Florida Keys Fishing Report: Early Winter Action on Snapper, Trout, and Tailing Reds

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Florida Keys fishing report. We’re sitting on a classic early-winter pattern down here: light northeast breeze early, 10–15 knots by midday, seas 1–3 feet inshore and 2–4 outside the reef, with air temps in the low 70s at first light pushing toward 80 by afternoon. Windfinder and NOAA marine forecasts are lining up on scattered clouds, good visibility, and only a slight chance of a shower. Tides through the island chain are running moderate. Tides4Fishing’s Key West and Flamingo tables show a pre-dawn high, dropping to a mid‑morning low, then a solid afternoon flood that keeps pushing into dark. That sets you up perfectly for a sunrise falling tide on the flats and an evening push on the reef and bridges. Sunrise is right around 7:00 a.m. and sunset near 5:40 p.m. according to the Keys tide and solunar charts, with the best fish movement stacked around those two windows. Inshore, the winter mix is on. Recent Keys reports on Spreaker’s Florida Keys Fishing Report Today podcast have guides whacking **mangrove snapper**, **sea trout**, **jack crevalle**, and plenty of **slot reds** in the backcountry, with **bonefish** and the odd **permit** still popping on the oceanside flats when the sun gets high and the wind lays. December episodes out of Islamorada and Marathon also mention steady **cudas** and school‑size **tarpon** hanging around channel edges and warm basins. For lures, think shrimp and pilchard imitators. On the flats, I’d throw: - A 3–4 inch paddletail in pearl or new penny on an 1/8‑oz jighead - A gold or copper spoon for reds and bones - Small suspending hardbaits for trout and jacks Live bait is still king: **live shrimp** under a popping cork or on a light jighead around grass edges and potholes, and **live pilchards or pinfish** for snook, tarpon, and bigger snapper tight to mangroves and channels. On the reef and wrecks from Key Largo to Key West, captains are reporting limit‑style bites of **yellowtail**, **mutton**, and **vermillion snapper** along with keeper **grouper** when the current is right. Fresh **ballyhoo**, **sardines**, and **squid strips** on a simple knocker rig or sliding sinker rig are getting it done. For artificials, slow‑pitch jigs in pink or glow have been putting extra muttons and porgies in the box on calmer days. Offshore, whenever the wind lets you, there’s been a nice push of **blackfin tuna** and some early **sailfish** along the edge of the Gulf Stream, similar to what Great Days Outdoors has been reporting up the Gulf for pelagics. Trolling small feathers, Billy Baits, and rigged ballyhoo along color changes and bird life is your play. A vertical jig dropped on the marks will pick off blackfin and the occasional amberjack. Couple of hot spots to circle today: - **Seven Mile Bridge / East End:** Fish the bridge pilings on the falling tide with live shrimp and small jigs for mangrove snapper, yellow jacks, and trout in the adjacent basins. Toss bi This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.