Keys Fall Fishing Report: Snook, Reds, Mahi, and Sails on the Bite

Good morning from Islamorada, Florida—this is Artificial Lure with your October 28, 2025 fishing report. Conditions are shaping up for a classic Keys adventure, so grab your tackle and let’s get after it!

First, a look at today’s weather and tides. We’re waking up to perfect Keys fall conditions: clear skies, 80°F air, light breeze around 15 mph, humidity at 68%, and a water temperature right around 77°F. Sunrise was at 7:28 am, and the sun will drop at 6:44 pm—giving you just over 11 hours of daylight to make something happen. Tidal action is mellow: low tide rolled through at 12:46 am, with the next high tide peaking at 12:03 pm. Keep an eye on the falling tide for late-morning bite windows, and target that midday high for cruising predators.

Major activity times according to the solunar tables are 1:19 to 3:19 am (moon down) and 1:37 to 3:37 pm (lunar transit). Don’t sleep on the minor periods: 8:45 to 9:45 am at moonrise, and 7:30 to 8:30 pm as the moon sets. Fish will be moving on those transitions—especially as the incoming tide meets warming sun.

Now to the fun part: what’s biting, and where. The backcountry and flats continue to deliver this week. Anglers have been connecting with solid numbers of snook and redfish along the mangrove edges, and schools of bonefish are pushing onto skinny water flats early on the rising tide. Permit have been making scattered showings off the ocean side banks, particularly near the sandbars at Whale Harbor Channel and on the edges of Tavernier Creek. Tarpon are still straggling in the channels, especially early and late in the day, while tripletail and a few straggling cobia have been spotted around crab trap buoys offshore.

Out on the reefs, yellowtail snapper are stacking up on the ledges, with some respectable mangrove and mutton snapper mixed in. Grouper, though catch-and-release for most species, are active in the deeper cuts. For those running offshore, there’s been a consistent mahi-mahi bite—you’ll want to look for weed lines and floating debris in 200-600 feet, and bullet bonito have been thick around the rips. Reports from local captains say a few sailfish flags have started flying, with early season action kicking off between Tennessee Reef and Alligator Light.

Best baits and lures today: For flats and inshore, live shrimp and pilchards are unbeatable. If you’re tossing artificials, MirrOlure suspending twitchbaits and Gulp! shrimp in natural colors are producing snook, reds, and bones. For snapper and grouper, fresh ballyhoo chunks, silversides, or Spanish sardines are the ticket. Offshore mahi are chasing small live blue runners, but bright-skirted trolling lures and rigged ballyhoo get plenty of attention. Sailfish are hitting slow-trolled pilchards and threadfins.

As for standout hotspots:
- **Whale Harbor Channel** has been steady early for bonefish and permit.
- The **patch reefs off Crocker Reef** are loaded with yellowtail.
- **Channel Two Bridge** and **Channel Five Bridge** continue to turn out a mixed bag—especially for night snapper trips.
- For early offshore runs, start south of Alligator Light and troll east along the current edges.

Gear is always a topic in town, and local anglers rave about the smooth drag on spinning reels like the Bahia 2500 for inshore work—great for trout, reds, and handling snook in the mangroves.

That’s all for today from the Sports Fishing Capital of the World. Thanks for tuning in to the Islamorada fishing report—don’t forget to subscribe for daily updates, tricks, and hot bite news. 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):
Good morning from Miss Lamor to Florida. This is artificial
war with your October twenty eighth, twenty twenty five fishing report.
Conditions are shaping up for a classic keys adventure, so
grab your tackle and let's get after it. First, a
look at today's weather and tides. We're waking up to
perfect keys fall conditions eighty degrees fahrenheit, air light breeze

(00:20):
around fifteen miles per hour, humidity at sixty eight percent,
and a water temperature right around seventy seven degrees fahrenheit.
Sunrise was at seven twenty eight am and the sun
will drop at six forty four pm, giving you just
over eleven hours of daylight to make something happen. Tidal
action is mellow. Low tide rolled through at twelve forty
six am, with the next high tide peaking at twelve

(00:43):
zero three pm. Keep an eye on the falling tide
for late morning bite windows and target that midday high
for cruising predators. Major activity times according to the Soliner
tables are one nineteen to three nineteen am moondown and
one thirty seven to three thirty seven pm lunar transit.
Don't sleep on the minor periods eight forty five to

(01:04):
nine forty five am at moonrise and seven thirty to
eight thirty PM as the moon sets. Fish will be
moving on those transitions, especially as the incoming tide meets
warming sun. Now to the fun part, what's biting and
where the backcountry in flats continue to deliver This week,
anglers have been connecting with solid numbers of snook and

(01:25):
redfoot leaving the time and black fish mark on the
mangrove edges, and schools of bonefish are pushing onto skinny
water flats. Permit have been making scattered showings off the
ocean side banks, particularly near the sandbars at Whale Harbor
Channel and on the edges of Tavernier Creek. Tarpin are
still straggling in the channels, especially early and late in

(01:47):
the day, while tripletail and a few straggling Kobia have
been spotted around crab trap bullies.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Offshore. Out on the reefs, yellowtail snapper are stacking up
on the ledges, with some respectable mangrove and muttons Snapper
mixed in grouper, though catch and release for most species
are active in the deeper cuts. For those running offshore,
there's been a consistent mahi mahi bite. You'll want to
look for weed lines and floating debris in two hundred

(02:14):
to six hundred feet, and bullet benito have been thick
around the ribs. Reports from local captains say a few
sailfish flags of started flying, with early season action kicking
off between Tennessee reef and alligator light best baits and lures. Today,
flats and inshore live shrimp and pilchards are unbeatable if

(02:34):
you're tossing artificials, mirror lure, suspending twitch baits and gulp
shrimp and natural colors are producing snook, reds and bones
for snapper and grouper. Fresh bally hoo chunks, silversides or
Spanish sardines are the ticket. Offshore, mayi are chasing small
live blue runners, but bright skirted trolling lures and rigged

(02:55):
valley who get plenty of attention. Sailfish, you're hitting slow
trolled pill and thread fins. As for standout hotspots, bail
Harbor Channel has been steady early for bonefish and permit.
The patch reefs offt Crocker Reef are loaded with yellowtail reels.
Channel two Bridge and Channel five Bridge continue to turn

(03:17):
out a mixed bag, especially for night snapper trips. For
early offshore runs, start south of Alligator Light and troll
east along the current edges. Deer's always a topic in
town and local anglers rave about the smooth drag on
spinning reels like the Bahia two five zero zero for

(03:38):
inshore work. Great for trout reds and handling snook in
the mangroves. That's all for today from the sports fishing
capital of the world. Thanks for tuning in to the
Islamorada Fishing Report. Don't forget to subscribe for daily updates,
tricks and hot bite news. This has been a quiet
please production. For more checkout Quiet Place Please dot ai