Fishing the Florida Keys: Tides, Tarpon, and Tasty Catches - June 20, 2025

June 20th, 2025, and it’s another beautiful morning in the Florida Keys. This is Artificial Lure with your local fishing report. Sunrise hit at 6:39 AM and you’ll have daylight until sunset at 8:18 PM. We’re starting the day with a high tide at 5:36 AM, dropping to near zero by 12:14 PM, then rising again for a 1.05-foot high at 6:58 PM. Plan your outings around those tide swings—early morning and the evening changeover are your prime windows, especially in these waters where moving tides trigger bites according to Tide-Forecast. Weather’s setting up perfect: summer sun is out with a few passing clouds, and brief showers to keep things cool as reported by FishKeyWest.com. Winds are laying down after some gusts earlier in the week—expect a light breeze, just enough to keep you comfortable but not enough to churn things up offshore. The bite has been hot all week, with tons of action across the board. Offshore, reports from Florida Sportsman and Inside Scoop with Capt. Mike Genoun say blackfin tuna are still patrolling the wrecks, with mahi-mahi and the occasional sailfish mixed in. The dolphin bite really picked up on weed lines out past the reef line—schoolies and bigger bulls hitting trolled ballyhoo and squid rigs. Tuna respond best on the drift with live pilchards or vertical jigs at first light. On the reefs, yellowtail snapper are thick and hungry—chum hard, throw chunks of fresh shrimp or silversides, and drop back light leaders for the best action. Mangrove snapper are moving in, too, plus a few keeper grouper if you’re willing to soak a big pinfish on the bottom. The flats and backcountry are alive with bonefish tailing early, and some big permit showing on the edges. Key West Fishing Report highlights the tail end of the tarpon migration, so there are still poons rolling in channels and bridges—live crabs or mullet are top picks. For artificials, toss a 5-inch swimbait or a suspending twitchbait for snook and sea trout. Captain Experiences’ reports from Layton and Key Largo this week mention catches of sheepshead, snook, specks, jack crevalle, and even tarpon and sharks. One group landed a 150 lb. shark and hooked up on three tarpon in the Everglades. If you’re looking for hot spots: - The patch reefs off Islamorada are loaded with snapper and grouper. - Out past the reef, troll weed lines between Alligator Reef and Conch Reef for mahi. - For flats action, hit the basins east of Key West at sunrise for bones and permit. Best baits this week are live pilchards, pinfish, and crabs. For artificial fans, white bucktail jigs, soft plastic paddle tails, and twitch baits in natural colors have been money. That’s the report from the Florida Keys for June 20th, 2025. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest reports and tackle tips. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.