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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 515 AM EST
- Best window
- 6-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cutter Bank 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
Sunday, Nov 15 · 5 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
71Wind: 13 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: 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
Cutter Bank
- Depth
- 4-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · 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 Cutter Bank
Cutter Bank is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, king mackerel and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and Atlantic tarpon. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Broad Creek67
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Common snook 64
- Crevalle jack 59
6 kt EL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Jones Lagoon67
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 58
6 kt EL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Old Rhodes Channel64
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 64
- Common snook 63
- Crevalle jack 58
6 kt EL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Linderman Creek63
Gut · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 56
6 kt EL 11:30 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:37 PM · 1.1 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.