Summer Peak in the Keys: Dolphin Offshore, Snapper on the Reef, Tarpon at Dusk

This is Artificial Lure checking in from the Florida Keys with your morning fishing report. We’ve got classic summer conditions lining up. Around Key West and Islamorada, sunrise is right about 6:35 a.m. with sunset near 8:15 p.m. Local tide charts show an early morning incoming tide rolling through the reef and channels, then a mid‑day slack before an afternoon fall. That dawn incoming and the first couple hours of the evening outgoing are your prime bite windows. Weather’s looking typical Keys muggy: mid‑ to upper‑80s by mid‑day, light east to southeast breeze 8–12 knots, seas 1–3 feet on the reef, a bit calmer in the backcountry. Expect scattered clouds and the usual chance of a pop‑up shower, so keep an eye on the sky but it’s a go‑day. Offshore, the dolphin bite has been steady the last few days. Boats running 15–25 miles out off Marathon and Key Largo have been finding schoolie and gaffer mahi on weedlines and frigate birds, with a few bigger bulls mixed in. Anglers have been putting decent numbers in the box on small skirted ballyhoo, naked ballyhoo, and trolling feathers in blue‑and‑white or pink‑and‑chartreuse around 6–8 knots. Keep a spinning rod rigged with a chunk of ballyhoo or a pilchard ready for fish that swim up to the boat. On the reef edge, from about 60–90 feet, yellowtail and mangrove snapper have been chewing good on that morning tide. Recently folks out off Alligator Reef and Western Sambo have reported limits or near‑limits of tails in the 14–18 inch range, plus a mix of mangroves and the odd mutton. Best bet is 12–20 pound fluorocarbon, small circle hooks, and a light chum slick. Use cut ballyhoo, small chunks of shrimp, or silversides. Let those baits drift back naturally; any resistance and the bite shuts down. In the channels and around the bridges, tarpon are still around but starting to thin with the heat. There have been nice fish jumped at Bahia Honda and the 7 Mile Bridge on the evening outgoing. Drift live crabs or big mullet on heavy fluorocarbon leaders. If you’re throwing artificials, big soft‑plastic paddletails in dark colors or heavy swimbaits worked slow in the current will get crushed when they’re in the mood. Backcountry action in Florida Bay and the Everglades side has been strong early and late. Snook and redfish have been coming off the mangrove edges and oyster bars on topwater plugs at first light—think bone or mullet‑pattern walk‑the‑dog baits—then switch to 1/4‑ounce jigheads with shrimp‑style soft plastics once the sun gets up. A few trout and mangrove snapper are mixed in over the grass flats for those drifting under popping corks with live shrimp. For you lobstering‑minded folks, remember we’re outside the mini‑season window, so double‑check current regs before you drop in; wardens have been active. Couple hotspot suggestions for today: – Around **Alligator Reef Light** off Islamorada: work that early incoming tide for yellowtail and mutton snapper, then slide a bit deeper to 120–180 feet and drop jigs for muttons and the occasional grouper. – The **7 Mile Bridge and Bahia Honda area**: fish the shadow lines and channel edges at dawn and dusk for tarpon, plus mangrove snapper and jacks on live shrimp or pilchards. In general, best lures right now are small bucktail jigs tipped with shrimp for reef species, 3–5 inch soft plastics on 1/8–1/4 ounce heads for inshore, and bright trolling skirts and feathers offshore. For bait, you can’t beat live pilchards, pinfish, mullet, and crabs, plus fresh ballyhoo. That’s your Keys fishing rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn