Florida fishing reports
790 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Okeechobee and St. Johns ease into Florida's fall transition
Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River are moving into Florida's early fall transition, the seasonal window when shortening days and the first real cool-downs start breaking summer's grip on both fisheries. Conditions in both systems should be trending toward more comfortable, oxygen-richer water as mornings cool, favoring steadier feeding windows than the dog days just behind us.
Snook and Tarpon Stay Locked on the Fall Mullet Run
NOAA CO-OPS readings this afternoon put water temperatures at 86°F at station 8722670 and just under 80°F at station 8720218, confirming the warm, stable water that's kept Florida's fall mullet run rolling along the Atlantic Coast. Snook Nook's October report out of Stuart says snook and tarpon are feeding hard on the migrating mullet schools, with the better action coming from anglers working the St. Lucie Inlet and running the beach with live croakers and threadfins. Salt Strong describes a similar pattern this week: a change in lure presentation on an otherwise quiet, bait-loaded spot turned into what they called a quick inshore slam that included redfish and snook. Snook Nook notes the recent full moon and higher king tides made the bite tougher toward the end of last month, but the shop expects things to keep picking back up as the mullet continue pushing south.
Panhandle eyes the fall mullet run as Gulf waters stay warm
Water temperatures across the Panhandle held in the upper 70s to low 80s this week, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8729108 reading 80.1°F and station 8728690 at 78.1°F, both recorded Thursday morning. Those readings put inshore water solidly in the warm-season range even as the calendar turns toward fall. Saltwater Sportsman's coverage of the fall mullet run notes the baitfish migration pushes south along Gulf of Mexico shorelines from September into November, a cue that typically reshapes how inshore species feed through the Panhandle this time of year. Salt Strong publishes a weekly regional breakdown that includes a dedicated Florida Panhandle & Big Bend game plan, a useful check-in for anglers planning around the current bait push.
Redfish Working Keys Flats as Fall Tide Rhythm Settles In
Water temperatures across the Florida Keys remain firmly in the mid-to-upper 80s this week, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8724580 reading 86.2°F and station 8723970 at 86.9°F as of this morning. Those numbers are still full summer-pattern for the flats and reef, and they're keeping the inshore bite tuned up heading into October. Salt Strong's latest inshore report notes that elevated water levels across the Southeast are pushing fish like redfish off their usual spots and into flooded shorelines, grass, and creek mouths, giving them far more real estate to work and making them tougher to pin down on a given tide. On the charter side, ALL IN Key West says the summer heat is finally starting to break, a shift that typically signals the start of the fall transition anglers wait on in the Keys.
Sarasota snook settle into docks and bridges as fall shift begins
Water temps are holding in the low 80s across the bay this week, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8726724 at Clearwater Beach reading 81.9°F and station 8726520 at St. Petersburg at 81.7°F. Capt. Rick Grassett of CB's Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota reports snook pulling off the beaches and passes and settling into the Intracoastal Waterway, staging around docks, bridges and shallow grass flats as they begin their move toward wintering areas. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, also fishing out of CB's on Siesta Key, says the inshore bite in Sarasota Bay has stayed active for snook and redfish, with one recent angler landing a redfish before release.
St. Johns River fishing shifts into early fall rhythm
St. Johns River gauges are running warm and steady this week. USGS gauge 02232400 logged 81°F water with flow at 2,330 cfs this morning, while a second station nearby (02232000) measured 2,270 cfs just before. That's a stable, late-summer-style flow holding into October, with no sharp rise or drop between the two readings. The waning crescent moon is thinning toward new moon, which typically means a lighter tidal and lunar pull on feeding windows over the next several days. Freshwater conditions across the Lake Okeechobee and St. Johns corridor remain firmly in warm-water territory for early October.
