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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 512 AM EST
- Best window
- 4-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bear Cut 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 (2 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
Bear Cut
- Depth
- 7-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- 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 Bear Cut
Bear Cut is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 7-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, red drum and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, Florida pompano and gray snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. 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.
- 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.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Norris Cut68
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Crevalle jack 61
- Red drum 60
8 kt EL 6:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 1:46 PM · 2.9 ft
- Fishermans Channel62
Channel · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic tarpon 55
- Red drum 54
8 kt EL 8:09 AM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 PM · 2.6 ft
- Miami South Cannel62
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic tarpon 54
- Red drum 53
8 kt EL 8:09 AM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 PM · 2.6 ft
- West Point52
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 52
- Florida pompano 50
- Crevalle jack 45
8 kt EL 8:30 AM · 0.4 ftH 2:30 PM · 2.5 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.