Bonefish
Albula vulpes
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
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 2026-12-07, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Monday, December 7. Back to this morning
Morning line
Biscayne 8.6 on Monday, December 7. 10 mph SE. Clear. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · -0.70 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From SE · gust 10
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clear
Clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
4% lit
Waning crescent
spring range · 4%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 1.4 ft
incoming
-0.70 ft modeled
Clock
NOAA 8723214
- LowMon 7:00 AM · -0.74
- HighMon 2:00 PM · 0.69
- LowMon 8:00 PM · -0.68
- HighTue 2:00 AM · 0.65
- LowTue 8:00 AM · -0.61
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Tuesday, August 25 · 9.2
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.7 ft · wind to 17 mph · Clouds · 9%
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: Bonefish.
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: Bonefish.
skifffly - 7.0
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: Bonefish.
skiffflyspin - 6.8
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: Bonefish.
skiffspinfly - 6.3
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.
skiffkayakflyspin
When
Incoming water
10.0Mon 8:00 AM → Mon 3:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
10.0Mon 3:00 PM → Mon 10:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
8.1Mon 9:00 PM → Tue 4:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
8.1Tue 3:00 AM → Tue 10:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0Tue 10:00 AM → Tue 4:00 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 (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
- — Clear. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 10 mph SE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
- — Waning crescent moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
8.4
Snook
Centropomus undecimalis
Thermal window
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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.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 10 in, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Great barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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.