St. Augustine is home to some very good inshore fishing for a variety of fish. Most anglers target redfish, sea trout and flounder, but other fish such as sheepshead, mackerel, drum and other fish are available as well.
St. Augustine Inlet
The St. Augustine Inlet is a large inlet with deep waters. This is where the larger boats in the area come and go as they move from inshore waters out to the Atlantic Ocean. Tons of fish move through this inlet, especially in the spring and fall months.
Tolomato River
The Tolomato River is located southwest of Vilano Beach and north of St. Augustine. It extends northward and meets the St. Augustine inlet. Anglers catch a variety of fish in this river with redfish, sea trout and flounder being the primary species targeted.
Matanzas River
The Matanzas River is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island. The river is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and it is a popular area to fish inshore for a variety of fish such as redfish, sea trout, flounder and more.
Matanzas River Inlet
If you’re looking to find a nice beach spot with good fishing opportunities and less crowds, the Matanzas River Inlet is worth a visit. The Matanzas River Inlet is located about 25 to 30 minutes from St. Augustine. There will still be plenty of people visiting this area on most days, however, the numbers are much smaller than in St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach. Anglers catch a variety of fish from shore, but the fishing is even better if you fish the river with a boat. Redfish, sea trout and flounder are the primary species in the river, but you may find a variety of fish around the inlet such as mackerel, jacks, pompano, bluefish, sheepshead and more.
Salt Run
Salt Run is a 3.5 mile lagoon that is known for its awesome shallow water fishing. It is a popular area to fish with smaller boats and kayaks. Anglers usually target redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and drum in these waters.
San Sebastian River
The Saint Sebastian River is a tributary of the Indian River west and north of the city of Sebastian, Florida. It is not heavily developed and anglers can find good spots to fish in these waters.
Popular Fish Caught Inshore
Below you can find some of the most popular fish that you can catch in the inshore waters of Amelia Island. There are also pictures and some fishing tips to help you catch more fish on your next visit here.
Black Drum
Black drum move into the inshore areas of St. Augustine in large numbers every spring. The northeast part of Florida is known for having some of the biggest black drum in the state and the spring is usually when anglers catch the biggest fish. Fish move in through the St Augustine Inlet and anglers may find black drum around the inlet, near the river mouths, around the bridges or farther back into the inshore waters. While early summer still provides some good fishing for them, the summer fishing usually slows down quite a bit, but then the fall fishing can be very good again.
Black Drum Fishing Tips
Spring and fall are popular times to target black drum because they head into the bays and inlets to spawn. They feed on the bottom and some of the best baits are clams and crabs.
Visit our Black Drum fishing page to learn more.
Flounder
Flounder are available year round in the waters around St. Augustine. For many anglers, they will catch flounder while targeting other species of fish inshore, however, they can be fun to catch and they taste excellent, so they are definitely worth targeting. The inshore waters in the St Augustine area offer a little bit of everything. Fish move in through the St. Augustine Inlet and anglers may find flounder around the inlet, near the river mouths, around the bridges or farther back into the inshore waters.
Flounder Fishing Tips
Flounder can be caught with artificial lures, however, for many anglers, live bait or natural baits are considered the norm when fishing for flounder. Flounder love hanging tight to the bottom, so pick out your favorite bottom rig and pair it with a bull minnow, finger mullet, pinfish or shrimp and you should catch some fish.
Visit our Flounder fishing page to learn more.
Jack Crevalle
Jack Crevalle are common in the inshore waters of St. Augustine, Florida. The warm weather months will push more fish into this area. They can be super exciting to catch when you find a school of them. Anglers target them with a variety of lures and baits, but topwater lures can be a lot of fun when they are feeding on schools of baitfish near the surface.
Jack Crevalle Fishing Tips
Jack Crevalle are a very popular species for inshore anglers, although, they are commonly found offshore as well. These fish are extremely powerful and capable of making long runs, especially if you are using light tackle. Their average size ranges from 2 to 5 pounds, but in most areas fish up to 10 pounds are plentiful. Some people eat these fish, but most people would rate them as very poor-tasting.
Learn More About Jack Crevalle
Ladyfish can be a fun fish to catch, especially for younger anglers. They do not get very big, so the more experienced anglers usually see them as bait for bigger fish. Ladyfish are an excellent bait for so many bigger fish. They work great alive and as cut bait. There will be plenty of ladyfish in the inshore waters around St. Augustine.
Ladyfish Fishing Tips
Ladyfish are cousins of the much larger tarpon. They have a long, slender body and are fairly small, averaging 2 to 3 pounds. They are fun to catch for young anglers, but for most adult anglers, ladyfish are used for bait. Ladyfish can easily be caught with a small hook, weight and live shrimp, small bait fish or cut bait.
Visit our Ladyfish fishing page to learn more.
Redfish
Redfish are found year round in the inshore waters throughout St. Augustine, Florida. Anglers target redfish in the shallow, backcountry waters as well as around bridges, docks, the inlet, jetties and more. The fall is known for being one of the best times of the year to target the big, bull redfish.
