Keys Fishing Report: Snapper, Grouper, Mahi Thrive in October Conditions

Artificial Lure here with your Florida Keys fishing report for Saturday, October 4, 2025. Sunrise today was right on the money at 7:25 a.m., and we’re looking at sunset around 7:13 p.m. The weather’s classic early October—mild temps in the upper 70s to low 80s at dawn, light east winds picking up just a touch by mid-morning, and mostly cloudy skies punctuated by sunbreaks. Offshore, seas are running 1-2 feet—perfect for just about any kind of fishing. Tide movement’s strong today, with a high tidal coefficient of 83 and that giant midday swing—high tide peaked right around 12:23 p.m., and the lows at 7:00 a.m. and again at 7:36 p.m. According to tides4fishing.com, this kind of range brings serious current around reefs, channels, and bridges. Expect a bit of coastal flooding in low-lying spots, thanks to king tides rolling in this weekend and coastal flood statements from the state weather service. On the fishing front, the bite is hot both inshore and offshore. The reefs are alive with **mangrove snapper**, **yellowtail snapper**, and **grouper**—especially around the lower keys and out toward Tennessee Reef and Carysfort Reef. Local captains are reporting steady limits of snapper, most in the 12-16 inch range, plus some bruiser muttons popping up here and there. The **grouper bite** is in full swing, with black grouper moving into shallower wrecks. Goliath grouper sightings are up, but remember the harvest season’s months away—catch and release only until March. Offshore, it’s a good weekend to troll for pelagics. The word from Florida Sport Fishing TV’s latest video is strong numbers of **mahi-mahi** hitting skirted ballyhoo and flashy trolling lures out past the 300-foot line. There’ve been some scattered **wahoo** catches, especially near color changes and weed lines, with bigger fish on high-speed trolling setups. For inshore action, snook and juvenile tarpon are cruising the mangroves early and late in the day—try natural baits like pilchards or shrimp on a knocker rig, or toss out soft plastics during moving water. Speckled sea trout are taking small paddle tails over the grass flats near Marathon and Duck Key at first light, with popping corks drawing strikes. When it comes to gear, the local top picks are: - *Cut ballyhoo or live pinfish* for grouper and snapper - *Small jigs tipped with shrimp* for yellowtail and mangroves - *Skirted trolling plugs and fresh rigged ballyhoo* for mahi and wahoo - *Topwater plugs or paddletails* for snook and tarpon in the backcountry As for hot spots, I’d look hard at: - **Tennessee Reef** for snapper and grouper - **Alligator Bay** and **Bay Point** for inshore species—especially on the outgoing tide - **Around Davis Reef** for larger mutton and the occasional pelagic drifter Fish activity is highest about two hours before and after high tide today, so plan your trips close to noon or right after the evening tide. Anglers putting in the effort on structure with moving water are seeing big result This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.