Bonefish
Albula vulpes
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
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.
Forecast
low confidence
Morning line
Islamorada 6.9 on Friday, January 1. 16 mph ESE. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From ESE · gust 16
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clouds
Mostly clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
40% lit
Waning crescent
neap range · 40%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 2.0 ft
incoming
0.37 ft modeled
Clock
NOAA 8723970
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
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…
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
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.
Robbie's / Islamorada bayside
mangrove edge · field manual · mid
Tarpon roll under the breakfast dock. That is a tourist fact. The backcountry behind it is the fishery.
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
Incoming water
8.2Fri 8:00 AM → Fri 12:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
9.1Fri 11:00 AM → Fri 6:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
7.2Fri 6:00 PM → Sat 1:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
7.2Sat 12:00 AM → Sat 7:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
9.1Sat 6:00 AM → Sat 1:00 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.
No FKNMS polygon in this box. Mainland Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and the Bahamas are not Keys sanctuary closures.
Bonefish
Albula vulpes
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
Yellowtail snapper
Ocyurus chrysurus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. 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
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. 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
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.
Mutton snapper
Lutjanus analis
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: typically 18 in, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Great barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Generally unregulated. Ciguatera risk rises with size. Do not keep a big one for the table.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.
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.