Weather tells you whether you can fish. Tides tell you whether you'll catch. In NE Florida, inshore and surf species feed on moving water — incoming or outgoing — because the current pushes bait into predictable ambush lanes. Dead high and dead low (the slack periods when water stops moving) are the worst windows of the day for almost every inshore species we target.
The rule that matters: moving water beats still water. Pick a spot, figure out when the current is ripping through it, and show up an hour before that window starts.
Northeast Florida gets semi-diurnal tides — two highs and two lows every day, roughly 6 hours apart. The tide cycle runs about 12 hours 25 minutes, which means the high tide today will be ~50 minutes later tomorrow.
Typical tide range: 4–6 feet on an average day around Mayport and St. Augustine, pushing 7+ feet on spring tides near new and full moons. The SJR south of Jacksonville dampens down — Palatka only sees about 1 foot of tidal swing because of distance from the ocean inlet.
| Species | Prime Stage | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redfish (slot) | Last 2 hrs outgoing + first 2 hrs incoming | Grass flats, oyster bars, creek mouths | Tailing on falling tide as flats drain; schooled on rising tide as they push in with bait. |
| Bull redfish (jetty) | Strong outgoing | Mayport & St. Johns Jetties | Fall run Oct–Nov is legendary on a big outgoing tide. |
| Speckled trout | Mid-tide, incoming or outgoing | Grass edges, deeper holes on flats | Moving water keeps bait active. First/last light + moving water = best. |
| Flounder | Outgoing | Creek mouths, channel edges, docks | They ambush bait as the tide drains. Last 3 hrs of the fall is gold. |
| Sheepshead | Slack to slow-moving | Jetty rocks, bridge pilings, docks | Light bite plus heavy current = impossible. Fish the edges of the tide. |
| Snook | Outgoing, dawn & dusk | Passes, dock lights, jetty ends | Night-time dock lights at high slack also produce. |
| Tarpon (juvenile) | Any moving tide, strong incoming best | Backcountry creeks, ICW bridges | Summer months. Rolling tarpon give themselves away at sunrise. |
| Pompano / whiting (surf) | Incoming into the top | First and second troughs | Incoming water fills the trough; fish move in to feed. Less active on dead low. |
| Mangrove snapper (inshore) | Moving tide, either direction | Bridge pilings, jetty, rock piles | They face the current and pick off bait drifting past. |
| Offshore bottom (snapper, grouper) | Slower tide easier to anchor; bite can happen either way | Ledges, wrecks 60–200 ft | Tide state matters less than bait presence and current direction on the structure. |
The moon's gravity is what drives tides — the bigger the alignment between sun, earth, and moon, the more extreme the tides.
NOAA runs free, authoritative tide prediction and real-time data for stations up and down the coast. These are the ones we actually check for fishing NE Florida.
The reference station for the Jacksonville area — St. Johns inlet, the jetties, Atlantic and Jax beaches, ICW nearby.
NOAA →Use for Amelia Island, Fort Clinch, Nassau Sound, and the very north end of NE Florida.
NOAA →Reference for Matanzas Inlet, Anastasia, Crescent Beach, and St. Augustine's ICW.
NOAA →For the St. Johns River between the inlet and downtown Jacksonville. Tides lag Mayport by ~30 minutes.
NOAA →Minimal tidal swing here (~1 ft) but still useful for upriver bass, striper, and catfish trips.
NOAA →