Redfish (Red Drum) Fishing in Key Largo, FL
Bruising inshore fighters that tail in skinny water and crush topwaters, jigs, and cut bait. A flats and marsh favorite across the Gulf and Southeast coasts.
Typical season in Florida
- January: also fished
- February: also fished
- March: peak
- April: peak
- May: off peak
- June: off peak
- July: off peak
- August: also fished
- September: peak
- October: peak
- November: peak
- December: peak
Peak months: March to April and September to December. Also fished: January to February and August.
Redfish are catch and release only in the Indian River Lagoon. Elsewhere you may keep 1 fish, 18 to 27 inches, all year.
Peak months are general guidance for the region, not regulations. Always check your state's current rules and ask us before you book.
Species guide
Redfish (Red Drum) (Sciaenops ocellatus)
- How to identify
- Copper-bronze body with one or more black spots at the base of the tail and a downturned mouth.
- Size
- Slot fish run 18 to 27 inches; bull reds can pass 45 inches and 40 pounds
- Lifespan
- Can live 40 years or more
- Habitat
- Marsh, grass flats and oyster bars; big spawning bulls school in passes and along the beaches.
- Range
- Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida and across the Gulf of America to Mexico.
- Diet
- Crabs, shrimp, mullet and menhaden
Did you know? The tail spot is thought to fool predators into striking the wrong end of the fish.
