Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Islamorada Winter Fishing Report: Backcountry and Reef Action
Published 4 months, 1 week ago
Description
Islamorada, this is Artificial Lure with your morning fishing report.
We’ve got a classic winter Keys setup today: light to moderate east wind and clear skies keeping things comfortable and the water nicely stirred. PredictWind’s Islander Bayside forecast is calling for an east breeze around 13 to 15 knots, with small wind chop and mostly fair weather, so it’s a good day to run both the oceanside reefs and the backcountry if your boat can handle a bit of spray.
Tides around Upper Matecumbe Key and Florida Bay are on the smaller side but plenty fishable. NOAA’s Islamorada tide station for December shows an early morning high followed by a late-morning to midday low, then a moderate evening push. That means the **morning falling tide** and the **late-afternoon incoming** should be your best windows for a stronger bite. According to Tideschart and similar tables for Islamorada, the major solunar feeding period lines up in the early afternoon, with a minor bump mid‑morning, which matches what locals have been seeing on the water.
Sunrise is right about 7:25 a.m. and sunset just before 6:50 p.m., based on the Islamorada tide and weather tables. That gives you a nice, long twilight at both ends of the day, and those first couple hours of sun plus the last hour of light have been producing the steadiest action.
Inshore and backcountry, guides poling around Florida Bay and the nearby basins are reporting good mixed-bag winter fishing: **speckled trout**, **mangrove snapper**, **jack crevalle**, ladyfish, and a few slot **redfish** tucked along muddy shorelines and island points. Live shrimp under a popping cork has been hard to beat for numbers. For artificials, a 1/8‑ounce jighead with a white or new penny paddletail is money on the flats; work it on the edges of potholes and channel mouths on the falling tide.
On the patch reefs and nearshore wrecks off Islamorada, recent reports have shown steady action on **yellowtail snapper**, **muttons**, and a few **gag and red grouper** mixed in where the depth and structure line up. Fresh ballyhoo strips, cut squid, and live pilchards are top natural baits. For those who like to throw hardware, small white bucktail jigs tipped with a sliver of bait, as well as 3‑ to 4‑inch pilchard‑style plugs, have been producing when there’s a bit of current and clean water.
Offshore, whenever boats have been able to push out beyond the reef, they’ve been finding scattered **sailfish**, some school‑size **blackfin tuna**, and occasional **dolphin** along color changes and current edges. Slow‑trolled live ballyhoo and cigar minnows are still the go‑to, but smaller feather jigs and hex‑head lures in blue‑and‑white or pink work well when the fish are up and chasing.
Best lures to keep tied on today:
- For the backcountry: 1/8‑ to 1/4‑ounce jigheads with white or chartreuse paddletails, gold spoons for reds, and small topwaters at first light along the edges of the flats.
- For the reef and offshore: 1‑ to 2‑ounce bucktail jigs in white or chartreuse, small diving plugs that mimic pilchards, and medium trolling feathers in blue‑white or purple‑black for tuna.
A couple of hot spots to circle on your chart:
- **Whale Harbor Channel and the nearby flats**: good moving water, plenty of bait, and shots at trout, jacks, and occasional tarpon or snook when the water warms.
- **The patches just off Alligator Reef**: steady yellowtail and mutton action, with a shot at grouper on live bait right on the structure.
That’s the word from Islamorada today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
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 o
We’ve got a classic winter Keys setup today: light to moderate east wind and clear skies keeping things comfortable and the water nicely stirred. PredictWind’s Islander Bayside forecast is calling for an east breeze around 13 to 15 knots, with small wind chop and mostly fair weather, so it’s a good day to run both the oceanside reefs and the backcountry if your boat can handle a bit of spray.
Tides around Upper Matecumbe Key and Florida Bay are on the smaller side but plenty fishable. NOAA’s Islamorada tide station for December shows an early morning high followed by a late-morning to midday low, then a moderate evening push. That means the **morning falling tide** and the **late-afternoon incoming** should be your best windows for a stronger bite. According to Tideschart and similar tables for Islamorada, the major solunar feeding period lines up in the early afternoon, with a minor bump mid‑morning, which matches what locals have been seeing on the water.
Sunrise is right about 7:25 a.m. and sunset just before 6:50 p.m., based on the Islamorada tide and weather tables. That gives you a nice, long twilight at both ends of the day, and those first couple hours of sun plus the last hour of light have been producing the steadiest action.
Inshore and backcountry, guides poling around Florida Bay and the nearby basins are reporting good mixed-bag winter fishing: **speckled trout**, **mangrove snapper**, **jack crevalle**, ladyfish, and a few slot **redfish** tucked along muddy shorelines and island points. Live shrimp under a popping cork has been hard to beat for numbers. For artificials, a 1/8‑ounce jighead with a white or new penny paddletail is money on the flats; work it on the edges of potholes and channel mouths on the falling tide.
On the patch reefs and nearshore wrecks off Islamorada, recent reports have shown steady action on **yellowtail snapper**, **muttons**, and a few **gag and red grouper** mixed in where the depth and structure line up. Fresh ballyhoo strips, cut squid, and live pilchards are top natural baits. For those who like to throw hardware, small white bucktail jigs tipped with a sliver of bait, as well as 3‑ to 4‑inch pilchard‑style plugs, have been producing when there’s a bit of current and clean water.
Offshore, whenever boats have been able to push out beyond the reef, they’ve been finding scattered **sailfish**, some school‑size **blackfin tuna**, and occasional **dolphin** along color changes and current edges. Slow‑trolled live ballyhoo and cigar minnows are still the go‑to, but smaller feather jigs and hex‑head lures in blue‑and‑white or pink work well when the fish are up and chasing.
Best lures to keep tied on today:
- For the backcountry: 1/8‑ to 1/4‑ounce jigheads with white or chartreuse paddletails, gold spoons for reds, and small topwaters at first light along the edges of the flats.
- For the reef and offshore: 1‑ to 2‑ounce bucktail jigs in white or chartreuse, small diving plugs that mimic pilchards, and medium trolling feathers in blue‑white or purple‑black for tuna.
A couple of hot spots to circle on your chart:
- **Whale Harbor Channel and the nearby flats**: good moving water, plenty of bait, and shots at trout, jacks, and occasional tarpon or snook when the water warms.
- **The patches just off Alligator Reef**: steady yellowtail and mutton action, with a shot at grouper on live bait right on the structure.
That’s the word from Islamorada today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
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 o