Florida fishing reports
796 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Panhandle snook push toward winter holds as fall transition begins
Gulf water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 80s across the Panhandle, with NOAA CO-OPS readings of 87.1°F at Pensacola (station 8729840), 86.2°F at Panama City (station 8729108) and 86.7°F near Apalachicola (station 8728690) as of this morning. That warmth still reads more like late summer than fall, but the seasonal shift is underway. Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are feeding up and starting to move toward their winter holding areas as days shorten, calling the fall transition one of the year's better windows for the species. Salt Strong's weekly Weekend Game Plan lineup lists Florida Panhandle & Big Bend among this week's featured regions, a sign local patterns are worth watching closely right now. Redfish remain a steady target through the transition, with Salt Strong pointing anglers toward a rotating fall lure lineup for bigger inshore fish as water cools.
Tarpon and snook set up for the Keys' fall transition
Water temperatures are holding at 87°F off Key West and 86.7°F off Marathon, typical late-September Keys warmth that's kept the bite steady into the fall transition. Bud n' Mary's reported strong bridge tarpon action through its recent stretch of reports, and Sport Fishing Mag notes Gulf snook are feeding up hard as they push toward winter holding areas, calling it one of the best windows of the year for the species. Salt Strong's fall lure rundown puts redfish among the inshore targets worth working now, favoring soft plastics that adjust to skittish fish in skinny water. Field & Stream reported a September 17 White House executive order aimed at loosening federal fishing-tackle restrictions for saltwater anglers, a regulatory shift worth watching this fall.
Okeechobee and St. Johns Ease Into the Fall Transition
Florida's freshwater fisheries are turning into the fall transition this week, the seasonal shift that resets how largemouth bass and crappie feed through the rest of September. Wired 2 Fish's coverage of the crappie transition and Tactical Bassin's early-fall bass breakdowns both point to the same pattern moving through freshwater systems right now: baitfish schooling up as surface temperatures ease, with feeding fish keying on those bait pods instead of holding on summer structure.
Snook Feed Up As Fall Transition Reaches the Florida Keys
NOAA CO-OPS stations 8724580 and 8723970 read 87.4°F and 87.6°F this week, confirming the Florida Keys are still running full summer-warm water even as the calendar turns toward fall. That warmth lines up with what Sport Fishing Mag is describing for the wider Gulf snook fishery right now: as days shorten, snook begin feeding up ahead of their move toward winter holding areas, and the outlet calls the fall transition one of the year's best fishing opportunities for that species, with swimbaits like the Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ drawing strikes on aggressive fish. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada Fishing Marina's seasonal report keeps tarpon in the mix too, pointing to bridge structure as the go-to target for that fishery. ALL IN Key West's most recent posted report called the fishing as good as they've seen in 16 years running trips out of Key West, a reminder the Keys' broader complex stays productive well outside any single target species. The moon is in a Waxing Gibbous phase, which typically sharpens current around bridges and channels.
Snook and redfish fire up docks and bridges around Sarasota Bay
Tampa Bay and Sarasota waters are running warm this week, averaging near 87-88°F across the CO-OPS stations at St. Petersburg and Clearwater Beach, and captains report the inshore bite is in full swing. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, fishing out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, describes an active bite in Sarasota Bay for snook, redfish, and spotted seatrout. Capt. Chuck Cress worked a rising morning tide and connected with several redfish on a popping cork tipped with live shrimp, along with snook caught and released. Both captains are finding fish stacked around docks, bridges, and shallow grass flats as the late-summer pattern holds.
Gulf snook push toward winter holding grounds as fall transition begins
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8729840 near Pensacola read 88°F this afternoon, with stations 8729108 and 8728690 close behind at 86.4°F and 86.9°F, keeping the Panhandle's late-summer warmth in place. Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook anglers are entering one of the year's best stretches as fish begin their seasonal push toward winter holding areas, with swimbaits like the Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ producing as the shift gets underway. Salt Strong is steering anglers toward a fall lure rotation for redfish, trout, snook and flounder on inshore structure, noting that knowing when to swap presentations matters as much as having the right bait rigged. Further south, Florida Sea Grant flagged a rare detection of rust tide alga in Charlotte Harbor this month, a species seldom seen in Southwest Florida waters; it hasn't shown up in Panhandle waters, but it's worth watching regional water-clarity updates this week.
