Florida fishing reports
574 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Treasure Coast snook bite stays hot as red snapper season hangs in limbo
Snook fishing on the Treasure Coast is running hot heading into late August, per Snook Nook's Stuart, FL report — anglers are putting up steady numbers of quality snook, many in the 40-inch-plus range, working the St. Lucie Inlet and adjacent beaches with live croakers and threadfins; a dead threadfin worked on bottom picks up fish when the inlet bite slows. Team Snook Nook also brought home first place in the small boat division of the One More Bite Sailfish Challenge, a sign sails are showing offshore. Red snapper anglers face more uncertainty: 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 Atlantic season was set to open. Saltwater Sportsman notes Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are now pushing NOAA for a fall Oct. 1-31 season, with public comment open through Aug. 25.
Summer heat sets the bite window for Okeechobee and St. Johns bass
USGS gauge 02232000 logged a flow of 406 cfs at 7:30 a.m. today, a steady late-summer reading with no water-temperature data reporting from the station this cycle. No Florida-specific angler dispatches came through our Okeechobee or St. Johns feeds this pull, so today's read leans on typical August patterns for the region: largemouth bass sliding into a dawn-and-dusk bite as midday heat pushes them toward deeper grass edges and shade, bluegill and shellcracker staying catchable around matted vegetation through the heat, and channel catfish holding steady after dark on cut bait. Wired 2 Fish's recent piece on summer heat forcing anglers to shift tactics tracks with what we'd expect here — early starts and late finishes beat the midday sun. Black crappie tend to go quiet in August's warm surface layer and won't turn back on in earnest until water starts cooling. Check current Florida regulations before harvesting.
Snapper bite holds strong in the Keys as red snapper season stays in limbo
Yellowtail and mutton snapper have carried the season in the Lower Keys, with ALL IN Key West reporting "huge yellowtails" and mutton snapper "chewing like crazy" on recent trips, plus groupers, cobia and kingfish rounding out the box. The same captain has found mahi mixed in on Gulf-side drifts and describes live-bait fishing as "red hot" for kingfish, tuna and sailfish. Bud n' Mary's early-summer report noted tarpon still working the bridges and mahi showing along the reef edge, a pattern that typically carries into August. The bigger story for Florida anglers this season is regulatory: South Atlantic red snapper remains tangled in litigation after a federal court blocked this year's exempted-fishing-permit pilot, and both CCA Florida and Saltwater Sportsman note a push for a fallback October season, with public comment open through August 25. No live buoy or gauge readings came through for this cycle, so lean on the on-the-water reports below and check local conditions before running offshore.
Seatrout Bite Heats Up in Sarasota Bay as Tarpon Push Inside
Capt. Brandon Naeve out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters (Sarasota) landed and released a 27-inch spotted seatrout this week, and per that report Sarasota Bay's speckled trout are aggressively biting right now, with inshore grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and local passes producing the peak summer bite. Redfish are cooperating too: Capt. Chuck Cress, also with CB's, worked a rising morning tide with a popping cork and live shrimp to hook multiple reds, picking up several small snook along the way. Looking toward late August, Capt. Rick Grassett's monthly forecast (CB's) notes tarpon are thinning out along the beaches and sliding into inside waters, showing up around bridges and on deep grass flats while feeding in schools of ladyfish. Salt Strong notes that as water temps push into the 90s, redfish shift to deeper, moving water, a pattern worth watching through the back half of summer.
Gulf gag grouper season looms as Naples permit bite holds
Sport Fishing Mag is flagging the short Gulf gag grouper season opening in September, recommending trolling structure and rock piles in relatively shallow water to prospect fish before the window closes. That's the freshest bite intel for FL's Gulf Coast this week — our on-the-water sources didn't file an August-specific update, so we're leaning on the most recent Naples Offshore Fishing Charters reports for the broader pattern: permit have been holding up well to sight-fishing, with tarpon still moving through on the tail end of their spring migration, and kingfish, cobia, and amberjack rounding out mixed catches around structure. Typical for late summer on this coast, expect tarpon and kingfish action to keep cooling as water stays warm and gag grouper becomes the headline target. No live buoy or gauge readings were available for this report, so check local marine forecasts before heading out.
Panhandle Anglers Eye September Grouper Opener as Heat Holds
Sport Fishing Mag's recent trolling piece on Gulf gag grouper points to what's coming for Panhandle boats working nearshore structure — the short September season on Florida's Gulf side opens soon, and captains who prospect rock piles now with a couple of trolled lines are setting up early. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Destin/Pensacola waters this cycle, so treat sea state as a call-your-local-forecast situation. Inshore, Salt Strong's heat-pattern breakdown is the more actionable read for this stretch of mid-August: redfish pushed into deeper, moving water as flats temps climb into the 90s, working blue crab rigs and slower-moving artificials rather than the skinny-water topwater bite of spring. Offshore, yellowfin tuna remain a Gulf staple this time of year per Sport Fishing Mag's gamefish roundup, though no Panhandle-specific reports came through this week. Gulf red snapper's private-angler season typically wraps well before late August — check current state and federal regs before planning a snapper trip.
