Bud n’ Mary’s Marina Fishing Report — October 2026

Week of Oct 1-7

Conditions: East-southeast wind easing through the week, from 15-20 kt early on to near 5 kt by Oct 5, with Islamorada tides running morning highs of 0.82-0.89 ft and lows of 0.09-0.41 ft. Compared with a year ago, early October 2025 was also warm in Islamorada, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s, but wetter at the start of the month, with rain on several of the first days — no cold snap, just a rainier start than this year’s easing east-southeast wind.

Offshore, Fearless put together a strong blackfin tuna start with about nine on deck Oct 1 (plus one smaller yellowish fish, some with shark damage) and about seven tuna-like fish plus a larger mahi-mahi Oct 6, on Penn reels. Inshore and backcountry, Early Bird (via the marina) reported mutton snapper Oct 3, Rick had tarpon Oct 3 in the Everglades backcountry for anglers Dan and Dody, on Penn reels, Willcox had redfish Oct 3 and redfish and black drum Oct 7 — caught on artificial, with a bright green lure visible — and Bill Bassett (via the marina) had a bonefish on the flats Oct 5, with angler @randyp_jr tagged.

Week of Oct 8-14

Conditions: Northeast wind generally 10-15 kt, with Islamorada tides at highs of 0.72-0.87 ft and lows of 0.10-0.39 ft, plus a second evening high most days.

Blackfin tuna kept dominating offshore, with eleven on Fearless Oct 8 and twelve on the marina dock Oct 10 (no captain identified in that post), while Spartan mixed it up offshore with red snapper, tuna-type fish and mahi-mahi Oct 8 and tuna-type fish, yellowtail snapper and red snapper Oct 12. Inshore, Willcox had a mixed bag Oct 8 (redfish, sheepshead, snook, tarpon) and bonefish on release Oct 10, Spartan finished a backcountry-to-marina day Oct 9 with tarpon, redfish, snook and snapper, fishing from a West End bay boat, with angler @carson_rogers31 tagged Oct 8, and Rick had tarpon Oct 12 and again Oct 14, on Penn reels.

Week of Oct 15-21

Conditions: Calm east wind building to a northeast peak, from east 5-10 mph Oct 16 to northeast 25-30 mph Oct 19, then easing to 20-25 kt Oct 20 and 15-20 kt Oct 21, with tides easing from a 0.83 ft high Oct 15 to 0.49-0.59 ft midweek and back to 0.72-0.73 ft Oct 20-21.

Bill Bassett (via the marina) had a large permit in open water Oct 16, Spartan opened stone crab season Oct 18, Fearless had tuna-like fish plus two mahi-mahi Oct 20, on Penn reels, Willcox had redfish, black drum, speckled sea trout and snook Oct 20, and Tan Man (via the marina) had a large barracuda offshore Oct 21, with angler @jon_patten tagged. Also Oct 17, Spartan had a grouper hooked and attacked by a shark boatside on video — seen, not a landed catch: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DenUUg0Agg1/

Week of Oct 22-27

Conditions: Northeast wind building to gale, from 10-15 kt Oct 22 to 25-30 kt with gusts near 35 kt Oct 26, and a Gale Warning until 5pm Oct 27 with seas 3-5 ft occasionally to 6 ft, plus a Coastal Flood Warning until Oct 28 at 5am. Tides ran highs of 0.71-0.94 ft, with a low of -0.01 ft Oct 27 morning.

Fishing reports thinned out as the weather built. Fearless (via the marina) had about twelve fish Oct 22, mostly blackfin tuna with two mahi-mahi, on Penn reels, and Willcox (via the marina) had black drum in the Everglades Oct 23.

Tight lines,
Bud n’ Mary’s Marina