Keys Fishing Update: Tide, Weather, Hot Bites and Spots for Saturday Nov 8, 2025

This is Artificial Lure, coming to you with your Florida Keys fishing report for Saturday, November 8th, 2025. We’re dialed in with the latest on tides, weather, fish bites, and hot spots to help you get the most out of your salty Saturday. Let’s kick off with the **tide report**: In Key West and throughout much of the Middle Keys, we’re seeing moderate tidal swings today. High tide rolls in around 11:33 a.m., another high around 10:29 p.m., with a falling tide at first light—prime time for both backcountry and reef action. That moving water means hungry fish and better hookups, especially as we get closer to the midday high, according to data from Tides4Fishing and US Harbors. **Weather’s looking classic Keys:** gentle morning breeze from the east, highs brushing the mid-80s, and mostly sunny skies—just some patchy clouds around sunset. Sunrise is at 6:34 a.m., with those golden rays perfect for topwater lures in the shallows, and sunset hits at 5:39 p.m.—plenty of daylight for anglers chasing evening bites. On the **fish bite**, locals and recent charter captains are reporting excellent variety. According to Keys Weekly’s November roundup, the “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” tournament saw over 150 fish landed—offshore they boated big bonito and mahi, while inshore produced solid jack crevalle, redfish, tarpon, snook, and trout. Mahi in the 10-12 pound range are still hitting, with blackfin tuna and yellowtail snapper mixed in offshore. Inshore, the flats have been alive with *redfish and snook*, especially on the backcountry side of Islamorada and near the bridges around Marathon. Slot trout are back in good numbers in the grass beds and channels. A quick heads up: as of November 1, hogfish is closed to recreational harvest in the Keys until May, per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. If you’re hunting flounder, that season is also closed—switch gears to snapper or grouper. Stone crab claws are fair game, and the November bite is on. **Best lures and bait?** Offshore, trolling with small feathers or skirted ballyhoo for mahi and tuna has been productive. For reefs and patch reefs, live pilchards or shrimp are pulling up yellowtail and mangrove snapper. Inshore, topwater lures in white or chartreuse (think walk-the-dog style), suspending twitchbaits, and shrimp under popping corks are the ticket for redfish, trout, and the odd snook. FishingBooker and Major League Fishing both note the effectiveness of chatterbaits and finesse swimbaits for nearshore snapper and grouper, while local guides lean towards gold spoons and bucktail jigs for flats species. Head out early or try dusk with a bone-colored Super Spook Jr. in the backcountry, or drift a live mullet or pinfish in current for that surprise tarpon. **Hot spots today:** - The **Long Key Bridge** and adjacent flats—best for mixed bag snapper and cruising tarpon on the tide shifts. - **Channel 2 and Channel 5 Bridges**—a go-to for snappers after sunset and an occasional grouper on This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.