Black drum size and bag limits by state
The East Coast black drum rulebook, north to south. Managed under the ASMFC interstate plan, state-run. Core fishery: New Jersey to Florida, heaviest in Florida and North Carolina. Rules on file here for 8 states, New Jersey to Florida.
- NJNew Jersey
- Size
- 16" minimum total length
- Bag
- 3 fish per person
- Season
- No closed season listed
- DEDelaware
- Size
- 16" minimum
- Bag
- 3 fish per angler per day
- Season
- Open year-round
- MDMaryland
- Size
- 16" minimum
- Bag
- 1 fish per angler per day; 6 fish per boat
- Season
- Open year-round
- VAVirginia
- Size
- 16" minimum total length
- Bag
- 1 fish per person
- Season
- No closed season listed
- NCNorth Carolina
- Size
- 14"–25" total length (slot)
- Bag
- 10 fish per person per day
- Season
- No closed season listed
- SCSouth Carolina
- Size
- 14"–27" total length (slot)
- Bag
- 5 fish per person per day
- Season
- No closed season listed
- GAGeorgia
- Size
- 14" minimum total length
- Bag
- 15 fish per person per day
- Season
- Open year-round
- FLFlorida (Atlantic)
- Size
- 14"–24" total length (slot), may include one fish over 24"
- Bag
- 5 fish per person per day (may include one over 24")
- Season
- Open year-round
Status is derived from each row's season dates on Oct 13, 2026. Rules change in season, and the agency page controls. A state missing from this list is one we have not verified yet. It may still have a rule.
The trap on this fish
Black drum rules come in two shapes. New Jersey to Virginia and Georgia set a plain minimum size; North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida use a slot, and North Carolina and Florida also allow one fish over it. Bag limits run from one fish in Maryland and Virginia to fifteen in Georgia.
Federal waters
Black drum are managed under the 2013 ASMFC interstate plan, which requires each state to set a minimum size of at least 14 inches and a possession limit. There are no federal-water recreational regulations. ASMFC · black drum ↗
Other species
Striped bassSummer flounderBlack sea bassBluefishRed drumTautogScupSpotted seatroutWeakfishSheepsheadCobiaSpanish mackerel