On This Water

Florida · Key Largo / Pennekamp

Permit should be the day — oceanside banks off Garden Cove and Rodriguez Key — bones and permit, then Card Sound if you want current.

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 2026-09-05, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • 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.
6.7OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Saturday, September 5. Back to this morning

Morning line

Key Largo 6.7 on Saturday, September 5. 2 mph NNW. Overcast. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.6-0.8-0.00.81.6LHLHLHLHSat 8 AMSun 8 AMMon 8 AMTue 8 AM
incoming · -0.20 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW2MPH

From NNW · gust 1

Sky

35% rain

Clouds

Overcast

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

Moon

39% lit

Waning crescent

neap range · 39%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 2.3 ft

incoming

-0.20 ft modeled

Clock

NOAA 8723689

  • LowSat 5:00 AM · -1.16
  • HighSat 11:00 AM · 1.14
  • LowSat 6:00 PM · -1.13
  • HighSun 12:00 AM · 1.13
  • LowSun 6:00 AM · -1.13

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 ~1.9 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 52%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Blackwater Sound

    mangrove edge · public structure · mid

    7.4

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

    • mangrove edge on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Tarpon, Snook.
    skiffkayakspinfly
  • Card Sound / Jewfish Creek

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.2

    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 incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Snook, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Tavernier Creek

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    7.2

    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 incoming tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Permit, Tarpon.
    skiffspinfly
  • Garden Cove / Pennekamp oceanside

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.7

    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 incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skiffflyspin
  • Rodriguez Key / Mosquito Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    6.7

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

    • hard flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Permit.
    skifffly

When

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Sat 8:00 AMSat 1:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    8.8

    Sat 1:00 PMSat 7:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    8.8

    Sat 7:00 PMSun 2:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Sun 1:00 AMSun 8:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Sun 7:00 AMSun 2:00 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 incoming (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • Overcast. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
  • Wind 2 mph NNW. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waning crescent moon — neap tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

8.4

Thermal window

56°92°

In peak season for this water. 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.

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

8.4

Thermal window

66°90°

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

8.4

Thermal window

66°90°

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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

6.6

Thermal window

68°94°

Present, not peak. 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

6.6

Thermal window

66°92°

Present, not peak. 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.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

4.8

Thermal window

64°92°

Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) 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 (incoming) 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 (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 8 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.