Florida Keys Fishing Report: Breezy Conditions, Snapper Bite, and Bonefish on the Flats

Artificial Lure here with your Florida Keys and Miami fishing report for Friday, October 31, 2025.

We're waking up to a cool, breezy morning with NW winds steady at 20-25 knots as a cold front moved through late yesterday. Seas offshore are rough—running about 6 to 8 feet on both the Atlantic and Gulf sides, with the National Weather Service in Miami recommending small craft advisory caution. Expect this brisk wind to lay down starting late afternoon, so early risers, be ready to tuck in behind the mangroves or hit protected bay waters for the safest action.

Sunrise today clocks in at 7:40 am, and sunset’s set for 6:47 pm. If you're planning your bite windows, the key tides in the area suggest a high tide peaking around 8:21 am and another at 10:25 pm, with lows at 2:43 am and 3:39 pm. That means your best shot for aggressive feeding is late morning through midday, just as that tide rolls in—a proven window for cruising predators to push bait up on the flats.

Recent catches this week have showcased some classic late October variety. Anglers working patch reefs between Key Largo and Marathon have found steady snapper action: lots of keeper yellowtail (up to 2 pounds), scattered mangrove snapper, and a few muttons mixed in around deeper channels. Bull sharks and the odd tarpon are still showing up in the backcountry, especially near bridges at night. Offshore crews lucky enough to brave the swells have picked off some dolphin (mahi-mahi) mostly in the 5-10 pound range, plus scattered blackfin tuna in the blue water east of Islamorada.

Biscayne Bay and southern Miami Coast this week have seen increased bonefish activity on the flats, with several anglers landing fish in the 3-6 pound range. Permit are still scattered but sight-fishing has been productive near Stiltsville and Featherbeds. Spanish mackerel reports are picking up near Government Cut, with bird flocks giving away their location.

Best baits: If you're headed to the reef, pilchards and thread herring remain king, but frozen ballyhoo is a solid bet for chumming snapper. For flats fishing, live shrimp have outperformed anything else—especially with the cooling water temps pushing tailing bonefish into shallow bars. Offshore, trolling rigged bonito strips and blue-white feather lures is bringing in dolphin and tuna.

For artificial lure fans, the hot picks are:
- Bucktail jigs for inshore snapper and mackerel—tip with shrimp for added punch.
- Gold spoons and rubber shad on flats for bonefish and sea trout.
- Large silver topwater plugs around bridges after dark for tarpon and snook.

A couple of local hot spots to hit today:
- Channel 2 Bridge (near Islamorada): shelter from the wind and big numbers of snapper and grouper reported.
- Soldier Key flats (Biscayne Bay): prime moving tide conditions and plenty of bonefish sighted at sunrise.
- The patch reefs at Tennessee Reef (Key Largo): good numbers of yellowtail and occasional mutton snapper, best on the incoming tide.

With the front moving through and a moderate chop on all inland waters, safety first—stick to wind-protected channels and look for that mid-morning tide. Mask up those live shrimp and cast tight to structure for best results.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI