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Florida · Key Largo / Pennekamp

Permit should be the day — oceanside banks off Garden Cove and Rodriguez Key — bones and permit, then Card Sound if you want current.

The first Key. Card Sound and Jewfish Creek to the north, Tavernier Creek to the south. Oceanside banks for bones and permit; Blackwater and Buttonwood for baby tarpon and snook. NOAA 8723689 is Point Charles (predictions). Water temp is Virginia Key 8723214 — there is no live well at Point Charles. Pennekamp is the launch. Adjacent FKNMS SPAs are no-take.

  • ⚠ Thunderstorms in the forecast. Lightning is a stay-tied call. The score is not a safety brief.
  • ⚠ Snook are typically closed to harvest on the SE/Atlantic coast in this window. Verify FWC.
4.3OF 10

Today

medium confidence

Morning line

Key Largo 4.3 this morning. 10 mph E. Thunderstorms · 17%. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.2-0.6-0.00.61.2LHLHLHLHNOWMon 8 PMTue 8 PMWed 8 PMThu 8 PM
incoming · 0.79 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

NWS

NESW10MPH

From E

Sky

17% rain

Storms

Thunderstorms · 17%

Lightning is a stay-tied call.

Moon

91% lit

Waxing gibbous

mid range · 91%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 1.7 ft

incoming

0.79 ft modeled

Clock

NOAA 8723689

  • LowMon 7:41 PM · -0.89
  • HighTue 1:41 AM · 0.87
  • LowTue 7:41 AM · -0.84
  • HighTue 1:41 PM · 0.80
  • LowTue 7:41 PM · -0.74

Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.

Monthly YOLO day

Tuesday, August 25 · 8.7

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.9 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 52%

Stay or drive · Key Largo vs IslamoradaOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

No marks match this method on this water.

When

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Tue 1:41 AM → Tue 3:41 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Tue 2:41 AM → Tue 9:41 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    8.2

    Tue 8:41 AM → Tue 3:41 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Tue 2:41 PM → Tue 9:41 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Tue 9:41 PM → Wed 4:41 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

Launch and beach access

County and state ramps near this water. FKNMS no-take is Keys-only, on the legal list.

  • John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

    Florida State Parks

    Key Largo launch. Adjacent SPAs are no-take — check the red polygons.

    Official source

  • Harry Harris Park / Tavernier

    Monroe County Parks

    County park on the oceanside at the south end of Key Largo. Tavernier Creek is the cut.

    Official source

Legal water

NOAA FKNMS management zones — Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Research-Only.

No FKNMS polygon in this box. Mainland Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and the Bahamas are not Keys sanctuary closures.

Why — and who

  • — Tide is incoming (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • — Thunderstorms · 17%. Lightning is a stay-tied call.
  • — Wind 10 mph E. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • — Waxing gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

8.4

Thermal window

—

66°90°

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.

Yellowtail snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

8.4

Thermal window

—

66°90°

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

6.6

Thermal window

—

68°94°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Florida: catch-and-release. Fish over 40 in must stay in the water. One harvest tag/year only for a potential IGFA record.

Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

6.6

Thermal window

—

66°92°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Florida: hook-and-line. Special Permit Zone (Keys) is tighter than the rest of the state — typically C&R. Verify FWC.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

4.8

Thermal window

—

64°92°

Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

2.3

Thermal window

—

56°92°

Closed to harvest — still swims, do not keep. Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Region matters. SE/Atlantic (Jupiter, Biscayne): typically 28–32 in, 1/day, closed Dec 15–Jan 31 and June 1–Aug 31. Charlotte Harbor / Southwest (Boca Grande): typically 28–33 in, closed Dec 1–end of Feb and May 1–Sep 30. Snook permit required. Verify FWC.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

—

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

5.8

Thermal window

—

66°92°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Generally unregulated. Ciguatera risk rises with size. Do not keep a big one for the table.

Regs citedFWC saltwater recreational · current FWC regional rules · rolls in 8 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.