Fall Fishing Frenzy: Florida Keys & Miami Report for October 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Florida Keys and Miami fishing report for Saturday, October 18, 2025. Fall’s in full swing and anglers are loving the change—water temps are cooling, fish are fired up, and the bite’s been steady from Biscayne Bay to Marathon. Let’s start with the **tide and sunrise**: In North Miami today, you’ve got a high tide at 6:55 a.m., then again at 7:10 p.m. Lows roll in at 12:36 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Sunrise hits at 7:21 a.m., with sunset at 6:49 p.m. Over in Key West, the high is coming at 8:56 a.m. and 9:10 p.m., lows at 2:09 a.m. and 2:32 p.m. So, plan to hit those flats and channels right as the water’s pushing in to cash in on the moving bait![tide-forecast.com]. **Weather-wise**, expect mild temps in the upper 70s to low 80s, breezy and partly cloudy. The National Weather Service out of Key West says moderate to fresh breezes will stick around through tonight, with some minor coastal flooding at peak tides—classic October conditions. That means you’ll get a slight chop outside the reef and perfect sight-fishing light on the flats in town[weather.gov/key; NDBC]. **Bite Report:** October’s cool down is bringing mullet runs galore, and Florida Bay’s loaded with muds and feeding frenzies. Snook are making noise—topwater fly patterns like gurglers and poppers are the ticket around mangrove shorelines and creek mouths. Plenty of snook over slot are being boated, and the FWC says their stocks are healthy and even exceeding recent goals. Redfish are tailing on the shallow flats and eager for paddle tails, gold spoons, or a shrimp under a popping cork. Bonefish and permit are thick thanks to the higher water, feeding on flats and in channels—bonefish have been schooling up tight and chasing shrimp and crab imitations, especially on the incoming tide. Permit have been jumping on small blue crabs and the occasional bucktail jig, particularly from Islamorada south to Duck Key[Keys Weekly]. Offshore, crews trolling just outside the reef are picking up kingfish, mackerel, and scattered mahi-mahi. Sardines, pilchards, and vertical jigs are doing most of the work. Bottom fishing around Key Largo and Marathon is producing decent mangrove snapper, yellowtail, and some muttons—try cut bait or live pilchard on a light wire rig. **Best Lures and Bait:** - Topwater plugs, walk-the-dog style (great for snook at sunrise). - Gold spoons and soft plastics, especially rootbeer or silver white for reds. - Live shrimp and small blue crabs—bonefish and permit won’t turn these down. - Cut ballyhoo or squid for snapper offshore. Artificial spoons and jigs are always hot around Islamorada and bridges—live bait nearly always wins if you’ve sourced some fresh pilchards or finger mullet[Spreaker; Florida Insider Fishing Report; Keys Weekly]. **Fish counts and types:** Regular catches include snook in the low 30-inch class; reds averaging 20–26 inches; bonefish in schools of 6–20 running 3–7 pounds. Offshore, mackerel and mahi are showing up in sm This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.