Last Updated on July 12, 2025 by Eric Bonneman
St. Augustine’s inshore waters become a dynamic feeding zone during the summer. Warm water, strong tides, and heavy bait movement bring redfish, black drum, flounder, and speckled trout into active patterns that experienced fishermen can take full advantage of. Knowing how to target each of these species means understanding not just where they hold, but how they react to tide cycles, temperature shifts, and food availability.
This guide covers everything you need to fish for these species throughout the summer months. It breaks down behavior, timing, structure, bait selection, tackle recommendations, and approach strategies whether you’re fishing from a boat, kayak, or shoreline. It also includes gear setups in full detail, practical tips for reading water conditions, and mistakes to avoid. When fully understood, these systems work together to build a consistent and productive inshore plan off the coast of St. Augustine.
How Summer Shapes the Inshore Environment
From June through early September, water temperatures in St. Augustine’s estuaries climb into the mid-to-high 80s, sometimes creeping into the 90s by late afternoon. This temperature rise increases metabolism in fish, driving them to feed more frequently, but it also changes where and how they feed.
Oxygen levels drop during slack tides and in deeper, still water. Fish move into areas with moving current, shade, or increased salinity. Grass flats flood deeply on high tides and empty rapidly on a drop, flushing bait through key funnels like creek mouths and channel cuts.
Afternoon thunderstorms bring wind, cooler surface water, and sudden changes in pressure. These fronts can trigger feeding windows right before and after the storm. On calm days, early morning and late evening become the primary bite windows as fish avoid mid-day heat.
Redfish
Where to Find Them
In summer, redfish are distributed across grass flats, oyster mounds, creek intersections, and residential dock systems. Early flood tides push them into extremely shallow water to tail and root for crustaceans. On the outgoing tide, they reposition along oyster edges, cuts, and creek mouths.
In hot, still conditions, redfish take shelter beneath docks or against undercut banks. Areas with steady current and shade offer more oxygen and bait traffic, making them reliable even during mid-day.
How to Catch Them
Sight fishing is the best approach during early morning high tides. Look for tailing fish or subtle wakes across grass beds. Cast weedless soft plastics or gold spoons just ahead of their movement.
On the outgoing tide, fish channel edges and oyster bar points with cut bait or shrimp. Redfish position at choke points where bait is swept past naturally.
When dock fishing, skip jigs or bait beneath platforms and let them settle. Redfish often wait deep under structure and will grab a bait worked slowly past their position.
What to Use
- Cut mullet or ladyfish on 2/0 to 4/0 circle hooks
- Live shrimp or mud minnows under popping corks
- Gulp! Shrimp or Swimming Mullet on 1/4 oz jigheads
- Weedless rigged paddletails (white, gold, or olive)
- Gold spoons retrieved steadily across shallow grass
Gear Setup
Use a 7’ to 7’6” medium power spinning rod with a fast action tip. The rod should be rated for 8–17 lb line and allow for long, accurate casts. Choose a rod with enough backbone to fight redfish around structure while keeping the tip sensitive for soft plastic use.
Match it with a 2500 or 3000 size reel with strong drag and corrosion resistance. Spool with 10–15 lb braided line and a 20–25 lb fluorocarbon leader. Use a loop knot for artificial lures and a direct clinch or Palomar knot for bait presentations.
In heavy structure or dock work, shorten the leader and increase to 30 lb test. Use a shorter rod (6’6” to 7’) for better leverage and bait placement in tight cover. For sight fishing, extend leader length and use a longer rod to improve stealth and distance.
Black Drum
Where to Find Them
Black drum are bottom-oriented feeders and prefer structure. Look for them around oyster beds, rock piles, bridge pilings, and deep troughs within creeks. They hold tighter to cover than redfish and rarely chase bait far. Medium current with consistent water flow is ideal.
Drum avoid open grass flats and seldom venture into flooded grass. Instead, they use dock pilings, shell bars, and drop-offs to intercept crustaceans. They are often found in small groups or pairs during summer and will stage in the same areas for days at a time.
How to Catch Them
Dead-stick natural bait on the bottom with minimal movement. Cast up-current, let the bait settle, and wait. Drum often peck several times before fully taking the bait. When you feel pressure, lift slowly to set the hook.
They bite best during early incoming or outgoing tides when water moves steadily across structure. Fish known holding spots methodically and wait them out. If you get one, more are usually close by.
What to Use
- Fresh dead shrimp with shell on
- Quartered blue crab or fiddler crabs
- Sand fleas and small clams
- Carolina rigs with 1 oz egg sinkers and 12–18 inch leaders
- 1/4 oz jigheads for shrimp in lighter current
Gear Setup
Use a 7’ medium-heavy spinning rod with moderate-fast action to absorb the heavy, sustained pulls of a hooked drum. Pair it with a 3000 or 4000 size reel with a smooth drag system.
Spool with 20 lb braided line and use a 25–30 lb fluorocarbon leader. Leader should be short to keep bait on the bottom and prevent excess slack. Use circle hooks in the 2/0 to 5/0 range depending on bait size.
In rocky or high-shell zones, consider abrasion-resistant leader material. Tie leaders with a uni-to-uni or improved Albright knot. For heavier bait like blue crab, use heavier sinkers to keep everything pinned tight to the bottom.
Flounder
Where to Find Them
Flounder stage on sloped sandy bottom, especially where current sweeps bait from one level to another. Creek mouths, inlets, and oyster-sand transitions are ideal. They sit motionless in the substrate waiting to ambush.
Jetty walls, retaining walls, and dock drop-offs with nearby current flow are top summer flounder zones. They also favor tidal cuts where finger mullet and shrimp are funneled.
How to Catch Them
Drag soft plastics slowly across the bottom, pausing frequently. Flounder bite with subtle thumps and often sit still after striking. Let the fish hold the bait for a second before setting the hook firmly.
Boat fishermen can drift along sloped bottom using jigs or bait. Kayak and shore fishermen should work parallel to contour lines, slowly covering depth changes.
Tidal flow direction matters. Fish into the current or across it with natural bait drift. Avoid overworking the bait. Steady presentation triggers more flounder than twitching or jerking.
What to Use
- Mud minnows or finger mullet on 1/4 oz jigheads
- Gulp! Swimming Mullet in white or chartreuse
- Soft plastic jerkbaits rigged on keel-weighted hooks
- Live shrimp bounced slowly along bottom
- Jigheads with short-shank hooks for better hook-up ratios
Gear Setup
Use a 6’6” to 7’ medium power rod with fast or extra-fast action. This provides sensitivity for detecting subtle hits and backbone for driving the hook through a flounder’s mouth.
Reel should be a 2500–3000 size with a high-speed retrieve. Spool with 10–15 lb braid and a 15–20 lb fluorocarbon leader. Use a 24–30 inch leader in clearer water.
Match jighead weight to current. Use loop knots to allow more lure movement. Consider scent additives if using unscented plastics. Flounder often favor baits with added smell and slow, consistent motion.
Speckled Trout
Where to Find Them
Trout hold in areas with current and forage, typically around grass edges, oyster bar points, creek mouths, and sloped channels. Early morning and late evening push them shallow, especially under low light or cloud cover.
Once the sun rises, they move deeper. Slicks on the surface, diving birds, or mullet schools often indicate their presence. Slight drop-offs along grass flats often hold fish throughout a tide cycle.
How to Catch Them
Start with topwater early in the morning. Walk-the-dog style plugs fished with pauses and subtle movement generate explosive strikes. As light increases, switch to soft plastics or shrimp under corks.
Drift live bait past drop-offs or cast into eddies behind structure. Popping corks help keep bait suspended above grass and within the strike zone. If fish miss topwater, cast back immediately with a paddletail or twitch bait.
What to Use
- Spook Jr., She Dog, or Skitter Walk topwater plugs
- Popping corks with Gulp! or D.O.A. shrimp
- Live shrimp or small pinfish free-lined
- Paddle-tail plastics in white or pearl on 1/8 oz jigheads
- Suspending twitch baits like MirrOdine for pressured fish
Gear Setup
Use a 7’ light-medium or medium spinning rod with a soft tip and fast action. This setup balances long casting with the ability to absorb head shakes and violent strikes.
Reels should be 2500–3000 class with 10–15 lb braid and 15–20 lb fluorocarbon leader. Extend leaders to 30 inches when the water is clear or fish are pressured. Use loop knots for all topwater and twitch bait setups.
Topwater requires slow rod movement and a steady rhythm. For soft plastics, use rods with a crisper tip for better hooksets. Adjust drag to avoid pulling hooks on lighter plastics or when trout shake violently.
Reading the Water and Adapting
Inshore success depends on recognizing how fish respond to water movement, temperature, and bait placement. Early morning favors surface and shallow structure. Mid-day demands shade, depth, or fast-moving current. Each tide stage moves bait differently and opens up or shuts down zones.
Watch for feeding signs. Wakes, boils, slicks, and bait flashes signal activity. Don’t stay in dead water. If nothing is moving, move to another flat, creek mouth, or current seam until life reappears.
Pay attention to water color and clarity. In clear water, downsize leader, switch to natural bait colors, and make longer casts. In stained or windy conditions, use brighter baits, corks, and scent-enhanced plastics.
Make Every Trip Count This Summer
St. Augustine’s inshore fishery stays active through the summer, but only for fishermen who adjust to the conditions. Redfish, black drum, flounder, and trout each follow their own patterns tied to tide cycles, water temperature, and bait availability. Even when the fish behave predictably, results come from reading the details and responding with timing, placement, and clean presentation.
Gear choice directly affects how well you fish those opportunities. Rod action, reel control, leader strength, and hook design all impact your ability to cast accurately, set the hook cleanly, and land fish that fight near cover. Equipment needs to match the terrain and conditions you plan to fish. That includes how you store gear, how much you carry, and what you’re rigged for when the bite picks up.
At Avid Angler, we stock gear selected for the demands of these waters. Every rod, reel, jighead, float, and soft plastic on our shelves is matched to the structure, pressure, and species this fishery produces in the summer. Come on in and get all your fishing gear so you can fish prepared from the first cast.
