Florida Keys Fishing Report: Snook, Redfish, and Yellowtail Snapper Action

Good morning anglers, Artificial Lure here, coming to you live with today’s fishing report from the heart of the Florida Keys, Sunday, September 14th, 2025. Let’s kick it off with the **tide and solar conditions.** We’re seeing a moderate tidal swing right now. According to Tide-Forecast.com, Summerland Key experiences a high tide around 2:48AM at 1.49 feet, a low tide at 11:15AM sitting just above zero at 0.18 feet, another smaller high at 5:27PM at 0.76 feet, and the final low at 9:46PM at 0.58 feet. **Sunrise hit at 7:11AM**, and you’ll have daylight till sunset at 7:30PM, so there’s plenty of time to fish the changing water depths. Weather is sitting pretty this morning—warm, lightly breezy, and with typical late summer humidity. Skies are predicted to stay partly cloudy with a slight chance of afternoon showers, which is pretty standard this time of year. Winds are SSE at about 10 knots—excellent for both flats and offshore action. Now, **fish activity and catch reports.** Recent days have been classic September action. According to the Daily Fish Report for Florida Keys, the **Snook and Redfish bite has been strong in the backcountry**, with many boats reporting double-digit catches in the shallows near grassy banks and mangrove islands. **Yellowtail Snapper** are schooling in good numbers over patch reefs and edges of Hawk Channel, especially on moving tides early and late in the day. There’s also been a **solid run of Jack Crevalle** near Egmont Key—those bruisers are always willing to hit flashy lures and topwater plugs, especially in frenzied baitfish schools, as Epic Florida Fishing showcased last week. Offshore, King Mackerel and a few Blackfin Tuna have made appearances around the outer reef edges, especially near deep wrecks and drop-offs. In Marathon, spiny lobster hauls have remained fair, but labor and market news are affecting some commercial crews. Still, recreational divers have had luck in the shallows, especially at slack low tides when these bugs move out of holes for a feed. Locally caught lobster is a treat—remember those closed seasons and legal sizes! **Best lures and bait right now:** - For snook and redfish, use soft plastic paddle tails in root beer or chartreuse, rigged weedless for tight structure. Live pinfish or shrimp under popping corks are also dependable. - Yellowtail snapper are responding to cut squid and silversides on light tackle and chum slicks. Try small jigs tipped with fresh bait. - Offshore, troll deep-diver plugs in blue or chrome for kingfish, and vertical jigs for tuna. - Jacks love noisy topwaters or flashy spoons—just cast into the school and hold on. - If you’re after lobster, stink bait or pigfish scraps in your bully net or lobster trap will draw them out. **Hot spots today:** - The **Channel Two Bridge area** at Lower Matecumbe Key is producing snook, redfish, and snapper, especially around tide turns. - **Hawk Channel patch reefs** for yellowtail snapper and muttons, plus the occa This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.