Snook Bite Stays Strong on Treasure Coast Ahead of Sept. Reopener
Snook fishing has been excellent over the past few weeks around the St. Lucie Inlet, with anglers landing steady numbers of quality fish, including many in the 40-inch-plus range, according to Snook Nook's August report. Live croakers and threadfins fished around the inlet and along the beach have been the top producers; when the inlet bite slows, a dead threadfin worked on bottom is drawing bites too, though Snook Nook notes some bycatch mixed in. Florida's Atlantic Coast snook season is typically closed through August and reopens September 1, so current action is catch-and-release only, per Snook Nook. Offshore, Snook Nook Charters took first place in the small-boat division of the One More Bite Sailfish Challenge, going 7-for-9 on sailfish bites, a good sign for bluewater action. Red snapper remains in regulatory limbo after a federal court blocked the South Atlantic EFP pilot program, per CCA Florida, with a proposed fall season still pending public comment.
Summer heat pushes Okeechobee bass to dawn patterns
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Lake Okeechobee or the St. Johns River this cycle, and this week's angler-intel feeds skewed toward saltwater and out-of-state fisheries rather than Central Florida bass water. With nothing region-specific to report, we're leaning on typical mid-August patterns for these two fisheries: largemouth bass sliding onto matted vegetation and grass-line edges for a short window at dawn and dusk before the heat pushes them into deeper, shaded water; bluegill and shellcracker staying active around shallow bedding pockets; and black crappie going quiet as water temps sit well above their comfort range this time of year. Catfish remain a dependable after-dark option through the hottest stretch of summer. Expect typical late-summer heat, humidity, and frequent afternoon thunderstorms, with stained-to-off-color water common on both systems from seasonal rainfall. Treat this as a seasonal baseline rather than a live report until fresh buoy, gauge, or shop intel comes back online for this region.
Yellowtail and mutton snapper keep the Keys bite alive
Yellowtail and mutton snapper are still the story on the reef, with ALL IN Key West describing "huge yellow tails" and "tons and tons of mutton snappers" feeding aggressively on recent trips, a stretch the captain called some of the best fishing he's seen in 16 years working out of Key West. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada Fishing Marina's early-summer report backs the pattern, noting tarpon still working the bridges and mahi mahi turning up on offshore runs to the Gulf Stream edge. ALL IN Key West also flagged cobia, king mackerel, and sailfish mixed into a hot live-bait bite closer to the reef. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat timing as a seasonal read rather than a today-exact forecast. The moon sits in a waxing crescent, past the full-moon mutton aggregations these reports describe, so expect a steadier, less concentrated bite than that peak spawn window.
Sarasota Bay trout bite peaks as tarpon linger inshore
Spotted seatrout are stealing the show in Sarasota Bay right now, with Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters (Sarasota) reporting a 27-inch speck landed this past week and describing the peak summer trout bite as fully underway across inshore grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and local passes. Redfish are cooperating too — Capt. Chuck Cress, also with CB's, put a client on several reds on a rising morning tide using a popping cork and live shrimp, with a few small snook mixed in and released. Per Capt. Rick Grassett's August forecast, juvenile tarpon are still working the coastal Gulf early in the month on flies, DOA Baitbusters, and DOA Shrimp before shifting to bridges and deep grass flats as they thin out along area beaches. We're seeing a classic late-summer Tampa Bay/Sarasota pattern: trout and reds shallow at first and last light, tarpon transitioning to inside water as the month wears on.
Permit and gag grouper keep Naples anglers busy as snook reopener nears
Naples Offshore Fishing Charters has been sight-fishing large permit through the summer stretch and still working the tail end of a tarpon push moving through Southwest Florida's passes. Further up the coast, Sport Fishing Mag notes trollers working nearshore rock piles for gag grouper during the fishery's short late-summer window, with mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, kingfish, cobia, and amberjack showing up as bonus catches on the same trips. Inshore, snook stay catch-and-release only until the Gulf coast's typical September 1 reopener, which Coastal Angler Magazine flags as coming up fast and worth building a trip around. CCA Florida has also raised concerns about a proposed cruise port near Tampa Bay's seagrass flats, a reminder that habitat quality underpins these fisheries. No fresh buoy or gauge data came through for this update, so check a local marine forecast and tide chart before heading out this week.
Panhandle anglers eye the Gulf gag grouper opener as pelagics hold
Sport Fishing Mag's look at Gulf gag grouper trolling sets the tone for late-August Panhandle prep: Florida's west coast gag season runs short and close to shore, and boats are already working structure ahead of it. Coastal Angler Magazine's note that gag season is around the corner, out of Hernando Beach, echoes that buildup on the Gulf side, a good signal for Destin and Pensacola bottom anglers as September nears. Farther south, O-Sea-D Fishing out of Pompano Beach reports kingfish still working live bait and trolled baits over structure, plus scattered wahoo behind planers, a pattern that typically holds across Florida's warm-water pelagics into fall even though that report comes from the Atlantic side. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for the Destin/Pensacola stretch today, so treat water temps and swell as unconfirmed and check a local source before running offshore. Inshore, redfish and Spanish mackerel remain the steady late-summer bet around passes and grass flats.