Adults are most common over sand or soft bottoms and over oyster reefs and clam shell deposits.
Adults have been taken in gulf waters off Texas at depths of 5-27 m from December to June. Adults have also been caught in the deeper gulf waters off Texas at depths of up to 37 m, but the majority of fish were caught in the 20-27 m zone. Spawning occurs in or near passes into the Gulf of Mexico and in open bays and estuaries. While juveniles utilize the estuary environment, they can tolerate a wide range of salinities and water temperatures. Young black drum have even been taken in freshwater.