The Keys are deep into the summer pattern, and it is a good one. Tarpon are still around the bridges and channels, permit are tailing the oceanside flats, and the patch reefs are loaded with mangrove snapper as the spawn ramps up. Calm mornings before the afternoon storms are prime, and the water clarity oceanside has been excellent.
What’s Hitting
Tarpon remain the marquee target around the bridges from Channel 5 down through the Seven Mile, with worm hatches still producing on the right tides. Permit are tailing on oceanside flats and stacking the wrecks. Mangrove snapper fishing on the patch reefs and humps is excellent right now with the full-moon spawn building, and yellowtail continue to chew on the reef edge. Offshore there are mahi, blackfin tuna, and the odd sailfish.
Where to Find Them
Fish the bridge channels for tarpon on the moving tide and the oceanside flats in two to six feet for tailing permit. Patch reefs in 15 to 30 feet are the snapper move; anchor up-current and chum. The reef edge in 60 to 90 feet holds yellowtail and mutton snapper, and the humps off the Islamorada and Marathon stretch are worth a look for blackfin and mahi when the run offshore is calm.
Tides & Conditions
Tarpon bite best on the strong incoming and outgoing tides through the channels, and a worm hatch on a moving tide around the full moon can be the best shot of the year. Mornings are glassy before the sea breeze and storms build by early afternoon. Plan reef and offshore runs early. Water temps are pushing into the mid-80s on the flats. The full moon this week supercharges the tides, so the worm hatches and the snapper spawn should both peak — fish the bigger tidal swings around it.
Tackle & Tactics
For tarpon, live crabs and worm-hatch flies on the right tide are deadly; carry 40- to 60-pound fluoro. Permit want live crabs on the flats and wrecks. For snapper, anchor and chum, then fish light fluoro with small live baits or cut bait — the lighter you fish, the more bites. Yellowtail respond to a steady chum slick and a long flatline.
This Week’s Tip
On the patch reefs, the snapper bite gets better the longer you sit and the harder you chum. Start a slick before you ever put a line in, fish a long fluorocarbon leader with the smallest hook you can get away with, and let baits drift back naturally in the chum. The mangroves that won’t touch a weighted bait will eat a free-lined one every time.