Bites Red Hot Across the Keys as Conditions Prime for Snook, Tuna, and Mahi

Artificial Lure here with your boots-on-the-dock Florida Keys fishing report, Thursday, November 20th, 2025. If you’ve been waiting for the green light, this is it—conditions are prime and the bite’s been red hot across the island chain. Weather today is classic late fall: northeast breeze at 10–12 knots, a fresh 70s start rising to the low 80s by afternoon. Waters are fairly calm outside a modest chop nearshore, and the humidity’s finally in check according to L-36.com’s marine weather outlook for Marathon. Grab that sun shirt: we’re looking at a sunrise at 6:38 AM and sunset right around 5:34 PM, giving plenty of daylight for the serious and the casual anglers alike. Tides are big players this week. Key West this morning saw a low tide at 3:34 AM at just 0.05 ft, bottoming out the flats, and by 10:20 AM high tide came back up to 1.37 ft, according to the Key West tide forecast. These swings are pushing bait through channels and onto flats, making that moving water prime time, especially the rising and the top of the high. Inshore, it’s the snook, trout, and snapper show. Pilchards and finger mullet are the ticket, but don’t sleep on chartreuse jerkbaits, paddle tails, and live shrimp under the mangroves. Early risers have been rewarded with healthy snook around bridges and backcountry creeks—lots of 18–25 inchers, plus the odd over-slot fish. Mangrove snapper are consistent, with plenty of dinner-sized 12–15" fish coming on shrimp-tipped jigs and small pinfish, especially at Long Key Bridge and Florida Bay cuts. A few tarpon are still rolling late, especially at first light around Government Cut and in the deeper channels of Islamorada, according to recent podcast reports. Offshore is on fire. The Islamorada Humps and local wrecks are stacked with blackfin tuna—vertical speed jigs and live pilchards are crushing it for tuna up to 25 lbs, while sailfish are showing on live goggle eyes and blue runners slow-trolled just offshore of the reef line. Reports from Instagram show some big wahoo being decked around the color change, with the hot lure this week being a pink-and-black Zoom Witch skirt trolled at sunrise. Dolphin (mahi-mahi) are still hanging around scattered weed lines, mostly “peanut” schoolies but a few nice 15–20 pounders if you cover some water and stick to rigged ballyhoo or bright-sleeved Islanders. On the reef, frozen squid, cut ballyhoo and large live bait are scoring grouper and muttons. According to FishingBooker’s Key Largo guides, goliath grouper are prowling deeper holes, and a fresh slab of bonito or a big live grunt is the bait for a tug-o-war. Mutton and yellowtail action’s been steady, as shown off by recent social catches of solid 5–10 pound mutton snapper on the edge from Tennessee Reef to Alligator Reef. For hot spots, don’t miss: - Long Key Bridge: Mangrove snapper and sea trout, best on the high flow. - Islamorada Humps: Tuna and early sailfish bite. - Government Cut: Snook, jack crevalle, and rolling tarpon at This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.