Gulf of Mexico, Florida Fishing Report Today

Good morning, anglers! This is Artificial Lure bringing you your Gulf of Mexico, Florida fishing report for Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

We had a solid sunrise at 6:59 AM and you can expect sunset around 8:11 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to spend on the water today. Tidal movement is healthy, with the first high tide rolling in at 3:59 AM at just over 3.2 feet, low tide at 10:45 AM, followed by the afternoon high at 4:24 PM, and wrapping up with another low at 10:57 PM according to Tide-Forecast.com. These big swings are stirring up the bottom and keeping bait moving, so you can count on fish being active during these windows.

Weatherwise, it’s a classic Florida summer day: muggy with temps pushing the low 90s and heat indices edging up to 105 by midday. Expect southerly breezes at 10 to 15 mph, making for manageable chop and drift, with a decent chance of scattered afternoon storms—so keep an eye on the sky if you’re heading offshore, as NOAA’s forecast out of Apalachicola predicts pop-up showers and the occasional thunderhead.

Fishing’s been good both inshore and offshore this week, with reports from Pine Island Eagle noting redfish starting to school up as we close in on mid-August. These tight pods of reds are cruising grass flats and oyster bars at higher tides—topwater lures at dawn, gold spoons, and live pinfish have all put fish in the box recently. Along mangrove edges and creeks, snook and a handful of overslot trout are pouncing on pilchards and cut ladyfish.

On the reefs, grouper action remains steady with both gag and red grouper in the mix; frozen sardines, squid, and large bucktail jigs tipped with cut bait are drawing strikes. Remember, the recreational gray triggerfish season has just reopened as of August 1st and will run through January, so now’s a prime time to target these tasty reef dwellers with squid-tipped jigs or fresh cut bait fished deep according to the Tampa Free Press.

Spanish mackerel are patrolling nearshore bait schools, and there have been decent catches of lane and mangrove snapper around structure—try chumming to keep them close and downsize your leaders for more bites.

In terms of the best lures today:

- Topwater plugs (think Skitter Walks or Zara Spooks) for early morning redfish and trout.

- Gold spoons and white paddle tails are working once the sun’s up.

- Offshore, stick with hefty bucktail jigs, vertical jigs, and natural baits for grouper and triggers.

- If you’re after snapper or smaller reef fish, shrimp-tipped jigs and small live pilchards are safe bets.

Hotspots I’d suggest include:

- The grass flats outside of Tarpon Springs for early morning reds and trout.

- Clearwater artificial reefs, where grouper, snapper, and now gray triggerfish are biting.

- The Cape San Blas shoals have been holding solid schools of Spanish mackerel and ladyfish, especially on moving tides.

With tidal coefficients running high, current and bait movement are triggering feeding windows—plan your peak

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Artificial Lure here. Early risers on the Gulf of Mexico are in for classic Florida summer fishing this Sunday, August 10, 2025. With sunrise at 6:58AM and sunset stretching out till 8:13PM, you’ve got plentiful daylight to chase bites from sun-up to the evening breeze.

Today’s tide for Gulf Harbors stretches from a pre-dawn high at 2:36AM (2.92 ft), dropping to low at 8:28AM (1.33 ft), then swinging back up to an afternoon high at 1:53PM (3.68 ft) before easing to a post-sunset low at 9:13PM (0.13 ft). These moving tides will help drive solid fish movement, especially with a moderate tidal coefficient in the 59-70 range—expect currents to stir up feeding activity, making for lively action mid-morning through early afternoon.

Weather’s humid and classic Gulf: a tropical wave pushing scattered thunderstorms and showers, especially overnight and early in the morning. Winds are mostly from the east at 10-15 knots, seas around 2 feet, and waters a moderate chop. Pack raingear, keep an eye out for squalls, and expect humidity to spike with the rain. Water temps are summer-prime, keeping most species active, especially in bays and up on the flats.

Fish activity has been steady, with reports out of Panama City, Destin, and Tampa Bay highlighting catches of red snapper, speckled trout, flounder, dolphin (mahi mahi), amberjack, tarpon, cobia, and gray triggerfish. Snapper are especially hot right now off reefs and in deeper structure. Nearshore and inshore, anglers are finding solid numbers of trout, slot redfish, and good flounder action, particularly on morning incoming tides when bait pods move into shallow water.

Best baits for the day:

- Live shrimp and pinfish for trout, redfish, and flounder.

- Cut bait—especially mullet and squid—for snapper and grouper around wrecks and reefs.

- Artificial lures: Topwater plugs and soft plastics are producing early for speckled trout on grass flats. Jigging with chartreuse bucktails and trolling minnow-style plugs will tempt pelagics like cobia and dolphin in the deeper channels.

Hottest lure trends are:

- DOA Shrimp and Gulp! Alive Soft Baits on the flats

- MirrOlure Top Dog Jr. and Rapala X-Rap for aggressive hit-and-run bites

- Deep-drop jigs like Williamson Abyss and classic bucktail jigs tipped with squid offshore

A couple of current hot spots:

- Panama City reefs and bridge pylons for red snapper and amberjack—Captain Logan of GulfCoast Guide Fishing & Adventure reports daily limits when weather and tides cooperate.

- Flats and channels in the St. Andrews Bay area holding solid numbers of trout and flounder, especially around weed lines and drop-offs.

- Boca Grande Pass and the surrounding beaches are still producing tarpon for anglers putting in the early morning effort, along with scattered schools of Spanish mackerel pushing bait up on the surface.

For inshore action, try the mouth of the Suwannee River at sunrise—prime for slot redfish and speckled trout feeding over oyster bars. In Destin, the

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Good morning anglers, Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, August 9th, 2025, Gulf of Mexico Florida fishing report.

The summer heat is rolling in quick with steamy skies right at sunrise, which hit at 6:56 AM this morning. Expect another hot and muggy day, classic for August on the Gulf. Winds will be light early but could pick up in the afternoon with that strong sea breeze—so get your lines in early. Sunset tonight falls at 8:15 PM. According to Tide-Forecast.com, we saw the first high tide at 3:00 AM, dropping to a low at 8:46 AM, ramping up again with a strong high tide at 2:13 PM and closing out with a late low around 9:41 PM. With a relatively average tidal coefficient today, you’ll get decent moving water, especially around that afternoon high for offshore and nearshore action.

Fish activity is looking up, especially in the first few hours after sunrise and the evening bite before and just after sunset. Captain Dylan Hubbard called yesterday’s full moon a game-changer for early and late action, and today, you’ll want to play those low-light periods hard.

Recent catches out of St. Pete, Tarpon Springs, and the Panhandle put snook, redfish, tarpon, mackerel, and plenty of grunts in the box. Reports out of the Destin and Navarre stretches show big jacks and even a few solid tarpon landed, with plenty of redfish and the occasional monster sheepshead on the move. Offshore, crews out of Tierra Verde and Clearwater have been limiting out on American red snapper and finding grouper when they can dodge the sharks. Mackerel have been thick around the bait pods, both Spanish and king, and morning runs have yielded fast limits[Navarre Newspaper][Captain Experiences].

Inshore, live free-lined scaled sardines pitched under the mangroves are hammering snook and reds, especially as the tide starts moving in. Soft plastics like paddle tails and jerk shads in natural colors are working well when the water’s clear. For those running live bait, whitebait, pinfish, and shrimp are top choices. If you’re hitting nearshore reefs or the passes at sunrise or sunset, try a flashy spoon or a slow-rolled bucktail jig—both have been picking up solid mackerel and the occasional trout[Captain Experiences][Florida Insider Fishing Report].

If offshore is your game, dead menhaden, cigar minnows, and squid are hard to beat for snapper and grouper, with butterfly jigs and heavy bucktails doing damage when fish are holding mid-water. Chumming around wrecks will often bring the big fish up, especially if you spot birds working or dolphins cruising through.

For hot spots, put the north Pinellas beaches and the passes around Clearwater at the top of your list for tarpon rolling at sun-up, especially near the spoil islands. The Destin–Fort Walton stretch, especially East Pass, continues to produce for mixed-bag runs—run the shoals with topwater plugs at first light for jacks and early schools of Spanish mackerel. And don’t skip the inshore mangrove edges around Tarpon Sp

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Good morning fishin’ folks, Artificial Lure here with your Friday, August 8th, 2025, Gulf of Mexico Florida fishing report—putting you on the bite from Destin all the way down to St. Pete Beach.

Let’s start with **tides and weather**. We’re looking at a good mix today with a tidal coefficient rising from 59 this morning to 70 by sunset—pretty average, meaning steady water movement and a healthy push of bait up and down the coast. Saint Pete Beach sees the high tide hit at 12:14 PM with a bigger swing of 2.55 feet and a lower low of -0.1 feet around 8:45 PM, so plan your inshore missions to work those moving waters. Your sunrise was 6:57 AM and you’ve got daylight running right on through to a beautiful 8:14 PM.

