Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Bay · Florida

Kitching Cove

27.25°N · 80.32°W · Bay · Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 8 AM · Black drum

76/100Great
Now
444 AM EDT
Best window
7 AM-3 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Low0.8 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: Wed · 78

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score44Fair
Tide0.8 ftLow
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NNW
Wind4 kn SSEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 7 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy57% cloud
Water86°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 Catch & release (No retention)
  • 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 (2 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

Kitching Cove

Depth
7-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Kitching Cove

Kitching Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 7-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 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 common snook, and shoulder season for weakfish, black drum, black sea bass and red snapper. 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 →
  • Fork Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 58
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    4 kt SSEH 9:12 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Greenridge Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 58
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    4 kt SSEH 9:12 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Pendarvis Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 58
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    4 kt SSEH 9:12 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Bessey Creek Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 58
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    4 kt SSEH 9:12 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:09 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.