Best Times & Seasons to Fish in St. Augustine (A Guide)

St. Augustine is an often overlooked fishing destination, but it can actually offer some of the best fishing in Florida throughout the year. Knowing the best time of year to fish these rich waters can make a huge difference.

The best times to fish St. Augustine is from May through late September for tarpon, sea trout, cobia, sharks, and redfish. December through March is typically the worst fishing time in these waters.

Fish Species	Best Times to Fish in St. Augustine
Tarpon	Tarpon are available year-round but summer is the best season for fishing.
Sea Trout	Year-round availability; summer through mid-fall is the best time.
Cobia	March through June is the best fishing season for cobia.
Sharks	March through October is the best time to fish for sharks in St. Augustine.
Redfish	Year-round availability; summer through early December is the best time.

From deep-sea fishing for marlin to brackish river fishing for redfish, St. Augustine offers plenty of different types of fishing. St. Augustine is located in the northern part of Florida, on the Atlantic coast.

The area is surrounded by islands, bays, and rivers. While it is well known for its history, St. Augustine can be the perfect destination to catch a ton of fish.

Best Time to Fish St. Augustine

Fishing is great year-round, but if you’re looking for quality over quantity, late summer and fall are great times to visit. Bull reds are making their way shallower, trout are running and plenty of other species are looking to bulk up for the winter.

If you’re deep-sea fishing, you can expect a mixed bag of quality fish. You can also find a decent amount of fish during winter and spring, as they’ll still be in the area, just deeper and harder to find.

A game fish that stays consistent almost year-round is the shark, they’ll feed during any time of the year making them one of the least stressful fish to plan a trip for.

Species of St. Augustine: Best Times

Redfish

Redfish are one of the most popular saltwater gamefish there is. They move in shallow during the wintertime while the water is clear but are available year-round. During fall and summer, they are looking to feed to prepare for winter.

Redfish love shrimp, pinfish, and other live baits, but they will also go for lures like spinnerbaits and plugs. Anything that looks like a shiny, oily baitfish should do the trick.

Try switching up your retrieve by reeling slower or faster, making your bait lower or higher in the water column. Redfish are aggressive, but sometimes are moving slower and sticking closer to the bottom.

During the winter, you’ll find redfish in shallow inshore waters, making it a great time to sight fish for them. In the summer and fall, you’ll notice that they’ll be more active and go further out to look for food.

And in the spring you can find them inshore as well, just a little deeper. Redfish usually spend their days around patches of weeds and other kinds of cover.

Sea Trout

Sea trout are also a highly popular inshore species in Florida. They are also available year-round but are extremely good from summer through late fall.

During the summer, night fishing is a great tactic as there is more light on the water, making it easier for them to see the bait. Fall is also great because there is a large mullet and shrimp run, drawing in all kinds of predators.

Topwater plugs are easily one of the most popular lures for trout, the sound attracts them from far away and imitates their natural prey. Soft plastics on a jig are also great bait for trout, anything that imitates a shrimp should do the trick.

Trout like to hang around shallow, grassy flat areas during the day while the tide is rising, waiting for food to float into their area.

They will roam out of these areas during the evening and night, focusing more on the structure during the evening and following the light at night, making bays with lots of lit-up docks great spots.

Tarpon

The tarpon migration in Florida is one of the biggest events for anglers all around the world. June is when they usually migrate towards St. Augustine, roaming the flats for food.

The best time of day would have to be early morning through late afternoon, these times are so good because a lot of baitfish are moving around through open water during these times, making perfect times for tarpon to feed.

Tarpon is one of the most popular saltwater fish to catch on a fly rod, they are a hard-fighting fish that give you a show if you’re lucky enough to hook into one.

Flies or bait that imitate a swimming baitfish work very well for tarpon. Some live bait options are shrimp and pinfish, their natural prey.

You can usually find smaller tarpon swimming in about 2’-5’ of water, these are the safest areas for them to feed.

Those spots are good for numbers, but if you’re looking for size, rivers, flats, and reefs are good options. For the flats, starting shallow and working your way deeper towards grassy drop-offs is a proven method.

