Keys Fishing Report - Hot Bites, Ideal Tides, and All-Clear for Anglers

Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, August 16th, 2025, fishing report for the Florida Keys and Miami area—delivered honest and straight from local waters.

Sunrise hit at 7:02 AM and you can expect sunset around 8:00 PM, giving you a full day of action. Tides out of Key West today are prime for moving water: high tide rolled in at 3:23 AM, low tide swings at 10:30 AM, with another high at 5:27 PM and the day wraps out with low at 9:18 PM. The tidal coefficients are up—sitting high which means strong current and good feeding opportunities throughout the day, especially early morning and into the dusk hours according to Tides4Fishing.

Weather’s classic Keys: mostly partly cloudy, winds around 10-15 mph out of the southeast, and the heat is steady with lows in the mid-70s and humidity around 90%. The National Weather Service says expect light chop on the nearshore with seas running about a foot. Don’t be surprised by a quick passing shower or boom of thunder, but nothing out of the ordinary for August. Water temps are hanging warm, so target comfort zones near structure and current breaks.

Red tide status from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is looking good. Karenia brevis is at background levels in the region, no reported fish kills, no major issues for respiratory irritation this week—so it’s all clear to hit it hard.

Fish activity is hot. The Gulf side is lighting up with Spanish mackerel, kingfish, cobia, big jacks, and hungry sharks. Florida Bay and backcountry waters are loaded with speckled trout, snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, and more jacks. Offshore's been steady with mahi-mahi filling the fish boxes, especially for those running the color changes and weed lines about 10-20 miles out. According to Captain Experiences’ recent reports, the Key Largo and Islamorada crews have been crushing a mixed bag: families are bringing home lobster, anglers putting the hammer down on snappers, and bull dolphin up to 25 pounds.

Best baits right now are live pilchards, pinfish, and mullet which you can net up around the grass flats at first light. For artificials, white bucktail jigs tipped with Gulp! or cut bait get it done for almost everything. If you’re in the shallow patch reefs, try a paddle-tail soft plastic or the new wake mullet lure from Salt Strong—the wobble is deadly and requires little effort. Remember the “Four Rights”: use the right lure in the right spot at the right time with the right retrieve, and the Florida Keys will reward you.

Hot spots today include:

- **Long Key Bridge**: Hard-running tide brings in tarpon, snook, and snapper, all stacked around the pilings on moving water. Drift a live bait back for tarpon or cast jigs for snapper.
- **Islamorada Hump**: If you’re running offshore, hit the Hump for blackfin tuna, mahi, and big jacks. Trolled feathers and vertical jigs both work—keep an eye for birds.
- **Marathon Patch Reefs**: Excellent for mangrove snapper, yellowtail, and the odd mutton. Anchoring up with chum and freelining live baits back in the slick draws them out.
- In Miami, the **Government Cut and Haulover Inlet**: always worth the effort for snook, tarpon, and a shot at permit around the channel edges, especially at dawn or dusk when the predators are pushing bait up.

Keep your leaders fresh, watch that livewell oxygen, and match the hatch—this weekend is stacked for success. Thanks for tuning in to your local fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for updates and hot tips, and tight lines to ya’.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lore. Here with your Saturday August sixteenth, twenty twenty
five fishing report for the Florida Keys and Miami area
delav honest and straight from local waters. Sunrise hit at
seven oh two am, and you can expect sunset around
eight pm, giving you a full day of action. Tides
out of Key West today are prime for moving water.

(00:22):
High tide rolled in at three twenty three am, low
tide swings at ten thirty am, with another high at
five twenty seven pm, and the day wraps out with
low at nine to eighteen pm. The tidal coreficients are
up sitting high, which means strong current and good feeding
opportunities throughout the day, especially early morning and into the

(00:43):
dusk hours. According to Tides for Fishing Weather's Classic Keys,
mostly partly cloudy, winds around ten to fifteen miles per
hour out of the southeast, and the heat is steady
with lows in the mid seventies and humidity around ninety percent.
The National Weather Service says expect light chop on the
near shore with seas running about a foot. Don't be

(01:06):
surprised by a quick passing shower or boom of thunder,
but nothing out of the ordinary for August. Water temps
are hanging warm, so target comfort zones near structure and
current breaks. Red tide status from the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Commission is looking good. Care any of braviss is
at background levels in the region. No reported fish kills,

(01:28):
no major issues for respiratory irritation this week, so it's
all clear to hit it hard. Fish activity is hot.
The Gulf side is lighting up with Spanish mackerel, kingfish, kobia,
big jacks, and hungry sharks. Florida Bay and backcountry waters
are loaded with spickled trout, snook, redfish, mangrove, snapper, and more. Jacks.

(01:50):
Offshor has been steady with Ma Mai filling the fish boxes,
especially for those running the color changes and weed lines
about ten to twenty miles. According to Captain Experience's recent reports,
the Key Largo and Islamorada crews have been crushing a
mixed bag. Families are bringing home lobster, anglers, putting the

(02:11):
hammer down on snappers and bull dolphin up to twenty
five pounds. Best baits right now are live pilchards, pinfish,
and mullet, which you can net up around the grass
flats at first light for artificials, white bucktailed jigs tipped
with gulp or cut bait. Get it done for almost everything.
If you're in the shallow patch reefs, try a paddle

(02:33):
tail soft plastic or the new wake mullet lure from saltstrong.
The wobble is deadly and requires little effort. Remember the
four rights. Use the right lure in the right spot
at the right time, with the right retrieve, and the
Florida keys will reward you. Hot spots today include the
long Key Bridge. Hard running tide brings in tarpin, snook

(02:56):
and snapper, all stacked around the pilings on moving water.
Drift a live bait bat for tarpin or cast jigs
for snapper. Long Key Islamorada hump. If you're running off shore,
hit the hump for black fin, tuna, mahi and big jacks.
Trolled feathers and vertical jigs both work. Keep an eye

(03:17):
for birds. Marathon patch reefs excellent for mangrove, snapper, yellowtail
and the odd mutton. Anchoring up with chum and freeline
live baits back in the slick draws them out. Mask
In Miami, the government cut and haul over inlet always
worth the effort for snook, tarpin and a shot at

(03:37):
permit around the channel edges, especially at dawn or dusk
when the predators are pushing bait up. Keep your leaders fresh,
watch that live well, oxygen and match the hatch. This
weekend is stacked for success. Thanks for tuning in to
your local fishing report with Artificial War. Don't forget to
subscribe for updates and hot tips and tight lines to you.

(04:00):
This has been a quiet please production. For more check
out Quiet please dot ai