Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Cape · Florida

Redfish Point

28.01°N · 82.82°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 4 PM · Black drum

76/100Great
Now
5512 PM EST
Best window
4-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score55Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward NNW
Wind11 kn ESEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy34% chance of rain
Water74°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black drum is best here

Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Redfish Point

Depth
1-5 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 Redfish Point

Redfish Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, common snook, gray snapper and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in 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.
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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Dunedin Pass

    Channel · 0.3 mi

    76
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 76
    • Common snook 69
    • King mackerel 68

    11 kt ESEL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Scharrer Bayou

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Spotted seatrout 65

    11 kt ESEL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Scharrer Cut

    Channel · 0.2 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 67
    • Red drum 67
    • Spanish mackerel 67

    11 kt ESEL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Malone Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    67
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • King mackerel 63
    • Red drum 62

    11 kt ESEL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:36 PM · 2.4 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.