Redfish Fishing Tips
Anglers target redfish with a variety of artificial lures, live baits and natural baits. While you have so many options for targeting redfish, most anglers will keep it simple and use live shrimp, dead shrimp or lures that mimic a shrimp. You can target the smaller reds with medium heavy rods and reels, but if you are going after bigger redfish, you’re going to want to go with medium heavy to heavy action gear to help land some of these huge fish.
Visit our Redfish fishing page to learn more.
Saltwater Catfish
You will find plenty of catfish in the inshore areas. Anglers catch catfish around the inlet, the jetties, along the surf and throughout the inshore waters here too. They can be annoying if you don’t want to catch them or exciting to provide some action while other fish aren’t biting.
Hardhead Catfish
Gafftopsail Catfish
Catfish Fishing Tips
Catching catfish is easy in saltwater. Once you find them, they will easily bite many different types of cut baits. Just get your bait on the bottom, wait for the bite and then set the hook.
Sea Trout
The inshore waters are home to some good fishing for sea trout and these fish are available year round. Fish the grass flats in the backcountry waters or around the inlets, jetties, bridges and river mouths and you’ll find some trout. They one of the more reliable fish to catch here year round.
Sea Trout Fishing Tips
Sea trout give anglers lots of options because they can be very aggressive. At times, you can do just as well or even better with artificial lures. For the live bait anglers, you have a variety of live and natural baits that you can use to catch sea trout. Anglers can also get away with using lighter tackle as well since most of the better spots tend to be around shallow water grass flats.
Visit our Sea Trout fishing page to learn more.
Sharks
There are plenty of sharks in this area, especially during the summer with the warmer water temperatures. Anglers will catch sharks on the beaches and farther inshore too, but if you are coming here to target sharks, the better fishing will be nearshore and offshore out around the reefs and wrecks.
Learn More About Sharks on our Shark Fishing page.
Sheepshead
Northeast Florida is home to some very good sheepshead fishing, especially during the winter months. Sheepshead do well in cooler water and they will feed pretty consistently in the inshore waters around St. Augustine. Fish move in through the St. Augustine Inlet and anglers may find flounder around the inlet, near the river mouths, around the bridges or farther back into the inshore waters. On some of the colder days in the winter, sheepshead will be the fish that helps make fishing exciting since they are usually willing to bite.
Sheepshead Fishing Tips
Sheepshead are one of the tougher saltwater fish to catch on artificial lures. It can be done, but using live or natural baits can out fish lures by 10 to 1 or more at times. It is easy to understand why most anglers just go with live bait and they don’t even mess with lures when fishing for sheepshead. Shrimp and fiddler crabs are the most popular baits, but don’t rule out a variety of cut baits, oysters and sand fleas. Sheepshead are known for stealing your bait and they also are a tough fish, so make sure you have a strong enough hook and a solid medium-heavy to heavy action fishing rod or you will lose a lot of fish.
Visit our Sheepshead fishing page to learn more.
Mangrove Snapper
Mangrove Snapper are a popular to fish to target in the inshore waters of St. Augustine, Florida.
Mangrove Snapper Fishing Tips
Mangrove Snapper are one of the most popular snapper to catch because large populations of juvenile fish can be caught inshore where most anglers fish. Offshore, you will find bigger mangrove snapper over the reefs and wrecks. Some of the best baits to use for mangrove snappers are live and dead shrimp, mud minnows, small pinfish, small finger mullet and small crabs.
Snook
Snook like warm water and they can really struggle in the cool waters that winter brings to northeastern Florida. The better snook fishing in the waters around St. Augustine are going to be the spring through early fall. You aren’t going to find the snook numbers that you will see in south Florida, however, you can definitely target them around the inlets, river mouths, jetties and docks. The St. Augustine Inlet is a good place to fish for them from summer through fall.
Snook Fishing Tips
Most anglers prefer to use lures for snook, but live baits such as jumbo shrimp and pilchards are some of the best baits to use. At times, snook can be super tough to catch on lures, but a lively shrimp or pilchard will usually still get plenty of bites even when they are picky. If you fish for bass in freshwater, the type of tackle will be similar to largemouth bass fishing except you may have to upsize the rod, reel and line a bit.
Visit our Snook fishing page to learn more.
Tarpon
While you may be able to catch some tarpon year round, the migratory tarpon will be providing the best fishing opportunities in this area. With cooler water temperatures in this part of the state, it takes a little longer into the spring for the tarpon to make their way into Northeast Florida in big numbers. They will eventually arrive and anglers will be out targeting them just off the beaches, in the inlets and river mouths. Fishing for the resident tarpon will also pick up from late spring and carry through the fall. In the summer, tarpon keep working their way north, so you will eventually see smaller numbers here until the fall mullet run brings large numbers back south. The mullet run is one of the best times to target big tarpon in this area. Fish move in through the St. Augustine Inlet and anglers may find tarpon around the inlet, near the river mouths, around the bridges or farther back into the inshore waters.
Tarpon Fishing Tips
While many anglers may run into smaller tarpon and catch them without much effort, to consistently target bigger tarpon, you need to make sure you have the right tackle & equipment so things go your way. Tarpon will eat a variety of baits, so you have a lot of options when it comes to live & cut baits or artificial lures. The time of year is very important as well since tarpon will migrate a long way up and down both the Gulf & Atlantic Coasts each year.
Visit our Tarpon fishing page to learn more.
