Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Cape · Florida

Saint Andrew Point

29.96°N · 85.47°W · Cape · St. Andrews Bay Waterways

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Best score today · 5 PM · Black drum

68/100Great
Now
565 PM CDT
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score56Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward N
Wind3 kn SSWgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy91% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

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)

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

Saint Andrew Point

Depth
3-7 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-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 Saint Andrew Point

Saint Andrew Point is a cape in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gag grouper, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Wild Goose Lagoon

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Strange Point

    Cape · 4.9 mi

    68
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Red drum 65

    3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Nesser Flat

    Bay · 4.4 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Gray snapper 66
    • Red drum 66

    3 kt SSWL 5:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Bell Shoal

    Bar · 3.7 mi

    55
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 55
    • Red drum 54
    • Spanish mackerel 54

    3 kt SSWH 7:50 AM · 1.8 ftL 5:42 PM · 0.7 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.