Incoming Tide Bite and Bridge Action: Keys Fishing Report

This is Artificial Lure with your Florida Keys fishing report. Light southeast breeze this morning, 5–10 knots, building to 10–15 by afternoon with a moderate chop on the reef and nearshore Atlantic side. Air temps riding the mid‑80s, pushing low 90s later with that classic muggy Keys humidity. Skies partly cloudy with a decent chance of a short, steamy shower mid‑afternoon, then clearing toward sunset. Water temps are sitting around the low to mid‑80s across the flats and reef. According to NOAA coastal observations, we’ve got a morning incoming tide through late morning, then a falling tide mid‑day into the evening across most of the island chain. That morning push has been lining up perfectly with the first feeding window on the oceanside flats. Sunrise came just after 6 a.m. and sunset will be just after 8 p.m., so you’ve got solid low‑light bites at both ends of the day. The early window is best for inshore and flats; the last light has been turning on the snapper and tarpon. Inshore, the backcountry around Islamorada and Marathon has been productive. Local guides out of Whale Harbor have been reporting steady seatrout, mangrove snapper, and a few upper‑slot reds on the bayside edges. Live shrimp under a popping cork, or a 3‑inch soft plastic paddletail in new penny or white on a 1/8‑ounce jighead, has been the ticket. Small freelined pilchards have also been hot when you can net them at first light. On the flats, bonefish and permit have been showing good numbers on the oceanside from Key Largo down through Big Pine when that sun gets high enough to spot them. Light‑colored shrimp patterns on fly, or a 1/8‑ounce shrimp‑shaped jig in tan or pink, have been getting eats from tailing bones. For permit, a small crab—either live or a realistic crab jig—fished quietly ahead of the fish is still king. Tarpon action has shifted more to early and late. Local chatter from Marathon hump anglers and Key West bridges says there are still fish around the Seven Mile and Bahia Honda bridges, especially on the falling tide at dusk. Best baits there are live crabs and bigger mullet, but if you’re throwing hardware, go with large, slow‑sinking swimbaits in dark back/silver belly. On the reef edge in 40–80 feet, folks out of Bud N’ Mary’s and Key West marinas have been boxing good keeper yellowtail and mangrove snapper, plus a few muttons. Chumming with ground glass minnows and dropping small pieces of cut ballyhoo or squid on light fluoro leaders has filled coolers. For artificials, 1–2‑ounce bucktails tipped with cut bait have been working on the muttons on the deeper rubble. Further offshore, when the weedlines are decent, boats working 400–800 feet have been picking at schoolie dolphin with a few gaffers mixed in. Small skirted trolling lures in green/black or blue/white, and rigged ballyhoo, are the go‑to. Keep a spinning rod ready with a 1/2‑ to 1‑ounce flashy jig to pitch to any fish that show behind the boat. A couple of hot spots to circle on your chart: – The **Islamorada Hump** for blackfin tuna early, then dolphin along the edges of the current lines. Vertical jigs and live pilchards are top producers. – The **Seven Mile Bridge** area, especially the west side, for snapper during the day and tarpon at dawn and dusk, using live crabs, mullet, and small pinfish. Best all‑around lures right now: 3–4‑inch paddletails in natural baitfish colors, 1/8‑ to 3/8‑ounce jigheads, small bucktails in white or chartreuse, and medium diving plugs in silver/black for working channels and bridges. For bait, you can’t beat live shrimp, pilchards, pinfish, and crabs, with fresh ballyhoo strips and squid backing that up. That’s your Florida Keys report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a trip. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn