Keys Fishing Report: Grouper, Tarpon, and Offshore Action Amid Blustery Winds

Good morning fellow anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your fresh Florida Keys fishing report for May 14, 2025. The Keys are buzzing with action and some classic springtime unpredictability, but there are still great opportunities for everyone willing to work with the conditions.

First up, today's weather is shaping up mostly sunny with brisk southeast winds around 20 mph. That breeze is keeping surface chop lively out on the reefs and offshore, so be sure to check your boat and plan accordingly if you’re heading farther out. Early morning temps are mild, climbing to the low 80s by midday, and you’re looking at first light around 6:35 AM, with sunset coming at about 7:58 PM. Tides are running moderate, with a morning high building towards midday, making the backcountry and channel edges prime during the outgoing.

Now, for the bite. Grouper season opened May 1, and folks are reporting a banner start with steady catches of black and red grouper. The patch reefs and edges near Marathon and Alligator Reef have been especially productive for keeper-sized fish on live pinfish or cut baits. There’s been plenty of snapper action, too, with yellowtails and mangroves biting well early and late in the day around Cudjoe Key and the nearshore patch reefs. Lane snapper and the occasional mutton are filling coolers, especially on fresh cut squid and pilchards.

Offshore, deep wrecks are still holding blackfin tuna and the odd kingfish, though the wind has made getting out there a bit sporty. Wrecks just off Key West and the humps off Marathon are your best bet if you can handle a choppy ride.

Inshore, tarpon fishing remains the main event, though it’s been a grind some days. The big spring migration is running late but there are solid windows of action. Bridges like Channel 5 and the Long Key Bridge are showing pods of tarpon moving during good tide swings, especially at dawn and dusk. Live mullet or crabs under a float is the ticket when the current’s right, but don’t sleep on big swimbaits for a reaction bite. The backcountry has also held scattered tarpon, with some anglers finding better bite windows on slick calm days.

Other notable catches include steady snook and redfish along mangrove shorelines from Big Pine to Lower Matecumbe, with pilchards and soft plastics both catching fish, and the permit bite on the flats is about to get red-hot—watch for them tailing when the wind lays down.

Hot spots to try today:
- The drop-offs and patch reefs around Alligator Reef for grouper and snapper.
- Channel 5 Bridge at dawn targeting rolling tarpon on live mullet or crab.

Lure-wise, stick with chartreuse bucktails for snapper, big paddletail swimbaits for tarpon, and shrimp-tipped jigs if you’re after mangroves or lanes.

That’s it for today, tight lines out there and keep those drags singing. If you head out and hook up, remember: the only thing better than catching them is telling the story when you get back.