UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel85
- Florida pompano81
- Common snook80
- Red drum80
- Spotted seatrout80
- King mackerel75
- Gray snapper71
- Black drum65
- Sheepshead61
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 655 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Longboat 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, Nov 8 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
91Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.1 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 79°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 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 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Black drum is best here
Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Longboat Pass
- Depth
- 2-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Longboat Pass
Longboat Pass is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and common snook. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, gray snapper and black drum. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Grassy Point Bayou81
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 81
- Spotted seatrout 79
- Spanish mackerel 74
8 kt EH 8:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 11:26 PM · 1.4 ft
- Millar Bay80
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 80
- Florida pompano 79
- Red drum 79
8 kt EH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 ft
- Palma Sola Bay79
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 79
- Spanish mackerel 78
- Spotted seatrout 78
8 kt EH 9:30 PM · 1.7 ftL 2:15 AM · 1.2 ft
- Cow Point76
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 76
- Florida pompano 75
- Red drum 75
8 kt EH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 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.