Spring Transition in the Lower Keys: Tarpon, Bones, and Permit on the Rise

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in from the Lower Keys with your on-the-water rundown. We’re sliding into classic spring transition down here. Water’s warming, bait’s thickening on the edges, and the fish are starting to act right again. According to Keys Weekly’s backcountry report, tarpon, bonefish, and permit have all been chewing with the recent stretch of light winds and clear water, especially around the flats and oceanside edges. Tides first: Key West tide-forecast shows a predawn high just after midnight, a falling tide into a skinny low right around first light, then a strong push to a late‑morning high and another drop toward dark. That gives you two real windows: early on the last of the outgoing/first of the incoming, and again mid‑afternoon as that water dumps off the flats. Sunrise and sunset out of the Key West tide tables are running roughly 7:20-ish on the sunrise, 7:35-ish on the sunset. Plan to be set up on your first spot in the gray light and back on a channel edge or bridge shadow before the sun hits the tree tops in the evening. Weather’s been chamber‑of‑commerce: mild mornings, warming to the upper 70s, light to moderate easterly breeze. That’s keeping the oceanside pretty, with just enough chop to hide your mistakes on the flats. Recent catch reports out of Captain Experiences’ Key West and Little Torch pages talk about “a lot of fish” days: mixed bag trips with yellowtail snapper, grouper, jacks, sharks, cobia, and solid backcountry action. Offshore guys are still seeing some dolphin and blackfin, but the nearshore and flats game is where the most consistent numbers are right now. In the backcountry and around the bridges, tarpon are the headline. Live crabs and big shrimp drifted in the current after sunup are doing work, with soft‑plastic paddletails on 1/4–3/8 jigheads a close second if you like artificials. Think natural baitfish colors in that clear water. On the flats, bonefish and permit have been tailing with the warmer water, according to the Keys Weekly backcountry bite. For permit, it’s tough to beat a small live crab. For bones, live shrimp or a light shrimp‑pattern jig will get it done. Fly folks are doing well on tan and olive shrimp patterns. Reef anglers should keep it simple: cut ballyhoo, squid strips, and shrimp for yellowtail, muttons, and mangrove snapper. A sliding egg sinker, long light leader, and plenty of chum will turn on that afternoon bite when the current starts to run. Artificial picks for today: - For tarpon and channel edges: 5–6 inch paddle‑tail swimbaits, natural or greenback colors, on medium jigs. - For flats and shorelines: small bucktails tipped with shrimp, gold spoons, and soft jerkbaits for trout, jacks, and the odd snook in the back. Couple of local hot spots to keep in your pocket: - **Seven Mile Bridge**: fish the shadow lines on the tide change for tarpon, jacks, and the occasional cobia cruising the pilings. - **Content Keys / Content Passage**: that maze of banks This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.