UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook65
- Atlantic tarpon58
- Red drum58
- Atlantic croaker57
- Gray snapper57
- Spanish mackerel53
- Permit52
- Southern flounder51
- Crevalle jack50
- Black drum49
- Florida pompano49
- Gag grouper47
- Cobia44
- King mackerel44
- Red snapper44
- Spotted seatrout44
- Gray triggerfish43
- Red grouper43
- Greater amberjack39
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 7 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 496 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Roberts 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
47Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 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 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
Roberts Bay
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Roberts Bay
Roberts Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, permit and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. 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 tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Sarasota Pass74
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Atlantic tarpon 70
4 kt ESEH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 ft
- Coconut Bayou69
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Common snook 68
4 kt ESEH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 ft
- South Coconut Bayou68
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 66
4 kt ESEH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 ft
- Fishery Point60
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Red drum 54
- Atlantic tarpon 54
4 kt ESEH 12:09 AM · 1.7 ftL 5:00 AM · 1.1 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.