Key West Pro Guides - Light Tackle - August & September 2025 Fishing Report
By: Capt. Paul Tryon
August and September are hot, hot and full of potential hurricanes here in the south. When it comes to fishing, yes, we run trips but try to keep them to half days in the morning. During this time of the season, we continue through a period of good action overall but now have the highest water temperatures and humidity of the entire year to contend with. The late afternoon hours will be noticeably slower than the morning's more productive timeframe, especially in the shallows. We suggest early departures fishing until early afternoon for the best success. Deep Sea/Light Tackle Offshore:
Our offshore fishing continues with Mahi-Mahi action as our bread and butter. The Mahi bite remains good, but with so much warm water for them to enjoy, they are spread all over the place. Mahi (Dolphin fish-Dorado) are plentiful, schooling fish that provide excellent action at a blistering pace most days. High leapers when hooked up, beautiful colored fish that also are a favorite for many on the dinner plate. Mahi are fast growing fish that can reach up to twenty pounds in their first year therefore we are entering a time frame of catching some of the largest Mahi of the season over the next few weeks. Wahoo are prized and very sought after, elusive sport fish that peak in the summer in our waters and the Wahoo bite has been quite good so far with several trips offshore taking multiple nice fish. This time of the year provides some good Spanish and Cero Mackerel action but here again these species will be slowing down.
The predators remain aggressive, with the summer being a great time for large Barracuda. We have moved into an exciting period for offshore angling however like we previously said, a 4 hour or possible a 5 hour trip should for pelagic species should be the limit.
Notable: We recommend morning fishing trips in the summer as the air temps and in turn water temps slow the afternoon bite. Fish early and understand 90% of the fish will be taken before 2:00 o'clock. Reef trips in the afternoon fishing slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be good trips for later in the day departure times as the depths are not as drastically affected but still not our recommendation. Sharks are plentiful and active. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home! Let's go Fishing! Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter 305-747-4650 daily 8 AM to 9 PM. Remember 2-4 weeks in advance is recommended. August can be a busy month on our fishing calendar! Our legendary guide team is always in high demand. We look forward to your call!
www.keywestproguides.com
305-747-4650
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