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Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker72
- Common snook71
- Atlantic tarpon69
- Red drum69
- Gray snapper68
- Black drum62
- Crevalle jack60
- Permit60
- Southern flounder60
- Gag grouper59
- Spotted seatrout57
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Spanish mackerel55
- King mackerel53
- Florida pompano52
- Greater amberjack51
- Cobia47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 7 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 628 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Main Channel 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
90Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
56Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Main Channel
- Depth
- 3-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Main Channel
Main Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, crevalle jack and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Pass-a-Grille Channel75
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Common snook 73
- Red drum 72
4 kt EH 12:10 AM · 1.7 ftL 4:05 AM · 1.4 ft
- Pine Key Cutoff72
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Red drum 72
- Common snook 71
4 kt EH 12:08 AM · 1.7 ftL 3:08 AM · 1.5 ft
- Middle Ground66
Bar · 0.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Red drum 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
4 kt EH 12:08 AM · 1.7 ftL 3:08 AM · 1.5 ft
- Cat Point Bank66
Bar · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Gag grouper 65
- Red drum 64
4 kt EH 12:08 AM · 1.7 ftL 3:08 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.