October 24th Keys Fishing Report: Mullet Run, Snook, Trout, and More

Good morning anglers, Artificial Lure here with your boots-on-the-dock Friday fishing report for the Florida Keys, October 24th, 2025. First light was at 7:29AM and sunset will glaze over the flats by 6:52PM. We have a moving tide kind of day: Key West started with a skinny low tide at 6:03AM and we’re heading toward a 1.54-foot high at 12:39PM. Things drop again to a moderate 0.97-foot low at 5:15 and crank up to another high just before midnight at 2.23 feet, so plenty of current to play with, especially midday and late night. Conch Key tells a similar story: low just after five, high at 11:30, low at 4:30, high at 10:45. Tidal amplitude is up, and currents are strong, so look for water movement to bunch up the bait and the fish. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, today’s fishing is rated poor in the evening, but that don’t mean they aren’t chewing—just gotta work a little harder or time your window for the tide swings. Weatherwise, we got brisk north winds piping in, and skies look fair—should settle off nicely as we get closer to the weekend, pushing bait south and juicing up predator activity along the banks and creeks. How about the bite itself? Tarpon are still around, though not balled up thick like summer. Rick Stanczyk out of Islamorada says it’s fair fishing for tarpon—he’s been picking at a few every trip, with some days producing a handful of bites and the occasional triple hookup, especially in spots holding bait. He got into baby tarpon in the creeks for a few days, and yesterday ran into a rump group of bigger fish while targeting snook. There’s no huge schools, but if you find mullet moving, tarpon aren’t far behind. Rick put a nice one in the boat on live pinfish, so if you’re keen on pins, bring a dozen. On the inshore side, the fall mullet run’s in full swing, and that means snook and trout on the inside grass flats, with speckled trout taking 3–4 inch paddle tails or Zman TrickTrout soft plastics fished on a light jighead. The Flats Class pros remind us to use a 7’0” to 7’4” medium-light spinning rod with a moderate-fast action to keep those paper-mouthed trout pinned and shake off less. For baits, you can’t go wrong with a MirrOlure MirrOdine, white or greenback, and live pilchards or finger mullet for multi-species mayhem. Best bait for snook and tarpon has been live mullet or pinfish, though big Gulp! jerk shads and DOA baitbusters will absolutely get hit in muddy, moving water around feeding windows. Offshore chatter notes sporadic mahi-mahi—nothing crazy but a few keepers caught past the reef line on skirted ballyhoo when weed lines stack up. Nearshore patch reefs and bridges are coughing up a mix of mangrove snapper and the occasional grouper flirting with season’s end. As for hot spots, hit Channel Two or Seven Mile bridges on the tide changes for snapper, grouper, and pompano—especially the deeper shadow lines in the morning and late afternoon. Boot Key Harbor is holding mixed-size tarpon at the creek mouths, This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.