Redfish (Red Drum)

Red drum are bronze to copper above and white below with one or more black ocellated spots at the base of the tail, a blunt nose, and a slightly undershot mouth with no chin barbels (black drum have barbels). Color varies with water: marsh fish are often deep orange-copper, surf and offshore bulls are pale silver-pink. Most fish carry a single tail spot, but multi-spotted fish are common and prized by anglers. They produce a drumming sound with their swim bladder, which is how the family got its name.

The species ranges from Massachusetts to the Florida Keys and throughout the Gulf of Mexico to northern Mexico, with the biggest populations from North Carolina through Texas. Juveniles and sub-adults under about 30 inches live inshore in estuaries, marsh creeks, grass flats and oyster bays. Mature fish over about four years old move to passes, inlets, beaches and nearshore waters, forming huge schools of bull reds that return to the surf and passes each fall. They tolerate a wide temperature range, feeding well from the mid-50s to the upper 80s F (12 to 32 C), and handle salinity from near fresh to full ocean.

Redfish are bottom-oriented foragers that root for crabs, shrimp and small fish, often tipping head-down with their tails waving above the surface in inches of water. They also chase mullet and menhaden aggressively and will explode on topwaters. Feeding is tide-driven: rising water pushes fish into flooded grass, and falling water pulls them to drains and creek mouths. Dawn, dusk and overcast days are best, but redfish eat all day on the right tide.

Redfish are the backbone of inshore fishing from the Carolinas to Texas. They can be sight-fished with a fly rod on clear flats, pulled from marsh drains with a popping cork, or battled from the beach when bull reds run in October. Strict slot limits protect spawning adults, and the fishery rebounded from near collapse in the 1980s to its current abundance.