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Red drum: redfish inshore, bull reds at size: are the Gulf and South Atlantic's defining shallow-water gamefish: tailing in inches of water, crushing baits over oyster, schooling by the hundred in fall. The black tail spot (sometimes dozens) is the signature; the downturned mouth explains the bottom-tilted feeding posture that produces 'tailing' in the first place.
Flats, marsh and the tide clock
Redfish life runs on tide. Flood tides open spartina flats and fiddler-crab buffets (the sight-fisher's window); falling water drains bait past creek mouths and oyster points (the ambush window); dead low concentrates everything in guts and holes. Slot fish (roughly 18-27 inches, varying by state) live inshore year-round; the over-slot bulls stage at passes and beaches each fall to spawn: the season of screaming drags.
The mistakes that cost fish
Running the flat: push-pole or trolling-motor quiet beats outboard scanning: a blown flat stays blown. Casting at the fish: lead a cruiser by six feet and let it find the bait: on their nose spooks, behind them goes unseen. And ignoring water movement: slack tide is lunch break: plan runs and re-rigs there, fish the moving water hard.
Temperature range
Light bar = active range · solid = spawn window (where applicable). See the full temperature guide.
Tackle setups
| Situation | Setup | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Flats sight-cast | 7'6" medium spinning, 15 lb braid, 25 lb fluoro leader | Accuracy and soft entries for shallow cruisers |
| Popping cork | 7' medium, shrimp or paddletail below | The Gulf's everyday producer over grass |
| Bull red surf/pass | 9-10' surf rod, 40 lb braid, fish-finder rig, cut mullet | Fall spawners demand range and backbone |
| Fly | 8-9 wt, floating, crab/shrimp patterns | Tailing-fish theater at its best |
Seasonal playbook
High summer (80F+)
Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.
Active season (65-80F)
Prime sight-fishing: tailing fish on shallow flats, schools pushing water. Weedless spoons, shrimp under a popping cork, cut mullet in the guts.
Transition (50-65F)
The bull red run: big spawner schools stage off passes and beaches. Heavy cut bait in the surf, big soft plastics at the jetties.
Winter (under 50F)
Fish stack in deep holes, channels and harbors: slow-rolled paddletails and fresh dead shrimp on bottom, midday warmth best.
Month by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Best waters for redfish (red drum)
Every water we cover where this species headlines, each with a fresh daily report.
Galveston
Port Aransas
Corpus Christi
Rockport
Gulf Shores
Pensacola
Destin
Tampa Bay
Jacksonville
Cape Hatteras
Virginia Beach
Myrtle Beach
Outer Banks
Texas City Dike
Navarre
South Padre Island
Sabine Pass
Panama City Beach
Clearwater
Key West
Islamorada
Sebastian Inlet
St. Augustine
Charleston
Carolina Beach
Ocean City
Cape May
Barnegat
Indian River Inlet
Lake Pontchartrain
Biloxi
Homosassa
Steinhatchee
Venice
Stuart
Fort Pierce
Sarasota
Boca Grande
Mosquito Lagoon
Grand Isle
Matagorda
Baffin Bay
Port Mansfield
Dauphin Island
Morehead City
Murrells Inlet
Wilmington
Chesapeake Bay (Annapolis)
Saint Marks River
Sabine Lake
York River
Susquehanna Flats
Nanticoke River
Calcasieu Lake
Assateague
Apalachicola Bay
Choctawhatchee Bay
Escambia River
Mobile Bay
Pascagoula River
Barataria Bay
Rehoboth Bay
Delaware Bay
Pamlico Sound
Broadkill River
Christina River
Choptank River
Common questions
What is the redfish slot and why?
Most states protect roughly 18-27 inch fish for harvest and release everything larger: the over-slot bulls are the breeding stock. It works: redfish recovered from 1980s crashes into today's abundance.
Best redfish baits?
Gold spoons (the classic), paddletails on jigheads, live or cut mullet, shrimp under popping corks: and crab patterns for tailers on fly. Scent matters more as clarity drops.