Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Cape · Florida

Sulphur Point

30.19°N · 85.74°W · Cape · St. Andrews Bay Waterways

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Best score today · 6 AM · Black drum

76/100Great
Now
648 AM CST
Best window
4-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score64Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward ESE
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherClear2% cloud
Water71°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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black drum is best here

Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Sulphur Point

Depth
7-40 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 Sulphur Point

Sulphur Point is a cape in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 7-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, black drum, gray snapper and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October 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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Posten Bayou

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    82
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 82
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    9 kt ENEL 1:59 PM · 0.1 ftH 3:13 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Pretty Bayou

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spotted seatrout 77
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    9 kt ENEL 1:59 PM · 0.1 ftH 3:13 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Dyers Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    74
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 74
    • Red drum 73
    • Spotted seatrout 72

    9 kt ENEL 1:59 PM · 0.1 ftH 3:13 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Shell Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    71
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 71
    • Red drum 70
    • Spotted seatrout 69

    9 kt ENEL 1:59 PM · 0.1 ftH 3:13 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.