Florida fishing reports
793 reports for Florida — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Full moon signals the fall turn on Okeechobee and the St. Johns
Late September's full moon arrives as Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River ease out of the summer heat pattern and into Florida's early fall transition, the stretch when the state's two marquee freshwater fisheries typically turn more consistent as days shorten and water begins its slow seasonal cool. The full moon phase typically pushes feeding activity toward dawn, dusk, and overnight windows on both systems, worth building a trip around this week.
Snook Season Heats Up Around Sarasota Bay
Water temperatures across the CO-OPS network are holding in the low-to-mid 80s heading into the weekend, with 84.6°F recorded at station 8726520 and 82.6°F at station 8726724 as of Saturday evening. That warmth is keeping the fall snook bite rolling now that Gulf Coast season reopened September 1. Capt. Brandon Naeve at CB's Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota reports snook are "jumping" this time of year, with the overall warm water keeping them most active. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, fishing out of the same shop on Siesta Key, found an active inshore bite in Sarasota Bay for snook and redfish this past week. Florida Sea Grant, meanwhile, flagged a rare rust tide alga detected in nearby Charlotte Harbor, an uncommon bloom worth watching as it develops.
Full moon tides set up an afternoon push for Panhandle bottom fishing
Panhandle Gulf waters are still running warm for late September, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reporting 84.7°F at station 8729840, 84.2°F at station 8729108, and 82.6°F at station 8728690 this morning. That's summer-pattern water this deep into the calendar, and it's keeping the action offshore rather than triggering an early fall push inshore. On the Pensacola Fishing Forum, a local captain running a 26-foot catamaran out of Pensacola posted this week looking for crew for fall bottom fishing and deep-dropping trips, working only when seas stay under a foot, a sign the reef bite remains the region's main event. Tonight's full moon adds extra tidal push to the mix: station 8728690 is calling for a high around 3:40 p.m. CDT while station 8729108 predicts a low near 4:29 p.m., bracketing an active afternoon tide swing worth building a trip around.
Sarasota snook bite heats up as fall season reopens
Snook season reopened September 1, and per CB's Saltwater Outfitters (Sarasota), the fall bite is living up to it. Capt. Brandon Naeve calls this stretch of the Gulf Coast, from Sarasota south to Fort Myers, some of the best snook water around right now, with warm water keeping fish active. Capt. Kelly Kurtz, fishing out of CB's on Siesta Key, reports an active inshore bite in Sarasota Bay for snook and redfish this week, including a nice red landed and released on a recent trip. NOAA CO-OPS readings in the bay are running 81.5 to 83.3°F, consistent with the warm water driving that activity. Tarpon are telling a different story: Capt. Rick Grassett's September outlook has the adult migratory fish thinning out of the coastal Gulf as they slide into inside waters and deep grass flats to rest before their fall move.
Warm Gulf water lingers as Panhandle awaits the fall turn
NOAA CO-OPS instruments are reading solidly summer-warm water across the Panhandle: 85.3°F at Pensacola (station 8729840), 82°F at Panama City (8729108), and 83.5°F at Apalachicola (8728690), all recorded before dawn today. That's typical for a Gulf Coast still riding out the tail end of summer, not the cooler wedge that usually kicks the fall bite into gear. Tonight's full moon means bigger swings on every tide this weekend, worth building a trip around rather than fighting. Sport Fishing Mag's fall roundup notes the broader Gulf pattern: as water starts to slide, fish begin shifting off summer structure toward transitional water, though the Panhandle's readings this week show that shift hasn't arrived yet. For now, conditions favor patience over a hard pivot to fall tactics.
Panhandle Gulf holds summer warmth under this week's full moon
Water temperatures across the Panhandle's stretch from Destin to Pensacola are still running summer-warm heading into the last week of September, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading between 82°F and 85.6°F. That's a modest gradient across the coast but nothing close to the fall drop yet. Tonight's low tide at the Pensacola-area station is due around 6:43 p.m. local, falling under a full moon, which means bigger-than-normal tidal swings and stronger current through the passes and bayous over the next several nights. With water still this warm, the Gulf side hasn't tipped into its cooler-water fall pattern, and the moon phase is doing more to move current right now than the calendar is.
