Florida fishing reports
796 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Treasure Coast snook fire up as the mullet run builds
Snook Nook in Stuart is flagging the season's biggest catalyst right now: mullet schools stacking along the beaches and starting to filter into the inlet system, a bit later than usual after last winter's cooler stretch. That's stacking on top of an already strong snook bite — the shop reported excellent numbers through August, with quality fish in the 40"+ range coming on live croakers and threadfins worked around the St. Lucie Inlet and detached jetty, and Florida's Atlantic snook season reopened September 1 after the summer closure. Offshore, Saltwater Sportsman notes South Florida's second mahi season is arriving mid-September as fish push back through on their way south, and sailfish are showing — Coastal Angler Magazine logged a 40-lb West Palm catch while a Stuart-based team took first place in a recent small-boat sailfish tournament. Kingfish are the next wave to watch as the fall migration approaches. Check current state regs before harvesting snook or red snapper — Atlantic red snapper season status is unsettled following a court injunction, per CCA Florida.
Bass Push Toward Docks and Grass as Fall Baitfish Move In
Lake Okeechobee and St. Johns anglers are hitting the seasonal turn where largemouth start keying on baitfish movement instead of pure structure, and this week's national bass coverage backs that shift up. Tactical Bassin's early-fall rundown flags docks as the hot pattern right now, with bass pouring in daily as baitfish relocate off dying summer grass, and points to a Texas-rigged creature bait fished on a Free Rig for a slower, more natural fall through thick cover. Fishing the Midwest's fall-pattern notes echo the same idea from a different region: find the healthiest remaining green weeds and you find concentrated bass and baitfish, a pattern that translates directly to St. Johns grass flats. Locally, Outdoor Hub reported a Kissimmee River guide near Lake Okeechobee filming a black bear pursued by an alligator this week, a reminder of how much shoreline wildlife activity is stacking up as the season turns. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temp as seasonal-normal until the next check.
Short Gulf grouper season opens as snook start their fall push
Florida's Gulf Coast gag grouper fishery is in its brief annual window right now — Sport Fishing Mag describes the west coast season as short and close to shore, with anglers making quick runs to rock piles and structure in relatively shallow water for fast strikes on the troll. At the same time, Sport Fishing Mag's fall-transition report notes Gulf snook are feeling the shorter days and starting to migrate toward their winter holding areas, which typically opens one of the better snook windows of the year as summer heat breaks. Earlier-season dispatches from Naples Offshore Fishing Charters describe this stretch of the Gulf as a dependable permit, tarpon, and kingfish fishery, with permit usually sight-fished and kings worked on plugs and flies — species that should still be in the mix as the fall pattern builds in. No local buoy or gauge readings are available this week, so confirm water temps and sea state before running offshore for grouper.
South Florida's Second Mahi Season Arrives in the Keys
South Florida's second mahi season is arriving on schedule, with Saltwater Sportsman pegging the offshore push as building through mid-September and running into fall — the headline opportunity for Keys anglers running the edge right now. Bottom fishing has company too: Sport Fishing Mag notes Gulf-side gag grouper are in their short, structure-hugging September trolling window, a pattern ALL IN Key West's own Gulf trips (groupers, cobia, kingfish) back up. Reef fishing for yellowtail and mutton snapper has been a mainstay all season per ALL IN Key West's reports, and typically stays productive into fall around the reef line — worth working a chum slick if the mahi bite is slow. Sailfish are the wildcard: ALL IN Key West flagged an unusually early start to the run back in March, so it's worth watching whether the winter sailfish season builds early again. On the regulatory side, CCA Florida is tracking a fresh court injunction against the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper pilot programs — relevant if you fish reds on the Atlantic side. Check current regs before harvesting anything.
Fall kingfish push builds as Panhandle anglers rig for bottom fishing
On the Pensacola Fishing Forum this week, local anglers traded notes on snapper-rigging knots and gear for upcoming bottom-fishing trips, a sign the fall bottom bite is already on Panhandle minds even though no live buoy or gauge readings came through for this update. Statewide, Coastal Angler Magazine flagged that the fall kingfish migration is building along Florida's coastline, a run that Destin and Pensacola trollers typically ride through late September and October. With the new moon overhead, expect stronger tidal swings to push bait through the passes and help jump-start the inshore bite for redfish and speckled trout on the grass flats. Bottom-fishing regulars should confirm the current Gulf red snapper season status before targeting reef fish, since recreational windows shift year to year. No direct on-the-water Panhandle bite reports came through this cycle, so treat the species outlook below as seasonal expectation rather than confirmed catches.
Sarasota trout and reds fire up as tarpon push offshore
Sarasota Bay anglers pulled a 27-inch spotted seatrout this past week, per Capt. Brandon Naeve at CB's Saltwater Outfitters, who notes the bay remains one of Florida's best spots for speckled trout when you fish the sunrise and sunset feeding windows. Redfish are cooperating too — Capt. Chuck Cress reported reds on a rising morning tide near Siesta Key, taken on popping corks with live shrimp. Meanwhile Capt. Rick Grassett's September outlook calls for the coastal gulf's migratory tarpon to thin out this month as fish slide into the ICW to rest around bridges and deep grass flats, while snook fishing should hold up well in the surf and around passes as the heat starts to break. With gag grouper season open on Florida's Gulf coast, per Sport Fishing Mag, nearshore structure is also worth a look this month.
