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