On This Water

Florida · Miami / Biscayne Bay

Bonefish should be the day — oceanside banks for bones and permit — west-side mangroves for baby tarpon and snook.

North end of the grand-slam stage. Bones and permit on the oceanside flats and ocean banks, baby tarpon and snook in the west-side mangroves. Educated fish, short windows, boat traffic.

  • This brief is for 2026-01-24, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Snook are typically closed to harvest on the SE/Atlantic coast in this window. Verify FWC.
  • Tide · modeled — NOAA 8723214 quiet
  • NDBC VAKF1 quiet
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Water temp quiet
6.7OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Saturday, January 24. Back to this morning

Morning line

Biscayne 6.7 on Saturday, January 24. 13 mph ESE. Mostly clear. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.6-0.8-0.00.81.6LHLHLHLHSat 7 AMSun 7 AMMon 7 AMTue 7 AM
incoming · 1.00 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW13MPH

From ESE · gust 13

Buoy

NDBC VAKF1

Quiet

Virginia Key did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Mostly clear

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

35% lit

Waxing crescent

neap range · 35%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 2.3 ft

incoming

1.00 ft modeled

Coast

No live coast layer

Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.

Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.

Clock

NOAA 8723214

  • LowSat 3:00 AM · -1.07
  • HighSat 9:00 AM · 1.10
  • LowSat 3:00 PM · -1.12
  • HighSat 9:00 PM · 1.13
  • LowSun 3:00 AM · -1.13

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

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.

  • Featherbed Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.7

    USGS GNIS 282399. South Biscayne classic. Incoming on the bank. Educated bones. Boat traffic is part of the problem.

    USGS GNIS 282399

    • hard flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin
  • Safety Valve

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.7

    USGS GNIS 293633. Oceanside flood. Permit and bones on a clean incoming. Wind from the east dirties it fast.

    USGS GNIS 293633

    • hard flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skifffly
  • Stiltsville / Cape Florida edge

    sand dropoff · public structure · mid

    6.7

    Public geography. Tide seams off Key Biscayne. Virginia Key gauge is the clock.

    • sand dropoff on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin
  • Cape Florida Channel

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    6.6

    USGS GNIS 279999. The Key Biscayne throat. Current seams, not a wade.

    USGS GNIS 279999

    • channel gut on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffspinfly
  • West-side mangroves

    mangrove edge · field manual · mid

    6.0

    Baby tarpon and snook. Not the oceanside slam. Outgoing along the roots.

    • mangrove edge on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    skiffkayakflyspin

When

When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.

  • Incoming water

    8.2

    Sat 8:00 AMSat 11:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Sat 10:00 AMSat 5:00 PM

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

  • Last light · incoming

    9.1

    Sat 4:00 PMSat 11:00 PM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    7.2

    Sat 10:00 PMSun 5:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • First light · incoming

    8.2

    Sun 4:00 AMSun 11:00 AM

    First light on incoming water.

Launch and beach access

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

  • Matheson Hammock Park

    Miami-Dade Parks

    West-side mangrove and basin launch. Baby tarpon and snook water, not the oceanside slam.

    Official source
  • Crandon Marina

    Miami-Dade Parks

    Key Biscayne. Oceanside banks and Stiltsville from here. Park fee.

    Official source
  • Black Point Marina

    Miami-Dade Parks

    South Biscayne. Featherbed and the Safety Valve are the run.

    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 — NOAA 8723214 Virginia Key did not answer).
  • Mostly clear. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
  • Wind 13 mph ESE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • Waxing crescent moon — neap tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

8.4

Thermal window

64°92°

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

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

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

4.8

Thermal window

68°94°

Off-season here. 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

4.8

Thermal window

66°92°

Off-season here. 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.

Mangrove / gray snapper

Lutjanus griseus

4.8

Thermal window

64°92°

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

Florida: typically 10 in, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

1.7

Thermal window

56°92°

Closed to harvest — still swims, do not keep. Off-season here. 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.

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

5.8

Thermal window

66°92°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

4.8

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Regs citedFWC saltwater recreational · current FWC regional rules · rolls in 7 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.