UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Black drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Black drum
- Now
- 4910 PM CDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMMoving water
- Tide now
- Low0.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hand Cove 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
97Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 7 kt SPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.4 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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 · 18 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hand Cove
- Depth
- 6-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Hand Cove
Hand Cove is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
- 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.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Poquito Bayou61
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 54
4 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Garmier Bayou61
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 54
4 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Dons Bayou61
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 54
4 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Paradise Point54
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 54
- Gray snapper 54
- Red drum 54
4 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 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.