Early December Keys Fishing: Topwaters, Soft Plastics, and Live Bait Madness

This is Artificial Lure coming to you with your Florida Keys fishing report.We’ve got a classic early‑December Keys morning: light northeast breeze around 10–15 knots, temps starting in the low 70s and topping mid‑70s, with a mix of sun and passing clouds. Nearshore seas are running 1–3 feet with a light chop, plenty fishable.According to Tide‑Forecast for Key West, low tide hit just before sunrise with a -0.3 foot low around 5:20 a.m., then we’ll see a modest high about 12:10 p.m. around 1.1 feet, another low late afternoon near 0.5 feet, and a stronger high just before midnight over 2 feet. Sunrise was about 7:00 a.m. and sunset’s around 5:40 p.m., so your best windows are the late‑morning flood and that last‑light falling water.Bite-wise, the cooler water has everything chewing. Inshore, folks around Islamorada and Key Largo have been bending rods on speckled trout, mangrove snapper, small tarpon, jacks, and plenty of sharks mixing in. Out on the reefs and patches, boats out of Key West are reporting steady yellowtail, muttons, and a few blackfin tuna along the edge when the current and birds line up. Offshore humps are giving up blackfin tuna and the odd wahoo when the water’s blue and moving.On lures, it’s hard to beat a **white or bone topwater plug** at first light for snook and juvenile tarpon along mangrove shorelines, then switching to **3–4 inch paddle‑tail soft plastics** in pearl or new penny on a 1/8–1/4 ounce jighead once the sun gets up. Around the bridges and channels, **bucktail jigs tipped with shrimp** or a strip of cut bait are money for mackerel, snapper, and the occasional grouper.For bait, bring **live shrimp**, small pinfish, and pilchards if you can net them. Shrimp under a popping cork is putting nice trout and mangroves in the box on the bayside. Out on the reefs, a steady **chum slick with cut ballyhoo or glass minnows** is pulling yellowtail off the edge; send back a small chunk of ballyhoo on light fluoro and let it drift naturally. If you’re hunting blackfin, a **live pilchard or chunked sardine** on 30–40‑pound fluoro leader around the humps is getting bit.A couple hot spots to think about:- **Seven Mile Bridge / Bahia Honda area** – Work the tide lines and shadow lines with shrimp‑tipped jigs and small plugs. Good mixed bag of snapper, mackerel, jacks, and the chance at a tarpon if they’re around.- **Hawk Channel off Islamorada and Long Key Bight** – Patch reefs in 15–30 feet are holding yellowtail, muttons, porgies, and plenty of action for light tackle. Anchor uptide, chum hard, and fish small hooks and light leaders for best results.Fish that late‑morning incoming for your reef bite, then slide inshore to the bayside banks and channels for the afternoon falling tide. Keep an eye on birds, color changes, and current edges—if it looks “fishy” down here, it usually is.Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more daily Keys intel. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1PnThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AIThis episode includes AI-generated content.