Artificial Lure here with your Saturday morning fishing report straight out of St. Augustine, November 8th, 2025. Let’s spotlight the local bite, tides, weather, and what’s been happening on the water.

Sun is up at 6:43 AM and sets tonight at 5:35 PM, so you’ve got just over ten hours to chase ‘em before the early darkness sets in, thanks to the time change and these shorter fall days. Weather’s sitting mild and pleasant—News4JAX forecasts a warm weekend with a little humidity hanging around before a cool front sweeps through Sunday night. Winds are just light enough not to put off the more finicky fish, and water clarity is decent with no red tide issues reported in our part of Florida according to the latest check by the FWC.

If you’re planning your trip around the tides, here’s today’s rundown from USHarbors and Tideschart. We had a high tide at 7:11 AM, and a low rolls in at 1:30 PM. That means the flats and creek mouths will be flooding early and draining hard by midday—a classic fall transition for our marsh and river fish.

Fishing activity in St. Augustine’s rivers and surf zones this week is fired up. Captain Experiences highlights redfish, speckled trout, flounder, and a smattering of sheepshead as the prime targets lately. Most charters and locals have been bringing in slot reds and keeper trout, with some nice flounder caught around the inlet and Matanzas River flats especially during moving water. Word is, a few folks even managed limit days on trout midweek near Salt Run.

Best baits and lures right now? Tried and true is holding strong:
- **Live shrimp** and **mud minnows** are still out-catching artificials on slower tidal swings.
- **Paddle-tail soft plastics** in chartreuse or new penny, fished on a 1/8 oz jighead, are working magic around oyster bars and creek mouths.
- For topwater action, a **Rapala Skitter Walk** or a classic Zara Spook is getting early morning hits, especially near the Vilano causeway as the marshes flood.
- If you’re after flounder, a **Gulp! Swimming Mullet** or live finger mullet fished slowly on the bottom is a winning ticket.

For the lure aficionados, heavier jigheads (as Major League Fishing recommends for sonar-focused anglers) are helpful when fishing windier conditions or deeper creek pockets.

Favorite hotspots to try this weekend:
- **Salt Run:** Consistent action for trout and reds during the outgoing tide near the edges of the grass. Look for bait movement and work your lures slow.
- **Vilano Pier and Flats:** Great spot for mixing it up—reds, trout, and even some mangrove snapper have been showing up in the deeper holes.
- **Matanzas Inlet backwaters:** Drift or wade the oyster bars at mid-tide for flounder and slot reds.

Tidal coefficient today is low—currents won’t be raging, so target ambush points like channel swings, creek mouths, and the edges of drop-offs.

Reminder: no respiratory irritation or fish kills due to algae in our region per FWC’s current status, so breathe easy and enjoy your time out.

Thanks for tuning in to your local St. Augustine fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest news and tips—whether you’re wading, kayaking, or running the flats. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI