Coastal conditions

St. Augustine Inlet

Inlet · Florida · Florida Atlantic / First Coast

Location Snapshot

St. Augustine Inlet is a northeast Florida inshore fishery linking the Atlantic with tidal creeks, marshes, and the Intracoastal Waterway. Red drum, spotted seatrout, southern flounder, sheepshead, and spanish mackerel are the principal supported targets.

Active coastal or marine alerts

  • Small Craft Advisory

    Severity: Minor

    Small Craft Advisory issued October 20 at 2:25AM EDT until October 22 at 8:00PM EDT by NWS Jacksonville FL

    Begins Oct 20, 2026, 2:25 AM · Ends Oct 22, 2026, 8:00 PM

    Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.

    Official NWS alert

Current Coastal Rating

Fair · 68

Beta

Conditions are fair, but confidence is reduced because some coastal inputs are partial or prediction-based.

Scores are model-specific and are not directly comparable across water types.

Should I Go?

Trip conditions only. Target-species activity and seasonal fishery patterns are not yet included.

Consider

Trip conditions may be workable, but important cautions or data limitations remain.

Medium confidence — The recommendation is usable, but one or more inputs are regional, proxied, stale, or incomplete.

Evaluates trip conditions using weather, tides, currents, waves, daylight, and active alerts.

  • This coastal rating is in public beta.
  • Missing waves are not calm. Forecast is not an observation. Prediction is not an observation.
  • Because this rating is in public beta, recommendations are capped at Consider when evidence is limited.

Service Status

Degraded

Coastal conditions are partial, stale, or predictions-only.

Recommended window

Tuesday · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM EDT

Window score

73

Max wind
17 mph
Max gust
22 mph
Daylight
100% of window
Tide state
rising

Why

  • Strong daylight coverage supports the evaluated window.

Watch for

  • An active caution-level alert applies to this destination.

Coastal conditions can change quickly. Review official alerts and current conditions before heading out.

Current Readings

No recent observations are available.

Past 7 Days

No recent observations are available.

Nearby coastal destinations

Predicted Tides

Predicted

Falling

Next low tide

Oct 20, 2026, 10:19 AM

In 2 hr 42 min

1.5 ft MLLW

Previous

High · Oct 20, 2026, 3:57 AM · 4.3 ft MLLW

Following

High · Oct 20, 2026, 4:30 PM · 4.7 ft MLLW

Tide prediction proxy

St. Augustine, city dock · NOAA 8720576

This nearby station is used for tide timing. Predicted height does not represent exact water depth or exposed-flat conditions at this destination.

Predicted Tidal Current

Predicted

Tidal-current predictions are not available for this destination.

Tidal-current timing can differ from high and low tide timing.

Fishery Profile

Fishery Overview

St. Augustine Inlet First Coast pass fishery

A northeast Florida Atlantic inlet fishery at St. Augustine Inlet. Anastasia State Park's Salt Run and north-end waters, plus the inlet itself, concentrate red drum, spotted seatrout, southern flounder, sheepshead, and Spanish mackerel between the Matanzas / Intracoastal system and the Atlantic. Augustine Inlet.

Fishery type
  • Atlantic inlet estuary edge
Fishing modes
  • Shore
  • Inshore boat
Habitat and structure
St. Augustine Inlet between Vilano / Porpoise Point and Anastasia Island · Salt Run estuary, oyster edges, and grass inside Anastasia State Park · North-end Atlantic waters off the state park

Static seasonal guidance · Last reviewed Aug 15, 2026

Not a live bite forecast.

Fishery Targets

Anastasia State Park names flounder, sea trout, and reds at Salt Run and the park's north end. Common snook is omitted: FWC places Atlantic abundance from about Cape Canaveral south, and St. Augustine sits north of that core range. Listed species are not equally available every month. Seasonal notes describe typical presence.

Species images are AI-generated illustrations for visual reference and may simplify natural variation. Fishery records are based on the cited agency and editorial sources. About fish illustrations

  • Red drum illustration

    Red drum

    Primary

    Sciaenops ocellatus

    Also called Redfish

    No seasonal pulse known

    Anastasia State Park names reds among Salt Run and north-end catches. FWC Northeast red-drum management applies to this coast.

  • Spotted seatrout illustration

    Spotted seatrout

    Primary

    Cynoscion nebulosus

    No seasonal pulse known

    Anastasia State Park names trout as the primary Salt Run catch.

  • Southern flounder illustration

    Southern flounder

    Secondary

    Paralichthys lethostigma

    No seasonal pulse known

    Named as flounder by Anastasia State Park.

  • Sheepshead illustration

    Sheepshead

    Secondary

    Archosargus probatocephalus

    No seasonal pulse known

    Oyster-bar and inlet-structure class on Salt Run and the inlet.

  • Spanish mackerel illustration

    Spanish mackerel

    Secondary

    Scomberomorus maculatus

    No seasonal pulse known

    FWC: absent from north Florida waters in winter.

Seasonal timing is not defined for every target.

Access, Safety and Regulations

Access

Public shore fishing includes Anastasia State Park (Salt Run fishing area with a fish-cleaning station; waters off the north end of the park). Florida State Parks requires fishing to conform to FWC size, number, method, and season rules. St. Johns County identifies Porpoise Point as inlet-adjacent beach access with no vehicular access to Porpoise Point; driving is prohibited on Anastasia State Park beaches. Confirm current park hours, fees, and county beach-access postings. Vilano Fishing Pier is an Intracoastal facility west of the Vilano Bridge and is not this inlet destination.

Primary hazards

Inlet current, boat traffic, oyster cuts, and lightning are the primary hazards. Do not drive on park beaches. Heat and stingrays on sand are routine.

Fishery considerations

  • Inlet and Salt Run tidal flow is the fishing context. Augustine city dock. Current predictions and a local wave reading are not available here.
  • Northeast wind stacks the inlet mouth. A local wave reading is not available here.

Regulations

Size limits, seasons, and possession rules change. Verify the current official regulations before fishing.

Fishery Sources

Editorial and agency sources supporting this fishery profile. Live and predicted conditions use the separate Data Sources section.

Location and Access

Inlet · Florida

Loading map…

The map marker represents the cataloged waterbody or monitoring location and may not indicate legal parking or public access. Confirm access through the official information before visiting.

Data Sources

Planning limitation

Coastal conditions can vary over short distances. Predictions and remote observations are planning information, not guarantees of access or safety.

  • Tidal currents are unsupported.