On This Water

Florida · Lower Keys / Key West

Bonefish should be the day — Marquesas and Harbor Key on a clean incoming — permit country.

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 2028-01-26, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Snook are typically closed to harvest on the SE/Atlantic coast in this window. Verify FWC.
  • 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.
  • Tide · NOAA 8724580
  • NDBC SANF1 quiet
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Glass · modeled
  • Water temp quiet
6.9OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Wednesday, January 26. Back to this morning

Morning line

Key West 6.9 on Wednesday, January 26. 8 mph E. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Sunday, August 30. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.7-0.00.61.31.9Tue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PMFri 7 PMSat 7 PM
incoming · 0.53 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8724580 · Key West · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW8MPH

From E · gust 10

Buoy

NDBC SANF1

Quiet

Sand 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

29.99 inHg

1016 mb · no 3-hour change yet

Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.

Moon

0% lit

New

spring range · 0%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

incoming

0.53 ft MLLW

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 8724580

    Monthly YOLO day

    Sunday, August 30

    Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waning gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.0 ft · wind to 10 mph · Thunderstorms · 53%

    Next two weeks

    Pulling the 14-day strip…

    Where

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

    • Marquesas

      hard flat · field manual · skinny

      6.7

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

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

      hard flat · public structure · skinny

      6.7

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

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

      hard flat · public structure · skinny

      6.7

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

      USGS GNIS 299988

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

      wreck edge · public structure · deep

      4.0

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

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

    When

    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

      8.8

      Wed 8:00 AMWed 12:00 PM

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

    • Outgoing water

      9.7

      Wed 12:00 PMWed 5:00 PM

      Moving water in the right part of the day.

    • Last light · incoming

      9.7

      Wed 4:00 PMThu 12:00 AM

      Last light on incoming water.

    • Last light · outgoing

      7.7

      Wed 11:00 PMThu 6:00 AM

      Last light on outgoing water.

    • First light · incoming

      9.7

      Thu 5:00 AMThu 1:00 PM

      First light on incoming water.

    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 incoming from NOAA 8724580 Key West.
    • Mostly clear. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
    • Wind 8 mph E. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
    • New 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 (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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

    Yellowtail snapper

    Ocyurus chrysurus

    6.6

    Thermal window

    66°90°

    Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) 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 (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

    4.8

    Thermal window

    66°92°

    Off-season here. 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

    4.8

    Thermal window

    66°90°

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

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

    Mutton snapper

    Lutjanus analis

    4.8

    Thermal window

    66°90°

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

    Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

    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.