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Stuart Tide Schedule: Thursday, May 28, 2026

An unusually low afternoon tide opens a prime fishing window — here's how to use it

Stuart Tide Schedule: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Photo by Priya Okafor / TC Sentinel
· · ·

TODAY: Tides run the show Thursday on the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon, with a sharp afternoon low that anglers should circle on their calendars.

TONIGHT: The day opens with a modest low of 0.4 feet at 12:45 a.m., followed by the morning high of 2.4 feet at 6:35 a.m. — a gentle, rising tide that will push baitfish up into the flats just after first light.

THIS WEEK: The afternoon brings the most notable number on the board. A negative low tide of -0.1 feet arrives at 12:45 p.m., NOAA CO-OPS data shows. A negative reading means water drops below the standard datum line — draining shallow grass flats, exposing oyster bars along the St. Lucie, and concentrating fish in the deeper cuts and channel edges. The evening high of 2.9 feet — the strongest of the day — follows at 7:18 p.m., reflooding those same flats as the sun drops.

ON THE WATER: Southeast Florida's rainy season is building, so keep an eye on afternoon thunderstorms regardless of the tide picture. The morning flood tide (low at 12:45 a.m. to high at 6:35 a.m.) is your cleanest window: stable, rising water, low boat traffic. For the afternoon session, target the negative low between noon and two p.m. — snook and redfish stack in the deeper channel bends off Sandsprit Park and the Manatee Pocket when shallow water disappears from the flats. A live pilchard or a DOA Shrimp on a light jig head, worked along the bottom of a defined channel edge, is the play during that window. Wade the exposed bars on foot if the bottom is firm; just watch for stingrays. The evening flood starting after seven p.m. will push fish back onto the grass, but afternoon storms may cut that session short.

ALERTS: No active NWS watches, warnings, or advisories are in effect for Martin County at time of publication. Monitor NWS Melbourne (weather.gov/mlb) for any convective updates through the afternoon hours.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.

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