Early Summer Upper Keys: Tarpon, Reef Fish, and Offshore Mahi Running Hot

This is Artificial Lure checking in with your Islamorada fishing report. We’ve got a classic early-summer pattern rolling in the Upper and Middle Keys. Light southeast breeze this morning, picking up to 10–15 knots by midday with scattered clouds and that sticky Gulf humidity. Air temps are running mid‑70s at daybreak, topping out high 80s to low 90s this afternoon. Seas are generally 1–2 feet inside the reef, 2–3 on the outside edge, building a bit with the breeze. Sunrise came just after 6:30, and you’ll lose the light a little after 8:15 this evening, giving you a long dawn and dusk window to work. Tides around Islamorada are on the softer side today, with an incoming push through the morning and a decent outgoing mid‑afternoon. That incoming around the bridges and oceanside cuts is the prime time for tarpon and snook; the falling water later will stack snapper and grouper on the edges and in the channels. Offshore, the mahi bite has stayed steady but a little deeper. Boats running beyond 600–800 feet have been picking off schoolies with a few gaffers mixed in. Best action has been on small skirted ballyhoo, drifting chunks, and bright trolling feathers in pink, blue‑white, and chartreuse. A few blackfin tuna are still hanging on the humps early; live pilchards and small jigs have been the ticket. Keep a pitch rod rigged with a chunk or live bait for any cobia or bigger dolphin that slide up on a weedline. On the reef, yellowtail snapper have been chewing well on the edge in 60–90 feet. A light chum slick, 12–20‑pound fluorocarbon, and small pieces of cut ballyhoo or shrimp will load a cooler if you’re patient. Mutton snapper reports have been decent on the deeper spots and channels using live pinfish and big silversides. Grouper are still around the structure; work live baits or big jigs tight to the bottom. Inshore and backcountry, the early‑morning flats game has been strong. Bonefish are cruising the oceanside flats on the higher water; small shrimp or crab patterns, or lightly weighted shrimp on spinning gear, are getting eats. Tarpon are still moving across the oceanside and staging at the bridges. Live crabs, mullet, and big soft plastics in dark colors are solid bets, especially around first light and again at sunset. Snook and redfish in Florida Bay and around the mangroves are fired up on the moving tide. Topwater plugs at dawn—things like small walk‑the‑dog baits in bone or mullet patterns—have been drawing explosive strikes. Once the sun gets up, switch to soft plastics on jigheads or live shrimp under a popping cork. For artificials, think natural but with a little flash: - On the reef: yellow or chartreuse jigs tipped with shrimp or cut bait. - Inshore: paddle‑tail swimbaits in new penny, gold, or pearl; small suspending twitchbaits in silver/green for that pilchard look. - Tarpon: dark back, light belly soft swimbaits, and big black‑purple or chartreuse flies if you’re on the long rod. Live bait is still king: pilchards, pinfish, mullet, and crabs. If you can black out the well with pilchards, you can do just about anything from the hump tuna to snook under the mangroves. A couple of hot spots to keep on your list: - The Islamorada Humps for tuna and the occasional nicer mahi at first light. - Alligator Reef and the nearby reef edge for yellowtail, muttons, and a shot at grouper. - The Channel 2 and Channel 5 bridges for tarpon, snook, and mangrove snapper on the tide swings. - Oceanside flats off Lower Matecumbe for bonefish and the odd permit on the right tide and light. That’s the rundown from Islamorada today—plenty of options whether you’re running offshore, working the reef, or poling the skinny stuff. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn