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Florida · Miami / Biscayne Bay

Bonefish should be the day — the ocean banks as they empty; these fish are educated and the window is short.

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 2026-01-26, 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 · NOAA 8723214
  • NDBC VAKF1 quiet
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Water temp quiet
7.8OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Monday, January 26. Back to this morning

Morning line

Biscayne 7.8 on Monday, January 26. 13 mph ESE. Clear. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.9-0.10.71.62.4LHLHLHLHSun 7 PMMon 7 PMTue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PM
outgoing · 0.10 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8723214 · Virginia Key · ft MLLW · not a weather 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

Clear

Clear

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

Moon

56% lit

First quarter

neap range · 56%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 2.1 ft

outgoing

0.10 ft MLLW

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

  • LowMon 8:22 AM · 0.09
  • HighMon 2:26 PM · 1.72
  • LowMon 8:52 PM · -0.31
  • HighTue 3:31 AM · 1.76
  • LowTue 9:26 AM · 0.13
Stay or drive · Biscayne vs Key LargoOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

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

  • Cape Florida Channel

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.7

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

    USGS GNIS 279999

    • — channel gut on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffspinfly

  • Stiltsville / Cape Florida edge

    sand dropoff · public structure · mid

    7.4

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

    • — sand dropoff on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin

  • Featherbed Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    7.0

    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 outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin

  • Safety Valve

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    7.0

    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 outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Bonefish.
    skifffly

  • West-side mangroves

    mangrove edge · field manual · mid

    7.0

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

    • — mangrove edge on a outgoing tide is a classic 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.

  • Outgoing water

    7.5

    Mon 8:00 AM → Mon 10:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.5

    Mon 9:00 AM → Mon 4:00 PM

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

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Mon 4:00 PM → Mon 11:00 PM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    7.5

    Mon 10:00 PM → Tue 5:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • First light · outgoing

    8.6

    Tue 5:00 AM → Tue 11:00 AM

    First light on outgoing 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 outgoing from NOAA 8723214 Virginia Key.
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 13 mph ESE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — First quarter 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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.