Waterlands

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Black drumRetention open

Gut · Texas

Boggy Slough

27.27°N · 97.37°W · Gut · Baffin Bay and Upper Laguna Madre

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Best score today · 1 AM · Black drum

66/100Great
Now
523 PM CDT
Best window
3-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score52Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind15 kn Egusts 19 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp86°Hot
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water93°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Texas state waters (shore to 9 nautical miles, bays included)

IN EFFECT NOW

Black drum

Retention open
Daily limit
5 per day
Possession
10 in possession
Size
Slot 14 to 30 in, total length. Release black drum over 30 inches, except one fish over 52 inches per person per day.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
A black drum over 52 inches counts toward the daily bag and possession limit. The possession limit is double the daily bag and does not count fish stored at your residence. While fishing, you may not hold more than the daily bag.

From TPWD 2026-27 Outdoor Annual, Drum Bag & Length Limits, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
  • Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day)
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (20 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (3 per day)
  • Red snapper Retention open (4 per day)
  • Sailfish Retention open
  • Sheepshead Retention open (5 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Striped bass Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Retention open (1 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black drum is best here

Shoulder season for Black drum · 18 more weeks at shoulder

Black drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black drum · 18 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black drum in Texas

Spot profile

Boggy Slough

Depth
Under 1 ftNearest water
Structure
Channel · Inner · Protected
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 Boggy Slough

Boggy Slough is a gut in Baffin Bay and Upper Laguna Madre, Texas. Depth in the nearest water is under 1 ft. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 15 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, gray triggerfish, red snapper and gray snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from June through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September. Crevalle jack peak from June through September.

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.
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 Cove

    Bay · 10 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 66
    • Crevalle jack 65
    • Red drum 64

    13 kt EL 7:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:19 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Rocky Slough

    Gut · 8.8 mi

    46
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 46
    • Crevalle jack 43
    • Red drum 41

    15 kt E

  • Baffin Bay

    Bay · 9.1 mi

    42
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 42
    • Atlantic croaker 40
    • Red drum 38

    15 kt E

  • Middle Ground

    Bar · 9.7 mi

    40
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 40
    • Gray triggerfish 39
    • Red snapper 38

    15 kt E

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 TPWD before you keep a fish.