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Black drumRetention openBar · Florida
Patricio Shoal
26.69°N · 82.21°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook77
- Spanish mackerel70
- Florida pompano69
- Gray snapper69
- Red drum69
- Atlantic tarpon64
- Permit62
- Southern flounder62
- Crevalle jack61
- Atlantic croaker60
- King mackerel60
- Black drum55
- Greater amberjack55
- Cobia54
- Spotted seatrout54
- Gag grouper52
- Gray triggerfish50
- Red snapper49
- Red grouper48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 5510 AM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Patricio 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
62Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.9 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 2 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
- Bluefish Retention open (10 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Catch & release (No retention)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- 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 · 18 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Patricio Shoal
- Depth
- 2-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-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 Patricio Shoal
Patricio Shoal is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old Tom Bayou77
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Red drum 76
- Southern flounder 71
2 kt ENEH 11:42 AM · 1.9 ftL 7:11 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pelican Bay77
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Red drum 69
- Florida pompano 68
2 kt ENEH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 PM · 0.4 ft
- Punta Blanca72
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 63
2 kt ENEH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 PM · 0.4 ft
- Jug Creek Shoal71
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Spanish mackerel 67
2 kt ENEH 11:42 AM · 1.9 ftL 7:11 PM · 0.5 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.