Fishing Report & Forecast St. Augustine Inshore

By Capt. Tommy Derringer

This has been a wild Winter/Spring we’re coming out of… hot one day and cold the next. As things start to consistently warm up, I’ll be looking for redfish on shallow flats and in the creeks that have a darker mud or oyster-laden bottom. On clear days the sun will warm the water a few degrees in those areas making a great spot for the reds to hang out and warm up a bit. Bait (mullet, minnows, shrimp) will also hold in these “hot” spots and its common knowledge that the reds will be in the same areas the bait is. There hasn’t really been much bait around as of late so if you find an area that is holding some you can be sure there are some redfish close by. Sightfishing for reds has been a little hit or miss this year, again due to the weather. The water has been murky due to warmer than normal conditions and if it continues to warm up quickly this month the water will get murkier as the algae starts to bloom. Not to worry you can still “sight” fish. One way to spot schooled up reds is to look for wakes or “muds” caused by the fish moving. I’ve been locating some big schools this over the last couple of months.

This is my Favorite month of the year to fish for trout. Once the water starts to warm up a bit the trout will be going crazy. There’s nothing like watching that big momma trout come soaring out of the water after your top-water plug. Creek mouths, rip rap, and just about anywhere you have some moving water are going to be great places to target the specs. Remember to loosen the drag just a little when throwing topwater plugs for trout. They have somewhat delicate mouths, and you don’t want to rip the plug away from the fish before they get it. Of course, if top-water isn’t your thing a jig and soft plastic will do the trick for the specs as well. My go-to rig of choice for trout (and reds too!) is a Saltwater Assassin 1/8-ounce jighead with a Saltwater Assassin paddle tail. Jig, jig, then pause... then repeat. Just remember to release those big trout as they are breeders and letting them go to make some babies is a great thing for our fishery!

The sheepshead bite has been steady this Winter and Spring and should continue into late spring. Fiddlers and oyster crabs have been the best baits. Just about any structure with barnacles on it has been holding some “heads”.

The black drum bite has been pretty good over the last couple of months and should continue this month. Most of my fish have been in the 3-8lb range and were caught in the deeper parts of the creeks off the ICW. The best baits have been live/fresh dead shrimp, or a fiddler crab. An hour on either side of low tide has been producing the best bite, especially around the new and full moons..