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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker70
- Red drum69
- Gray snapper67
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Black drum59
- Southern flounder58
- Spanish mackerel57
- Crevalle jack56
- Permit56
- Spotted seatrout53
- Florida pompano52
- Red snapper50
- Cobia49
- Gag grouper48
- Gray triggerfish47
- King mackerel47
- Red grouper46
- Greater amberjack41
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 591 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-11 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hunter Pass 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
Sunday, Sep 27 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 · 19 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Hunter Pass
Hunter Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass73
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Red drum 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
5 kt NEH 7:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:41 PM · 0.4 ft
- Double Bayou Pass72
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 71
- Atlantic croaker 69
5 kt NEH 6:44 AM · 2.6 ftL 4:12 PM · 0.5 ft
- Mangrove Point65
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Red drum 63
- Gray snapper 62
5 kt NEH 6:44 AM · 2.6 ftL 4:12 PM · 0.5 ft
- Sand Point65
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Red drum 64
- Gray snapper 63
5 kt NEH 7:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:41 PM · 0.4 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.