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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 504 PM CDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buena Vista Point 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
78Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 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)
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
Buena Vista Point
- Depth
- 2-20 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
- 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 Buena Vista Point
Buena Vista Point is a cape in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, gag grouper and permit. Red drum peak from September through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Posten Bayou71
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Atlantic tarpon 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
7 kt NEL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:59 AM · 1.5 ft
- Saint Andrew Bay71
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 71
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
7 kt NEL 6:29 PM · 0.7 ftH 9:37 AM · 1.6 ft
- Pretty Bayou70
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Southern flounder 62
7 kt NEL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:59 AM · 1.5 ft
- Dyers Point63
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Gray snapper 61
- Atlantic tarpon 59
7 kt NEL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:59 AM · 1.5 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.