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Islamorada Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Islamorada: the Upper Keys 'Village of Islands', with FWC-listed fishing bridges and public ramps along US 1 between Florida Bay and the Atlantic.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Next tide
High 9:21 PM
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
NE 21 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8723808, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Islamorada sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings cloud cover, wind NE around 21 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 78. Tides: high 9:18 AM and 9:21 PM, low 4:10 AM and 4:25 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Speckled troutExcellent

Spring brings seatrout back over shallow seagrass, and the spawning season (April to September in Louisiana and South Carolina) keeps them feeding. Popping corks with live shrimp, free-shrimping on the drift and casting to working birds are the main tools.

Tomorrow: Similar at 79 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Florida requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Florida licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with FWC before you keep anything. The season dates for Florida, read off the agency, are on the Florida seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8723808 (Islamorada, Florida Bay). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW4:10 AM0.3 ft
HIGH9:18 AM0.8 ft
LOW4:25 PM0.3 ft
HIGH9:21 PM0.8 ft
Sat
LOW4:54 AM0.2 ft
HIGH10:07 AM0.7 ft
LOW4:56 PM0.3 ft
HIGH9:52 PM0.8 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low78 / 72 F
WindNE 21-26 mph
Pressure1013.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain77% cloud, 17%
Sunrise / Sunset07:24 / 18:48
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Islamorada this week

The best day on Islamorada this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM
Minor period
4:19 AM-5:19 AM
Sun
07:24 to 18:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 23 mph
Rain chance
17%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Islamorada: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Shallow bays spring and summer; deeper water in winter

Speckled trout is the anglers' name for the spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), a spotted member of the drum family that lives in shallow bays and estuaries from the Chesapeake to Texas. Spring brings seatrout back over shallow seagrass, and the spawning season (April to September in Louisiana and South Carolina) keeps them feeding. Popping corks with live shrimp, free-shrimping on the drift and casting to working birds are the main tools.

When to come: the Islamorada calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Islamorada today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 20 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 22 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 23 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida saltwater license, also inside Everglades National Park. FWC's statewide saltwater rules apply, and several flats and reef species carry catch-and-release, tag or zone rules; read FWC's current tables before keeping fish. Everglades National Park adds a 20-fish aggregate possession limit, with no more than 10 of one species.

Access

Fishing bridges at Channel Two (MM 73) and Channel Five - West (MM 71); ramps at the Indian Key Fill (MM 79, bayside), Plantation Key (end of E. Ridge Rd.), Founder's Park and Harbor Lights at Holiday Isle (FWC).

About this water

Village of Islamorada, Upper Keys, Monroe County, FL. NOAA tide station 8723808 at Upper Matecumbe Key, Florida Bay.

Fishing Islamorada: the full guide

Fishing bridges

FWC's Florida Keys boating guide lists two fishing bridges on US 1 near Islamorada: the Channel Two Fishing Bridge at US 1 mile marker 73 and Channel Five - West at mile marker 71. Read the posted rules for each bridge before you fish.

Public ramps

The same FWC guide lists public ramps in Islamorada at the Indian Key Fill (US 1, mile marker 79, bayside), at the end of East Ridge Road on Plantation Key, at Founder's Park (87000 Overseas Highway) and at Harbor Lights at Holiday Isle (84001 Overseas Highway).

Into Everglades National Park

Where you fish inside Everglades National Park, which takes in waters of Florida Bay, a Florida saltwater license is required and park rules apply on top of state limits: no more than 20 fish per person in possession and no more than 10 of any one species. The park also posts a mercury advisory for some fish from northern Florida Bay.

Common questions

Where can I fish from land in Islamorada?

FWC lists the Channel Two Fishing Bridge (mile marker 73) and Channel Five - West (mile marker 71) as fishing bridges on US 1.

Where can I launch a boat in Islamorada?

FWC lists public ramps at the Indian Key Fill (bayside, MM 79), Plantation Key at the end of East Ridge Road, Founder's Park and Harbor Lights at Holiday Isle.

Do I need a license to fish Florida Bay inside Everglades National Park?

Yes. NPS requires a valid Florida saltwater license; children under 16 do not need one.

Is fishing good at Islamorada right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Key West77 miLake Okeechobee140 miStuart159 miBoca Grande160 miLake Istokpoga172 miFort Pierce176 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8723808 β€” Islamorada, Florida Bay
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 24.9240, -80.6280 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.