Updated: Thursday, August 20, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, August 27, 2026
This Palm Beach fishing report for the week of August 20, 2026 starts offshore, where the Gulf Stream sits close and runs hard north, the way it should in late August. Expect blue water inside of five miles and productive drift fishing with almost no running. Mahi are the lead target on the weedlines, and the strong north-setting current is the condition to plan every drift around. Inshore, the Intracoastal is warm and the day bite thins out, so save the shallow-water effort for the inlet after dark, which is excellent this time of year.
What’s Hitting
Mahi scatter along the offshore weedlines and under debris in 250 to 800 feet — mostly schoolies, with a gaffer or two under the better patches. Mutton snapper and mangrove snapper feed on the deep reef edge at night. Kingfish sit on the bait pods along the reef line, and blackfin tuna show early and late on the deep drop. Tarpon move through the Palm Beach Inlet and along the beach on the night outgoing, while snook work the inlet rock and the bridge lights after dark. A few bonito and small blackfin keep the light tackle honest.
Where to Find Them
Look for grass and color changes in 300 to 700 feet for mahi. For bottom fish, work the deep reef edge in 100 to 160 feet from the Palm Beach Inlet north toward Jupiter. The inlet itself and the adjacent beach hold tarpon on the outgoing after dark. The Blue Heron Bridge and the Lake Worth bridge lights hold snook and small tarpon, and the Boynton Inlet area is worth working on the moving tide.
Tides & Conditions
Tides are moderate off the waxing moon, with the strongest inlet flow on the evening outgoing — that is the tarpon window. Ocean temperatures sit in the mid 80s and inshore water in the upper 80s. Expect two- to three-foot morning seas on a light east wind, building through the afternoon. The north-setting current is strong, so set up drifts well south of where you want to end. Storms build over the interior and push east in the late afternoon most days.
Tackle & Tactics
- Mahi: keep two 4000-size spinners rigged with 30-pound braid and 40-pound fluorocarbon, and a live pilchard or ballyhoo chunk ready to throw the moment a fish shows. Hold one hooked fish in the water to keep the school up.
- Night muttons: a long 30-pound leader, a whole ballyhoo and minimum weight.
- Kings: light wire and a stinger.
- Inlet tarpon: a 6000-size spinner, 50- to 60-pound braid, 80-pound fluorocarbon, and a live mullet or a big swimbait drifted with the outgoing current.
Local Intel This Week
Phil Foster Park at Riviera Beach is the workhorse ramp for the inlet and the Blue Heron Bridge. The Sportsman’s Park and Currie Park ramps serve Lake Worth, and the ramp at Burt Reynolds Park in Jupiter handles the north end. Shore anglers can work the Blue Heron Bridge catwalk and Juno Beach Pier for snook, snapper and small tarpon. Focus on current edges — the inlet, the reef line, the offshore color change. Check current FWC and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On a hard-running inlet outgoing, do not anchor. Drift it. Start well inside, let the current carry the boat out through the mouth with a live bait swimming naturally in the flow, then idle back and do it again. Anchored baits in that much current look wrong, and drifting covers three times the water.
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