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Florida · Islamorada / Matecumbe

Permit should be the day — the wrecks and the falling ocean bank; pressured fish want a clean shot.

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 2026-08-30, 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 Sunday, August 30. Back to this morning

Morning line

Islamorada 4.5 on Sunday, August 30. 15 mph E. Thunderstorms · 47%. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.10.30.71.11.5LHLHLHLHSat 8 PMSun 8 PMMon 8 PMTue 8 PMWed 8 PM
outgoing · 0.52 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW

Wind

NWS

NESW15MPH

From E

Sky

47% rain

Storms

Thunderstorms · 47%

Lightning is a stay-tied call.

Moon

94% lit

Waning gibbous

mid range · 94%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 0.7 ft

outgoing

0.52 ft MLLW

Clock

NOAA 8723970

  • LowSun 8:28 AM · 0.49
  • HighSun 4:15 PM · 1.14
  • LowSun 8:55 PM · 0.64
  • HighMon 4:04 AM · 1.11
  • LowMon 9:18 AM · 0.36

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%

Stay or drive · Islamorada vs FlamingoOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • FL - Long Key State Park (Keys)

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    5.9

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

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

  • Channel 2 / Channel 5

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    5.7

    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 outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • — In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin

  • Channel Five

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    5.7

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

    USGS GNIS 280292

    • — channel gut on a outgoing tide is a classic 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

    5.7

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

    USGS GNIS 284511

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

  • Robbie's / Islamorada bayside

    mangrove edge · field manual · mid

    5.2

    Tarpon roll under the breakfast dock. That is a tourist fact. The backcountry behind it is the fishery.

    • — mangrove edge on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • — In-play: Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly

  • Islamorada oceanside flats

    hard flat · field manual · skinny

    4.7

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

    • — hard flat on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • — Thunderstorms — this mark is a stay-tied call, not a window.
    • — In-play: Permit.
    skifffly

When

  • Outgoing water

    7.7

    Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 10:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    7.7

    Sun 10:00 AM → Sun 6:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    8.6

    Sun 6:00 PM → Sun 11:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    8.6

    Sun 10:00 PM → Mon 6:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    8.6

    Mon 5:00 AM → Mon 11:00 AM

    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 outgoing from NOAA.
  • — Thunderstorms · 47%. Lightning is a stay-tied call.
  • — Wind 15 mph E. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — Waning gibbous moon — mid 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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.