The Apalachicola, FL marine forecast covers live wind speed and gusts, tide predictions, wave conditions, and major and minor solunar feeding times, updated continuously from NOAA and Open-Meteo. The strongest fishing windows usually line up with the moving tide and the solunar periods shown below — check current conditions before you head out.
By Steve Wilson, lifelong angler & founder of My Marine Forecast
Last updated: Sep 15, 2026, 8:00 AM
On Tuesday, September 15, Apalachicola, FL sees high tide at 5:52 AM (2.1 ft) and 8:48 PM (1.7 ft), low tide at 12:28 AM (1.4 ft) and 1:42 PM (0.4 ft). Winds 3–16 mph from the NE gusting to 23 mph. Air temperatures 77–85°F. Current water temperature is about 88°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Station 8728690
| Low tide | 12:28 AM | 1.4 ft |
| High tide | 5:52 AM | 2.1 ft |
| Low tide | 1:42 PM | 0.4 ft |
| High tide | 8:48 PM | 1.7 ft |
Wind
3–16 mph NE
Gusts
23 mph
Air Temp
77–85°F
Water Temp
88°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8728690 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Tide data sourced from NOAA Station 8728690
Apalachicola Bay is one of the cleanest and most productive estuaries in Florida. Protected by the long barrier island of St. George Island, the bay system holds redfish, flounder, and spotted seatrout with a fraction of the fishing pressure you'd find in Tampa Bay or the Panhandle's more popular ports. It's about to undiscovered gets.
The flats inside St. George Sound are shallow and clear. Redfish can be seen tailing in the Summer and Fall low tides on calm mornings. The Apalachicola River pushes nutrients into the bay year-round, which drives bait and keeps predators fed. Flounder pile up in the deep channels near the river mouth during Fall.
The offshore fishing here is among the best on the Gulf Coast. Red snapper are abundant over the natural rock bottom and see far less pressure than the reefs off Destin or Panama City. Grouper, amberjack, and cobia round out the offshore season. The relative remoteness of this fishery is a genuine advantage.
The bay's tidal range is modest — often less than two feet — but wind-driven tides can stack or pull water dramatically. A sustained south wind fills the back bays, while a north wind drains them. Check wind direction alongside the tide chart above before heading to the back bays.
Spring: As the bay warms into the 60s, speckled trout and redfish spread out over the oyster bars that define this estuary, feeding on the early shrimp and glass minnows. Sheepshead finish their spawn on the deeper bars, pompano show along St. George Island's surf, and Spanish mackerel push through the cuts by April.
Summer: Tripletail float under crab trap buoys and channel markers across the bay, a signature summer fishery here. Tarpon cruise the beaches and Indian Pass, trout bite best at dawn over the bars before retreating to deeper grass, and mangrove snapper hold around the cut rocks and channel structure.
Fall: Redfish school heavily in the bay and along the beaches in October, including oversized fish around the passes. Flounder pile into Bob Sikes Cut and the river mouth on their way to the Gulf. Trout feed shallow again across the bars, and whiting return to the island surf.
Winter: Trout pull off the bay and stack in the deep holes of the Apalachicola River and its sloughs, one of the region's best cold-weather patterns. Redfish stay catchable on mud flats warming in afternoon sun, and sheepshead gather on bars and channel structure ahead of spring.
Apalachicola Bay is the whole story: a shallow, bar-studded estuary fed by the Apalachicola River, with oyster bars that hold trout and redfish most of the year. St. George Island fronts the bay with miles of surf, and the state park on its east end offers uncrowded beach fishing. Bob Sikes Cut, between St. George and Little St. George islands, funnels flounder, redfish and sharks. Indian Pass to the west is a well-known tarpon and redfish spot, and East Bay's marsh edges round things out.