Weather’s classic Florida summer: early morning winds out of the northeast at 5 to 10 knots, seas mostly flat, with a light chop inshore. Expect a shot of scattered showers and thunderstorms—most often popping up in the late morning or into the afternoon. Not a bad deal, just keep an eye on that sky and have a raincoat handy. The National Weather Service is calling for decently stable conditions, with continued chances of rain as a tropical wave drifts north, but nothing to keep you off the water for too long.

Now, the **fishing action** has been downright hot for both inshore and offshore. This week’s charters out of Tarpon Springs and down the coast are slamming the snook and redfish under the mangroves. Live, free-lined scaled sardines remain the key ticket—snook and reds can’t resist them, especially at first light or just at dusk. Mangrove snapper are thick around dock lights at night and structure during the day—shrimp-tipped jigs or small pinfish will fill your cooler. Spanish mackerel and trout are still cruising the grass flats, especially as the tide moves. For trout, toss a white or chartreuse soft plastic on a 1/8-ounce jighead. Mackerel just can’t lay off a flashy spoon, so rip those through moving bait pods for a quick limit, especially near Clearwater and St. Pete Beach piers.

Offshore, it’s what summer is all about—big snapper, grouper, and even a few mahi in the mix. Captain Experiences’ recent reports say deeper drops are producing solid red and gag grouper, mangrove snapper, plus a few cobia running close to bait schools. Out of Pensacola and Destin, charters are running out to 80-120 feet and coming back with nice hauls of amberjack and red grouper. For bottom fish, dead sardines, squid and big live pinfish are your best baits. Drop ‘em down on a heavy knocker rig and hang on tight.

For **lures**, nothing beats a white bucktail or a DOA jerk shad when the water’s clean. Topwater plugs at sunrise around grass edges—think Heddon Spook Jr or MirrOLure Poppa Mullet—are producing big blow-ups from both snook and reds. Offshore guys: heavy 6-8 ounce jigs, chartreuse and pink, rigged with big curly tails have been hammering red and gag grouper off ledges and wrecks.

**Hot spots** right now:

- The passes around Clearwate

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Today’s fishing along Florida’s Gulf Coast—now called the Gulf of America—kicked off under steamy, summer skies typical for August. Sunrise hit at 6:58AM and sunset comes at 8:15PM, giving us more than thirteen hours of daylight to wet a line. Tides today were on the subtle side, with a pre-dawn high tide around 1:54AM and a midday peak at about 12:34PM before ebbing to nearly slack water near sunset—tide action was mild, so bait movement was limited and water clarity was solid for sight-fishing.

Weatherwise, the morning started calm and hot with minimal wind and only a light chop—prime conditions for venturing offshore or working the coastal passes before afternoon storms rolled through. If you managed to dodge the scattered thunderstorms, you found almost glassy water and plenty of willing fish early and late.

Offshore, today was all about snapper and grouper. With NOAA Fisheries bumping up the Gulf red grouper catch limits effective immediately, there’s more opportunity for anglers to bring home a hefty red grouper this summer, and folks took advantage. Reports out of Tampa and Clearwater say the reefs, ledges, and wrecks held ample gag and red grouper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, porgy, and even a few bonus mahi. Captain Tommy in Tampa says cut cigar minnows, pinfish, and live LYs (scaled herrings) landed the majority of keeper grouper and snapper. If you’re after mango snapper, downsize your leader to 10-20 pound fluorocarbon and use chunks of fresh cut bait or live shrimp tight to structure. For bigger bottom fish like red grouper, heavier tackle with live pinfish on a knocker rig was the ticket.

Nearshore, Spanish mackerel, small king macks, cobia, barracuda, and permit showed well—especially around structure with bait schools. Early morning and late afternoon produced the best action. Silver spoons, Gotcha plugs, and white bucktail jigs were hot when fish blitzed the bait balls. A few tarpon are still straggling off the beaches, but their numbers are quickly thinning as their summer run closes.

Inshore, the beaches and passes around Southwest Florida have been crawling with snook. Most are under the slot, but some bigger girls showed at first light around the passes and pilings. Live scaled sardines, paddle-tail swimbaits, and topwater plugs are drawing strikes—just remember: light leader and a stealthy approach improves your odds. Seatrout action remained solid over grass flats in 3–6 feet, especially on the last of the incoming tide. Soft plastics, suspending twitchbaits, and live shrimp under a popping cork worked well to entice bites. Back in the docks and lighted piers at night, slot reds, flounder, and white trout have been active. Small jigheads tipped with Gulp shrimp or live finger mullet are producing from the bridges at Fairhope and the deeper docks along the mangroves.

