Fishing forecast by species
Speckled trout fishing forecast today
Speckled trout, or spotted seatrout, are a cool-to-moderate water fish: the bite is best in the 60s and 70s and fades in real heat. This page scores each spot's water temperature, tide and wind for trout and ranks them. It scores conditions only, not where the fish are.
Best spots for trout right now
Scored 24 of 24 spots · Oct 21, 5:08 PM ET- Big Bend · water 74°F · down 6°F this week93Prime
Wind: 6 mph NE, gusts 13
- Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week89Prime
Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 19
- Georgia Coast · water 75°F · down 7°F this week89Prime
Tide: 5.7 ft range · 2 in daylight
- First Coast · water 73°F · down 7°F this week88Prime
Tide: 5 ft range · 2 in daylight
- Space Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week86Prime
Tide: 2.8 ft range · 2 in daylight
- Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week84Prime
Wind: 11 mph N, gusts 21
- Texas Gulf Coast · water 78°F · down 6°F this week84Prime
Wind: 6 mph E, gusts 14
- Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week84Prime
Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 20
- Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week83Prime
Wind: 8 mph NE, gusts 20
- 10.Vero BeachTreasure Coast · water 81°F · down 4°F this week82Prime
Tide: 2.7 ft range · 2 in daylight
- 11.ApalachicolaForgotten Coast · water 74°F · down 6°F this week82Prime
Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 18
- 12.Perdido KeyEmerald Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week81Prime
Wind: 6 mph NE, gusts 11
- 13.PascagoulaMississippi Coast · water 77°F · down 6°F this week81Prime
Tide: 0.7 ft range · 1 in daylight
- 14.SteinhatcheeBig Bend · water 82°F · down 6°F this week81Prime
Wind: 6 mph NE, gusts 14
- Sarasota Coast · water 80°F · down 5°F this week80Prime
Sky: 1% rain chance
Show the other 9 spots
- Orange Beach79 Good
- Pensacola Beach79 Good
- Cape San Blas77 Good
- Key Largo75 Good
- Slidell75 Good
- Manasota Key74 Good
- Flagler Beach73 Good
- Jupiter73 Good
- Sanibel Island70 Good
This ranks a spread of spots along the coast, not every town. Open any spot for its full seven-day outlook. Scores are conditions only: they can’t tell you where the fish are, and water temperature is a model reading, not a measurement at the dock.
What moves the trout score
Temperature decides where they sit
Trout stay active and spread out on the flats above about 65°F and turn sluggish below about 60°F. Behind a cold front they pull into deeper water that holds heat: dredge holes, canals, dark-bottom basins. In heat they leave the flats too. These are rules of thumb for Florida inshore water.
Tide and wind
Moving water along grass edges and potholes carries about a quarter of the score; wind about a fifth, since a blow muddies the flats and scatters the bite.
Rules and seasons are separate from conditions and change by region and by order. Florida’s are on FWC’s trout page ; other states set their own. Our own write-up: Winter trout in Charlotte Harbor: water temp and fronts.
Common questions
What water temperature do speckled trout like?
The best window is roughly the low 60s through the upper 70s. They are active above about 65°F, sluggish below about 60°F, and drop off the shallow flats when the water gets very warm.
Why do trout bunch up after a cold front?
As the water drops into the 60s they leave the open flats for deeper water that holds heat, so they school up tight. Find one and you can find a bunch.
Does this tell me the trout limit or season?
No. It scores conditions only. Check FWC's spotted seatrout page for Florida's rules; other states set their own.
Other fish
Salty Forecast is a free hyperlocal weather app for the coast. These are planning aids built from forecast data, tide predictions and a water-temperature model, not guarantees: fish don’t read forecasts.