Waterlands

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Black drumShoulder season

Cape · Alabama

Manuel Point

30.36°N · 87.46°W · Cape · Perdido Bay Area

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Best score today · 6 AM · Black drum

70/100Great
Now
513 PM CST
Best window
3-5 PMMoving water
Tide now
Ebbing0.3 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score49Good
Tide0.5 ftHigh
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind2 kn Egusts 10 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy35% chance of rain
Water74°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Black drum

Retention open
Daily limit
5 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 14 to 24 in, total length. One fish over 24 inches allowed, counted in the bag limit.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Black Drum, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open
  • Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Red snapper Closed (No retention)
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black drum is best here

Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Alabama →

Spot profile

Manuel Point

Depth
1-7 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack drum

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Manuel Point

Manuel Point is a cape in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth in the nearest water is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gag grouper, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for gag grouper, Spanish mackerel, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and red snapper. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.

Tackle & technique

Black drum
Black drum root along the bottom around oyster reefs, bridge and pier pilings, channel edges and shallow mud flats. TPWD notes they rarely take artificials, so fish peeled shrimp, crab, clams or sand fleas on a bottom rig and let the fish load the rod before setting the hook. Big spawning schools gather near passes and bay mouths in late winter and spring, and in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay the large fish show up on the shoals from April into June.
Gag grouper
Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    69
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 69
    • Red drum 66
    • Spanish mackerel 66

    8 kt SEL 7:23 PM · 0.1 ftH 9:20 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Bellville Bay

    Bay · 4.6 mi

    66
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 66
    • Red drum 65
    • Gag grouper 62

    8 kt SEL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:04 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Perdido Bay

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Gag grouper 62

    8 kt SEL 5:29 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:23 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 3.9 mi

    62
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 62
    • Spanish mackerel 62
    • Red drum 60

    8 kt SEL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:04 AM · 0.5 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.