Florida Keys & Miami Fishing Report: Mangrove Snapper, Mahi-Mahi & Tarpon Bite Strong

Artificial Lure here with your Florida Keys and Miami fishing report for Sunday, October 12, 2025. Lines in early today saw the kind of morning every angler dreams about. At 7:23 AM, sunrise cracked over the clear blue, with sunset set for 7:02 PM. We’re riding mostly calm fall weather, slightly cooler temps in the morning, and a touch of humidity hanging in the air—prime conditions to get after it before the real heat kicks in later.

Tidal movement’s been steady: we started with a high tide at 1:39 AM around Key West, dropped to a low at 8:46 AM, then the flow’s swinging up again for a 3:49 PM high and settles to the next low at 7:30 PM—classic October rhythm. Miami’s Biscayne Bay is running similar, with a big push late afternoon; these tides turn the flats on, especially when paired with that steady east wind we’re getting off the Atlantic, putting the feed bag on for everything from bonefish to snapper according to the charts at NOAA and Tides4Fishing.

This week, action’s been brisk, especially around Islamorada through the Middle Keys. The boys at WPLG and the Florida Insider Fishing Report are talking about bent rods from dusk to dawn—mangrove snapper are thick on the reefs and backcountry channels. Folks using fresh cut pilchards, shrimp, and pinfish have been hauling in limits of mangroves, some pushing two pounds. Out on the flats, those snapper are as aggressive as ever—if you’ve got a handful of fresh pilchards, you’re set. YouTube’s been blowing up with local crews pulling big mangroves on chunk bait; just remember to anchor uptide and chum.

Offshore, dolphin (mahi-mahi) and some blackfin tuna have been making appearances along the edge of the Gulf Stream, especially near the Humps—Islamorada Hump and Marathon Hump are the hot numbers right now. Skippers running out with live pilchards and small vertical jigs have had the best luck; if you hit the weedlines out past 500 feet you’re gonna find some gaffers and peanut-size dolphin pushing through. Artificial poppers and shiny trolling feathers have been hot when worked quickly behind the boat.

Back on the bridges and deep channels—especially Seven Mile Bridge and Channel 5—the tarpon have been rolling at night, with good numbers on live mullet free-lined on moving water. Snap a live crab if you hit it toward the outgoing tide, or drift swimbaits like the DOA Bait Buster; locals know this is when the big boys show up. Daytime, the pilchard swarms are in—grab a net and you’re in business for snook and big jacks all along the pilings, especially closer to Miami’s Haulover Inlet and Government Cut. A reliable spot north of there is the Broad Causeway; live pinfish under a float is the ticket.

For lure fans, toss silver spoons and bucktail jigs in the early light along mangrove edges and patch reefs. Soft plastics in rootbeer and chartreuse have been picking up quality trout and the occasional redfish in the grass flats up toward Biscayne Bay and Black Point.

Best baits this week: live pilchard, cut pinfish, shrimp, and crab. Top lures: white bucktail 1/4oz, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, and Skitter Walks for early surface action.

A couple hot spots to circle: Islamorada’s Whale Harbor channel, especially at the top of the incoming tide, and Alligator Reef for non-stop snapper and the odd grouper. Closer to Miami, Soldier Key and Stiltsville flats are holding big bonefish and snapper when the current is right.

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