Full moon tides and rare rust tide bloom mark Gulf Coast week
Florida Sea Grant researchers this week flagged a rare 'rust tide' bloom of the alga Margalefidinium polykrikoides in Charlotte Harbor, a species seldom seen in Southwest Florida waters and distinct from red tide. Our two Gulf Coast CO-OPS stations read 84°F and 81°F this morning, still firmly in the warm range that carries Gulf gamefish through the fall transition. Tonight's full moon is pushing bigger tidal swings, with the southern station's next low around 9:42 AM and high near 3:54 PM, and the northern gauge running roughly two hours ahead of that cycle. Regulatory news dominates the wider conversation this week: CCA Florida is tracking a new red snapper stock assessment and warning that NOAA Fisheries has dropped durable-goods spending, boats, trailers, tackle, from its state-level economic estimates just as Gulf Council allocation decisions loom. On the Panhandle, a post on Pensacola Fishing Forum shows anglers organizing fall crews for red snapper and deep-dropping trips, a sign the offshore push is underway this fall.
Full moon tides align with mullet run buildup on FL's Atlantic coast
Atlantic-coast water temps are running warm for late September, ranging from 81.3°F to 85.6°F across our two NOAA CO-OPS tide stations, with tonight's full moon pushing bigger-than-average tidal swings. Both stations bottom out in the pre-dawn hours, around 1:23 AM and 1:49 AM EDT, then build toward highs at 7:34 AM and 8:12 AM EDT. Snook Nook in Stuart reports the season's mullet run is underway, with schools of larger mullet showing inshore and moving down the beaches, though the shop notes this year's run is trending later than usual after a cooler winter, with finger mullet still light.
Fall Transition Puts Snook, Redfish on the Move in the Panhandle
Water temperatures across the Panhandle's CO-OPS stations held in the mid-to-upper 80s early today, with station 8729108 at 85.6°F and station 8729840 reading 87.3°F. That's typical late-September Gulf water, still warm enough to keep the summer pattern going while shorter days start nudging things toward the fall transition. Per Sport Fishing Mag, Gulf snook are beginning to feel that shift, moving from summer haunts toward the areas they'll hold through winter, a pattern worth watching along Panhandle passes and bay mouths in the coming weeks. Salt Strong's fall lure rundown flags redfish and snook as the inshore targets worth upsizing baits for as the season turns. Bottom-fishing chatter out of the Pensacola Fishing Forum described a trip out of the Fort Morgan launch on Mobile Bay this week, gusty out of the southwest early and calming by mid-morning, though that's a single angler's account not yet corroborated by a shop or charter report.
Warm Keys waters keep late-summer action rolling into fall
Water held at 86°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 8724580, keeping the Florida Keys' late-summer pattern in place as the region eases toward fall. ALL IN Key West called the recent stretch some of the best fishing in 16 years running the boat, with steady multi-species action out of Key West. Bud n' Mary's in Islamorada notes this window typically brings warm water, calm seas and heavy bait presence that keeps the bite consistent from the flats to the reef.
Early fall transition settles over Okeechobee and the St. Johns
Late September marks Florida's early fall transition on Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River, as shortening days and easing summer heat begin pulling fish away from deep summer refuges and back toward shoreline grass and vegetation edges. This shift plays out gradually through the peninsula's interior lakes and river systems, setting up the pattern anglers watch for heading into October.
Snook bite builds as mullet run stacks up on Florida's Treasure Coast
Atlantic-side water is running warm for late September: NOAA CO-OPS station 8722670 reads 85.8°F and station 8720218 reads 83.3°F, both consistent with the extended late-summer warmth holding along Florida's east coast. Snook Nook in Stuart reports the mullet run is building, with schools of larger mullet showing inshore and along the beaches, though the shop notes the migration is running later than usual after a cooler winter. The snook bite itself has stayed strong on live croakers and threadfins fished around the St. Lucie Inlet and jetty structure, per Snook Nook's recent reports.