Mangrove snapper are still thick around passes, bridges, and jetties—easy limits for anglers fishing shrimp on light hooks. Fish around midday through

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Artificial Lure here with your July 7, 2025, fishing report for the Gulf of Mexico side of sunny Florida. The day’s been a mix of fast-changing weather and classic Gulf summer patterns. This afternoon saw scattered thunderstorms rolling in with some heavy downpours, so most folks wisely planned their outings around the radar. Winds were mostly out of the south-southwest, stirring up 1-3 foot waves near shore, and the heat index crept into triple digits inland. That marine layer kept things a little cooler on the water, but if you were fishing exposed flats—hydration was a must today, no question. Rip currents were a moderate concern along the north Gulf beaches, but no major coastal flooding or red tide issues have been reported according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The tidal schedule shaped the bite all day. At Gulf Harbors and Indian Rocks Beach, the first low tide hit before sunrise (around 4:40AM), with the high running up just after 10AM. Water started dropping by early evening—low again at 6:18PM. Sunrise was at 6:40AM, and sunset rolls in at 8:31PM. Morning outgoing tides and the late day incoming both had an edge, making for strong activity windows as the currents moved bait around the flats and edges.

Snapper are the headline this week. There’s a lot of chatter about red snapper, especially with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission project getting ready to launch next month that’s aimed at reshaping recreational snapper management. Folks are eager for that, but today saw steady action on mangrove snapper and lane snapper over nearshore reefs and wrecks in 40-70 feet. Most boats reporting in had no trouble picking up limits, average sizes running 12-18 inches with some stretches seeing fish pushing the 20-inch mark. Deeper structure also held decent numbers of gag grouper and the occasional red grouper, though the bite slowed a bit after the morning squalls.

Inshore, the grass flats from Tarpon Springs down to Sarasota lit up as soon as the storms cleared. Big schools of bait are hanging on the edges, and that kept the trout fired up during the moving tide, with a steady pick of slot fish (16-20 inches) on both live shrimp and white paddle tails. Snook action has been hit or miss in the passes—this week’s south wind had them hugging structure and bridge pilings tight, especially during the early outgoing tide. Tarpon are still rolling along the beaches, especially off Anna Maria and Boca Grande Pass, but they’ve been a little finicky—best shot came during first light with live threadfins or crab.

Off the piers and local docks, Spanish mackerel have been busting bait hard on the outgoing tide. A silver spoon or small Gotcha plug worked fast was the ticket here, and several anglers reported bonus runs from big ladyfish and the occasional bluefish mixed in.

For lures, I recommend a 3-inch white or chartreuse paddle tail jig for trout and redfish on the flats. Offshore, a live pilchard or pinfish fre

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Artificial Lure here with your July 6, 2025, fishing report for the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida.

Let’s start with the conditions—Mother Nature has kept us on our toes. According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, it’s been an active weather pattern with widespread rain and afternoon thunderstorms across much of the state. Central and South Florida saw torrential downpours and some flooding concerns, while the Panhandle baked in triple-digit heat indices. Marine hazards include wave heights of one to three feet, with an elevated risk of rip currents along most coastlines. If you’re headed out, keep a weather eye, especially for afternoon storms.

Sunrise this morning came at 6:47 AM, and the sunset will be at 8:15 PM, so you still got plenty of daylight for those late bites. Tide tables for the western coast, such as Port St. Joe in St. Joseph Bay, showed a high tide around 9 AM at 1.6 feet, dropping to a shallow low around 7:40 PM—a classic summer pattern favoring early morning and dusk for peak activity.

Now, about the fishing: the recent rains have moved the fish around, but anglers are still finding action. Fishin’ Franks reports Mayan cichlids, mangrove snapper, and small tarpon up in the backcountry, and small snook and jacks roaming closer to the harbors. Mangrove snapper are thick around structure and docks, but keepers are harder to find—most are running small. There’s enough for a fish fry if you’re patient, with sand bream and Mayan cichlids ready to oblige. For bait, shrimp reign supreme—peeled shrimp under docks or bridges are fooling just about everything right now, from juvenile tarpon to snapper.

Offshore, deeper reefs (120-140 feet) off Tampa and Boca Grande have produced impressive red snapper catches—some pushing 20 pounds. African pompano and king mackerel are also showing, and hogfish are in the mix for those targeting bottom dwellers. Nearshore reefs are holding sheepshead, but they’re moving around after the storms. Keep a lookout for slot-sized grouper, though red grouper are catch-and-release only until January.

