Jacksonville fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. This is the week Northeast Florida anglers wait for all year. The bull reds are in the river mouth in numbers, the mullet are running down the beach, and everything from the jetties to the Intracoastal is feeding on it.
What’s Hitting
This week on the water it is bull redfish. Fish from 30 to 45 inches are stacked at the St. Johns River jetties and along the channel edges from Mayport to the Dames Point bridge, with schools of oversized reds working the bait on the beach as well. The mullet run is at full strength, and tarpon, big jacks, and Spanish mackerel are following the pods along Jacksonville Beach and Hanna Park. Flounder are moving out of the creeks and staging along the river edges and the jetty rocks ahead of their fall migration. Slot reds and trout are steady in the Intracoastal creeks and the Sisters Creek area on the moving tide.
Where to Find Them
Bull reds are at the tips of both jetties and along the drop-offs inside the river mouth, especially on the last of the outgoing tide. Along the beach, the tarpon and jacks are wherever the mullet pods are thickest, so cover ground from Hanna Park south to Ponte Vedra and watch for birds. Flounder are on the sandy edges of the jetty rocks and along the Mayport docks. The creeks off Sisters Creek and the Intracoastal near the Palm Valley bridge hold slot reds and trout.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week between moons, with the outgoing tide in the morning setting up the best jetty window. River water is in the low 80s and clearing after the summer rains. Mornings have been calm with a light west wind, with the northeast breeze and an occasional shower building later in the day. Surf has been fishable most mornings.
Tackle & Tactics
For bull reds, a live or cut mullet or a blue crab half on a 7/0 circle hook with a fish-finder rig and 3 to 4 ounces of weight is the standard at the jetties, on a heavy spinning or conventional outfit with 50-pound braid. Along the beach, live finger mullet under a float or a large paddle tail will draw tarpon and jacks. Flounder want a live mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig or a bucktail dragged slowly along the bottom. In the creeks, a popping cork with a shrimp or a soft plastic covers trout and slot reds.
Local Intel This Week
The Mayport boat ramp is the closest to the jetties, with the Sisters Creek ramp and Joe Carlucci ramp on the Intracoastal as the main alternatives. Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park has beach and surf access for shore anglers, and the Jacksonville Beach Pier is worth a look when the mullet are on the beach. Fish are concentrating at the jetty tips on the outgoing tide and along the beach around the mullet pods. Bull reds over the slot must be released, and check current FWC regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
At the jetties, anchor up-current of the rocks and let your bait sit on the down-current edge where the eddy forms. Bull reds hold in that seam waiting for the tide to wash bait to them, and a bait in the seam will out-fish a bait in the current every time.
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