Stuart fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. Week two of the real mullet run and it has not let up. The finger mullet are still streaming south along Hutchinson Island every morning, the Crossroads is boiling at first light, and I have not had to think very hard about where to go. If you have been waiting for the classic September pattern, this is it.
What’s Hitting
This week on the water it is still snook first. They are stacked on the inlet rocks and along the Sailfish Point beach, feeding on every outgoing tide. Tarpon are rolling in the surf and inside the Crossroads at dawn, big jacks are crashing bait pods along the beach, and redfish are picking off mullet along the St. Lucie shorelines. A few oversized bluefish and Spanish mackerel have shown up behind the bait too, which is your first hint that fall is coming.
Offshore, the reef in 60 to 90 feet is holding mutton snapper and a steady pick of kingfish, and the first sailfish of the season have been reported on the edge. But with the beach this good, most boats are staying inside.
Where to Find Them
Start at the St. Lucie Inlet on the falling tide, working the north jetty and the rocks along the south side where snook stage against the current. Along the beach, follow the bait rather than the spot: drive Hutchinson Island, look for birds and nervous water, and set up on the down-current edge of the pods. The House of Refuge rocks and the beach just north of the inlet were again the most reliable stretches this week. Inside, the Crossroads, the flats off Sewall’s Point, and the Manatee Pocket docks all have snook and jacks working bait at dawn.
Tides & Conditions
We are between moons this week, with the first quarter on Friday, so tides are more moderate than last week’s spring tides. That means a softer outgoing flow at the inlet and a slightly longer feeding window rather than one violent push. Water is still in the mid-80s, mornings have been calm with a light west wind, and the east breeze builds after lunch with the usual afternoon storm risk. Water clarity along the beach has been excellent early.
Tackle & Tactics
A live finger mullet on a 5/0 circle hook, free-lined in the inlet current or under a float on the beach, is the whole program for snook and tarpon. For artificials, a 5-inch paddle tail or a flair hawk jig on 40-pound fluorocarbon covers the inlet fish, and a walking topwater at first light draws the jacks. Bump to 60-pound leader if tarpon are the target. A 7-foot medium-heavy spinning rod with 30-pound braid handles everything on the beach.
Local Intel This Week
Sandsprit Park is the fastest ramp to the inlet, with Leighton Park on the South Fork and the Stuart Causeway ramp as quieter options for fishing inside. Shore anglers are doing well at the House of Refuge, Bathtub Reef Beach, and the Jensen Beach accesses. Fish are concentrated at the inlet mouth on the outgoing tide and wherever the mullet pods are thickest along the beach. Snook season is open on the Atlantic coast, but check current FWC regulations, slot sizes, and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
When the beach is crowded with mullet and the fish get picky, downsize. A 3-inch mullet or a smaller paddle tail fished slowly under the school looks like the straggler every snook is hunting, and it gets eaten when the big baits get ignored.
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