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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 522 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bache Shoal 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
71Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 9 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
46Water temp: 81°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.1 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (50 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- 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 (50 per day)
- 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 · 13 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bache Shoal
- Depth
- 25-30 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonBlack drum
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 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 Bache Shoal
Bache Shoal is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, common snook and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, king mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and Atlantic tarpon. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and 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.
- 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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sands Cut73
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 73
- Common snook 72
- Red drum 66
9 kt EH 3:11 PM · 1.8 ftL 10:07 PM · 0.5 ft
- Bowles Bank67
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 67
- King mackerel 66
- Common snook 63
9 kt EH 2:45 PM · 2.0 ftL 9:19 PM · 0.7 ft
- Legare Anchorage64
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 64
- Common snook 63
- King mackerel 61
9 kt EL 7:36 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Sea Grape Point61
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Florida pompano 60
- Crevalle jack 59
9 kt EL 7:36 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 2.8 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.