On This Water

Florida · Key Largo / Pennekamp

Bonefish should be the day — wait for the flood; these fish have seen the catalog.

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.

  • This brief is for 2026-03-30. No wind forecast that far out — score is tide, moon, and season. Not a copper day.
  • FKNMS no-take water in this box: French Reef, Molasses Reef, Grecian Rocks + 3 more on the map. The red polygons are the legal source — do not fish them.
7.9OF 10

Tide + moon

low confidence

Forecast brief for Monday, March 30. Back to this morning

Morning line

Key Largo 7.9 on Monday, March 30 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.2-0.60.00.61.2LHLHLHLHMon 8 AMTue 8 AMWed 8 AMThu 8 AM
low slack · -0.85 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

NWS

NESWMPH

No wind reading

Sky

NWS

Sky not in

Sky not in

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

Moon

91% lit

Waxing gibbous

mid range · 91%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 1.7 ft

low slack

-0.85 ft modeled

Clock

NOAA 8723689

  • LowMon 7:00 AM · -0.86
  • HighMon 2:00 PM · 0.84
  • LowMon 8:00 PM · -0.81
  • HighTue 2:00 AM · 0.78
  • LowTue 8:00 AM · -0.74

Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.

Monthly YOLO day

Tuesday, August 25 · 8.7

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.7 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 52%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

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

  • Card Sound / Jewfish Creek

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.3

    The north throat. Public bridge and cut current. Not a Biscayne bank and not Islamorada. Baby tarpon and snook on the moving water.

    • channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Snook, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Tavernier Creek

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.3

    The south cut toward Plantation Key. Current is the fishery. Channel 5 is the next desk south — do not steal it.

    • channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Blackwater Sound

    mangrove edge · public structure · mid

    6.4

    Bayside. Baby tarpon and snook along the roots. Not the oceanside slam. Outgoing along the mangrove.

    • mangrove edge on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Tarpon, Snook.
    skiffkayakspinfly
  • Garden Cove / Pennekamp oceanside

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.3

    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.

    • hard flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Bonefish, Permit.
    skiffflyspin
  • Rodriguez Key / Mosquito Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.3

    Named oceanside key and bank. Incoming is the shot. Educated fish, short window, boat traffic from the park.

    • hard flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Bonefish, Permit.
    skifffly

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

    9.4

    Mon 9:00 AMMon 4:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Mon 3:00 PMMon 10:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    8.0

    Mon 9:00 PMTue 4:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Tue 3:00 AMTue 10:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Tue 9:00 AMTue 4:00 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.

  • John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

    Florida State Parks

    Key Largo launch. Adjacent SPAs are no-take — check the red polygons.

    Official source
  • 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

Legal water

NOAA FKNMS management zones — Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Research-Only.

  • French Reef

    Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)

    FKNMS GIS
  • Molasses Reef

    Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)

    FKNMS GIS
  • Grecian Rocks

    Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)

    FKNMS GIS
  • Key Largo Dry Rocks

    Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)

    FKNMS GIS
  • Conch Reef

    Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)

    FKNMS GIS
  • Conch Reef (Research Only)

    Research Only — closed except permitted science

    FKNMS GIS

+ 3 more zones on the map.

Why — and who

  • Tide is low slack (modeled — NOAA 8723689 Point Charles, Key Largo did not answer).
  • 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

7.3

Thermal window

66°92°

In peak season for this water.

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

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

5.5

Thermal window

56°92°

Present, not peak.

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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

5.5

Thermal window

68°94°

Present, not peak.

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

5.5

Thermal window

66°90°

Present, not peak.

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

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.