Gulf of Mexico Fishing Report: Snapper Steady, Trout Firing Up, Pompano Patrolling Beaches

Artificial Lure here, delivering your Gulf of Mexico, Florida fishing report for Sunday, August 24, 2025. The sun peeked over the horizon at 7:04 this morning and won’t say goodnight until 8:01, so there’s plenty of daylight for you to hit your favorite spots. The folks at Tide-Forecast.com lay out today’s tides: we’ve got a high at 3:11 AM, a low just after coffee at 9:25, high again at 2:57 this afternoon, and closing out the night with a low at 10:01. That means classic moving water windows—mid-morning and late afternoon should light up.

Weather-wise, Florida Disaster says we’re in for warm and muggy air, peppered with showers and a mug’s worth of thunderstorms rolling through most of the peninsula. Winds are light, seas around 1 to 2 feet according to the National Weather Service Marine Forecast out of Tallahassee. Keep an eye on the sky, especially in the back bays and around the beaches, as pop-up storms could cut the bite short or chase you under a bridge for cover.

Now, what’s biting? Reports from Gulf of Mexico, Florida Fishing Report - Daily podcast and the crew at Spreaker say snapper remains steady offshore—mangrove and lane varieties pulling well around structure in 60-100 feet. Trout are firing up on seagrass flats once the storms break, especially from St. George Island west into Apalachicola Bay and all along the Panhandle sandbars. Pompano are showing off the beaches from Clearwater down towards Naples, running shallow on rising tides. Boats out of Destin and Panama City have also reported cobia shadowing rays and tarpon rolling near the Inlet passes.

Inshore, redfish are thick inside the mangroves near Matlacha and around the edges of the passes at Cape Coral. A few snook have been chewing around the lighted docks at night, especially on outgoing water. If you’re itching to head bay side, check oyster bars and creek mouths for slot reds pushing bait.

Best rigs? Artificial Lure always votes plastics. Early birds tossing topwater plugs like the Spook Jr. or Skitterwalk have been rewarded with big trout and explosive snook. As that sun climbs, it’s time to swap in a gold spoon or root beer paddle-tail, especially around potholes. Offshore, live pilchards are king for snapper, but fresh-cut squid and Spanish sardines are putting grouper in the box too. Pompano are loving chartreuse or pink goofy jigs tipped with a sand flea or fresh shrimp.

Looking for hot spots? Slide across to Cape San Blas if you want a quiet morning working grass flats for trout and reds—less pressure, plenty of action. Up north, the oyster bars inside St. Vincent Sound are on fire this week for inshore action. Further south, Honeymoon Island and Sand Key just west of Clearwater Beach are seeing a run of pompano and Spanish mackerel on the outside bars. Don’t ignore the Destin East Pass if you’re after bull reds or a stray tarpon.

Remember, big tides today mean strong currents and major fish movement—plan your sets around those tide changes and you’ll do better than most. It’s summer action at its finest. And hey, if you’re lucky enough to boat that fish of a lifetime, look up some local smoked fish dip recipes. It’s a Florida classic—just make sure you leave some for your crew.

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