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Black drumRetention openGut · Texas
Rocky Slough
27.17°N · 97.45°W · Gut · Laguna Madre From 5 nm North Of Port Mansfield To Baffin Bay TX
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Black drum
- Now
- 392 PM CDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMSteady pressure
Data from: NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Rocky Slough 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
Open-Meteo Marine
100Current: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
54Wind: 15 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
29Water temp: 92°F, hotLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.3 ftSeason & habitat · Black drum
Species seasonality
69Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Texas state waters (shore to 9 nautical miles, bays included)
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)
Source: TPWD · 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
Rocky Slough
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Rocky Slough
Rocky Slough is a gut in Laguna Madre From 5 nm North Of Port Mansfield To Baffin Bay TX, Texas. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 15 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack, red drum and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for gray triggerfish, red snapper, black drum and gray snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from June through September. Crevalle jack peak from June through September. Red drum peak from August 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.
- Crevalle jack
- Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Boggy Slough61
Gut · 8.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 61
- Atlantic tarpon 61
- Crevalle jack 58
14 kt EL 7:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:19 AM · 1.8 ft
- The Hole47
Channel · 7.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 47
- Crevalle jack 44
- Red drum 42
15 kt E
- Baffin Bay43
Bay · 7.6 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 43
- Atlantic croaker 40
- Red drum 39
15 kt E
- Middle Ground42
Bar · 2.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 42
- Crevalle jack 39
- Gray triggerfish 39
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.