On This Water

Florida · Islamorada / Matecumbe

Permit are the hunt — run or rest — slack on this water is not a hunt.

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 2027-02-18, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
6.4OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Thursday, February 18. Back to this morning

Morning line

Islamorada 6.4 on Thursday, February 18. 7 mph SE. Partly cloudy. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.6-0.20.20.50.9LHLHLHLHWed 7 PMThu 7 PMFri 7 PMSat 7 PMSun 7 PM
high slack · -0.40 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8723970 · Vaca Key, Florida Bay · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW7MPH

From SE · gust 7

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Partly cloudy

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

92% lit

Waxing gibbous

mid range · 92%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 1.1 ft

high slack

-0.40 ft MLLW

Clock

NOAA 8723970

  • LowThu 8:07 AM · -0.40
  • HighThu 9:58 PM · 0.73
  • LowFri 9:03 AM · -0.30
  • HighFri 11:28 PM · 0.71
  • LowSat 5:51 AM · -0.18

Monthly YOLO day

Tuesday, August 25 · 9.1

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.4 ft · wind to 10 mph · Thunderstorms · 50%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.

  • FL - Long Key State Park (Keys)

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    6.9

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

    • sand dropoff on a high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Permit, Bonefish, Yellowtail snapper.
    structurespinwade
  • Islamorada oceanside flats

    hard flat · field manual · skinny

    6.2

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

    • hard flat on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish, Permit.
    skifffly
  • Tea Table / Indian Key fills

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.2

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

    • hard flat on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish, Permit.
    skiffflyspin
  • 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 high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Permit.
    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 high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Permit.
    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 high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skiffspinfly

When

When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.

  • Incoming water

    9.7

    Thu 10:00 AMThu 10:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    8.3

    Fri 12:00 AMFri 7:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    8.3

    Fri 11:00 AMFri 4:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Fri 4:00 PMFri 6:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Fri 6:00 PMSat 1:00 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 high slack from NOAA 8723970 Vaca Key, Florida Bay.
  • Partly cloudy. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
  • Wind 7 mph SE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waxing gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

7.3

Thermal window

64°92°

In peak season for this water.

Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.

Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

5.5

Thermal window

66°92°

Present, not peak.

Florida: hook-and-line. Special Permit Zone (Keys) is tighter than the rest of the state — typically C&R. Verify FWC.

Yellowtail snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

5.5

Thermal window

66°90°

Present, not peak.

Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

3.7

Thermal window

68°94°

Off-season here.

Florida: catch-and-release. Fish over 40 in must stay in the water. One harvest tag/year only for a potential IGFA record.

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

3.7

Thermal window

66°90°

Off-season here.

Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.

Mutton snapper

Lutjanus analis

3.7

Thermal window

66°90°

Off-season here.

Florida: typically 18 in, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

5.5

Thermal window

66°92°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak.

Generally unregulated. Ciguatera risk rises with size. Do not keep a big one for the table.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

3.7

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here.

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.