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

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your St. Augustine fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑summer pattern settling in. Offshore winds have been light, with a gentle southeast sea breeze most afternoons. Air temps are running in the mid‑70s at first light, climbing into the upper 80s by midday, with humidity you can about chew on. Skies have been mostly partly cloudy with a shot at a pop‑up thunderstorm late in the day, so keep an eye on the horizon and the radar. On the water side, tide charts from NOAA for the St. Augustine Inlet show a pre‑dawn low and a strong incoming through the morning, then a mid‑afternoon high and a falling tide toward evening. That incoming morning tide has been the money window, especially around the inlet rocks and the ICW creek mouths. Sunrise is right around 6:20 a.m., sunset about 8:30 p.m., giving you a long, fishy day to work the moving water at both ends. Inshore, the bite has been solid. Local shop reports out of St. Augustine Bait & Tackle and Avid Angler say slot redfish and upper‑slot specks are chewing early and late, especially on the cooler, darker parts of the tide. Anglers working the docks and grass edges along the ICW have been picking off reds in the 18–26 inch range, with a few big overslot bruisers mixed in. Trout have been coming from deeper bends and drop‑offs, with some 20‑plus‑inch fish showing up on the first couple hours of the incoming. Best baits inshore have been live shrimp, mud minnows, and finger mullet under a popping cork or on a light jighead. For artificials, a 3–4 inch paddle‑tail in natural mullet or new penny on a 1/8 oz jig has been hard to beat, and a small topwater plug at daybreak has produced some explosive trout and redfish strikes. Folks throwing gold spoons along the grass on the higher part of the tide are also finding roaming reds. Around the inlet and beaches, recent reports from local charters at the Conch House Marina say the tarpon are starting to show along the pogie pods just off the sand. Sharks and big jacks are mixed in, so bring stout gear. Free‑lined live menhaden or mullet have been the ticket. Whiting, Spanish mackerel, and the occasional pompano are still coming from the surf on shrimp, sand fleas, and small shiny spoons. Offshore, captains running out of Camachee Cove have been bringing back decent numbers of mahi, a few blackfin tuna, and scattered sailfish from the bluewater when the weedlines set up right. Bottom fishing on the local wrecks and ledges has produced red snapper (mostly catch‑and‑release if regs are closed), vermilion snapper, and triggerfish on cut bait and squid. Couple of local hot spots to circle on your map: – The St. Augustine Inlet rocks and the nearby ICW junctions: great on the first two hours of the incoming for reds, trout, and flounder with live bait and soft plastics. – The creek mouths and dock lines between the 312 bridge and the Vilano Bridge: work those areas on a moving tide with live shrimp under a cork for mixed trout, reds, and the occasional flounder. If you can, be on the water before first light, fish that sunrise incoming, then take a break mid‑day and slide back out for the last couple hours of daylight. Summer traffic and boat wakes are picking up, so be patient, be courteous, and watch those afternoon storms. 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