Key West Pro Guides - Back Country Report - August & September 2025
By: Capt. Paul Tryon

August/September 2025 Fishing Report 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. Back Country: Always a fun and productive trip the Backcountry this time of year also offers an abundance of visible marine life, sea and tropical birds on the Mangrove Island shorelines and mirror calm, crystal clear waters. The overall population of fish in the back country remains impressive with several sport fish species, edible fish, and predators to target a perfect trip for the family or groups numbering up to 4 anglers. The back country is also a fly fishers dream come true with protection from the wind for long casts and plentiful fish which will readily pursue a fly.

The current Tarpon population is down to our resident year-round fish levels. The migration of visiting spawning Tarpon has taken place and things in the Tarpon world have settled down considerably. We refer to these fish as our juvenile Tarpon and they will range from 10 pounds to maybe 30 pounds yet still awesome fighters on light tackle and/or fly but not many of the behemoth fish of the early summer months remain. Frankly, we tend to downplay the Tarpon action as they become one of many excellent species holding in the back country. Anglers should look towards the elusive Permit or the recent flurry of action from Snook for example. Jacks provide fast paced action and while try to knock the fishing rod from your grasp most days in the shallows. Soon to arrive in the back country are the Mackerel found typically in the bays and grassy bottomed basins. Do not overlook the shark fishing now in the back country. Black Tip, Lemon, Bull even the occasional Hammerhead are all coming shallow to feed. Shark fishing on light tackle in the shallows is unbelievably exciting and brings you head-to-head with our apex predators. We "highly recommend" a back country charter this time of year and especially for those guests looking for a shorter than full day trip.

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. The summer can be busy, 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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