Snook bite heats up on the Treasure Coast as the mullet run builds
Snook fishing has been running hot around the St. Lucie Inlet, with anglers putting up steady numbers of quality fish — many in the 40-inch-plus range — on live croakers and threadfins, per Snook Nook (FL)'s recent Stuart reports. That bite now has a legal green light: snook season reopened September 1 after the summer closure. Snook Nook also notes early pods of mullet showing up inshore and along the beaches, with the bulk of the run still building toward the coming weeks. Offshore, Saltwater Sportsman flags South Florida's second mahi season kicking in around mid-September. Sailfish action has been solid too — a Snook Nook-led team placed first in the small-boat division of a recent sailfish tournament, and Coastal Angler Magazine logged a 40-pound sailfish off West Palm Beach, with a bull redfish also reported at Sebastian Inlet. Kingfish are still a few weeks out from their fall push.
Early fall transition sets up Okeechobee bass and panfish
No buoy or gauge readings came back for Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River today, so this report leans on seasonal pattern and general technique intel rather than a live thermal number. Early September in Florida freshwater typically still runs warm, pushing largemouth bass toward matted vegetation, dock shade lines, and the edges of expanding grass as the state eases into its early-fall transition. Wired 2 Fish's current panfish notes describe bluegill and other panfish sliding off the shallow spring cover once the sun climbs and water stays hot, suspending deeper or tucking into thicker vegetation — a pattern that typically lines up with what bream anglers see on Okeechobee and St. Johns backwaters this time of year. Tactical Bassin's early-fall dock-fishing notes describe bass replenishing around docks as nearby grass shifts, a technique worth testing along Okeechobee's grass-lined dock rows. Speckled perch stays a slower, pre-season target until water cools further.
Permit and Kingfish Keep Naples Anglers Busy on the Gulf
Permit are eating well off Naples right now, with captains sight-casting to fish stacked over grass flats and pairing morning trips with steady kingfish action on plugs and flies, per Naples Offshore Fishing Charters. Their recent reports also note cobia and amberjack mixed into the same structure, a typical late-season bonus pattern for this stretch of the Gulf Coast. No live buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temp and flow as unconfirmed and check a local source before running offshore. On the regulatory side, CCA Florida continues tracking Gulf red snapper allocation fights tied to a new stock assessment — worth watching if snapper are part of your trip, and always confirm current season dates before harvesting. Salt Strong's weekly Gulf Coast game-plan advisories are another good check-in this time of year for spot-specific local trends beyond what's covered here.
Yellowtail and mutton snapper feeding heavy across the Keys
Snapper action anchors the Keys report this week. ALL IN Key West describes yellowtail snapper "practically jumping in the boat" alongside strong mutton snapper numbers, with grouper, cobia, and kingfish rounding out recent trips. Bud n' Mary's early-summer report echoes the same pattern, noting warm water, abundant bait, and strong variety from the flats to the Gulf Stream, with tarpon around the bridges and mahi offshore. Sailfish have also shown well on strong Gulfstream current pushes per ALL IN Key West's live-bait trips, alongside king mackerel and tuna. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this cycle, so treat water temperature and current strength as typical early-September Keys conditions until a direct reading is available. Snapper remains the most consistently reported bite; bottom and reef structure are the places to start.
Treasure Coast Snook Bite Heats Up as Mullet Run Approaches
Snook Nook in Stuart says snook fishing has been excellent over the past few weeks, with steady numbers of fish and many in the 40-inch-plus range coming from the St. Lucie Inlet and along the beach on live croakers and threadfins. That's the carryover from their August report, and it lines up with the Atlantic Coast's June 1–September 1 snook closure just having lifted. Their September update flags an early mullet-run signal too — larger mullet have started stacking up inshore with a few pods working down the beaches, though the shop notes the run is trending later than usual after a cooler winter. Offshore, Saltwater Sportsman flags South Florida's second mahi season materializing around mid-September. Atlantic red snapper anglers need to check current status before planning a trip: CCA Florida reports a federal court granted a preliminary injunction against the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper Exempted Fishing Permit pilot programs just hours before Florida's season opened. No buoy or gauge readings were available for this update.
Okeechobee and St. Johns bass ease into the fall transition
The only hard number in from the region this morning is a USGS reading: gauge 02232000 logged flow at 960 cfs, an unremarkable early-September stage with no sign of the runoff spikes that scatter bass off structure. No shop, charter, or state-agency reports came through specifically on Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River today, so this update leans on typical seasonal patterns rather than fresh dock talk. Largemouth bass sit in the early window of the summer-to-fall shift, gradually pushing toward baitfish as nights start to cool, though the change is slow-moving this early in September. Panfish are the trickier read — per Wired 2 Fish, bluegill and crappie in warm, weedy water tend to slide off shallow cover and suspend deeper once heat and vegetation peak, which argues for smaller baits and a patient, deeper presentation over a bank-beating approach right now. Channel catfish typically stay steady through this stretch regardless of the bass pattern.