Panhandle holds onto summer warmth as fall tide push builds
Gulf water is still running warm off Destin and Pensacola, with NOAA CO-OPS readings this morning at 79.3°F in Pensacola, 78.4°F at the Pensacola Bay gauge, and 80.1°F at Panama City. Those numbers sit squarely in typical early-October Panhandle range, meaning the harder fall cool-down hasn't arrived yet. Salt Strong's weekly Insider game-plan roundup this week again carved out a dedicated Florida Panhandle & Big Bend edition, a sign the regional bite is active enough to warrant its own local breakdown even as broader Gulf Coast reporting this week skewed toward South Florida and offshore species outside this report's scope. Closer to shore, the seasonal shift toward cooler nights is the story to watch: as water temps ease off summer highs, redfish typically start working tighter to the shallows and marsh edges, a pattern anglers in this stretch of the Panhandle should start planning around even though current on-the-water confirmation from local sources is still limited to the broader regional outlook rather than specific bite details this week.
Warm Gulf Coast pockets persist as fall transition gets underway
Water conditions on Florida's Gulf Coast are a study in contrasts this morning. NOAA CO-OPS station 8725520 is reading 84.4°F, still deep in summer territory, while station 8727520 sits well cooler at 78.4°F, a reminder that this coastline covers a wide range of microclimates even within one state. Naples Offshore Fishing Charters' recent dispatches describe strong, varied mixed-bag activity continuing both nearshore and offshore, with warm water keeping things steady as the calendar turns toward fall. On the management side, CCA Florida flagged this week that NOAA Fisheries has dropped durable-goods spending, boats, trailers, electronics, tackle, from its state-level estimates of recreational fishing's economic footprint, just as a new federal stock assessment that could shape allocation decisions moves forward. That's a conversation Gulf Coast anglers fishing federal waters should keep an eye on through the offseason.
Snook and tarpon feast as fall mullet run floods FL's Atlantic beaches
The fall mullet run is in full swing along Florida's Atlantic Coast, with Snook Nook in Stuart reporting snook, tarpon, jacks and sharks working bait schools inshore this month. Water stays summer-warm: NOAA CO-OPS station 8722670 reads 85.8°F and station 8720218 reads 79.9°F, keeping the predator bite tied to bait movement rather than a seasonal cooldown. Snook Nook notes the recent full moon and higher king tides made the bite tougher for a stretch, but early-morning and evening sessions around the bait near the St. Lucie Inlet have stayed productive using live croakers, pilchards and threadfins. Saltwater Sportsman's look at the Atlantic Coast mullet run backs the timing, with millions of mullet pushing out of the rivers and estuaries from September into November and pulling gamefish tight to the beaches and inlets behind them.
Keys bite set to turn as summer heat finally breaks
Water is still running summer-warm across the Keys — 86.7°F at Key West and 88.2°F off Vaca Key per NOAA CO-OPS readings taken this morning — but ALL IN Key West says the heat is finally letting up after a scorching September, and the captain is back on the water after taking the month off for boat upgrades. That first crack in the summer pattern is the thing to watch this week more than any single bite report.
Snook settle into docks and bridges across Sarasota Bay
Water temps in Tampa Bay are holding at 82.6°F per NOAA CO-OPS stations 8726520 and 8726724, still warm enough to keep snook working out of the passes toward inshore structure. Capt. Rick Grassett's October forecast from CB's Saltwater Outfitters (Sarasota) has snook staging around docks and bridges in the ICW and on shallow flats as they begin shifting toward wintertime areas, with live shrimp near structure and pilchards on the flats producing. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, fishing out of the same shop on Siesta Key, reports an active inshore bite in Sarasota Bay for snook and redfish this past week. Capt. Brandon Naeve adds that the fall snook season, which opened September 1, is in full swing south toward Fort Myers.
Early fall transition settles over Okeechobee and the St. Johns
Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River are easing into the early stretch of Florida's fall transition, when shortening days and gradually receding summer heat typically start reshuffling how fish use the water column across Central Florida's freshwater fisheries. Check current state fishing regulations before harvesting, since seasonal rules and limits can shift this time of year.