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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Gray snapper62
- Common snook61
- Red drum60
- Atlantic croaker59
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Permit57
- Gag grouper55
- Crevalle jack54
- Southern flounder54
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Spanish mackerel53
- Red snapper52
- Greater amberjack51
- Black drum50
- King mackerel50
- Cobia47
- Spotted seatrout42
- Florida pompano39
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 502 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cats 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 1 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: 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
Cats Point
- Depth
- 5-15 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 Cats Point
Cats Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 5-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for gray snapper, common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, gag grouper and crevalle jack. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September 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.
- 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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Maximo Channel69
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 68
- Atlantic croaker 66
1 kt EL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ft
- Sunshine Skyway Channel69
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 68
- Atlantic croaker 66
1 kt EL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ft
- Cat Point Bank62
Bar · 1.1 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 62
- Common snook 61
- Gag grouper 61
1 kt EL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ft
- Middle Ground62
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 62
- Common snook 61
- Red drum 60
1 kt EL 5:16 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:57 PM · 1.8 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.