Florida fishing reports
799 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Yellowtail and mutton snapper keep the Keys bite rolling
Yellowtail snapper are 'practically jumping in the boat' and mutton snapper have been chewing non-stop on recent trips, per ALL IN Key West, whose captain called this stretch of snapper action among the best he's seen in 16 years fishing out of Key West. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada marina reported tarpon working the bridges and mahi mahi offshore as early-summer standouts, with yellowtail stacked up on the reef. Florida Sea Grant notes permit spawning aggregations in the Keys can hold well over a thousand fish at a time, underscoring how active the flats scene remains. Offshore, ALL IN Key West also flagged solid grouper, cobia, and king mackerel on Gulf-side runs, plus an early sailfish push. No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this cycle, so treat sea state and water temp as unconfirmed until you check a current local forecast.
Sarasota Bay trout stay hot as Gulf tarpon start sliding inside
Sarasota Bay's summer trout bite continues at full strength, with Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters landing a 27-inch spotted seatrout this week and describing the bay as "aggressively biting" on inshore grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and passes — target the sunrise and sunset feeding windows for the best results. Redfish are cooperating too: Capt. Chuck Cress reported reds hooked immediately on a rising morning tide near Siesta Key using a popping cork with live shrimp, alongside incidental snook. Capt. Rick Grassett's August outlook still has a few juvenile tarpon working the coastal Gulf on DOA Shrimp and Baitbusters, though as beach schools thin later in the month expect them to slide onto deep grass flats and bridges. Offshore, Sport Fishing Mag notes west-coast anglers trolling structure for gag grouper in relatively shallow water ahead of the short fall season. No live buoy or gauge readings were available this cycle, so check local conditions before you head out.
Permit and kingfish keep Gulf Coast anglers busy into late summer
Naples Offshore Fishing Charters' most recent dispatch described consistent sight-fishing on large permit paired with a steady tarpon push, plus reliable kingfish action on plugs and flies mixed with cobia and amberjack over structure. No fresh buoy or gauge reading came through this cycle, so treat water temperature as typical Gulf Coast Florida late-August norms rather than a verified number — that's peak-heat season here. On that front, Salt Strong (articles) notes that as water temps push into the 90s, redfish stop burning energy chasing fast-moving prey and instead push into deeper, moving water, where a slow-fished blue crab rig outproduces reaction lures. Put together, the picture for FL Gulf Coast right now is a structure-and-timing game: work passes, channels, and deeper water through the heat of the day, and lean on dawn/dusk windows when fish are more willing to chase. Check state regs before harvesting any species targeted below.
Big Snook Bite Holds Strong on Florida's Atlantic Coast
Snook fishing remains excellent on Florida's Treasure Coast, per Snook Nook's August 2026 report: anglers working the St. Lucie Inlet and adjacent beaches are landing quality fish, including many in the 40-inch-plus range, on live croakers and threadfins, with dead threadfin on bottom picking up the slack when the bite slows. Offshore, Team Snook Nook's first-place finish in the One More Bite Sailfish Challenge (7 of 9 bites) points to solid sailfish action for small-boat crews willing to run out. The bigger story for Atlantic Coast anglers this week is red snapper: CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction has blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper pilot programs just as the season was set to open, and Saltwater Sportsman notes states are pushing a fallback October season, with the public-comment window closing today. Inshore, expect the snook bite to hold as water stays warm into early September.
Okeechobee and St. Johns bass lean into the late-summer low-light bite
No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came in for Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River this cycle, and this week's angler-intel sweep turned up nothing specific to either Florida fishery — the feeds leaned heavily toward Northeast striper news, Midwest bass blogs, and Sea Grant program updates rather than Central Florida reports. Absent direct local testimony, this update leans on typical late-August patterns for these waters: largemouth bass generally push shallow at first light and pull back to deeper grass edges and shade once the sun climbs, bluegill and shellcracker stay active around shoreline cover through the warm months, and channel and bullhead catfish bite best after dark as water temps hold in the upper 80s. Afternoon thunderstorms are the norm for this time of year across the Florida peninsula, so plan around morning and evening windows. Check with a local bait-and-tackle shop or current state freshwater regulations before heading out, since specific bite reports were not available this week.
Bridge tarpon and reef yellowtail keep the Keys bite alive
Bud n' Mary's marina in Islamorada called June and early July "one of the most productive periods" the Florida Keys fishery offers, with tarpon stacking up on the bridges, mahi showing in the Gulf Stream offshore, and yellowtail snapper cooperating over the reef in warm water, calm seas, and heavy bait. That's the most recent on-the-water testimony in this feed, so treat it as a baseline pattern rather than a live snapshot for late August. Florida Sea Grant research adds seasonal context, noting permit (Trachinotus falcatus) form spawning aggregations of over a thousand fish in the Keys during summer, underscoring how much biomass is moving through the flats and channels right now. Separately, CCA Florida and Saltwater Sportsman are tracking a contentious South Atlantic red snapper season, with a court injunction blocking 2026 pilot programs and anglers pushing for an October makeup window. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through this cycle, so confirm water temp and sea state locally before running offshore.
