Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Channel · Florida

Stranahan River

26.10°N · 80.12°W · Channel · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 6 PM · Black drum

76/100Great
Now
303 AM EST
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.5 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score65Great
Tide2.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward S
Wind3 kn NEgusts 6 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy28% cloud
Water83°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Stranahan River

Depth
10-25 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Stranahan River

Stranahan River is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 10-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, king mackerel, bonefish and common snook, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, gray snapper, red grouper and Spanish mackerel. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Gray snapper peak from May through August.

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.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hillsboro Bay

    Bay · 11 mi

    72
    Top: BonefishPeak season
    • Bonefish 72
    • Common snook 72
    • Red drum 72

    6 kt EL 8:13 AM · 0.6 ftH 2:34 PM · 3.0 ft

  • New River Sound

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    54
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 54
    • King mackerel 51
    • Gray snapper 49

    6 kt ESEL 8:43 AM · 0.7 ftH 2:45 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Whiskey Creek

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    53
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 53
    • Florida pompano 48
    • Gray snapper 48

    6 kt ESEL 8:41 AM · 0.6 ftH 2:54 PM · 2.7 ft

  • Mooney Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    49
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 49
    • Florida pompano 48
    • King mackerel 46

    6 kt ESEL 8:43 AM · 0.7 ftH 2:45 PM · 3.0 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.