Sizzling August Bite in the Florida Keys - A Fishing Report

Clouds rolled into the Florida Keys overnight, laying a silvery calm across the waters this Wednesday, August 13th, 2025. Sunrise was right on time at 6:58 a.m., with sunset due for 8:06 tonight. Tidal action is lively today — look for a high tide peaking around 1.8 feet at 1:07 a.m. and a second push close to midday. Low tides slip through early morning and again late afternoon, giving plenty of opportunity for stalkers of the flats and reef to get after it. According to tides4fishing.com, the tidal coefficient is a robust 88–94, promising strong water movement that’s sure to stir up the bite. Key West is still sporting that trademark balmy air, helped by southeast winds that have kept things stirred up and water temps slightly cooler than usual for August. That’s good news for anglers: cooler water means gamefish are active and feeding, especially around those productive current lines. The humidity stays high, giving you that salty, tropical blanket, but it’s nothing a breeze and a cold drink can’t handle out on the water. Now, onto the bite. The action continues to sizzle both inshore and offshore. Flats and backcountry have given up healthy numbers of tarpon this week, with larger migrators hanging in the channels and juvenile tarpon schooled up thick around the mangroves. Bonefish are all over the flats — guides are calling it the best bonefish run in ages. Permit are patrolling those same skinny waters, particularly aggressive when presented with a live crab or a well-cast bucktail jig, while mangrove snapper and barracuda are active in the backcountry. Out on the reef, the snapper bite is holding strong. Mangrove, yellowtail, and mutton snapper are still plentiful between 35 and 120 feet. Even though spawning has wrapped up, the bite remains hot, especially when tidal currents are running strong. Hit the deeper reefs (120–240 feet) for a shot at big mutton snapper, yelloweye snapper, and a good mix of grouper. Local reefs like East Washerwoman and Western Sambo have been consistent, but the deeper ledges off American Shoal are producing well, too. Offshore, mahi-mahi continue to steal the show, with bigger fish this week — 10 to 12 pounders have been common, though not quite in the numbers some years produce. Best catches have come from chasing weed lines out between 1200 to 1800 feet. Troll small feathers, naked ballyhoo, or pink-and-white skirted jigs for consistent action. Topwater plugs and bucktail jigs are getting hammered early in the morning. Don’t overlook the chance for a sailfish — the occasional loner has been crashing baits, and with the strong moon phase, wahoo have also been caught by trollers willing to run deep diving plugs. Up the road in Islamorada and Tavernier, Captain Larry Sydnor reports redfish and sea trout eatin’ well on both soft plastics and live shrimp. Spanish mackerel and cobia are thick in the Gulf, while the Everglades edges hold Speckled trout, snook, and big jacks — plenty of drag-ripping action for This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.