Key West Fishing Report (Updated July 2025)

The “cold” Key West winter weather finally rolls in during January, with temperatures often getting right down into the 70’s and even the high 60’s at times during this deep winter month. Honestly, even though Key West is a far nicer place to be than anywhere else this time of year, for early morning trips […]

While everyone on the mainland freezes in January, Key West anglers are breaking a serious sweat with the hot fishing that goes off in the Backcountry, the Gulf, and the Atlantic. Actually, the first weeks of January down here do often bring on a big cold front and we get the heavy winds out of […]

January is a month of anticipation in America’s Caribbean paradise. Town gradually quiets a little after the booming holiday season and a new year of Key West fishing heaves into sight off the bow. It’s the depths of winter here in the Lower Keys. The distinct shifts between cool frontal weather and days that can […]

When polar vortex blasts are plunging temperatures into double digits below zero across the Midwest and Northeast, the Keys usually also hit their lows for the winter. Average February low temps are 66 degrees down here in Key West, but daytime highs most often hover in the mid-70s. If that sounds pretty good about now, […]

February brings a big freeze-up in most places, but down here in the Florida Keys sportfishing often gets on a hot streak in January and February. The reef, the wrecks, and the Backcountry can really turn on this time of year. The offshore deep sea fishing takes some patience and looking around, but with the […]

Conditions are looking good for an action-packed Key West Tarpon run this year. The extremes of weather that are hitting the northern states are translating to well-defined cool fronts sweeping into the Keys. These Florida-style polar vortexes that drive air temperatures all the way down to the low 70s are followed by days of exceptionally […]

February in Key West most often continues the typical winter weather cool/warm alteration pattern. Arriving cold fronts come in on strong north-northeast winds and cool things down, sometimes even into the 50s at night. The frontal waves are followed by warming periods that allow the water temps to climb a bit but usually also bring […]

Spring fishing in Key West is always some of the best of the year, especially for those two legends of the Key West fly fishing world, Tarpon and Permit. When weather conditions come together, you can get into the fish of a lifetime out on the Flats or even right in the Key West Harbor. […]

Between the start of the Key West Tarpon migration, the first weeks of Key West Flats fishing, and the first waves of spring breakers, town gets real busy this time of year. And the action in town is matched out on the water with the deep sea, Flats, Backcountry, and shallow Gulf wrecks all producing […]

As March ends in Key West, the cold fronts get fewer and milder. We look forward to April, with the warming weather and dropping winds that usher in excellent days of spring fishing both offshore and on the reefs. The bite is good in general this time of year, but the sporty waters common to […]

As warm spring weather takes hold in the Keys, attention begins to shift towards the event that many consider to be the high point on the Key West fishing calendar – The Tarpon migration. Besides being huge and very impressive-looking, the Tarpon belongs to a genus of fish with a fossil record going back to […]

Down here in the Lower Keys, the first hints of spring often crop up as a few warm days in February. When we get some temperatures pushing into the low 80s, and the Backcountry water warms into the 70s, it is only natural for experienced Keys anglers to start keeping an eye open for that […]

March can get cool in the Keys, with temperatures in the low 60s not unheard of, particularly during the early part of the month. Typical March weather brings a series of cold fronts rolling through the Lower Keys. Cool air alternates with unseasonably warm weather to keep the fishing a bit unsettled. If you like […]

Celebrate spring with some April Key West fishing! It’s an excellent time to get into some exciting light-tackle fishing action as the final cold fronts blow through, the water warms, and the bait fish start moving for their seasonal migration. The transition between winter and summer conditions gets the gamefish moving and feeding, the excitement […]

Greetings from Key West! As we finish up April down here in America’s Caribbean paradise, winter may be clinging on in other parts of the country. But for Key Westers, April most often means enjoying unbroken weeks of temps in the mid to high 80s. In other words, perfect fishing weather! The temperatures are balmy […]