For lures, you can’t go wrong with soft plastics on a jighead for inshore snook and jacks—white, chartreuse, or root-beer have been solid. Silver spoons or topwater plugs like the classic Zara Spook are getting attention from jacks and the odd tarpon. If you’re after snapper or sheepshead, stick with shrimp or fiddler crabs. Offshore, heavy bucktail jigs tipped with squid or live pinfish are the ticket for snapper and grouper.

Hot spots worth checking:

- The passes and bridges around Boca Grande—early morning or dusk, drifting live shrimp along pilings for snook, snapper, and the occasional tarpon.

- The artificial reefs off Englewood and Venice—great for snapper, grouper, and kingfish right now, especially as the water clears up post-storm.

Remember, after a rain, water can get stained near creeks and river mouths; these spots attract bait, which brings the predators in. Be patient and m

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Artificial Lure here with your Gulf of Mexico, Florida fishing report for Sunday, June 22, 2025. Summer’s in full swing and the bite’s hot up and down the coast, from the Panhandle down to Naples and across to the southwest. Conditions are lining up for a productive weekend on the water.

Weather’s steamy with highs reaching the upper 80s and low 90s and a decent shot at those classic Florida afternoon pop-up storms, so rig up early and plan to dodge some rain. Winds have been mostly light, giving us smooth runs out in the Gulf and clear waters around the passes and flats.

Today’s sunrise was at 5:49 AM with sunset at 7:55 PM, offering plenty of daylight to get after it. The tide’s your friend: high tide rolled in at 7:58 AM, and we’ll hit low around 8:55 PM according to Tide Forecast. A moving tide like this usually fires up the bite near structure and on the grass flats.

Offshore, anglers are reporting small packs of dolphin—mahi mahi—following weed lines and floating debris, best taken trolling small ballyhoo, bonita strips, or squid. Blackfin tuna are active in 200-300 feet, especially at dawn and dusk, with small feathers or daisy chains the top producers. Kingfish are still lining up along the 120-foot ledge; drift live sardines or troll a swimming plug early and late in the day for your best shot, per the Juno Bait Fishing Report.

Reef and bottom fishing’s been steady with solid catches of snapper species—mangrove, lane, and vermilion—over rocky bottom and near artificial reefs. Sardines are the prime bait, but cut squid and live pinfish will do the trick. Look for red grouper in 60-120 feet and some cobia popping up around trap floats and structure, according to CB’s Saltwater Outfitters.

Inshore, snook and jacks are staged up along seawalls and deeper docks. Live mullet is the go-to bait during the day—fish them tight to cover with a little current. Night anglers are hauling in snook around bridge pilings and under dock lights with flairhawks, big swimbaits, and shrimp-imitating soft plastics. Mangrove snapper are making a push inshore, taking live shrimp and small pilchards.

Redfish are patrolling the grass flats and mangrove edges. Early mornings, work topwater plugs like a Zara Spook or Skitterwalk over potholes. As the sun rises, switch to CAL jigs with shad tails or jerkworms to cover water and find those reds laid up in sand holes.

Keep an eye out for Spanish mackerel, false albacore, and the occasional tarpon or tripletail near crab trap buoys and in the passes. Medium spinning tackle and a DOA Shrimp or weighted soft plastic will get the job done. Fly anglers can score with Clouser minnows on sink-tip lines.

Hot spots to hit today include the passes and flats around Sarasota Bay, especially near Longboat Pass, and the reefs off Naples and Marco Island, where the bottom bite is especially strong this week.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s Gulf of Mexico Florida Fishing Report. Don’t forget to subscribe for more updates. Thi

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Artificial Lure here, with your Gulf of Mexico, Florida fishing report for Saturday, June 21, 2025.

Sunrise this morning hit at 6:36 a.m. and sunset won’t be until 8:28 p.m., giving us a full 13 hours and 52 minutes to chase those bites. The water is moving with an above-average tidal coefficient, peaking at 70 to 75 by evening, so expect strong tides and currents—perfect conditions for stirring up the bite across both inshore and offshore spots according to Tides4Fishing. Low tide rolled in early at 3:02 a.m., with the next low at 5:24 p.m. High tides crested at 8:49 a.m. and will return at 11:56 p.m.

Weatherwise, it’s classic summer on the Gulf: hot, sunny, and humid, with the possibility of an afternoon sea breeze and isolated showers, so plan accordingly and keep an eye on any passing storms.

