UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Gray snapper58
- Atlantic croaker57
- Common snook57
- Red drum56
- Spanish mackerel52
- Atlantic tarpon51
- Crevalle jack50
- Southern flounder49
- Black drum47
- Permit47
- Gag grouper45
- Red snapper43
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper42
- King mackerel41
- Cobia40
- Florida pompano40
- Greater amberjack38
- Sheepshead35
- Spotted seatrout33
Best score today · 9 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 477 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 AM-1 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low1.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when East Bay 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
29Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
63Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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 yesterday
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
East Bay
- Depth
- 30-40 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 East Bay
East Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 30-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for gray snapper, Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and southern flounder. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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
- Sparkman Channel61
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 59
3 kt ENEH 12:47 PM · 3.0 ftL 7:45 PM · 0.5 ft
- McKay Bay60
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Gray snapper 58
- Atlantic croaker 57
3 kt ENEH 12:47 PM · 3.0 ftL 7:45 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pendola Point60
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Gray snapper 60
- Gag grouper 56
3 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 2.8 ftL 7:39 PM · 0.7 ft
- Black Point56
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 56
- Gray snapper 53
- Atlantic croaker 52
3 kt ENEH 12:51 PM · 3.0 ftL 7:46 PM · 0.5 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.