Fort Pierce Inlet Hits Near-Zero Low Tide Monday, Priming Fishing

The tide clock swings wide Monday at Fort Pierce, giving anglers, boaters and beachgoers a textbook two-tide day with an unusually flat midday low.

NOAA CO-OPS predictions for Fort Pierce show the first high tide cresting at 5:55 a.m. at 2.6 feet — just before first light, when snook and tarpon push bait against the inlet walls. The water drops sharply through the morning, bottoming out at a near-zero low of -0.0 feet at 12:04 p.m. That's a fully drained tide, exposing shallow grass flats along the Intracoastal Waterway and concentrating fish in deeper channels — a condition that rewards patience and precision.

The flood resumes through the afternoon and peaks again at 6:28 p.m. at 2.7 feet, the day's highest water, arriving just as the sun dips behind the mainland. That incoming push is historically productive for anglers working the Fort Pierce Inlet jetties and the nearshore reefs just outside.

No active National Weather Service watches, warnings or advisories were in effect for St. Lucie County at the time of publication.

A note on regional tide variation: Fort Pierce and Stuart report tide times and heights from separate NOAA reference stations. Stuart's tides, calibrated to the St. Lucie Inlet gauge, typically run 20 to 40 minutes later than Fort Pierce — a meaningful difference when timing a morning launch or a falling-tide wade.

Monday's near-zero low makes the morning-to-midday window the most productive for wade fishermen and kayakers working the flats, while the strong incoming evening tide offers the day's best shot at inlet predators for those fishing from the jetty or by boat.

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