Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
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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.
Florida · Islamorada / Matecumbe
The mecca. Oceanside bones and permit, bayside backcountry, Channel 2 / Channel 5 current, wrecks for permit. Most pressured fish in the hemisphere.
Tide + moon
low confidence
Morning line
Islamorada 8.6 on Thursday, May 7 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
Wind
NWS
No wind reading
Sky
NWS
Sky not in
Sky not in
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
69% lit
Waning gibbous
neap range · 69%
Water
No gauge
Water
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Today’s range 1.2 ft
incoming
0.35 ft MLLW
Clock
NOAA 8723970
Monthly YOLO day
Monday, August 31 · 8.7
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waning gibbous · mid · tide range ~0.7 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 63%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Islamorada oceanside flats
hard flat · field manual · skinny
The mecca. Big, few, educated. Clean incoming, sun at your back. Lorelei is intel, not a mark.
Tea Table / Indian Key fills
hard flat · public structure · skinny
Named fills and banks. Incoming is the shot. Pressure is the tax. Indian Key Channel is USGS GNIS 284511.
FL - Long Key State Park (Keys)
sand dropoff · saved map · mid
Oceanfront camping with bonefish flats at the tent. Reserve far ahead. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
Channel 2 / Channel 5
channel gut · public structure · deep
Moving water. Permit and tarpon on the fall and the first of the flood. Channel Five is USGS GNIS 280292 just south.
Channel Five
channel gut · public structure · deep
USGS GNIS 280292. The named cut. Current is the whole fishery. Adjacent FKNMS polygons are no-take.
USGS GNIS 280292
Indian Key Channel
channel gut · public structure · deep
USGS GNIS 284511. The fill-and-cut current between Tea Table and Indian Key.
USGS GNIS 284511
Incoming water
9.1Thu 12:00 PM → Thu 7:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
9.1Thu 7:00 PM → Fri 2:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.4Fri 1:00 AM → Fri 8:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
9.1Fri 7:00 PM → Sat 2:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.4Sat 2:00 AM → Sat 9:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
County and state ramps near this water. FKNMS no-take is Keys-only, on the legal list.
Harry Harris Park / Tavernier
Monroe County Parks
County park on the oceanside at the south end of Key Largo. Tavernier Creek is the cut.
Official sourceFounders Park / Islamorada
Village of Islamorada
Public ramp, bayside. The oceanside flats are a run from here.
Official sourceNOAA FKNMS management zones — Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Research-Only.
Cheeca Rocks
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISAlligator Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISHen and Chickens
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISDavis Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef (Research Only)
Research Only — closed except permitted science
FKNMS GIS+ 3 more zones on the map.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
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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
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.
Permit
Trachinotus falcatus
Thermal window
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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.
Hogfish
Lachnolaimus maximus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.
Yellowtail snapper
Ocyurus chrysurus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Mutton snapper
Lutjanus analis
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 18 in, inside the snapper aggregate. 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 7 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.