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Tides, Temps, and Topwater Blowups: Your St. Augustine Fishing Report
Published 7 months ago
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Good morning, anglers—Artificial Lure here with your boots-on-the-dock, line-in-the-water fishing report for St. Augustine on this Friday, September 26th, 2025.
Let’s kick things off with today’s **tide details**: We had low tide at 5:05 AM at about 1 foot, swinging to a strong high at 11:32 AM pushing up over 5.5 feet. You’ll want to set your watches for the late afternoon low at 5:54 PM; the bite tends to turn on as the water’s moving out. **Sunrise hit at 7:15 AM and sunset will be at 7:16 PM**, so that gives you solid windows to work both ends of the day. With this big tidal swing, expect good current in the inlets and around the bridges—always a recipe for feeding fish according to predictions from Tide-Forecast and Tides4Fishing.
**Weather’s shaping up typical for late September:** comfortable early fall mornings, highs around the mid-80s by afternoon, with a soft breeze running out of the south around 9 to 14 km/h, says The Weather Network. No big rain expected, but dress for Florida’s “sneaky” humidity.
**Fish activity’s been solid this week.** Inshore, redfish have been piling up in the creeks and on the flats—especially around the higher part of the incoming tide. Several local guides report healthy numbers and good slot-sized fish, many feeding aggressively in shallow, flooded grass. **Best bite’s been first light and the last couple hours before sundown.** Speckled trout are grouped up in deeper bends and current breaks, hitting well on a moving tide. Flounder are finally showing in better numbers, with doormats reported from sandy drop-offs near Matanzas Inlet and the Vilano flats. A couple of big tarpon were hooked earlier in the week around the bridges and inlet mouths; not heavy in numbers but enough to get the blood pumping if you’re patient.
**Best baits and lures right now?** Inshore anglers are scoring with live shrimp under popping corks and mud minnows on Carolina rigs, especially closer to structure and oyster bars. Finger mullet, which are thick along the Intracoastal right now, are also a top pick on a simple jighead—great for reds, flounder, and even a shot at a snook if you’re around some mangroves or deep docks. For those preferring artificials, Gulp Swimming Mullets in pearl or white, soft plastic paddletails in new penny or root beer, and MirrOlure suspending plugs are all drawing strikes. Topwater baits at dawn are getting blow-ups from both reds and trout when worked along the edge of the grass.
**Off the beach**, whiting and pompano are biting in the suds, especially near the St. Augustine Pier and up around Vilano Beach. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are working best. There was even a report of a couple of slot-sized black drum mixed with the whiting early this week.
**Hot spots:** Don’t overlook Salt Run and the edges of Anastasia State Park for trout and the chance for a flounder. The flats near Matanzas Inlet are prime for sight-fishing reds on a rising tide. Vilano Bridge and its causeway continue to produce a mixed bag—redfish, trout, plus the occasional snook after dark. The old oyster bars in Moses Creek are another consistent producer.
Recent trips with Captain Jake and Captain Wade saw anglers landing everything from Spanish mackerel and slot reds to blacktip sharks and even a 150 lb tarpon on the heavy tackle—a testament to how lively these fall tides can make the whole fishery, according to recent reviews from CaptainExperiences.
Thanks for tuning in to the St. Augustine report—be sure to subscribe for all the latest conditions, hot baits, and local secrets. 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 today’s **tide details**: We had low tide at 5:05 AM at about 1 foot, swinging to a strong high at 11:32 AM pushing up over 5.5 feet. You’ll want to set your watches for the late afternoon low at 5:54 PM; the bite tends to turn on as the water’s moving out. **Sunrise hit at 7:15 AM and sunset will be at 7:16 PM**, so that gives you solid windows to work both ends of the day. With this big tidal swing, expect good current in the inlets and around the bridges—always a recipe for feeding fish according to predictions from Tide-Forecast and Tides4Fishing.
**Weather’s shaping up typical for late September:** comfortable early fall mornings, highs around the mid-80s by afternoon, with a soft breeze running out of the south around 9 to 14 km/h, says The Weather Network. No big rain expected, but dress for Florida’s “sneaky” humidity.
**Fish activity’s been solid this week.** Inshore, redfish have been piling up in the creeks and on the flats—especially around the higher part of the incoming tide. Several local guides report healthy numbers and good slot-sized fish, many feeding aggressively in shallow, flooded grass. **Best bite’s been first light and the last couple hours before sundown.** Speckled trout are grouped up in deeper bends and current breaks, hitting well on a moving tide. Flounder are finally showing in better numbers, with doormats reported from sandy drop-offs near Matanzas Inlet and the Vilano flats. A couple of big tarpon were hooked earlier in the week around the bridges and inlet mouths; not heavy in numbers but enough to get the blood pumping if you’re patient.
**Best baits and lures right now?** Inshore anglers are scoring with live shrimp under popping corks and mud minnows on Carolina rigs, especially closer to structure and oyster bars. Finger mullet, which are thick along the Intracoastal right now, are also a top pick on a simple jighead—great for reds, flounder, and even a shot at a snook if you’re around some mangroves or deep docks. For those preferring artificials, Gulp Swimming Mullets in pearl or white, soft plastic paddletails in new penny or root beer, and MirrOlure suspending plugs are all drawing strikes. Topwater baits at dawn are getting blow-ups from both reds and trout when worked along the edge of the grass.
**Off the beach**, whiting and pompano are biting in the suds, especially near the St. Augustine Pier and up around Vilano Beach. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are working best. There was even a report of a couple of slot-sized black drum mixed with the whiting early this week.
**Hot spots:** Don’t overlook Salt Run and the edges of Anastasia State Park for trout and the chance for a flounder. The flats near Matanzas Inlet are prime for sight-fishing reds on a rising tide. Vilano Bridge and its causeway continue to produce a mixed bag—redfish, trout, plus the occasional snook after dark. The old oyster bars in Moses Creek are another consistent producer.
Recent trips with Captain Jake and Captain Wade saw anglers landing everything from Spanish mackerel and slot reds to blacktip sharks and even a 150 lb tarpon on the heavy tackle—a testament to how lively these fall tides can make the whole fishery, according to recent reviews from CaptainExperiences.
Thanks for tuning in to the St. Augustine report—be sure to subscribe for all the latest conditions, hot baits, and local secrets. 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