Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Bay · Florida

Fort George Inlet

30.42°N · 81.41°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 2 AM · Black drum

82/100Great
Now
517 AM EDT
Best window
9 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.3 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score51Good
Tide5.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy40% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

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 Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 18 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Fort George Inlet

Depth
1-6 ftNearest water
Structure
Inlet · Inner · ProtectedInlet · 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 Fort George Inlet

Fort George Inlet is a bay in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, little tunny and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July 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.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Deep Creek

    Gut · 2.1 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 74
    • Florida pompano 73

    6 kt NNEL 1:24 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:45 PM · 4.9 ft

  • Mayport Cut Range

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Atlantic tarpon 71
    • Spot 70

    6 kt NNEL 12:39 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:16 PM · 5.2 ft

  • Fort George River

    Gut · 1.7 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 73
    • Florida pompano 67

    6 kt NNEL 1:15 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:27 PM · 5.3 ft

  • Saint Johns Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 74

    6 kt NNEL 12:28 PM · 1.1 ftH 6:52 PM · 5.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.