June 19, 2026
South Florida Salt: Keys to Miami Mahi, Snook, and Tarpon on the Rise
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Florida salt report from the Keys up through Miami.
We’re sitting on a light east to southeast breeze this morning, 8–12 knots, bumping to 15 in the afternoon, with seas inside the reef 1–3 feet and a light chop on the bay. Air temps running mid‑70s at first light, pushing upper‑80s later, with that classic steamy Keys humidity and a few fast‑moving showers possible along the sea breeze line.
Sunrise slid in right around 6:30 a.m., with sunset coming in about 8:15 p.m. That gives you a long window to work the low‑light bites. Tides around Key Largo and Islamorada are on a moderate cycle today, with an early morning incoming and a mid‑afternoon outgoing on the ocean side; the bay side lags a bit, so flats and backcountry creeks will dump later in the day. Around Miami and Biscayne Bay, expect a predawn low turning to a strong incoming through mid‑morning, then falling water late afternoon through dusk.
Offshore out of the Upper Keys, boats this week have been putting together decent boxes of schoolie and gaffer **mahi** along with a few nicer 20‑plus‑pound fish when they find the right weedlines and bird plays in 600–900 feet. Blackfin **tuna** are still hanging on the humps early and late, and a few wahoo are sneaking into the mix on the darker edges. Inshore on the reefs, folks have been doing well on **yellowtail snapper**, mangroves, and a mix of muttons when the current lines up.
Inshore from Key Largo down through Islamorada, the backcountry’s been giving up **snook**, **redfish**, and a good number of **seatrout** on the edges of the banks and creek mouths, especially on that first of the falling tide. Tarpon are still around the bridges and channels, mostly smaller fish now, but enough 60–100‑pounders to keep things interesting at dawn and dusk.
Around Miami and Biscayne Bay, there’s been solid action on **mangrove snapper** on the bridges, cuts, and north bay structure, with mixed jacks, ladyfish, and a few keeper trout on the grass edges. Early‑morning shoreline cruisers are holding snook and the odd tarpon along Government Cut, Haulover, and the beaches when the water’s clean.
Best producers offshore have been small to medium **chuggers and bullet‑head trolling lures** in blue/white, dolphin, and pink/white for mahi, with skirted ballyhoo if you’ve got the patience to rig them. For blackfin tuna on the humps, vertical jigs in 80–150 grams, natural sardine or pilchard colors, worked fast through the water column have been money, and a deep‑trolled diving plug is still a good wahoo play on the edges.
On the reef and patch reefs, **cut ballyhoo**, squid strips, and small chunks of pilchard or sardine on light leaders have been the ticket for yellowtail and mangroves. Chum hard, fish back in the slick with small hooks and plenty of patience. A live pinfish or ballyhoo down on a knocker rig will find those muttons if they’re around.
Backcountry and bay anglers are doing well on **3–4 inch soft plastics** in pearl, new penny, and natural baitfish patterns on light jig heads, plus suspending twitchbaits and topwaters at first light. Live shrimp, pilchards, and finger mullet under a cork or free‑lined are still your best all‑around baits for snook, reds, and trout. Around the bridges and channels for tarpon, big live mullet or crabs drifted on the tide are producing, with heavy‑duty fluorocarbon leaders.
Couple hot spots to circle today:
• **Islamorada Bridge and Channel Complex** – Fish the shadow lines at dawn for tarpon, then slide off to the nearby flats and banks on the first of the fall for snook, reds, and trout.
• **Biscayne Bay Grass Flats from Matheson Hammock to Stiltsville** – Work the early incoming for trout and snapper on the edges, then slide shallow to look for cruising bonefish and permit when the sun gets up and the water clears.
That’s the word from your local water. This is Artificial Lure saying thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
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