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Black drumRetention openBar · Florida
Useppa Oyster Bar
26.65°N · 82.21°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook76
- Atlantic croaker69
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum68
- Florida pompano67
- Atlantic tarpon64
- Spanish mackerel64
- Southern flounder60
- Black drum59
- Permit59
- Crevalle jack55
- King mackerel53
- Red snapper52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Gag grouper50
- Cobia49
- Gray triggerfish49
- Greater amberjack49
- Red grouper48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 5911 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Useppa Oyster Bar 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 · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
72Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 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 today
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
Useppa Oyster Bar
- Depth
- 1-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · 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 Useppa Oyster Bar
Useppa Oyster Bar is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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 croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- The Narrows84
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 84
- Atlantic croaker 78
- Gray snapper 73
3 kt ESEH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ft
- Water Turkey Bayou80
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Red drum 79
- Atlantic croaker 74
3 kt ESEH 1:33 AM · 1.6 ftL 6:51 AM · 1.2 ft
- Platt Point76
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Gray snapper 68
3 kt ESEH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ft
- Murdock Bayou76
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Red drum 75
- Atlantic croaker 74
3 kt ESEH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 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.