Keys-Miami Winter Fishing Report: Snook, Tarpon, Bonefish, and More

This is Artificial Lure coming to you with the morning Keys–Miami fishing report. Down here the winter pattern is settling in: light north to northeast breeze, cooler mornings, and mostly clear skies with just enough chop to put a little life in the water. Air temps are running from the mid‑60s at first light into the mid‑70s by afternoon, with water temps generally in the low 70s. Sunrise is right around seven o’clock, sunset just before early evening, giving a nice, long low‑angle light window for inshore work. Tides today in the Lower Keys are on a classic winter cycle with a pre‑dawn low and a late‑morning high, then another weaker low mid‑afternoon and a solid evening push. That mid‑morning flood and the evening fall are your prime chew windows around bridges, channels, and oceanside edges. Plan to be set up at least 30 minutes before the turn; the bite has been best on moving water, not at slack. Inshore from Biscayne Bay down through Islamorada, the usual winter suspects are cooperating. Snook and juvenile tarpon are hanging on the warmest creeks, dock lines, and marina edges, while mangrove snapper and jacks are stacking on channel bends and potholes. Flats guides have been picking off bonefish on the oceanside flats on the higher part of the tide, with a few permit sliding up when the sun gets high enough. Back in Florida Bay, redfish and trout are chewing on the leeward shorelines when the wind lays down. Offshore and along the reef, sailfish and mahi have been the main story with scattered blackfin tuna on the deeper edges. The sail bite off Miami and Islamorada has picked up on those cooler north breezes; kite baits are getting regular shots when the wind is right, and slow‑trolled ballyhoo are still drawing fish on the edge in 100–200 feet. Dolphin have been smaller schoolies with the odd gaffer, mostly on color changes and bird packs farther out. On the reef itself, yellowtail snapper, muttons, and the occasional grouper are coming over the rails for folks anchoring up with chum and working the slick patiently. Bait and lure choices are pretty straightforward right now. Inshore, live shrimp are king: free‑line or under a popping cork for trout, snook, and mangroves. Small white or chartreuse paddle‑tail jigs on 1/8 to 1/4 oz heads, gold spoons, and shrimp‑pattern soft plastics are doing work on reds, trout, and bones. Around bridges, a live pilchard, pinfish, or mullet on a light fluoro leader is hard to beat for snook, tarpon, and big jacks. Offshore, rigged ballyhoo on skirted trolling lures in blue/white or pink/white, medium‑size diving plugs, and live goggle‑eyes or threadfins under the kite are the top producers. If you’re looking for specific hot spots, slide out to the Islamorada Hump for blackfin and the chance at a sail or dolphin working the same bait pods. Closer to town, the reef edge off Alligator Reef Light has been steady for yellowtail and muttons when the current and wind line up. Up toward Miami, the edge of This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.