Early Summer Keys Bite: Mahi, Snappers, and Tarpon Rolling at Dawn

This is Artificial Lure checking in with your South Florida fishing report for the Upper Keys and Miami waters. We’ve got classic early-summer conditions this morning. Around the Upper Keys and Biscayne Bay, dawn came in just after 6:30 a.m. with sunset around 8:10 p.m., giving us a long light window and a strong low‑light bite at both ends of the day. Winds have been light to moderate out of the southeast, generally 8–15 knots, with scattered clouds and that sticky subtropical humidity. Nearshore temps are running in the low‑80s, reef temps just a touch cooler overnight, enough to keep the fish comfortable and moving. Tides around the Key Largo–Islamorada stretch and Government Cut have been running a good predawn incoming pushing into a mid‑morning high, then easing to an afternoon fall. That early incoming has had clean green water on the edges of the flats and along the oceanside cuts, while the outgoing has been flushing bait out of the bayside and backcountry creeks. Plan your shots so you’re on the edges of that moving water, not dead slack. Offshore of the Keys and Miami, the mahi bite has been steady. Weedlines and scattered debris in 600–1,000 feet have been holding schoolie to gaffer‑size dolphin with a few nicer fish mixed in. Anglers trolling small skirted ballyhoo, dolphin‑colored feathers, and pink or blue sea witches over strips have done well. A handful of blackfin tuna have been coming off the humps and edge, mostly on live pilchards and small jigs worked deep, with the occasional wahoo reported by crews pulling high‑speed lures along the color change at first light. On the reef and wrecks from Fowey down through Islamorada, yellowtail and mangrove snapper action has been solid, with muttons showing on the deeper structure. Light chum slicks, 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with small chunks of ballyhoo or squid, and fluorocarbon leaders have been key. A few keeper grouper are still coming off the deeper wrecks and ledges, mostly on live pinfish and grunt plugs dropped right into the structure. Inshore, Biscayne Bay and the bay side of the Upper Keys have been giving up good numbers of seatrout, mangroves, and a mix of jacks and ladyfish, plus some solid bonefish and permit for the patient crews. Small shrimp under popping corks, Gulp shrimp on 1/8 oz jigheads, and live shrimp on light leaders around channel edges and potholes are getting bit. On the oceanside flats, bonefish have been cruising on the higher stages of the tide; small natural‑colored shrimp patterns, skimmer jigs, and live shrimp with light fluorocarbon are producing. For the big three—tarpon, snook, and redfish—the bridges and backcountry cuts have been the play. Evening outgoing tides around the Channel 5 and Channel 2 bridges, as well as the bridges in Islamorada and the passes toward Florida Bay, have had tarpon rolling and feeding. Live mullet, crabs, and big swimbaits in dark silhouettes are best. Snook and reds have been hanging on mangrove points and creek mouths with moving water; soft‑plastic paddletails in new penny or pearl, and live pilchards or pinfish are money. Hot spots to circle on your chart: – The north end of Biscayne Bay around the featherbeds and the edges of Stiltsville for trout, mangroves, and roaming bonefish on the higher tide. – The Islamorada reef line from Alligator Reef westward, especially near the 70–100 foot wrecks, for mixed snapper, muttons, and the chance at a grouper or kingfish when the current is right. Best overall lures and baits right now: small to medium diving plugs in green/white or blue/white for dolphin and kings; bucktail jigs tipped with bait for reef fish; 3–5 inch paddletails and flukes on light jigheads for inshore; and live shrimp, pilchards, mullet, and pinfish just about everywhere. That’s your report from Artificial Lure down here in the Florida Keys and Miami. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more on‑the‑water updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn