Keys fishing turns toward fall as summer heat finally breaks

What's next

If the cooling trend holds through the week, look for flats and nearshore activity to build as water temps ease down off the upper 80s, with feeding windows likely stretching earlier into the morning as the heat backs off.

This week's New Moon means stronger-than-average tidal flow, worth building a trip around even with station-level tide predictions unavailable for Key West and the bay side right now.

ALL IN Key West notes open availability heading into fall and winter bookings, a good window to get on the water before the seasonal shift fully takes hold.

Context

Early-to-mid October sits at the seasonal hinge for the Keys, the turn from the slow, hot stretch of late summer into the stronger fall and winter bite that typically builds through November. Water still sitting in the upper 80s is on the warm side for this point in the calendar, so the turnover may be running a touch behind a typical year, but the cooling captains are describing matches the normal seasonal pattern for the region.