Captain's Log — April 24, 2026

The ocean finally backed off enough to call this an honest fishing day again. We still have easterly breeze and a little leftover lump, but NOAA has the whole Keys chain trending cleaner through tonight and even better for Saturday.

NOAA Marine Forecast Summary

Source: National Weather Service Key West marine forecast, issued 5:54 AM EDT Friday, April 24, 2026

• Wind: East to southeast 10 to 15 knots, easing toward near 10 knots later today
• Hawk Channel seas: 2 to 3 feet, subsiding toward around 2 feet
• Offshore Straits: 2 to 3 feet, with east wave energy around 3 to 4 feet at 5 to 6 seconds early
• Weather: Scattered showers around, slight thunder chance, but no broad ugly weather signal
• Pattern: High pressure is sliding away and the breeze keeps softening through tonight into the weekend

Reef Conditions, Islamorada Line

From Molasses, Conch, Davis, Crocker, Alligator, and Tennessee, the public read is basically the same story, better than yesterday and improving through the day.

Molasses Reef

• Upper Keys reef line is running 2 to 3 feet with a light to moderate chop early, easing later
• NOAA places the shoreward Gulf Stream edge about 26 miles southeast of Molasses Reef Light
• Best play looks like clean yellowtail setups, mutton drifts, and a kingfish bonus if bait stacks up

Conch Reef

• Same Upper Keys reef pattern, east to southeast 10 to 15 knots backing down late
• Fishable for snapper and structure picks without the full beatdown from earlier in the week
• Better as a disciplined stop than a run-and-gun chaos day

Davis Reef

• Similar 2 to 3 foot reef conditions with improving boat control into the afternoon
• Good candidate for muttons, yellowtails, and bottom structure checks around tide movement
• More manageable than the last couple days, especially for shorter hops

Crocker Reef

• Still enough east push to keep some motion on the exposed edge, but not a deal-breaker
• Short drifts and clean anchor setups should be back in play
• Reef bite should be more dependable than gambling on a long blind offshore run

Alligator Reef

• NOAA places the shoreward Gulf Stream edge about 24 miles southeast of Alligator Reef Light
• Reef edge is still moving, but now in the range where a serious crew can work it comfortably
• Good option for yellowtails, muttons, and a possible king or cero around bait

Tennessee Reef

• Mid Keys reef section is also improving under the same easing easterly flow
• Better setup for reef species than hero-mode offshore searching
• Saturday still looks like the prettier card if you have schedule flexibility

Tides & Water

Tides, NOAA Station 8723797, Whale Harbor Channel

• High: 3:34 AM at 1.387 ft
• Low: 10:14 AM at 0.214 ft
• High: 3:56 PM at 1.319 ft
• Low: 10:43 PM at 0.074 ft

Water Temperature

• Public NOAA reference: 75.6°F at Vaca Key, Florida Bay at the latest observation
• Captain’s take: Still solid spring water, good enough for reef snapper, tarpon moves, and offshore pelagics if you find clean water and life

Species Outlook

Yellowtail Snapper

• Outlook: Good
• Reef comfort is way better, and this is the cleanest public play on the board today
• Stay organized on the slick and do not overrun good bottom

Mutton Snapper

• Outlook: Good
• The afternoon tide movement around the 3:56 PM high gives you a real shot
• Davis, Crocker, Alligator, and deeper edge spots all make sense

Mahi-Mahi

• Outlook: Fair to good
• NOAA still has the Gulf Stream edge within reach of Islamorada, roughly 24 miles southeast of Alligator and 26 miles southeast of Molasses
• Best chance is a focused run on clean blue water, birds, floaters, and any organized edge you can visually confirm

Wahoo

• Outlook: Fair
• Not a screaming setup, but more reasonable now that the ocean quit throwing hands
• Better as an early edge troll than an all-day target program

Sailfish

• Outlook: Low to fair
• Possible on the right bait and edge, but this does not read like a classic sailfish crush day
• More opportunistic than primary target

Tuna

• Outlook: Low
• No strong public signal that makes me want to sell a dedicated tuna mission from Islamorada today

Tarpon and Backcountry Options

• Outlook: Good fallback plan
• If reef or offshore looks less honest than advertised, bridges, channels, and protected water still offer a solid bend-rod day

Captain’s Recommendation

If I were calling the shots today:

1. Start on the reef and make the ocean earn a longer run
2. Prioritize yellowtails and muttons for the most dependable action
3. Push offshore for mahi only if you find the right color, birds, or floaters
4. Keep Saturday circled if you want the cleanest weather window of this stretch

Weekend Outlook

Saturday, April 25

• East winds 5 to 10 knots
• Reef seas around 1 foot
• Offshore seas 1 to 2 feet
• Best overall weather day in this forecast package

Sunday, April 26

• Light east to southeast wind, becoming variable
• Seas 1 foot or less to 1 to 2 feet
• Another strong setup for reef and shorter offshore plans

Midday Addendum, 10:34 AM NOAA Update

NOAA’s late-morning coastal waters forecast did not throw any bad surprises at us. If anything, it confirmed the ocean is still cleaning up exactly the way the sunrise package hinted.

• Wind: Still east to southeast, but the midday package leans harder into the breeze easing toward near 10 knots through the afternoon and 5 to 10 knots tonight
• Seas: Hawk Channel and the Straits remain 2 to 3 feet, with the reef expected to settle closer to around 2 feet later today. West of the Marquesas, Gulfside seas were specifically called out as subsiding from 2 to 3 feet toward around 2 feet
• Conditions: Nearshore chop is improving from light to moderate toward more of a light chop, and the storm signal still looks limited to scattered showers with only a slight thunder chance
• Since the morning report: No real deterioration, just a slightly firmer signal that the breeze and leftover lump keep backing off through tonight

Evening Addendum, 4:22 PM NOAA Update

The late-afternoon NOAA package kept the cleanup trend intact and honestly made tomorrow look even prettier.

Afternoon Recap

• Wind: NOAA still had east to southeast flow near 10 knots tonight, then easing further with a clean 5 to 10 knot look for Saturday
• Reef seas: Around 2 feet tonight, dropping to around 1 foot Saturday in Hawk Channel
• Offshore Straits: Around 3 feet subsiding to around 2 feet tonight, then 1 to 2 feet Saturday
• Overall read: No late-day blowup, no ugly reversal, just a steady slide into more manageable conditions across Islamorada’s reef and offshore lanes

Tomorrow’s Outlook, Saturday April 25

• Best targets: Yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, and a measured mahi look if the color edge stays reachable
• Best water: Reef and edge fishing should both be more workable with lighter east wind and less leftover lump
• Backup plan: If the offshore life looks scattered, the reef still sets up as the higher-confidence play
• Captain’s call: Saturday shapes up as the cleanest shot of this whole stretch, with Sunday also staying fishy behind it

Final Take

Today finished better than it started, and tomorrow looks better than today. The reef line from Molasses to Tennessee is back in business, the offshore option for mahi is more realistic, and the weekend window is finally lining up like something worth burning fuel on. If the boat is clean, we did not fish hard enough.