On This Water

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 2026-09-01, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
7.1OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Tuesday, September 1. Back to this morning

Morning line

Islamorada 7.1 on Tuesday, September 1. 10 mph E. Rain · 38%. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.10.30.71.11.5LHLHLHLHMon 8 PMTue 8 PMWed 8 PMThu 8 PMFri 8 PM
outgoing · 0.61 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW10MPH

From E · gust 10

Sky

38% rain

Rain

Rain · 38%

Sight water goes blind. A marsh still fishes a shower.

Moon

80% lit

Waning gibbous

mid range · 80%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.9 ft

outgoing

0.61 ft MLLW

Clock

NOAA 8723970

  • LowTue 10:11 AM · 0.23
  • HighTue 6:00 PM · 0.92
  • LowTue 10:07 PM · 0.71
  • HighWed 5:06 AM · 1.23
  • LowWed 11:07 AM · 0.13

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

    8.1

    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.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon, Hogfish, Yellowtail snapper, Mutton snapper.
    structurespinwade
  • Channel 2 / Channel 5

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.8

    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.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin
  • Channel Five

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.8

    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.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffflyspin
  • Indian Key Channel

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.8

    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.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Robbie's / Islamorada bayside

    mangrove edge · field manual · mid

    7.2

    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.
    • In-play: Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Islamorada oceanside flats

    hard flat · field manual · skinny

    6.1

    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.
    • Rain blinds skinny water. Sight dies before the fish do.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skifffly

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.7

    Tue 8:00 AMTue 12:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Tue 11:00 AMTue 8:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    8.3

    Tue 8:00 PMWed 12:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    8.3

    Tue 11:00 PMWed 7:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.7

    Wed 6:00 AMWed 1:00 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 outgoing from NOAA.
  • Rain · 38%. Sight water goes blind. Wait it out or switch to stained marsh.
  • Wind 10 mph E. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • 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.