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All About Florida Keys Fishing & Key West Fishing
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- Red drum have also been called redfish, spottail, red bass, and channel bass.
- The life span of a red drum can exceed 40 years.
- Red drum inhabit inshore and offshore waters along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts
to Key West and throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
- The majority of the red drum life cycle is spent in nearshore waters and estuaries.
- Since estuaries are such vital nursery grounds for red drum, we must realize that
deterioration of water quality or loss of suitable habitat can have drastic effects on the
number of young fish that survive into adulthood.
- Since red drum are not normally long distance travelers, they don't stray far from the areas
in which they were born.
- In Florida waters, red drum can reach lengths up to 45 inches and weights up to 51 pounds.
- Red drum begin spawning in the fall when daylight hours decrease and water temperature
begins to cool.
- Commercial harvesting of red drum is prohibited throughout the gulf coast states with the
exception of Mississippi, which has a very limited inshore fishery.
- The red drum is an extremely popular Florida game fish due to its ability to fight for
extended periods of time and to its popularity as a food fish.
Source - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
