Mangrove / gray snapper
Lutjanus griseus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 10 in, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Florida · Miami / Biscayne Bay
Permit 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 2026-08-16, 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.
Forecast
medium confidence
Forecast brief for Sunday, August 16. Back to this morning
Morning line
Biscayne 7.8 on Sunday, August 16. 7 mph ESE. Clear. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · 0.43 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From ESE · gust 8
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clear
Clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
11% lit
Waxing crescent
mid range · 11%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 2.4 ft
incoming
0.43 ft MLLW
Clock
NOAA 8723214
- LowSun 6:12 AM · -0.01
- HighSun 12:29 PM · 2.38
- LowSun 6:34 PM · 0.20
- HighMon 12:42 AM · 2.30
- LowMon 7:00 AM · 0.06
Monthly YOLO day
Tuesday, August 25 · 9.2
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast — and it is a copper day. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.7 ft · wind to 12 mph · Clouds · 14%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
- 7.7
Featherbed Bank
hard flat · public structure · skinny
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: Permit.
skiffflyspin - 7.7
Safety Valve
hard flat · public structure · skinny
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: Permit.
skifffly - 7.7
Stiltsville / Cape Florida edge
sand dropoff · public structure · mid
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: Permit, Tarpon.
skiffflyspin - 7.5
Cape Florida Channel
channel gut · public structure · deep
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: Permit, Tarpon.
skiffspinfly - 7.0
West-side mangroves
mangrove edge · field manual · mid
Baby tarpon and snook. Not the oceanside slam. Outgoing along the roots.
- — mangrove edge on a incoming tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Tarpon.
skiffkayakflyspin
When
Incoming water
9.1Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 2:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
10.0Sun 2:00 PM → Sun 8:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0Sun 8:00 PM → Mon 3:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
10.0Mon 2:00 AM → Mon 9:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.1Mon 8:00 AM → Mon 3:00 PM
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 sourceCrandon Marina
Miami-Dade Parks
Key Biscayne. Oceanside banks and Stiltsville from here. Park fee.
Official sourceBlack 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 from NOAA.
- — Clear. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 7 mph ESE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
- — Waxing crescent moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
8.4
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
Snook
Centropomus undecimalis
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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.