Florida fishing reports
562 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Treasure Coast snook stack up on jetty structure as red snapper season stalls
Stuart's Snook Nook reports the St. Lucie Inlet snook bite has bounced back now that a dredging project has wrapped, with side-scan marking big schools around the detached jetty and Hole in the Wall — live croakers and pilchards are the ticket. Remember snook remain closed to harvest on Florida's Atlantic coast through September 1, so it's sight-and-release fishing on trophy-class fish right now. Offshore, a Snook Nook-led crew just took first place in the small-boat division of the One More Bite Sailfish Challenge, going 7-for-9 on bites, a good sign the sail bite is active off the Treasure Coast. Meanwhile red snapper anglers are in limbo: CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction has blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper exempted-fishing-permit pilot programs just as Florida's season was set to open. Down in Biscayne Bay, Sport Fishing Mag notes mutton snapper are responding well to live chumming with pilchards over the bay's finger channels.
Yellowtail and mutton snapper keep Key West boats stacked
A Key West captain with ALL IN Key West says the May-June bite has been "as good as I've seen in my 16 years," with big yellowtail snapper and "tons and tons" of mutton snappers feeding aggressively in large numbers, alongside grouper, cobia, and kingfish action on Gulf-side trips. Mutton snapper bunched up hard around the full moon earlier in the run, a pattern typical for this species in the Keys, though the moon has since cycled to first quarter. Sport Fishing Mag notes the broader south Florida technique for muttons is live-chumming with pilchards over structure and current edges. Regulatory backdrop is shifting too: CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction just blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper Exempted Fishing Permit pilot programs for Florida and neighboring states, so anglers targeting red snapper specifically should check current season status before heading out. No live buoy or gauge readings were available for this update.
Summer bass tuck into shade as Okeechobee heat builds
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came in for Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River this cycle, so we're leaning on the calendar rather than a thermometer: late July in Central Florida means near-90-degree afternoons and largemouth bass pushing into shade. Tactical Bassin's midsummer bass breakdown notes that shallow fish tuck into shadows while deeper fish group up around structure once the sun gets high, a pattern that lines up well with Okeechobee's grass flats and St. Johns ledges this time of year. Along weedy edges, Wired 2 Fish's rundown of hollow-body baits and standoff-style rigs (Tokyo/Jika) offers options worth trying where a straight frog bite isn't drawing strikes. Panfish activity should hold steady through the warm water, while crappie typically slide deeper and get harder to pattern once temps climb this high. Dawn and dusk remain the highest-percentage windows until conditions ease.
Peak summer trout bite holds strong in Sarasota Bay
Spotted seatrout are locked into their peak summer pattern across Sarasota Bay, with Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters reporting aggressive bites this week on inshore grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and local passes. Tarpon remain a solid secondary target — Capt. Rick Grassett's July forecast from CB's has spin anglers working travel lanes with live baits under floats, while fly anglers stake out bar edges and sight-cast, noting July fish tend to hit harder even as overall numbers begin to thin for the season. Redfish are showing too, with Capt. Chuck Cress finding action around an upper Sarasota Bay oyster bar thick with mullet and bait activity. Shark activity — bull, blacktip, and lemon sharks working the bay and nearshore Gulf — typically holds strong from late spring into fall per CB's reporting. Warm, stable summer water is driving all of it; check current regulations before harvesting any species this time of year.
Naples tarpon-permit combo keeps Gulf Coast anglers dialed in
Gulf waters off Southwest Florida are running warm, with NOAA buoy 42036 logging 85°F and building offshore swell near 7 feet under a steady breeze, while the calmer nearshore buoy 42039 shows more fishable 3.6-foot seas. Naples Offshore Fishing Charters reports tarpon migration in full swing this season, with mornings spent jumping and hooking quality fish before switching over to sight-fishing large permit in the afternoons — a pairing the operation describes as going about as well as it can this time of year. Kingfish are also active on plugs and flies, with cobia and amberjack mixing in on structure for bonus action. Typical for Gulf Coast summer, warm surface temps tend to push bait and predators toward deeper cover as the day heats up, so early starts matter most. Anglers should check current Florida state regs before harvesting or handling tarpon and permit, both closely managed species.
Panhandle anglers eye snapper rules as summer heat pattern sets in
Florida's red snapper season stayed in the news this week — Anglers Journal reported Governor DeSantis is pushing for state management of the recreational season, a reminder that snapper regulations remain in flux statewide even though the Panhandle's Gulf-side season runs on its own federal/state calendar, separate from the Atlantic-coast permit referenced in that story. We don't have a direct Destin or Pensacola captain report in this cycle, so this update leans on typical late-July Northern Gulf patterns: red snapper and vermilion holding tight to nearshore and offshore structure, king mackerel cruising bait pods along the beaches, and redfish and trout working grass flats and passes in the early and late hours to dodge peak-heat lockjaw. Check current state regs before harvesting snapper, since season dates and bag limits shift year to year. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this cycle, so confirm water temp and tide stage on site before committing to a spot.
