Mullet Run Mayhem: Tarpon, Snook, and Reds Blowing Up the Passes on the FL Gulf Coast

It’s Artificial Lure coming at you with your Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, Florida Gulf of Mexico fishing report—fresh off the water and straight for the diehards, locals, and weekend warriors alike. First light cracked at **7:13 AM** this morning and you’ve got daylight until **7:41 PM**, plenty of time to work those tides. Speaking of tides, we’re seeing a decent swing today—the first high tide rolled in early at **3:26 AM** and gave way to a super skinny low tide at **10:31 AM**, turning again to a solid high around **4:23 PM**. That’s moving a lot of water, perfect for stirring up bait and hunting opportunity, especially near points, seawalls, and mangrove cuts according to the latest tables from Tide-Forecast.com. Weather’s a mixed bag: persistent northeasterlies, 20 to 25 knots early, easing a tad later. Seas kicked up, 5 to 7 feet, with a rough chop—so if you’re running offshore, be ready for a wet ride. Inshore and protected pocket fishing? The wind’s pushing bait and the fish are eating. NOAA forecasts say storms could pop through, so bring your rain gear and keep an eye skyward. Now the real juice: the **mullet run** is in full force, said Spacefish’s community updates, piling up bait by the droves along the passes and the beaches. That’s got predators like snook, tarpon, and redfish busting all over, especially around dawn and dusk. Recent catches from Clearwater south to Charlotte Harbor put snook and tarpon in the spotlight—blowups on live mullet, white paddle tails, and silver spoons were steady. Slot reds are hot on the grass edges and oyster bars, especially tucked up in those wind-protected cuts when the tide hits the bottom. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission just re-opened **snook and red snapper** season along most of the coast—so toss ‘em in your lineup. Offshore, captains have been boxing good numbers of red snapper early, then switching over to mangrove snapper and the odd gag grouper on big structure, especially right around those heavy tidal pushes in thirty to eighty feet. Pilchards and pinfish are tops for live bait offshore, but don’t sleep on jigging big bucktails sweetened with squid. For lures: you can’t go wrong with **topwaters and swim baits** at dawn—think MirrOlures or Rapalas that mimic mullet, or 5-inch paddle tails in pearl and silver. When the sun’s up, switch to jigs worked deep or weedless soft plastics for poking around the docks and potholes. Offshore, vertical jigs are crushing it, especially if you catch the tide change on a reef. A couple **hot spots**: - **John’s Pass and Blind Pass**: Tons of bait, tarpon and snook lined up along the deeper edges and bridges on outgoing tide. - **Clearwater artificial reefs**: The snapper bite’s going strong on the dawn high, especially fishing the up-current side with sardines or cigar minnows. - **Tampa Bay’s eastern shorelines**: Wind blowing in loads of bait—great for slot reds tailing just as the tide starts coming back in. Remember, a few advi This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.