On This Water

Florida · Islamorada / Matecumbe

Permit should be the day — oceanside permit and bones, or Channel 5 current — not a Texas marsh sentence.

The mecca. Oceanside bones and permit, bayside backcountry, Channel 2 / Channel 5 current, wrecks for permit. Most pressured fish in the hemisphere.

  • This brief is for 2026-08-26, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Thunderstorms in the forecast. Lightning is a stay-tied call. The score is not a safety brief.
  • Snook are typically closed to harvest on the SE/Atlantic coast in this window. Verify FWC.
4.5OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Wednesday, August 26. Back to this morning

Morning line

Islamorada 4.5 on Wednesday, August 26. 10 mph SE. Thunderstorms · 50%. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
0.20.50.81.11.3HLHLHLHLTue 8 PMWed 8 PMThu 8 PMFri 8 PMSat 8 PM
incoming · 0.94 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW

Wind

NWS

NESW10MPH

From SE

Sky

50% rain

Storms

Thunderstorms · 50%

Lightning is a stay-tied call.

Moon

97% lit

Waxing gibbous

spring range · 97%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.9 ft

incoming

0.94 ft MLLW

Clock

NOAA 8723970

  • HighWed 12:18 PM · 1.14
  • LowWed 6:34 PM · 0.38
  • HighThu 3:44 AM · 0.91
  • LowThu 6:09 AM · 0.77
  • HighThu 1:24 PM · 1.18

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 · 64%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • FL - Long Key State Park (Keys)

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    5.6

    Oceanfront camping with bonefish flats at the tent. Reserve far ahead. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • sand dropoff on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon, Hogfish, Yellowtail snapper, Mutton snapper.
    structurespinwade
  • Islamorada oceanside flats

    hard flat · field manual · skinny

    5.2

    The mecca. Big, few, educated. Clean incoming, sun at your back. Lorelei is intel, not a mark.

    • hard flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skifffly
  • Tea Table / Indian Key fills

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    5.2

    Named fills and banks. Incoming is the shot. Pressure is the tax. Indian Key Channel is USGS GNIS 284511.

    • hard flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skiffflyspin
  • Channel 2 / Channel 5

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    5.1

    Moving water. Permit and tarpon on the fall and the first of the flood. Channel Five is USGS GNIS 280292 just south.

    • channel gut on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin
  • Channel Five

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    5.1

    USGS GNIS 280292. The named cut. Current is the whole fishery. Adjacent FKNMS polygons are no-take.

    USGS GNIS 280292

    • channel gut on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin
  • Indian Key Channel

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    5.1

    USGS GNIS 284511. The fill-and-cut current between Tea Table and Indian Key.

    USGS GNIS 284511

    • channel gut on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly

When

  • Incoming water

    8.2

    Wed 8:00 AMWed 2:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Wed 2:00 PMWed 8:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Wed 8:00 PMThu 5:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Thu 5:00 AMThu 8:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Thu 7:00 AMThu 3:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

Launch and beach access

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 source
  • Founders Park / Islamorada

    Village of Islamorada

    Public ramp, bayside. The oceanside flats are a run from here.

    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.
  • Thunderstorms · 50%. Lightning is a stay-tied call.
  • Wind 10 mph SE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waxing gibbous moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

8.4

Thermal window

66°90°

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

8.4

Thermal window

66°90°

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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

6.6

Thermal window

68°94°

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

6.6

Thermal window

66°92°

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.

Mutton snapper

Lutjanus analis

6.6

Thermal window

66°90°

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

Florida: typically 18 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.

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