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 2026-04-05. No wind forecast that far out — score is tide, moon, and season. Not a copper day.
8.7OF 10

Tide + moon

low confidence

Forecast brief for Sunday, April 5. Back to this morning

Morning line

Biscayne 8.7 on Sunday, April 5 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.5-0.80.00.81.5HLHLHLHLSun 8 AMMon 8 AMTue 8 AMWed 8 AM
incoming · 0.77 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

NWS

NESWMPH

No wind reading

Sky

NWS

Sky not in

Sky not in

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

Moon

90% lit

Waning gibbous

mid range · 90%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 1.7 ft

incoming

0.77 ft modeled

Clock

NOAA 8723214

  • HighSun 8:00 AM · 0.77
  • LowSun 2:00 PM · -0.80
  • HighSun 8:00 PM · 0.83
  • LowMon 2:00 AM · -0.85
  • HighMon 9:00 AM · 0.89

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

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Featherbed Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    8.4

    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, Permit.
    skiffflyspin
  • Safety Valve

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    8.4

    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, Permit.
    skifffly
  • Stiltsville / Cape Florida edge

    sand dropoff · public structure · mid

    8.3

    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, Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin
  • Cape Florida Channel

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    8.1

    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, Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • West-side mangroves

    mangrove edge · field manual · mid

    7.7

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

    • mangrove edge on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Snook, Tarpon.
    skiffkayakflyspin

When

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Sun 8:00 AMSun 10:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Sun 9:00 AMSun 4:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Sun 3:00 PMSun 10:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    8.0

    Sun 9:00 PMMon 4:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Mon 4:00 AMMon 11:00 AM

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

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 — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • Waning gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

8.4

Thermal window

56°92°

In peak season for this water. 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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

8.4

Thermal window

68°94°

In peak season for this water. 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.

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.

Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

8.4

Thermal window

66°92°

In peak season for this water. 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

6.6

Thermal window

64°92°

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

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. 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 7 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.