Late Summer Fishing Heats Up Across Florida's Gulf Coast

Artificial Lure here, checking in bright and early to bring you today’s fishing report for the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

We’ve got a classic late-summer setup this morning along the Gulf Coast. The weather is stable, with sunrise just after 6:29AM in Panama City Beach and closer to 7:16AM on Longboat Key, and you can expect sunset around 6:45PM near the Panhandle and 7:32PM down in Sarasota country. Winds have stayed moderate–a blessing for boaters working the edges of passes and flats.

Checking the tides, Panama City Beach is sitting on a high tide at 6:45AM (1.96 ft), dropping down to low at 5:10PM (0.27 ft). Down at Longboat Key, early risers may have hit a high tide at 00:32AM (2.2 ft), a second high at 9:19AM (3.08 ft), and low at 5:17PM (0.46 ft). Big tidal swings today, so look for staging fish around oyster bars, points, and creek mouths as the water moves—strong currents push the feed right into their laps.

Fishing action has picked up as the weather’s cooled just a hair. Reports from Pine Island Eagle note slow water days offshore last week, but there’s solid inshore activity: larger reds, some pushing 27-32 inches, are being hooked near the Gulf passes. Smaller slots are working oyster bars and mangroves. Spacefish reports that the bite’s been hot for snook, redfish, and seatrout. Indian River and near-coastal waters are seeing snook fire up, especially with mullet schools running through, bringing tarpon along for the ride.

Best baits for today? If you’re targeting reds and snook on the flats or mangroves, live mullet and pinfish remain unbeatable. Artificial options like paddle tails (Electric Chicken and rootbeer gold have produced) and scented jerk baits (Gulp! Shrimp, Z-Man scented paddle tail) are pulling their weight, especially along high current seams and in stained water. If you’re beachside, fresh shrimp and sandfleas get whiting and the occasional pompano excited. Grouper and snapper offshore are still taking sardines on bottom rigs, but with the seas a bit rough, most boats are sticking to snapper in the nearshore 20-40 foot depths.

Hot spots worth trying today:

- **Skyway Bridge and Tampa Bay passes:** The outgoing tide is pulling larger reds and snook into the deeper channels just outside the bridge pilings and along the drop-offs.
- **Pine Island Sound:** Keeper-size reds and snook are holding tight to oyster bars and creek mouths, especially on the falling tide.
- **Sebastian Inlet area:** Tarpon and snook are running with the mullet; evening and pre-dawn are best for a topwater bite.
- **Clearwater Beach:** Solunar activity is moderate today, but high tidal coefficients mean beach anglers should catch whiting and pompano near the sandbars at outgoing tide.

The best advice for the day is finding the bait—if you’re working a school of mullet, linger nearby, as everything from snook and tarpon to jack crevalle could show up. Early mornings or just after sunset are prime, especially as water clarity improves and boat traffic settles.

Remember, fall’s coming fast and the mullet run means activity will spike in the next few weeks. Keep your tackle versatile and your bait fresh, and don’t be afraid to throw artificials with a bit of scent to coax wary fish.

Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for all your local ground-level fishing intel. 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 checking in bright and early to bring
you today's fishing report for the Gulf of Mexico, Florida
on Wednesday, September seventeenth, twenty twenty five. We've got a
classic late summer set up this morning along the Gulf coast.
The weather is stable, with sunrise just after six twenty
nine am in Panama City Beach and closer to seven

(00:20):
sixteen am on lawn Boat Key, and you can expect
sunset around six forty five pm near the Panhandle and
seven thirty two pm down in Sarasota Country. Winds have
stayed moderate, a blessing for boters working the edges of
passes and flats checking the tides. Panama City Beach is
sitting on a high tide at six forty five am
one point nine six feet, dropping down to low at

(00:43):
five ten pm zero point two seven feet down at
longbowt Key. Early risers may have hit a high tide
at zero zero thirty two am two point two feet
a second high at nine to nineteen am three point
zero eight feet and low at five seventeen pm zero
point four six feet. Big tidle swings today, so look

(01:09):
for staging fish around oyster bars, points and creek mouths.
As the water moves, strong currents push the feed right
into their laps. Fishing action has picked up as the
weather's cool just a hair. Reports from Pine Island Eagle
note slow water days off shore last week, but they're
solid inshore activity. Larger reds, some pushing twenty seven to

(01:30):
thirty two inches are being hooked near the Gulf passes.
Smaller slots are working oyster bars and mangroves. Spacefish reports
that the bite's been hot for snoke, redfish and seat route.
Indian River and near coastal waters are seeing snook fire up,
especially with mullet schools running through bringing tarpin along for
the ride. Best baits for today if you're targeting reds

(01:51):
and snook on the flats are mangroves. Live mullet and
pinfish remain unbeatable. Artificial options like paddle tails, electric chicken
and rooms gold have produced and scented jerkbaits, gulp shrimp
z man scented paddle tail are pulling their weight, especially
along high current seams and in stained water. If your beachside,

(02:11):
fresh shrimp and sand fleas get whiting in the occasional pompino,
excited grouper and snapper offshore are still taking sardines on
bottom rigs, but with the seas a bit rough, most
boats are sticking to snapper in the near shore twenty
to forty foot depths. Hotspot's worth trying today Skyway Bridge
and Tampa Bay passes. The outgoing tide is pulling larger

(02:33):
reds and snook into the deeper channels just outside the
bridge pilings and along the drop offs. Pine Island sound
Keeper size reds and snooke are holding tight to oyster
bars and creek mouths, especially on the falling tide. Dot
Sebastian Inlet area. Tarpain and snoke are running with the
mullet evening in pre dawn or best for a top

(02:54):
water bite. Clearwater beach soul in Our activity is moderate today,
but high tide ile coefficients mean beach anglers should catch
whiting and pompino near the sandbars at outcoming tide. The
best advice for the day is finding the bait if
you're working a school of mullet linger nearby, as everything
from snoke and tarpain to jack ravel could show up

(03:16):
early mornings or just after sunset are prime, especially as
water clarity improves in boat traffic settles. Remember falls coming
fast and the mullet run means activity will spike in
the next few weeks. Keep your tackle versatile and your
bait fresh, and don't be afraid to throw artificials with
a bit of scent to coax wary fish. Thanks for

(03:37):
tuning in, and don't forget to subscribe for all your
local ground level fishing intel. This has been a quiet
please production. For more check out Quiet Please dot ai