Right now, the bite is excellent and fish are in full summer feed mode. Reports from the Gulf of Mexico Florida Daily Fishing Report podcast highlight fish actively feeding nearly all day, with big action starting around the bait pods. Spanish and king mackerel are hot on the beach, and you won’t have to travel far for plenty of action on mahi, blackfin tuna, and even wahoo offshore, according to Coastal Angler Magazine’s June report.

The nearshore and reefs have been especially productive for cobia, black seabass, triggerfish, and red snapper—Captain Experiences and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center confirm solid numbers of these species coming to the docks just this past week. Red snapper and kingfish are biting strong, and gray triggerfish are very active until their brief summer closure kicks in later this season. Greater amberjack is also open and showing great numbers offshore.

As for baits and lures, here’s what’s been working:

- For cobia: Live menhaden or cigar minnows are killing it, especially when rigged on a 24–30-inch wire leader with double treble hooks. If you see free-swimming cobia, keep a 4-ounce jig head with a plastic eel at the ready.

- For spanish and king mackerel: Trolling cigar minnows and Ballyhoo behind Mackahoos and sea witches is producing steady action.

- On the flats and beaches: Small jigs and “Gotcha” plugs for Spanish and bluefish near bait pods.

- Offshore: Ballyhoo and squid for mahi and blackfin, deep jigs for snapper and grouper.

For hot spots, check the edges of major passes like Destin and Egmont, and target the reefs between 5 and 20 miles out of Sarasota and Naples for heavy snapper and kingfish action. The bait pods along the beaches from Tampa to Marco Island are drawing in predators big time. Don’t forget about Boca Grande Pass if you’re hoping to hook into tarpon as they’re still rolling.

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Good morning Gulf Coast anglers—Artificial Lure here with your narrative fishing report for June 21, 2025, covering the Florida Gulf of Mexico waters.

Let’s talk tides and sunrise first. Along the Gulf coast, sunrise comes in around 6:34 AM with sunset just after 8:22 PM. This gives us nearly 14 hours of daylight action. Today’s tide chart for Fort Myers shows a high tide peaking mid-morning around 9:47 AM and another in the evening at 7:47 PM. Low tides hit just before dawn and again in early afternoon, making those shifting currents prime feeding windows, especially at first light and dusk, so plan your trips accordingly. The average tidal coefficient today is 61, meaning we have decent water movement—enough to get those game fish active without being too tricky to fish, even for newer anglers, according to Tides4Fishing.

Weather’s cooperating with light breezes and typical summer warmth, meaning topwater action should be on fire early and late. As water temps rise, we’re seeing game species getting lively—reports from the Gulf of Mexico Daily Fishing Report say fish are actively feeding all day right now.

Inshore, the snook bite is hot as these fish push out of the back bays to stage along passes, according to the most recent Hubbard’s Marina Fishing Report. Early morning and evening are your best bets for these linesiders, with live pilchards or pinfish under a popping cork, or topwater plugs like a Rapala Skitter Walk for those explosive strikes. Redfish and speckled trout are also active around oyster bars and grass flats, especially on the moving tide—throw a Gulp! Shrimp or MirrOlure for consistent action.

Beach and surf fishing continues to produce pompano and whiting. Florida’s Forgotten Coast Springs Fishing Report recommends FishGum, Sand Flea Fishbites, and fresh shrimp as top baits—cast into the sandbar breaks 15–25 feet out. If you’re after Spanish mackerel running the beach, switch to silver spoons or gotcha plugs as they chase bait pods close to the sand.

Offshore, it’s wide open. Black seabass, cobia, triggerfish, king mackerel, and red snapper are all coming in strong on the 4-hour trips, according to Captain Experiences. Offshore crews fishing 100–160 feet over hard bottom or ledges are catching red and scamp grouper with live pinfish, squid, and cut threadfin. Snapper—vermillion, red, and mangrove—are loving squid strips and double-snelled rigs. Don’t forget the pitch rod for surprise cobia; a 4-ounce jig with a plastic eel body works great when a brown bomber pops up next to the boat.

Hot spots right now:

- Destin Pass: Snook, specks, reds, plus king mackerel just offshore.

- Anclote Key: Trout and reds on the flats, and cobia around the channel markers.

- John’s Pass/ Madeira Beach: Snook staging up, nearshore snapper and kingfish active.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s Florida Gulf fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for all your up-to-date fishing news and tips. This has been a quiet plea

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