Florida Keys and Miami Fishing Report: Mahi, Snapper, and Tarpon Bite Strong

It’s your pal Artificial Lure with your fresh-off-the-dock fishing report for the Florida Keys and Miami, Friday, September 12, 2025. Early risers got a head start today with sunrise at 7:05 AM and sunset sliding in at 7:27 PM, so there’s plenty of daylight to chase that big one. Over on Miami Beach, tides are running low at 6:05 AM and again at 6:38 PM, with a healthy high tide hitting around 12:31 PM, making the late morning and early afternoon the sweet spot for inshore action, especially for folks working the flats and bridges. According to the tide-forecast, this movement should keep the bite active through the midday lull.

Weather’s classic for September: humid, warm, and breezy, with slight gusts cooling things off just enough to make a day on the water pleasant. No signs of any major systems or small craft advisories, so boats can roam freely. Just remember, afternoon storms can still pop up.

The water is alive with activity. Offshore, charter captains and private vessels have been reporting solid mahi-mahi (dolphin) just outside the outer reef edges and weedlines. Trolling with smaller feathers and skirted ballyhoo is pulling in fish in the 8-15 pound range consistently. Snapper are feeding strong on patch reefs—live pilchards or cut squid on a jighead is your best bet, especially as the tide pushes in. Yellowtail snapper are particularly thick off Islamorada this week.

For the backcountry and bay, mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel are showing up in strong numbers around Biscayne Bay markers and structure. Early morning and dusk, free-lining live shrimp or tossing a Gulp! artificial shrimp is deadly here. Flats anglers near Marathon and Big Pine are still connecting with bonefish and a few permit. The key is stealth and light leaders, using crab or shrimp, or sight-casting with a well-presented soft plastic jerkbait.

The bridges—Seven Mile and Long Key in particular—are true hot spots right now. Folks soaking fresh cut baits or live shrimp at the start of the incoming tide are pulling in a mixed bag of snook, tarpon (mostly juveniles), and jacks. Snapper are stacked underneath, and evening hours see the bigger fish come out.

From the surf and jetties in Miami, the first mullet run pushes are showing, with predators right on their tails. Tarpon, snook, and jack crevalle are blitzing pods; topwater plugs and swim baits in mullet patterns are the ticket for explosive strikes. Anglers working Government Cut and Haulover Inlet in the early morning are reporting good numbers of blue runners and the occasional mackerel.

Live bait always gets the edge in these waters: pilchards are king, followed closely by live shrimp and pinfish. For artificials, Gulp! shrimp, bucktail jigs, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, and topwater Spooks are hot choices. Don’t forget extra leader, especially when the mackerel and barracuda are running thick.

For the best action today, hit:
- Seven Mile Bridge for snapper and snook on the slack-to-early incoming tide
- Islamorada patch reefs for steady yellowtail and the chance for a grouper or two
- Biscayne Bay markers with live shrimp for mangroves and mackerel

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