Shark

Sharks are available all year, but the best times to get them are from Mach through October. Not having to worry about timing as much can make the planning process a lot less stressful and you can be confident that you’ll get the best opportunities during these times.

Night fishing for sharks is also very popular as sharks start to move in shallower, making it easier for surf anglers to catch them.

The shark is like big bait. Anything oily or smelly will do the trick, as they have the best noses of the ocean. Fresh bait is usually going to work much better than a day or two old bait. If you can find or catch it, big live bait works well, but cut bait made from a larger fish will work too.

If you’re out on a boat, fishing right behind a shrimp boat as they dump their excess catch overboard is extremely effective.

Those fish being dumped back in are a dinner bell for sharks and can bring sharks that are far away directly to you. If you’re surf fishing, you need to have equipment that can put up with a shark. Casting past a drop-off into a deeper channel is a tried-and-true method that can be very productive.

Cobia

Cobia usually runs up to St. Augustine when the water warms up, which is around March. They spawn in the spring and early summer, laying upon the flats in the area, making sight fishing for them a great time. 

Cobia likes to eat shrimp, crabs, and a variety of baitfish, so live bait or anything that imitates those things works extremely well. You can jig these around inshore reefs or through the flats. Try aiming your jig to the outer edges of a reef and lure them out of hiding in the reef.

Cobia are found in inshore areas such as bays and inlets around the St. Augustine area. You can try to track down turtles or rays as the cobia like to feed on their leftovers after they feed on the bottom.

Usually, cobia will feed anywhere in the water column, so keeping it in the middle in shallow water or lower in deeper water will be the best way to cover more water. 

You can also expect to find the triple tail, snook, kingfish, and other species while fishing inshore. They’ll all bite on shrimp or a live baitfish in generally the same areas. This adds to the fun by making it so that you won’t know what you’ll pull up.

I recommend this Penn Pursuit Spinning Rod & Reel combo (available on Amazon) for inshore and nearshore fishing. It can handle everything from redfish to snapper and king mackerel. The Penn Battalion Series Spinning Rod and the Penn Battle Spinning Reel are fantastic to create your combo.

Recommended Fishing Charters in St. Augustine

These St. Augustine-based charters have earned great reviews from anglers and will offer you a tremendous service. The captains are knowledgeable, friendly, and are sure to put you on fish. By clicking the links below, you will be taken to the charter’s respective profile on Fishing Booker where you can read reviews, learn more about the charter, view photos, and book online at the best rate.

Recommended Fishing Charters	Type of Fishing Offered
Hooker Charters & Guide Service (Jacksonville)	Backcountry, Inshore, Offshore
MisStress Sportfishing Charters (St. Augustine)	Inshore, Offshore, Big Game
First City Fishing Charters (St. Augustine)	Inshore, Offshore, Big Game
Great White Charters (St. Augustine)	Inshore & Offshore
Backwater Fishing Adventures (Jacksonville)	Backcountry & Inshore

Best Time of Day to Fish St. Augustine

You can’t go wrong by fishing St. Augustine, there is such a wide variety of fish that makes fishing at almost any time viable. That being said, focus your efforts during the morning and evening to catch the best variety of fish.

Midday fishing can be good as well, but if there’s too much sun or wind, some fish will head to deeper water and be a bit more scattered.

Tidal Impacts on St. Augustine Fishing

As always, tides are a very important thing to think about while planning your trip. Try to make it so that you’re fishing just as the water starts rising and fish all the way to peak high tide.

This will offer the most fish if you’re fishing inshore because the new water is clean and also brings in baitfish. If you fish just outside of drop-offs or sandbars with live baitfish or shrimp, you can expect to catch plenty of fish.

Affect of Rain & Tropical Storms on Fishing in St. Augustine

St. Augustine, as with most coastal cities in Florida, has seen its fair share of tropical storms. The fishing won’t be great at any time around a tropical storm, but if you’re determined, you can still find fish in the river systems.

Storms will bring in lots of rain and wind, making fish become more scattered and go deeper, where the conditions will be very rough.

Before or after a storm, winds and rain will be high, but some inland waters will have protection from the elements.

If a tropical storm is further away, it will still affect fishing as it will still send winds and rain to most of the coast, so paying attention to the weather is a must.

Night Fishing in St. Augustine

St. Augustine offers great night fishing, mainly being inshore near the city or docks. These spots are so effective, because they give the fish artificial light, making it so they can see bait at night.

Even though they can see better in these areas, it’s not a bad idea to use bait or lures with lots of smell and vibration or noise.

Using these kinds of bait will be effective with most species in the area, try to use them around the docks, weddings, or drop-offs, as fish will be cruising around these areas looking for food.

Shore & Surf Fishing in St. Augustine

St. Augustine offers great shore fishing, with river systems, inlets, ponds, and channels all over the area, you can find plenty of spots to enjoy your day of fishing. The area also has plenty of islands nearby, so you’ll never get bored of the area, no matter how long you’ll be staying.

Some of the more common species to catch from shore are snook, cobia, shark, redfish, and trout. You can expect to find several other species, but these are generally the easiest to get from shore.

Using medium-heavy gear and a bucket of bait should give you a very rewarding experience, and if you’re looking to cover more water, lures are also a good bet.

Best Fishing Spots in St. Augustine

Surf/Shore Fishing

St. Johns County Ocean Fishing Pier

This large pier is located on the east side of Anastasia Island, right next to St. Augustine beach. The pier looks out to the Atlantic, along with the endless water, there are endless kinds of fish you can pull up.

Using a medium to heavy surf setup and live baitfish or shrimp is an effective way to catch a variety of species and a lot of them. Using heavy gear, you can catch anything here. Using a lighter setup and a shrimp rig will produce more numbers and the fish will give you more of a fight.

Vilano Beach Fishing Pier

Vilano Beach is on the west side of a spit of land that stretches from St. Augustine up to Palm Valley. The pier faces towards the Tolomato River and the bridge going over it. You can find redfish, tarpon, trout, and almost any other inshore species here.

Fishing is good here all day, but if you’re looking to avoid some traffic, starting during the late evening and fishing through the night can be a good way to get a unique fishing experience with lots of fish. You’ll want a somewhat heavy setup for this spot as you never know what you’ll catch.

In-shore

Salt Run

Salt Run is an inlet on the north side of Anastasia Island, a decent-sized island just south of St. Augustine. This area is great for fishing for any kind of fish you’d normally find in grassy flats areas. Redfish and trout are the two most popular species to target here.

Docks are lining the east side of the run and a state park on the west. Usually, fishing this spot during dusk or dawn will provide you with the best results, the fish will move into the flats to feed.

Matanzas River

The Matanzas River is a brackish river that runs right in front of St. Augustine. The river offers all the species that have been covered in this article, but the main focuses are redfish, trout, and cobia. The river current leads out to the ocean right in front of St. Augustine, giving predators a great area to find prey.

The river runs down to Palm Coast, it is also part of the Intracoastal Waterway. This river is open year-round and offers some great fishing only minutes away from most places in St. Augustine.

San Sebastian River

If you’re looking for smaller water with tons of fish, this is the place to go. You can expect to find trout, redfish, snook, and sometimes even cobia in this river.

The river runs from the north side of the city down to where it connects with the Matanzas River, making it a great system with healthy fish. 

Off-shore

If you’re going offshore, chances are that you’re going to be booking a charter. They should have all of the necessary equipment and knowledge to put you on fish.

Make sure to do your research and pick the best one that matches your budget and your target species. If you have your boat and are looking to do offshore fishing, try fishing around artificial wrecks and reefs and drop your bait right on top of them.

Best Seasons to Book a Charter

St. Augustine has a complex system of rivers, channels, and inlets for you to fish, so booking a guide is a good way to improve your odds of staying on the fish for your trip.

You can have a successful charter trip to St. Augustine at almost any time of the year. Shark, redfish, trout, and other species year-round in the areas surrounding St Augustine. 

For a complete breakdown of the best time to catch redfish in Florida, please read this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish Naples, please read this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish Jacksonville, please read this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to catch tarpon in Florida, please read this helpful article I wrote.

For a complete breakdown of the best fishing times for St. Petersburg & Tampa, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish Boca Raton, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish near Bradenton, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown if fishing is good in St. Augustine, please check out this article.