, we’re looking at a low tide early at 12:43 AM, rolling up to a solid high at 6:32 AM, dipping down again to low at 12:42 PM, and wrapping the day with another impressive high at 6:59 PM. That dawn tide should have water moving, so if you can get lines wet just after sunrise—7:04 AM—you’re in prime shape. Sunset gives late anglers plenty of good light right up to 7:42 PM.
Weather for today is classic First Coast September: warm, muggy, and mostly calm. Winds are predicted light out of the southeast, and we’ve got a typical high near 88. Water temps are holding steady in that upper 80s range, keeping the baitfish active and the predators right behind. If a stray afternoon squall pops up, treat it as an excuse to grab lunch and then get back at it when the sky clears.
Let’s talk **what’s biting**. The annual mullet run is getting started, and locals know that’s like ringing the dinner bell for everything from snook to tarpon, reds, and flounder. There have been strong schools of finger mullet pushing into the Matanzas Inlet and running along Crescent Beach. Local pier regulars reported Spanish mackerel blitzes yesterday just after the tide started in, with double hookups common. The big news this week: a batch of overslot redfish landed around the Vilano Bridge, most caught on live mullet or cut bait fished just off the bottom.
**Best baits and lures?** With all that bait in the water, you want to match the hatch. Live mullet or mud minnows will absolutely shine, but artificials are performing too. Try a white or silver paddletail on a quarter-ounce jighead in the slower creeks, or bounce a 5-inch jerkbait in mullet patterns around bridge pilings and oyster bars. Old faithful gold spoons are seeing action around Salt Run and the flats at Guana for those hunting slot reds. For snook around the inlet jetties, flair hawk jigs (chartreuse and white) tossed on the outgoing tide are putting fish in the cooler. Surf anglers have done well with Fishbites strips and sandfleas for whiting and the occasional pompano.
If you’re chasing **bass in the backwaters**, the topwater bite is good at daybreak. Walking baits like the Whopper Plopper or popping frogs fished near grass edges are drawing big hits, as discussed on Sports Illustrated's Fishing On SI feature on topwater lures. For deeper structure, try a swimbait or a craw-style trailer on your chatterbaits—tips Field & Stream shared in their latest lure breakdown.
For hotspots, don’t miss:
- **Matanzas Inlet:** Red drum and flounder tight to the north rocks, and tarpon are occasionally rolling on the outgoing.
- **Vilano Bridge:** Chunk cut bait deep for reds or toss live shrimp for mixed bag action—trout, drum, sheepshead.
- **Salt Run:** Early-morning trout and snook ambush mullet schools tight to the grass and docks.
Remember, the mullet run won’t last forever, and now’s your shot for that bucket-list tarpon or gator trout. Bring plenty of water, rig light but strong, and keep an eye on the sky for summer boomers.
Thanks for tuning in to the St. Augustine report! Don’t forget to subscribe for your next tide-chase update, and maybe shoot me your fish pics—you just might make 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
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Let’s kick things off with the **tide report**. According to Tide-Forecast.com, we’re looking at a low tide early at 12:43 AM, rolling up to a solid high at 6:32 AM, dipping down again to low at 12:42 PM, and wrapping the day with another impressive high at 6:59 PM. That dawn tide should have water moving, so if you can get lines wet just after sunrise—7:04 AM—you’re in prime shape. Sunset gives late anglers plenty of good light right up to 7:42 PM.
Weather for today is classic First Coast September: warm, muggy, and mostly calm. Winds are predicted light out of the southeast, and we’ve got a typical high near 88. Water temps are holding steady in that upper 80s range, keeping the baitfish active and the predators right behind. If a stray afternoon squall pops up, treat it as an excuse to grab lunch and then get back at it when the sky clears.
Let’s talk **what’s biting**. The annual mullet run is getting started, and locals know that’s like ringing the dinner bell for everything from snook to tarpon, reds, and flounder. There have been strong schools of finger mullet pushing into the Matanzas Inlet and running along Crescent Beach. Local pier regulars reported Spanish mackerel blitzes yesterday just after the tide started in, with double hookups common. The big news this week: a batch of overslot redfish landed around the Vilano Bridge, most caught on live mullet or cut bait fished just off the bottom.
**Best baits and lures?** With all that bait in the water, you want to match the hatch. Live mullet or mud minnows will absolutely shine, but artificials are performing too. Try a white or silver paddletail on a quarter-ounce jighead in the slower creeks, or bounce a 5-inch jerkbait in mullet patterns around bridge pilings and oyster bars. Old faithful gold spoons are seeing action around Salt Run and the flats at Guana for those hunting slot reds. For snook around the inlet jetties, flair hawk jigs (chartreuse and white) tossed on the outgoing tide are putting fish in the cooler. Surf anglers have done well with Fishbites strips and sandfleas for whiting and the occasional pompano.
If you’re chasing **bass in the backwaters**, the topwater bite is good at daybreak. Walking baits like the Whopper Plopper or popping frogs fished near grass edges are drawing big hits, as discussed on Sports Illustrated's Fishing On SI feature on topwater lures. For deeper structure, try a swimbait or a craw-style trailer on your chatterbaits—tips Field & Stream shared in their latest lure breakdown.
For hotspots, don’t miss:
- **Matanzas Inlet:** Red drum and flounder tight to the north rocks, and tarpon are occasionally rolling on the outgoing.
- **Vilano Bridge:** Chunk cut bait deep for reds or toss live shrimp for mixed bag action—trout, drum, sheepshead.
- **Salt Run:** Early-morning trout and snook ambush mullet schools tight to the grass and docks.
Remember, the mullet run won’t last forever, and now’s your shot for that bucket-list tarpon or gator trout. Bring plenty of water, rig light but strong, and keep an eye on the sky for summer boomers.
Thanks for tuning in to the St. Augustine report! Don’t forget to subscribe for your next tide-chase update, and maybe shoot me your fish pics—you just might make 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
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI