Artificial Lure reporting from St. Augustine, and Friday’s setting up to be a beauty for anglers hitting the local waters. With **sunrise at 6:43 AM and sunset at 5:33 PM** (based on this week’s NOAA and tide-forecast charts), you’ve got just about eleven hours of fishing light to play with. Tide-wise, it’s a classic fall pattern: **high tide just after 8 AM and again around 8:30 PM, with lows right before daylight and about mid-afternoon.** As of this morning, the inshore tide is rising, so plan to work the outgoing tide into early afternoon for your best movement.

Weather’s looking comfortable—morning temps in the low 60s, climbing to the mid-70s by afternoon, with light breezes shifting north-northeast later in the day. No heavy weather, so it’s a strong bet for everything from the Matanzas to the Guana. Water clarity will be up, especially after a few settled days post-front.

Recent catches in the St. Augustine area show November living up to its reputation. The last week’s chatter from bait shops and local guides is all about **slot and overslot redfish**, plenty of **speckled trout**, and a nice uptick in **flounder** action around the inlets and creek mouths. There’s consistent word of folks filling limits on **sheepshead** at Vilano Bridge and the city pier, and near-shore, if you can get out, you’ll find **black drum** and even scattered **pompano** working the first trough on the beaches.

For **lures**, the bite’s been best on topwater plugs just after sunrise—think Rapala Skitter Walks in bone or mullet, or a spook if you’re hitting grass edges. Once the sun’s up, folks are switching to **soft plastics like Gulp! shrimp (white, new penny, or chartreuse)** rigged on 1/8 to 1/4 oz jigheads. Paddle tails like Z-Man DieZel Minnowz in Houdini or opening night have also been hot, especially on trout holding in deeper bends of Salt Run and the Guana River. For those reds cruising shallows with the mullet, gold spoons and spinnerbaits are still doing damage.

**Live bait** fishers are having the best luck with **mullet, live shrimp, and mud minnows**, free-lined or under a popping cork. Mud minnows fished near drop-offs around the ICW and creek mouths are putting up solid flounder and trout numbers. Sheepshead are stacking up on fiddler crabs and small pieces of shrimp or clam on tight gear at the docks.

A couple of **hotspots** to target today:
- **Salt Run**: Fish the grass lines and dock pilings for reds and trout at the outgoing tide change.
- **Matanzas Inlet (west side)**: The rocks and drop-offs have been steady for flounder and drum, especially with live mud minnows.
- **Vilano Causeway and City Pier**: Classic choices for sheepshead and drum, and good for a family trip with nearby facilities.

Boat anglers should try around the markers in the Tolomato and the south end of Guana for bigger trout and reds lurking in the deeper pockets as the day warms. Don’t ignore the surf either—the first troughs along Anastasia State Park Beach have been yielding whiting and pompano on shrimp-tipped jigs.

That’s today’s rundown from your local tackle box, and as we roll closer to winter, the action’s heating up right along with the chowder pots. Appreciate y’all tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s update.

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