Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. 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.
Florida · Key Largo / Pennekamp
The first Key. Card Sound and Jewfish Creek to the north, Tavernier Creek to the south. Oceanside banks for bones and permit; Blackwater and Buttonwood for baby tarpon and snook. NOAA 8723689 is Point Charles (predictions). Water temp is Virginia Key 8723214 — there is no live well at Point Charles. Pennekamp is the launch. Adjacent FKNMS SPAs are no-take.
Forecast
low confidence
Morning line
Key Largo 7.0 on Sunday, July 20. 10 mph ESE. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From ESE · gust 11
Buoy
NDBC LONF1
Quiet
Long Key did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clouds
Mostly clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Glass
Open-Meteo modeled
30.02 inHg
1017 mb · no 3-hour change yet
Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.
Moon
25% lit
Waning crescent
mid range · 25%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 2.1 ft
incoming
-0.64 ft modeled
Coast
No live coast layer
Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.
Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.
Clock
NOAA 8723689
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Wednesday, August 26
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~2.1 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 41%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
Tavernier Creek
channel gut · public structure · deep
The south cut toward Plantation Key. Current is the fishery. Channel 5 is the next desk south — do not steal it.
Garden Cove / Pennekamp oceanside
hard flat · public structure · skinny
The park is the launch, not a honey hole. Clean incoming on the named banks. Adjacent FKNMS SPAs are no-take — the red polygons are the legal source.
Rodriguez Key / Mosquito Bank
hard flat · public structure · skinny
Named oceanside key and bank. Incoming is the shot. Educated fish, short window, boat traffic from the park.
Blackwater Sound
mangrove edge · public structure · mid
Bayside. Baby tarpon and snook along the roots. Not the oceanside slam. Outgoing along the mangrove.
Card Sound / Jewfish Creek
channel gut · public structure · deep
The north throat. Public bridge and cut current. Not a Biscayne bank and not Islamorada. Baby tarpon and snook on the moving water.
When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. 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
8.8Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 2:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Last light · outgoing
9.7Sun 1:00 PM → Sun 8:00 PM
Last light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
9.7Sun 8:00 PM → Mon 3:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
9.7Mon 2:00 AM → Mon 9:00 AM
First light on outgoing water.
Incoming water
8.8Mon 8:00 AM → Mon 3:00 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.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Florida State Parks
Key Largo launch. Adjacent SPAs are no-take — check the red polygons.
Official sourceHarry Harris Park / Tavernier
Monroe County Parks
County park on the oceanside at the south end of Key Largo. Tavernier Creek is the cut.
Official sourceNOAA FKNMS management zones — Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Research-Only.
French Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISMolasses Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISGrecian Rocks
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISKey Largo Dry Rocks
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef (Research Only)
Research Only — closed except permitted science
FKNMS GIS+ 3 more zones on the map.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. 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
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In peak season for this water. 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
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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
Thermal window
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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.
Bonefish
Albula vulpes
Thermal window
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Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
Snook
Centropomus undecimalis
Thermal window
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Closed to harvest — still swims, do not keep. Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Region matters. SE/Atlantic (Jupiter, Biscayne): typically 28–32 in, 1/day, closed Dec 15–Jan 31 and June 1–Aug 31. Charlotte Harbor / Southwest (Boca Grande): typically 28–33 in, closed Dec 1–end of Feb and May 1–Sep 30. Snook permit required. Verify FWC.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
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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
Thermal window
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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 6 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.