St. Andrew Bay, Florida is a big, mixed-bag estuary, so there isn’t a practical way to name every species that might show up there, but I can give you the common and notable species groups anglers actually run into 🎣
Common St. Andrew Bay fish species
Inshore saltwater species
- Redfish / red drum
- Speckled trout / spotted seatrout
- Flounder
- Sheepshead
- Black drum
- Whiting / kingfish
- Mangrove snapper
- Sand perch
- Bluefish
- Ladyfish
- Pompano
- Spanish mackerel
- Jack crevalle
- Crevalle jack
- Tarpon in season
- Cobia near structure and bait
Nearshore / bay-pass visitors
- Gag grouper
- Red grouper
- Triggerfish
- Mackerel species
- Permit occasionally
- Bonito and other pelagic visitors on the right tide and bait movement
Brackish and freshwater-adjacent species
Because bays mix freshwater runoff and saltwater, you may also see:
- Freshwater catfish moving into creeks
- Mullet and baitfish schools that support the whole food chain
- Bass, bream, and crappie in connected creeks, canals, and upstream waters
Best way to think about St. Andrew Bay
Instead of trying to memorize a giant list, break the bay into zones:
- Grass flats → trout, redfish, flounder
- Oyster bars / shorelines → redfish, sheepshead, snapper
- Bridges / channels / deeper cuts → trout, drum, jacks, mackerel
- Passes / moving water → pompano, tarpon, mackerel, cobia
Quick angler tip
If you want the best odds of catching something, bring a small spread of baits:
- Soft paddletail for trout and reds
- Live shrimp for almost everything
- Topwater at dawn for aggressive fish
- Small jig or bait on bottom for flounder and pompano
If you want, I can also give you a more complete species checklist for St. Andrew Bay organized by game fish, edible fish, and baitfish. Tight lines 😎