St. Lucie Inlet Snook Bite Rebounds as Dredging Halts
Inshore anglers on Florida's Treasure Coast are seeing snook numbers pick back up in the St. Lucie Inlet now that a dredging project there has paused, per Snook Nook's July 2026 Stuart report, which notes anglers running side-scan are marking large schools around the detached jetty and Hole in the Wall. Live baits, croakers and pilchards especially, remain the key to converting those marks into bites. Remember snook season is closed to harvest statewide through August, reopening September 1 per Snook Nook's seasonal notes, so it's catch-and-release only right now. Meanwhile the region's red snapper fishery hit a setback: CCA Florida reports a federal court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper Exempted Fishing Permit pilot programs just hours before Florida's season was set to open, a blow to the state-led management push Anglers Journal had covered earlier this year.
Yellowtail and mutton snapper keep Keys anglers busy
Yellowtail snapper are "practically jumping in the boat" right now, according to ALL IN Key West, which reports huge numbers of yellowtails and mutton snapper on nearly every trip this stretch. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada Fishing Marina calls June through early July "prime time," with warm water, calm seas, and abundant bait supporting everything from tarpon on the bridges to mahi offshore to yellowtail on the reef. Sport Fishing Mag notes mutton snapper are also holding around Biscayne Bay-area flats and channels, with live chumming and block chum in a small mesh bag drawing quality fish out of the current. ALL IN Key West adds that a recent Gulf-side run produced grouper, snapper, cobia, barracuda, and kingfish in the same day. With the Gulf Stream running close to the reef, bottom fishing and live-bait trolling both remain productive heading into late July.
Summer heat pushes Okeechobee bass deep as bite narrows to dawn and dusk
Field & Stream's latest breakdown on jig styles for bass is the best lens on Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns this week: football jigs dragging bottom past 10 feet as bass slide off the grass lines onto deeper structure, with swim jigs still working the surviving matted vegetation early and late. Tactical Bassin's hot-weather rundown backs that pattern up, noting shallow bass tuck into shade while deep fish group tightly on structure, narrowing the reliable bite to dawn and dusk. No fresh buoy or gauge readings and no direct Florida freshwater field reports came through this cycle, so treat this as seasonal guidance rather than an on-the-water report. Expect largemouth to be the most consistent target on both waters, panfish holding steady in shallow cover, and crappie easing into their typical summer lull until temperatures start cooling toward fall.
Seatrout Bite Turns Aggressive on Sarasota Bay Flats
Capt. Brandon Naeve's latest report out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters (Sarasota) says Spotted Seatrout are "aggressively biting" right now, with the peak summer bite fully on across Sarasota Bay's grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and local passes. Redfish are cooperating too, with Capt. Chuck Cress's report describing solid action around an upper Sarasota Bay oyster bar, mullet and bait stacked up, plus a bonus bluefish in the mix. Tarpon remain a viable target per Capt. Rick Grassett's July forecast, with spin anglers doing best drifting live baits under floats along travel lanes and staying ready to sight-cast, while fly anglers work bar edges. Shark activity is also active in and around Sarasota Bay and nearshore Gulf waters, with Bull, Blacktip, and Lemon sharks the common summer visitors. No live buoy or gauge readings came through for this cycle, so treat water temp as seasonal-typical for late July in the region.
Panhandle snapper season holds steady through the summer heat
Destin and Pensacola are deep into the typical July stretch for Gulf red snapper, with the fishery continuing to draw regulatory attention statewide — Anglers Journal reported this month on Florida's push for more state control over red snapper season-setting, a sign of how closely the fishery is being watched this year even though that particular move targets the Atlantic coast side of the state. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this stretch of Panhandle coast this cycle, and none of the angler-intel feeds we pulled carried a direct Destin or Pensacola bite report, so this update leans on typical mid-summer patterns: reef species holding tight to structure and wrecks through the midday heat, nearshore bait pods pulling in Spanish mackerel, and inshore trout and redfish sliding into low-light feeding windows before the afternoon sun pushes them off the flats. Check tides and the local marine forecast before running offshore.
Permit and tarpon keep Naples anglers busy into summer
Naples Offshore Fishing Charters is running an all-Permit-and-Tarpon program this stretch, working the spring migration push each morning for quality Tarpon jumps before switching over to sight-fishing big Permit in the afternoons. Earlier spring reports from the same operation add steady kingfish action on plugs and flies, plus cobia and amberjack showing up as bonus catches on the same trips. Further afield, Captain Rick Murphy's Florida Insider Fishing Report calls Florida's mangrove snapper bite "on" right now, a signal that tracks with the warm-water pattern typically settling over Gulf Coast structure this time of year. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temps and tide timing as unconfirmed until the next data pull. The overall picture: a strong two-species headline bite (Permit, Tarpon) carrying the program, with snapper and kingfish filling out the rest of the box.