Florida Keys Bite Holds Onto Summer Momentum Into Fall
NOAA CO-OPS readings this morning put water at 86.9°F at station 8724580 and 86.5°F at station 8723970, full summer warmth still holding through the Keys as September closes out. Charter and shop reports back that up. ALL IN Key West called a recent Gulf-side trip "bananas," logging steady reef and bottom action mixed with strong offshore activity, and an earlier report from the same captain noted having to run extra lead to hold bottom against unusually strong current on the reef edge. Bud n' Mary's early-summer report described abundant bait and gamefish spread from the shallow flats out to the Gulf Stream, the kind of pattern that typically fades by now but is clearly still running. Coastal Angler Magazine's current Keys coverage centers on strong blue-water action offshore, another read on a warm-season bite that hasn't broken yet even as the calendar turns toward fall.
Gulf Coast snook push into fall feeding mode
Gulf water held steady at 85 to 86°F at our two CO-OPS stations early this morning, still summer-warm for the third week of September. That lingering heat lines up with what Sport Fishing Mag is reporting for the Gulf snook fishery right now: fish are feeding up hard as the fall transition gets underway, pushing toward their winter holding areas, with swimbaits like the Z-Man Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ producing well as the bite turns aggressive. Separately, Florida Sea Grant flagged a rare rust tide algae detection in Charlotte Harbor this week — a different organism than red tide, but worth knowing if you're working that stretch of coast, since researchers are still tracking how far it has spread. Tide movement is strong through the pre-dawn hours: one station shows a high near 2 AM tapering to a low by 6 AM, while the other runs low near 3:45 AM and builds to a high by 9:39 AM, so there's real current working through the early morning window.
Snook and Redfish Keep Sarasota Bay Bite Rolling as Fall Nears
Water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 80s at both Tampa Bay-area tide stations this morning, 87.1°F and 85.8°F, and the inshore bite matches. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, fishing out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, reports an active bite in Sarasota Bay for snook, redfish, and spotted seatrout. Capt. Chuck Cress, also with CB's, put clients on several redfish and small snook this week working a rising tide with a popping cork and live shrimp. Snook is the headline species right now: Capt. Rick Grassett's September forecast for CB's notes the fishing should stay good through the month, with fish still holding in the surf and around ICW docks and bridges close to passes as the heaviest summer heat eases. Separately, Florida Sea Grant flagged a rare detection of the alga Margalefidinium polykrikoides, a 'rust tide' species distinct from red tide, in Charlotte Harbor, worth watching if you're fishing that far south this week.
Snook Bite Heats Up as Season Reopens on Florida's Treasure Coast
Water temperatures are holding at 87°F at Lake Worth Pier (NOAA CO-OPS station 8722670), still solidly in summer range as Florida's Atlantic Coast eases into the fall transition. Snook season reopened September 1 per Snook Nook's seasonal calendar, and the Stuart shop reports the bite carried its late-summer momentum straight into the new season: anglers working live croakers and threadfins around the St. Lucie Inlet and the detached jetty have been finding steady numbers of Snook, including plenty in the 40-inch-plus range. Snook Nook's latest update also flags the early stages of the mullet run, with schools of larger mullet already showing up inshore and along the beaches ahead of the finger-mullet schools anglers wait on each fall. Offshore, CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction has blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper exempted-fishing-permit pilot programs, adding uncertainty to red snapper season planning for anglers working further out.
Florida Keys hold a strong late-summer bite as fall approaches
Water in the Florida Keys is still running warm, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 87.4°F and 88.7°F as of this evening's check, squarely in the range anglers expect through late summer. Local operators say the action has matched the water: ALL IN Key West described a recent stretch of nonstop fishing as "as good as I've seen in my 16 years here in Key West," pointing to heavy feeding activity in big numbers on the reef and offshore. Bud n' Mary's in Islamorada has flagged the run from June into early July as one of the most productive windows the fishery offers, with warm water, calm seas and abundant bait pulling fish from the shallow flats out to the edge of the Gulf Stream. Both operators point to the same pattern: plenty of bait, plenty of feeding fish, and conditions that reward anglers willing to work the full range from bridges to blue water.
Gulf snook feed up as summer holds through equinox approach
Gulf-side water temperatures are holding onto late-summer warmth, with NOAA CO-OPS readings this morning at 88°F and 86°F across our two Gulf Coast reference stations. That warmth matters for snook, whose seasonal shift is already underway: Sport Fishing Mag reports that as days shorten, snook are feeding up ahead of their move toward winter holding areas and turning aggressive on swimbaits like paddletail-style lures worked through the current lines that concentrate bait. The first quarter moon keeps tidal swings moderate rather than extreme this week, favoring a steady, grinding bite over a single hot window. We're watching this snook pattern build through the next several days as the fall transition takes hold across the Gulf Coast.