Sarasota Bay trout bite stays hot as tarpon push inshore
A 27-inch spotted seatrout landed and released on Sarasota Bay headlines this week's action, with Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters calling the summer speckled trout bite aggressive across the bay's inshore grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and passes. Redfish are cooperating too — Capt. Chuck Cress reported hooking multiple reds on a rising morning tide using live shrimp under a popping cork, with a few undersized snook mixed in on the same drift. Capt. Rick Grassett's August outlook notes tarpon still holding in the coastal Gulf early in the month before thinning out and sliding into inside waters around bridges and deep grass flats, with juvenile tarpon showing up as well. Per Salt Strong, peak-summer heat is pushing redfish toward deeper, moving water rather than shutting the bite down — worth knowing as afternoon temps climb. Grass flats and passes remain the go-to on Tampa Bay's south end and greater Sarasota Bay right now.
Redfish dig into deep water as Gulf gag grouper season nears
Water temperatures pushing into the 90s have redfish sliding out of the skinny flats and into deeper, moving water this week, per Salt Strong's latest breakdown of summer redfish behavior — a blue crab fished on bottom in current is outperforming fast-moving artificials right now. Naples Offshore Fishing Charters' most recent seasonal reports describe permit as a mainstay of the Gulf Coast sight-fishing game further south, with tarpon pushing through heavily during the spring migration window; by late August that tarpon push has typically thinned considerably, though stragglers can still show. Looking ahead, Sport Fishing Mag flags Florida's Gulf Coast gag grouper season opening in September — a short, productive window for trolling structure in relatively shallow water close to shore. The overall pattern to plan around: slow, deep, moving-water presentations for redfish through the heat of the day, with grouper gear worth pulling out of storage ahead of next month's opener.
Gag grouper season nears as Panhandle heat shifts patterns
Gulf-coast gag grouper are heading into their brief early-fall spotlight, and Sport Fishing Mag's rundown on trolling Florida's west-coast rock piles and ledges gives Destin and Pensacola boats a preview of what the short September season should look like once it opens: short runs to structure in relatively shallow water. Closer to the beach, late-August heat is doing what it always does to inshore fish -- per Salt Strong, redfish pushed into 90-degree shallows are sliding into deeper, moving water instead of burning energy chasing fast-moving bait, a pattern that should hold across Gulf marshes and passes through the Panhandle. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temp and current as seasonal best-guesses until a local check confirms them. Spanish mackerel should still be working bait pods off the beaches, though the hottest midday hours typically slow the surface bite. Salt Strong's weekly regional game-plan roster includes a dedicated Florida Panhandle & Big Bend breakdown for anglers who want more specific, day-by-day intel.
Trophy snook load up St. Lucie Inlet as sailfish bite stays hot
Snook fishing around the St. Lucie Inlet has been running hot for weeks, with anglers landing steady numbers plus quality fish pushing 40 inches, according to Snook Nook's August report out of Stuart. The best action is coming from anglers working live croakers and threadfins along the inlet and the adjacent beach, with a dead threadfin on bottom as the go-to when the bite slows. Remember Florida's Atlantic snook season typically stays closed through summer and reopens September 1, so current snook action is catch-and-release only pending the reopener. Offshore, Snook Nook's own crew took first place in the small-boat division of the 2026 One More Bite Sailfish Challenge, going 7-for-9 on sailfish bites, a solid signal the sail bite is active off the Treasure Coast. Meanwhile South Atlantic red snapper remains in regulatory limbo after a court injunction blocked this year's exempted fishing permit pilot, per CCA Florida, so check current status before targeting them.
Late-summer bass bite leans on dawn and dusk windows at Okeechobee
No buoy or river-gauge readings came through for Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River this cycle, and none of today's angler-intel feeds carried a direct report from either fishery, so this update leans on typical late-August patterns rather than a specific catch report. Central Florida's big bass water is deep into summer heat, which historically pushes largemouth toward early-morning topwater bites and shaded, deeper structure once the sun climbs. Panfish like bluegill and shellcracker tend to stay more consistently active through late summer than crappie, which is normally a cooler-season target here and typically slows through August. Catfish are usually a reliable low-light option this time of year. A Field & Stream piece on forward-facing sonar baits is a reminder that FFS has become a mainstream way anglers are locating summer bass suspended off structure, a technique worth trying on Okeechobee if visibility allows. Check state regs before harvesting anything.
Yellowtail and Mutton Snapper Keep the Keys Bite Cooking
Snapper action anchors the Keys report this week. ALL IN Key West calls the yellowtail and mutton bite 'on fire,' with mutton snappers staging in a spawning push and yellowtails practically jumping in the boat on light tackle over the reef. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada backs that up, noting yellowtail thick on the reef, tarpon working the bridges, and mahi showing offshore in the Gulf Stream. Florida Sea Grant notes permit also stage in large spawning aggregations around the Keys through summer, so don't be surprised to find them mixed in near structure. Regulatory turbulence continues on the red snapper front: CCA Florida and Saltwater Sportsman both flag an ongoing legal fight over South Atlantic red snapper access, with a possible October recreational window still pending public comment. Check current state regs before targeting snapper species this season.