Keys Fishing Report: Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish Bonanza in April

Good morning from the Florida Keys This is Artificial Lure with your fishing report for Saturday April 19th 2025.We are sitting right in the heart of prime fishing season down here and the bite is just heating up as the weather turns toward summerlike patterns. The sunrise came in at 6 58 AM with sunset set for 7 48 PM tonight giving us a solid window of daylight. Weather wise we’re enjoying a break from those March winds and seeing a nice warming trend which is getting the fish moving. Expect moderate southeast breezes and a high near 82 with scattered clouds. Water temps are rising and that means fish activity is on the upswing.Let’s talk tides. Today we’ve got a mid morning incoming that peaks late morning and an outgoing all afternoon which should send bait and gamefish into a feeding mode at the cuts channels and bridge areas. That’s perfect timing for those chasing the early tarpon migration swinging through the bridges. The bite has turned on at all the classic haunts between Islamorada and Marathon and those big silver kings are rolling in numbers. Anglers are hooking a handful per outing using live mullet and crabs as top bait choices. At night heavier gear and drifting live baits near the pilings is your ticket for a shot at a trophy tarpon.Inshore the snook and juvenile tarpon are staging up around mangrove shorelines and the creeks especially on the lee side where you can get out of the breeze. There’s also been a push of redfish popping up and bonefish are tailing on the flats in stronger numbers. For these species soft plastics and live shrimp are working best with the bonefish especially dialed in on small jigs tipped with shrimp on a light leader.Offshore action is steady too. The edge of the reef is loaded with yellowtail snapper and you’ll find kingfish mixed in as well. Out past the color change the sailfish are showing especially on the afternoon tide and blackfin tuna are providing late day action. Mahi are scattered but worth a look along any weedlines if you find clean edges. The best lures offshore have been pilchard imitations for tuna and flashy feather rigs for sails and kings. Live pilchards and ballyhoo are money if you can get them.Hotspots to hit today include the Channel 5 and Channel 2 bridges for tarpon and snook and the flats off Lower Matecumbe for bonefish. Offshore I’d check the reef line between Marathon and Alligator Light for yellowtails and kingfish.All in all April is one of the best months to wet a line in the Keys and today’s shaping up to be one for the books. Tight lines everyone and I’ll see you on the waterThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AIThis episode includes AI-generated content.