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Black drumShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 303 AM CST
- Best window
- 7-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Perdido Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
44Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
89Wind: 2 kt WSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Black drum is best here
Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Perdido Bay
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Perdido Bay
Perdido Bay is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, gag grouper and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, gag grouper, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for sheepshead, gray snapper, red snapper and king mackerel. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old River64
Bay · 6.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 63
- Gag grouper 60
8 kt EH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ft
- Chagrin Point62
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 62
- Florida pompano 60
- Spanish mackerel 57
8 kt EH 7:54 AM · 0.8 ftL 7:23 PM · 0.1 ft
- Manuel Point62
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 62
- Red drum 61
- Florida pompano 60
8 kt EH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.3 ft
- Point Ono60
Cape · 5.4 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 60
- Red drum 60
- Florida pompano 59
8 kt EH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 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.