Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Cape · Florida

Southwest Cape

29.90°N · 84.38°W · Cape · Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm

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Best score today · 11 PM · Black drum

73/100Great
Now
4912 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.6 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score49Good
Tide2.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind6 kn ENEgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherClear10% cloud
Water86°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
  • 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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

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

Southwest Cape

Depth
1-5 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · 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 Southwest Cape

Southwest Cape is a cape in Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak 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.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Alligator Harbor

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 65
    • Florida pompano 63

    6 kt ENEH 12:48 PM · 2.7 ftL 7:42 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Lighthouse Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 64
    • Florida pompano 63

    6 kt ENEH 1:09 PM · 3.4 ftL 7:53 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Peninsula Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 65
    • Florida pompano 63

    6 kt ENEH 12:48 PM · 2.7 ftL 7:42 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Bald Point

    Cape · 4.2 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 67
    • Florida pompano 63

    6 kt ENEH 1:09 PM · 3.4 ftL 7:53 PM · 0.6 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.