On This Water

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 2027-07-04, 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
7.1OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Sunday, July 4. Back to this morning

Morning line

Biscayne 7.1 on Sunday, July 4. 11 mph E. Partly cloudy. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.0-0.10.91.92.9Sat 8 PMSun 8 PMMon 8 PMTue 8 PMWed 8 PM
incoming · 1.78 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8723214 · Virginia Key · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW11MPH

From E · gust 13

Buoy

NDBC VAKF1

Quiet

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

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Partly cloudy

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

Moon

0% lit

New

spring range · 0%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

incoming

1.78 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

    Monthly YOLO day

    Wednesday, August 26

    Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~1.4 ft · wind to 22 mph · Clouds · 31%

    Next two weeks

    Pulling the 14-day strip…

    Where

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

    • 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 incoming tide is a workable match.
      • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
      skiffflyspin
    • Cape Florida Channel

      channel gut · public structure · deep

      7.2

      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
    • 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: Permit.
      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: Permit.
      skifffly
    • West-side mangroves

      mangrove edge · field manual · mid

      6.7

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

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

      8.8

      Sun 8:00 AMSun 12:00 PM

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

    • Outgoing water

      8.8

      Sun 11:00 AMSun 6:00 PM

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

    • Last light · incoming

      9.7

      Sun 5:00 PMMon 12:00 AM

      Last light on incoming water.

    • Last light · outgoing

      9.7

      Sun 11:00 PMMon 6:00 AM

      Last light on outgoing water.

    • First light · incoming

      9.7

      Mon 6:00 AMMon 12:00 PM

      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 from NOAA 8723214 Virginia Key.
    • Partly cloudy. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
    • Wind 11 mph E. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
    • New moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

    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.

    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

    8.4

    Thermal window

    64°92°

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

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

    Bonefish

    Albula vulpes

    4.8

    Thermal window

    64°92°

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

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

    Snook

    Centropomus undecimalis

    2.3

    Thermal window

    56°92°

    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

    5.8

    Thermal window

    64°94°

    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

    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 6 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.