On This Water

Florida · Lower Keys / Key West

Bonefish should be the day — the oceanside wrecks and the falling contentment flats.

Marquesas, Harbor Key, oceanside wrecks, the contentment of long runs. Permit and tarpon country. Summer showers can switch a flat on once it clears.

  • This brief is for 2026-11-11. No wind forecast that far out — score is tide, moon, and season. Not a copper day.
  • FKNMS no-take water in this box: Western Sambo Ecological Reserve, Eastern Dry Rocks, Eastern Sambo (Research Only). The red polygons are the legal source — do not fish them.
8.1OF 10

Tide + moon

low confidence

Forecast brief for Wednesday, November 11. Back to this morning

Morning line

Key West 8.1 on Wednesday, November 11 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.9-0.50.00.50.9HLHLHLHLWed 7 AMThu 7 AMFri 7 AMSat 7 AM
outgoing · 0.08 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

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

3% lit

Waxing crescent

spring range · 3%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.9 ft

outgoing

0.08 ft modeled

Clock

NOAA 8724580

  • HighWed 5:00 AM · 0.39
  • LowWed 12:00 PM · -0.40
  • HighWed 6:00 PM · 0.43
  • LowThu 12:00 AM · -0.45
  • HighThu 6:00 AM · 0.46

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

Monthly YOLO day

Monday, August 31 · 9.1

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waning gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.7 ft · wind to 10 mph · Thunderstorms · 59%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Marquesas

    hard flat · field manual · skinny

    7.0

    Long run, fewer boats. Permit country. Weather window or you don't go.

    • hard flat on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skifffly
  • Harbor Keys / Content Keys

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    7.0

    North of the island. Named banks. Incoming is the shot. Harbor Key Bank is USGS GNIS 299988 just north.

    • hard flat on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin
  • Harbor Key Bank

    hard flat · public structure · skinny

    7.0

    USGS GNIS 299988. The named bank north of the Content Keys. Incoming is the shot.

    USGS GNIS 299988

    • hard flat on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Bonefish.
    skiffflyspin
  • Key West oceanside wrecks

    wreck edge · public structure · deep

    4.4

    The deep-edge permit game. Falling tide, first of the flood.

    • wreck edge on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • Offshore wreck or hump — secondary to the flat on this brief.
    skiffspinfly

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Wed 8:00 AMWed 1:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Wed 1:00 PMWed 8:00 PM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Wed 7:00 PMThu 2:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.4

    Thu 1:00 AMThu 8:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Thu 8:00 AMThu 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.

  • Garrison Bight / Key West public ramps

    City of Key West

    The Lower Keys door. Marquesas is a weather-window run from here.

    Official source

Legal water

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

  • Western Sambo Ecological Reserve

    Ecological Reserve — no take

    FKNMS GIS
  • Eastern Dry Rocks

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

    FKNMS GIS
  • Eastern Sambo (Research Only)

    Research Only — closed except permitted science

    FKNMS GIS
  • Rock Key

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

    FKNMS GIS
  • Sand Key

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

    FKNMS GIS

Why — and who

  • Tide is outgoing (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • Waxing crescent moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

8.4

Thermal window

64°92°

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

6.6

Thermal window

66°90°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Yellowtail snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

6.6

Thermal window

66°90°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

4.8

Thermal window

68°94°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) 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

4.8

Thermal window

66°92°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) 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.

Mutton snapper

Lutjanus analis

4.8

Thermal window

66°90°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

5.8

Thermal window

66°92°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

4.8

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) 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.