South Florida and Keys Fishing Report: Sails, Snook, and Snapper Hotspots

This is Artificial Lure with your South Florida and Keys fishing report.

We’ve got classic winter conditions lining up from Miami down through the Upper Keys. Light east‑southeast breeze this morning, building to a moderate chop offshore by afternoon per the National Weather Service marine forecast. Nearshore and the bays stay manageable, but keep an eye on the wind line once you clear the reef.

Sunrise around Miami is right at 7:10 a.m., with sunset just after 5:30 p.m. The solunar tables for Miami put the major bite windows mid‑afternoon, roughly 3 to 5 p.m., with a smaller flurry mid‑morning. That lines up nicely with a strong tide push in the Keys: Key Largo’s Ocean Reef Harbor tide charts show a solid high mid‑ to late‑morning and another good swing toward evening, which really juices the reef and bridge bite.

Off Miami and the Upper Keys, the edge of the Gulf Stream has been holding good color change and bait, and local captains are reporting steady sails, schoolie dolphin, and a few blackfin tuna out past 150–250 feet. Slow‑trolled live ballyhoo or pilchards are the ticket; if you’re pulling hardware, run small skirted ballyhoo in blue‑white or pink‑chartreuse.

On the patch reefs and inside Hawk Channel, the winter grocery run is on. Recent trips out of Key Largo and Islamorada report mixed bags of mutton and mangrove snapper, yellowtail, a few keeper grouper where it’s open, plus hogfish for folks working shrimp on knocker rigs in 20–40 feet. Yellowtails are chewing best on the evening tide: chum heavy, drop 12–15 lb fluoro with small hooks and slivers of ballyhoo or cut squid.

Inshore around Miami, Biscayne Bay and the bridges down to Key Largo are giving up snook, small tarpon, and sea trout. Pilchards, live shrimp, or Gulp jerk shads on 1/8 to 1/4 oz jigheads will get you bit. Nighttime at bridge shadow lines is producing on swimbaits and flair‑hawks.

Best lures right now:
- For bay snook and trout: 3–4 inch paddle tails in pearl or new penny on light jigs, and small topwaters at first light if it’s calm.
- For offshore: small feathers and jet heads in blue‑silver, plus diving plugs in a black‑back pattern for kings and blackfin.
- For reef snapper: go natural — live shrimp, ballyhoo chunks, and fresh pilchards. Fluorocarbon down to 15–20 lb in clear water makes a big difference.

Couple of hotspots to circle:
- Off Key Largo, the patch reefs between Molasses and French Reef in 20–35 feet have been producing hogfish, muttons, and keeper mangroves on shrimp and light tackle.
- Closer to Miami, the reefs off Government Cut and Fowey Rocks in 80–130 feet are holding kings, sails, and a few dolphin along the color change; slow‑trolled live baits are money when the tide and wind line up.

If you’re short on time or the weather turns, tuck into Biscayne Bay’s eastern shoreline and the cuts along the islands — sight‑fish bonefish and permit on the flats mid‑day when the sun’s high and the water warms, using small shrimp or crab patterns and 1/0 circle hooks.

That’s your South Florida and Keys rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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