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Islamorada Fishing Rundown: Sailfish, Snapper, and Redfish - Anglers' Guide to the Florida Keys
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in from Islamorada with your morning fishing rundown.
We’re sitting on a mild winter pattern: light northeast breeze, mid‑70s air, and water temps around 78–79 degrees off Whale Harbor, as reported by US Harbors. That keeps both the reef and backcountry lively. Skies are mostly clear with a slight chance of a shower sliding through later, but seas are moderate and very fishable along the reef edge.
According to NOAA tide predictions for the Islamorada area, we’ve got a pre‑lunch low and a mid‑afternoon push. That late‑morning slack can be tough in the backcountry, but the afternoon incoming will fire up the edges of flats and channel mouths. Sunrise is just after 7:00 a.m. and sunset just before 6:00 p.m., so you’ve got classic Keys winter light: long, low sun, perfect for sight‑fishing.
Offshore, sailfish are the headline. Coastal Angler Magazine just covered the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament with 90 sails released and team Killbox topping the board, so the body of fish is here and happy. Live ballyhoo or goggle‑eyes under kites off the edge from Alligator Reef Light down to Tennessee Reef are your best bet. Mix in a few naked ballyhoo on the riggers and you’ll pick at dolphin and the odd wahoo riding the color change.
On the reef, yellowtail and mutton snapper have been steady. Anchor in 50–70 feet on the outside edge, chum hard, and fish 1/16–1/8 oz jigheads tipped with small pieces of ballyhoo or shrimp on light fluoro. For muttons, slide a live pinfish or ballyhoo chunk back on a longer leader. Grouper are still worth a drop on the deeper rubble and wrecks with big live pinfish or grunts and 60–80 lb leader.
In Florida Bay and the backcountry, redfish, snook, and speckled trout are schooling on the warmer mud flats and channel edges. With the clear winter water, think small and subtle: 3‑ to 4‑inch soft plastics in new penny or glow on 1/8 oz jigheads, gold spoons, and DOA shrimp. Live shrimp under a popping cork will keep the rod bent with trout and mangrove snapper along the banks and island points.
Recent inshore catches reported by local guides have included solid mixed bags: double‑digit redfish days on the flats west of Flamingo, plenty of keeper trout in the basins, and nice snook on the mangrove edges when the sun gets up and warms the water a degree or two. Around the bridges, night anglers are picking off tarpon and snook on live shrimp and small mullet, though the bigger migratory tarpon haven’t piled in yet.
Hot spots to circle on your chart today:
- **Alligator Reef Light**: sailfish, dolphin, and mixed reef fish along the drop when that afternoon tide starts pushing.
- **Channel Two and Channel Five bridges**: muttons on the bottom, plus snapper and the odd grouper on live shrimp or pilchards; work the up‑current pilings.
- **Lignumvitae Basin and the flats west toward Flamingo**: reds and trout on the incoming tide, especially around creek mouths and potholes.
Best lures:
- Offshore: rigged ballyhoo, chrome jet heads, and pink/blue skirted baits.
- Inshore: gold spoons, MirrOdines, small paddle‑tail plastics, and DOA shrimp.
Best bait:
- Live shrimp everywhere, pilchards and pinfish when you can get ’em, and ballyhoo for sails, dolphin, and reef fish.
That’s your Islamorada rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
We’re sitting on a mild winter pattern: light northeast breeze, mid‑70s air, and water temps around 78–79 degrees off Whale Harbor, as reported by US Harbors. That keeps both the reef and backcountry lively. Skies are mostly clear with a slight chance of a shower sliding through later, but seas are moderate and very fishable along the reef edge.
According to NOAA tide predictions for the Islamorada area, we’ve got a pre‑lunch low and a mid‑afternoon push. That late‑morning slack can be tough in the backcountry, but the afternoon incoming will fire up the edges of flats and channel mouths. Sunrise is just after 7:00 a.m. and sunset just before 6:00 p.m., so you’ve got classic Keys winter light: long, low sun, perfect for sight‑fishing.
Offshore, sailfish are the headline. Coastal Angler Magazine just covered the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament with 90 sails released and team Killbox topping the board, so the body of fish is here and happy. Live ballyhoo or goggle‑eyes under kites off the edge from Alligator Reef Light down to Tennessee Reef are your best bet. Mix in a few naked ballyhoo on the riggers and you’ll pick at dolphin and the odd wahoo riding the color change.
On the reef, yellowtail and mutton snapper have been steady. Anchor in 50–70 feet on the outside edge, chum hard, and fish 1/16–1/8 oz jigheads tipped with small pieces of ballyhoo or shrimp on light fluoro. For muttons, slide a live pinfish or ballyhoo chunk back on a longer leader. Grouper are still worth a drop on the deeper rubble and wrecks with big live pinfish or grunts and 60–80 lb leader.
In Florida Bay and the backcountry, redfish, snook, and speckled trout are schooling on the warmer mud flats and channel edges. With the clear winter water, think small and subtle: 3‑ to 4‑inch soft plastics in new penny or glow on 1/8 oz jigheads, gold spoons, and DOA shrimp. Live shrimp under a popping cork will keep the rod bent with trout and mangrove snapper along the banks and island points.
Recent inshore catches reported by local guides have included solid mixed bags: double‑digit redfish days on the flats west of Flamingo, plenty of keeper trout in the basins, and nice snook on the mangrove edges when the sun gets up and warms the water a degree or two. Around the bridges, night anglers are picking off tarpon and snook on live shrimp and small mullet, though the bigger migratory tarpon haven’t piled in yet.
Hot spots to circle on your chart today:
- **Alligator Reef Light**: sailfish, dolphin, and mixed reef fish along the drop when that afternoon tide starts pushing.
- **Channel Two and Channel Five bridges**: muttons on the bottom, plus snapper and the odd grouper on live shrimp or pilchards; work the up‑current pilings.
- **Lignumvitae Basin and the flats west toward Flamingo**: reds and trout on the incoming tide, especially around creek mouths and potholes.
Best lures:
- Offshore: rigged ballyhoo, chrome jet heads, and pink/blue skirted baits.
- Inshore: gold spoons, MirrOdines, small paddle‑tail plastics, and DOA shrimp.
Best bait:
- Live shrimp everywhere, pilchards and pinfish when you can get ’em, and ballyhoo for sails, dolphin, and reef fish.
That’s your Islamorada rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.