UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 5612 PM EST
- Best window
- 12-5 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Black Ledge 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
Monday, Nov 16 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt NWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
86Water temp: 81°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
62Season: 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 (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 · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Black Ledge
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Black Ledge
Black Ledge is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, red grouper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for king mackerel, crevalle jack, common snook and red drum, and shoulder season for red grouper, Florida pompano, gray snapper and greater amberjack. King mackerel peak from November through March. Red grouper peak from April 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.
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- Red grouper
- Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Deering Bay Channel69
Channel · 3.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Crevalle jack 67
- Red drum 61
8 kt ESEH 4:39 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:20 PM · 0.8 ft
- Biscayne Bay68
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 68
- Common snook 65
- King mackerel 61
7 kt EH 4:21 PM · 2.3 ftL 11:06 PM · 0.4 ft
- Shoal Point63
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Crevalle jack 62
- King mackerel 60
8 kt ESEH 4:39 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:20 PM · 0.8 ft
- Paradise Point63
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Crevalle jack 62
- King mackerel 60
8 kt ESEH 4:39 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:20 PM · 0.8 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.