Waterlands

Species guide · Florida

Black drum fishing in Florida

Pogonias cromis, an inshore species also called drum, boomers and bull drum. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys, Eastern Gulf and South Atlantic regions. Shoulder season, about 13 more weeks.

Right now it scores best in Tampa Bay waters at 69, one of 31 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Shoulder season
Where it's scoring nowAll Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Florida and the Keys

Shoulder season, about 13 more weeks
  1. Jan: Shoulder season
  2. Feb: Peak season
  3. Mar: Peak season
  4. Apr: Shoulder season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Off season
  7. Jul: Off season
  8. Aug: Off season
  9. Sep: Off season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Shoulder season

Peak: Feb to Mar. In season (shoulder or peak): Oct to May.

Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region

Present in Florida Bay, Everglades creeks and Biscayne Bay, mostly caught while fishing for redfish. Spawning in the Everglades has been reported November to March.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Eastern Gulf

Shoulder season, about 13 more weeks
  1. Jan: Shoulder season
  2. Feb: Peak season
  3. Mar: Peak season
  4. Apr: Peak season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Shoulder season
  7. Jul: Shoulder season
  8. Aug: Shoulder season
  9. Sep: Shoulder season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Shoulder season

Peak: Feb to Apr. In season (shoulder or peak): all year.

Research notes, Eastern Gulf region

FWC reports nearshore spawning in winter and early spring, when big fish school around passes, bridges and jetties. Smaller fish stay on oyster bars and docks all year.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

South Atlantic

Shoulder season, about 13 more weeks
  1. Jan: Shoulder season
  2. Feb: Peak season
  3. Mar: Peak season
  4. Apr: Peak season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Shoulder season
  7. Jul: Shoulder season
  8. Aug: Shoulder season
  9. Sep: Shoulder season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Shoulder season

Peak: Feb to Apr. In season (shoulder or peak): all year.

Research notes, South Atlantic region

Northeast Florida jetties and the St. Johns River, Georgia sounds and South Carolina bridges produce big fish in late winter and spring. Year-round in the estuaries.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 31

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's black drum score this hour.

1
69Great
Tampa Bay waters

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (69) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (74) · 195 named spots

2
68Great
Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (68) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (74) · 126 named spots

3
67Great
Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (68) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (73) · 22 named spots

4
67Great
St. Andrews Bay Waterways

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 7 AM (70) · 79 named spots

5
66Great
Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (66) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 7 PM (71) · 24 named spots

6
66Great
Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (66) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (75) · 131 named spots

7
65Great
Coastal waters from Suwannee River to Keaton Beach out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (75) · 20 named spots

8
65Great
Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (66) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 5 PM (71) · 13 named spots

9
65Great
Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (71) · 109 named spots

10
64Good
Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (64) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (74) · 81 named spots

11
63Good
Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Fri, Nov 6 at 10 PM (71) · 39 named spots

12
63Good
Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 5 PM (71) · 46 named spots

13
62Good
Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (74) · 49 named spots

14
62Good
Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (71) · 199 named spots

15
61Good
Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (61) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 6 PM (73) · 4 named spots

16
61Good
Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (61) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 6 PM (70) · 92 named spots

17
61Good
Western Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 4 PM (71) · 23 named spots

18
59Good
Biscayne Bay

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (59) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (73) · 82 named spots

19
55Good
Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (57) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 4 PM (68) · 6 named spots

20
54Good
Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (55) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (70) · 16 named spots

21
49Good
Mona Passage Southward to 17N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (49) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 7 AM (56)

22
48Good
Lake Okeechobee

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (49) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (55) · 11 named spots

23
48Good
Straits of Florida from Craig Key to west end of Seven Mile Bridge out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (48) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (61)

24
46Good
Caribbean Waters of Puerto Rico from 10 NM to 17N, including the Coastal Waters of Saint Croix

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (46) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 6 AM (57)

25
44Fair
Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (45) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (60)

26
41Fair
Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (41) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 4 PM (70) · 21 named spots

27
39Fair
Atlantic Waters of Puerto Rico AND USVI from 10 NM to 19.5N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (40) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (56)

28
37Fair
Coastal Waters from Cabo San Juan to the waters between Anegada Island and Virgin Gorda and North 10 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (37) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 8 AM (55)

29
36Fair
Coastal Waters east of Puerto Rico, around Vieques, and around and just north of Culebra and Saint John

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (36) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 11 PM (56)

30
34Fair
Anegada Passage east of Virgin Gorda and Saint Croix south to 17N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (34) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (45)

31
30Fair
Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 6 PM (65) · 88 named spots

How and where it feeds

Water temperature
Feeds from 50°F to 88°F, best between 58°F and 78°F.
Water depth
2 to 40 ft of water.
Structure
Oyster, channel, bridge, pier, flat, jetty and shoal, in that order of preference.
Tide and current
Prefers incoming tide and outgoing tide, with light current.Black drum find food by smell and feel, so a moving tide spreads the scent of bait, but heavy current makes bottom rigs hard to hold. Many anglers fish the last hour of a tide and the turn around bridges and channel edges. Large Chesapeake fish are often worked on shoals during slower current.
Light
Some lift around dawn and dusk; feeds at night too.
Pressure
Little response to pressure changes.
Wind and sea limits
18 kt of wind and 3 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

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.

Methods
bottom fishing, surf fishing, anchoring on shoals, sight casting to tailing fish
Lures
jig tipped with shrimp, scented soft plastic crab
Bait
peeled shrimp, blue crab, peeler crab, sand fleas, clams, cut mullet, squid

Regulations

FWC saltwater regulations Buy a Florida fishing license License types

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Oct 31, 2026. Rules shown verified Sep 13, 2026.

StatewideRetention open

5 per day · Slot 14 to 24 in, total length. One fish over 24 inches allowed, counted in the bag limit.

Season: No closed season on file

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.

FWC Recreational Regulations: Black Drum · verified Sep 13, 2026

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