Late Summer Patterns in the Florida Keys and Miami

Artificial Lure here with your September 3rd report from the waters in and around the Florida Keys and Miami.

Today we’re seeing a classic late-summer pattern across South Florida. Sunrise kicked off at 7:01 am over Miami and the sun will hang until about 7:40 pm, giving us a full day to chase fish. Tidal movement is on the softer side; over at the Newport Fishing Pier, we’ve got low tide coming up just after 10 am, and high tide swinging back in midafternoon at 3:54 pm, but overall the tidal coefficients are low, hovering around 28 to 35 – that means the water’s not moving much, so expect lighter current and finesse presentations. According to Tides4Fishing and Tide-Forecast, conditions are similar across Miami and into the Keys, with slack tides but some minor afternoon bumps. Down in Key West, the pattern holds with a low tidal coefficient climbing slowly through the day, reaching 62 by evening.

Weather’s playing its role, too. The National Weather Service out of Miami has a weak low pressure keeping things unsettled, with winds starting west and swinging southwest through the afternoon, staying light at 5 to 10 knots and seas running 2 to 3 feet. Frequent scattered showers and thunderstorms will move across the region – plan for pop-up downpours, some gustier winds in the squalls, and slightly higher chop when those storms blow through. The Florida Division of Emergency Management highlights nuisance tidal flooding during afternoon high tides and a shot at King Tides ramping up soon, so keep an eye out in low-lying shore spots and be smart around flooded ramps.

Fishing action has stayed typical for early September. Offshore, scattered mahi-mahi (dorado) are being plucked from weedlines past the edge, though numbers aren’t thick – most boats report a handful of schoolies per run, with the odd gaffer. Some blackfin tuna are popping up off deeper wrecks late in the afternoon. Inshore, snook and tarpon are cruising shadow lines near bridges and creek mouths, especially around high tide at dusk. Mangrove snapper remain thick on the reefs both off Miami and throughout the Keys. Anglers working structure are also connecting with keeper yellowtail, and a few mutton snapper are being pulled from the patch reefs using live baits.

Best bet for tackle: early and late, tie on a Topwater walking plug or a live mullet for snook along the sea walls and bridges. For reef snapper, you can’t go wrong drifting cut ballyhoo or pilchard. If the rain pushes you under the bridges, try tossing a paddle-tail soft plastic on a quarter-ounce jighead. Artificial presentations still shine; jerk shads and bucktail jigs have fooled plenty of fish on the flats near Islamorada and Key Largo. For offshore action, trolled feathers and bright skirted ballyhoo remain the ticket for mahi, with deep jigs doing damage for blackfin around the humps.

Popular hot spots today: hit Government Cut or Haulover Inlet for tarpon at dawn or dusk – the moving tide brings in fresh bait and feeding lines. Down in the Keys, pick your way around Channel 5 Bridge or the flats off Fiesta Key for steady snapper action and a surprise shot at bonefish or juvenile permit when the water warms up. Don’t sleep on the patch reefs near Alligator Reef – snapper and the random grouper are holding tight to the structure.

Be mindful: recent reports mentioned a shark bite incident off Key Largo, so keep an eye out if you’re wading or diving and always respect those apex predators in their element.

That’s your on-the-water breakdown for this early September day in South Florida. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s fishing report – remember to subscribe for daily, boots-on-the-dock coverage. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lore. Here with your September third report from the
waters in and around the Florida Keys and Miami. Today,
we're seeing a classic late summer pattern. A hass south
Ford sunrise kicked off at seven am over Miami and
the sun will hang until about seven forty pm, giving
us a full day to chase fish. Tidle movement is

(00:21):
on the softer side. Over at the Newport Fishing Pier,
we've got low tide coming up just after ten am
and high tide swinging back in mid afternoon at three
point fifty four PM. But overall, the title coefficients are low,
hovering around twenty eight to thirty five. That means the
water's not moving much, so expect lighter current and finesse presentation.

(00:43):
According to Tide's Forefishing and tide forecast, conditions are similar
across Miami and into the Keys, with slack tides but
some minor afternoon bumps down in Key West. The pattern
holds with a low tidal coefficient climbing slowly through the day,
reaching sixty two by evening. Weathers playing its role too.

(01:04):
The National Weather Service out of Miami has a weak
low pressure keeping things unsettled with winds starting west and
swinging southwest through the afternoon, staying light at five to
ten knots, and seas running two to three feet. Frequent

(01:24):
scattered showers and thunderstorms will move across the region. Plan
for pop up downpours, some gustier winds in the squalls,
and slightly higher chop when those storms blow through. The
Florida Division of Emergency Management highlights Nusan's tidal flooding during
afternoon high tides and a shot at king tides ramping

(01:45):
up soon, so keep an eye out in low lying
shore spots and be smart around flooded ramps. Fishing action
has stayed typical for early September. Offshore, scattered Mymi dorado
are being plucked from weed lines past the edge, though
numbers aren't thick. Most boats report a handful of schoolies
per run with the odd gaffer. Some black fintuna are

(02:09):
popping up off deeper wrecks late in the afternoon. Inshore
snook and tarpin are cruising shadow lines near bridges and
creek mouths, especially around high tide at dusk. Mangrove snapper
remain thick on the reefs both off Miami and throughout
the keys. Angler's working structure are also connecting with keeper

(02:29):
yellowtail and a few mutton snapper are being pulled from
the patch reefs using live baits best bet for tackle
early and late. Tie on a copwater walking plug or
a live mullet for snook along the sea walls and bridges.
For reef sapper, you can't go wrong drifting cup balley,
hue or pilchard. If the rain pushes you under the bridges,

(02:52):
try tossing a paddle tail soft plastic on a quarter
ounce jighead. Artificial presentations still shine. Jerk share ads and
bucktail jigs have fooled plenty of fish on the flats
near Islamarada and Key Largo for offshore action. Trolled feathers
and bright skirted ballyhu remain the ticket for mahi, with
deep jigs doing damage for black thin around the hubs.

(03:16):
Popular hot spots today hit Government Cut or haulover Inlet
for tarpin. At dawn or dusk, the moving tide brings
in fresh bait and feeding lines down in the keys.
Pick your way around Channel five bridge or the flats
off Fiesta Key for steady snapper action and a surprise

(03:36):
shot at bonefish or juvenile permit when the water warms up.
Don't sleep on the patch reefs near alligator reef, snapper
and the random grouper are holding tight to the structure.
Be mindful. Recent reports mentioned a shark bite incident off
Key Largo, so keep an eye out if you're waiting
or diving, and always respect those apex predators in their alment.

(03:59):
That's your on the water breakdown for this early September
day in South Florida. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial
Lures Fishing Report. Remember to subscribe for daily Boots on
the Dock coverage. This has been a quiet please production.
For more check out Quiet please dot ai