Artificial Lure here, coming to you with your June 18, 2025 fishing report for the Florida Keys and Miami waters.
Sunrise hit at 6:29 AM and sunset is primed for 8:12 PM, giving us one of those long, golden summer days anglers dream about. Tides in the Miami area today saw a high around 1:30 AM and will hit another high at 1:55 PM, with low tides rolling through at 7:45 AM and again at 8:22 PM. These moving-water windows, especially in the late morning and mid-afternoon, are peak times for chasing active fish, as confirmed by Tides4Fishing and local tide-forecast charts.
The June subtropical weather trend is holding steady—hot and humid, but with just enough of that southeast breeze to take the edge off the heat and make it comfortable on the water. Afternoon thunderstorms might pop off, typical for this season, but the mornings are mostly clear. Water temperatures are sitting in the upper 70s to low 80s, putting almost every species on the chew.
Let's talk what’s biting. Offshore, mahi-mahi (“dolphin”) are still running strong, sliding through weed lines and floating debris in 600 to 900 feet. Troll small, brightly colored skirted baits or rigged ballyhoo, and keep a spinning rod ready for schoolies that pop up next to the boat. Sailfish still linger on the outside edges of the reefs, while blackfin tuna are patrolling the drop-offs—troll small feathers or free-line live pilchards, and it’s game on.
Inshore and on the reefs, the mutton snapper snap continues. Boats working patch reefs around Marathon, Big Pine, and off Miami Beach are hauling in solid fish, many in the 5- to 10-pound range, on live pinfish, ballyhoo, or pilchards. Lane snapper and the occasional grouper are in the mix, and according to FishKeyWest.com, the flats remain alive with permit, bonefish, and tarpon, especially on a rising tide.
Permit have been especially hot on the flats south of Big Pine Key and around the Marquesas. Go with small live crabs or a well-worked shrimp pattern artificial on a light jig head. For tarpon, dusk and dawn are your prime times; big live mullet or soft plastic swimbaits are getting slammed, especially around bridge shadows and channel mouths.
Recommended hot spots for today:
- The Humps off Islamorada for mahi and blackfin action.
- Patch reefs and wrecks south of Marathon and off Miami Beach for muttons and lanes.
- Flats around Sugarloaf and the Marquesas for permit, tarpon, and bonefish.
Best bets for bait and lures: Live pilchards, pinfish, crabs, or ballyhoo for most reef and offshore targets; DOA shrimp, Gulp! soft plastics, and small bucktail jigs for the flats if you’re going artificial.
That’s your up-to-date fishing forecast—tight lines to all! Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for more reports and local angling insights.
This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.