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St. Augustine Angler's Report: Redfish, Trout, and Flounder Bite Heats Up as Tide Turns
Published 6 months, 4 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your St. Augustine angler’s report for Friday, October 3rd, 2025. We had an early sunrise at 7:21 AM with a sunset set for 7:09 PM, giving us nearly 12 full hours to get lines wet and chase that October bite. Tides are in our favor this morning—expect a high tide around 7:21 AM and another high near 12:46 PM, with lows around 12:24 AM and again at 7:04 PM, according to Palatka’s and St. Augustine City Dock’s tide charts. With a tidal coefficient climbing to 67 by the afternoon, we’re seeing good moving water—prime conditions for feeding fish.
Weather’s crisp and classic for north Florida early fall: mild temps, a touch of morning humidity, and light east winds backing off some of that heat. The water’s still holding a late summer chill, and that’s keeping those inshore predators fired up through the tidal transitions.
Fishing’s been hot all week on the flats and backwaters. Redfish are stacking up around the grass edges, oyster bars, and deeper bends just as we like to see this time of year. Folks drifting live mullet or mud minnows in the Salt Run and Vilano flats are bringing plenty to the boat, with live shrimp picking up a mixed bag of slot reds and the occasional overslot bruiser. Popping corks with shrimp or cut bait are money at the Matanzas bridge and around the Big Jetties, especially around that high water mark.
It isn’t just reds showing, either. Speckled trout action is picking up, mostly on the incoming tides and especially at first light. Soft plastic jerkbaits, like the classic DOA Cal or Gulp! Swimming Mullet, fished slow under a cork or solo along channel edges, have been producing solid limits.
Flounder are still in play, holding close to docks and dropoffs. They’re hammering finger mullet and white Gulp! baits bounced along the bottom. A handful of anglers found some doormat flatties near the St. Augustine City Dock by slow-rolling live baits and chartreuse jigs.
Sheepshead are getting more active at the Bridge of Lions and pier pilings, though the bite is still a few weeks from peaking. Best bet for them is live fiddler crabs or shrimp on a slip sinker, tight to the structure. Mangrove snapper are a nice bonus on the rocks and are taking live shrimp or small chunks of cut bait.
Top lure picks for today:
- For reds: Gold spoons, Z-Man Diezel Minnows, or a live mullet under a Cajun Thunder cork.
- For trout: Electric Chicken or New Penny Gulp! shads, MirrOlure MirrOdines, or suspending twitch baits.
- For flounder: White or chartreuse bucktail jigs tipped with scented plastics or live finger mullet.
- If you want to fish live: shrimp, mud minnows, and finger mullet are the top choices all around.
Your best hot spots right now? Hit the Salt Run for redfish and trout at dawn, then slide down to the Matanzas Inlet outflows for flounder and a mix of snapper and sheepshead as the tide swings. Don’t sleep on the Vilano flats, either—some real nice reds have been coming from the potholes, especially on a slow-moving tide.
That’s your bite for today from in and around the Nation’s Oldest City. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss your local fishing lowdown. 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
Weather’s crisp and classic for north Florida early fall: mild temps, a touch of morning humidity, and light east winds backing off some of that heat. The water’s still holding a late summer chill, and that’s keeping those inshore predators fired up through the tidal transitions.
Fishing’s been hot all week on the flats and backwaters. Redfish are stacking up around the grass edges, oyster bars, and deeper bends just as we like to see this time of year. Folks drifting live mullet or mud minnows in the Salt Run and Vilano flats are bringing plenty to the boat, with live shrimp picking up a mixed bag of slot reds and the occasional overslot bruiser. Popping corks with shrimp or cut bait are money at the Matanzas bridge and around the Big Jetties, especially around that high water mark.
It isn’t just reds showing, either. Speckled trout action is picking up, mostly on the incoming tides and especially at first light. Soft plastic jerkbaits, like the classic DOA Cal or Gulp! Swimming Mullet, fished slow under a cork or solo along channel edges, have been producing solid limits.
Flounder are still in play, holding close to docks and dropoffs. They’re hammering finger mullet and white Gulp! baits bounced along the bottom. A handful of anglers found some doormat flatties near the St. Augustine City Dock by slow-rolling live baits and chartreuse jigs.
Sheepshead are getting more active at the Bridge of Lions and pier pilings, though the bite is still a few weeks from peaking. Best bet for them is live fiddler crabs or shrimp on a slip sinker, tight to the structure. Mangrove snapper are a nice bonus on the rocks and are taking live shrimp or small chunks of cut bait.
Top lure picks for today:
- For reds: Gold spoons, Z-Man Diezel Minnows, or a live mullet under a Cajun Thunder cork.
- For trout: Electric Chicken or New Penny Gulp! shads, MirrOlure MirrOdines, or suspending twitch baits.
- For flounder: White or chartreuse bucktail jigs tipped with scented plastics or live finger mullet.
- If you want to fish live: shrimp, mud minnows, and finger mullet are the top choices all around.
Your best hot spots right now? Hit the Salt Run for redfish and trout at dawn, then slide down to the Matanzas Inlet outflows for flounder and a mix of snapper and sheepshead as the tide swings. Don’t sleep on the Vilano flats, either—some real nice reds have been coming from the potholes, especially on a slow-moving tide.
That’s your bite for today from in and around the Nation’s Oldest City. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss your local fishing lowdown. 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